Tell us a little bit about yourself:

Mark and I are third-generation dairy farmers based in northern Victoria near Kaarimba, milking around 800 cows across two platforms.

Why did you join the Rabo Client Council?

I have always been drawn to community involvement as feel it is really important to help out where you can. That’s probably what led me to attend that first meeting in Yarrawonga in 2016, where we formed our Rabo Client Council. Since being involved, I have met some amazing people, come across some incredible ideas and initiatives and really grown as a person. 
 

What are some of the key initiatives your Rabo Client Council has been involved in:

The support of Boys to the Bush came out of our Rabo Client Council. The work Adam and his team do – providing positive opportunities for at-risk boys – really resonated with us. With many of these boys slipping through the cracks of mainstream education, and this initiative making a real difference, it was a unanimous decision to get on board.

We’ve also run Financial Skills and Business Transition and Succession Planning workshops. I recently attended the succession workshop in Yarrawonga, with around 35 people in attendance. It was really pleasing to see so many people interested in looking at what they could be doing to transition their business from one generation to the next.

We have also supported a number of smaller initiatives. For example, we funded repairs to the X-ray machine at the Walwa Bush Nursing Centre in north east Victoria. With a catchment of 3500 people and the nearest alternative more than 90 minutes away, access to this service is absolutely vital. Following the bushfires, we also helped Ambulance Victoria paramedics fund the production of caps printed with the message “You’ll Never Walk Alone” – to help raise mental health awareness following the passing of three young men in the community.

And excitingly, we are sponsoring 10 women to attend the upcoming Cream of the Crop dairy conference for women in the dairy industry. With many doing it tough with drought in the south west and in South Australia, we wanted to jump on board and help some women attend.
 

What initiatives have had the most impact?

I think it’s important that the Community Fund supports some big projects like Boys to the Bush and the Financial Skills and Business Transition and Succession Planning workshops. But I think it is equally important that we work within our specific regions or areas. Different regions have different needs, and sometimes the most meaningful impact comes from bringing people together, whether that is putting on a barbeque or providing an opportunity for people to gather. Funding these smaller projects is just so important and I think we owe it to our community to fly under the radar a little bit and quietly help build the strength and resilience in our communities.