Who is on the move in the Australian grain and cropping industry? Catch up with our latest update of industry appointments, rewards, retirements and achievements.

• Williams leaves GRDC
• CBH seeks new CEO
• Watertrust appoints head
• New Ingham’s CEO
• Praphakorn joins Riverina
• New GM at AGRIvision
• Change at Agrocorp
• Davis steps up to top climate role
• New executive officer for Southern Grassland Society
• Cotton industry nominates award finalists

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Williams leaves GRDC

THE Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) board announced on Thursday that its managing director, Anthony Williams, was no longer working with the organisation.

GRDC board chair, John Woods, said current GRDC company secretary and acting managing director, Cathie Warburton, would continue in the interim while an executive recruitment campaign was put into action.

After an extensive search to replace previous GRDC managing director Dr Steve Jefferies,  Mr Williams was appointed in August last year.

In a statement accompanying the announcement of Mr Williams’ departure, Mr Woods said the organisation was “extremely well-placed to continue to drive a bold innovation agenda which has never been more important for our grain growers”.

“GRDC is a powerhouse of RD&E led by a strong and experienced executive team and supported by a highly respected regional panel membership.”

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CBH seeks new CEO

AUSTRALIA’s biggest co-operative, Western Australia’s biggest grain handler by far and one of the world’s largest grain exporters, CBH Group, is looking for a new chief executive officer following the resignation of Jimmy Wilson.

CBH chair Simon Stead said that after nearly four years with the co-operative, and with much of the change he was mandated to implement now completed, Mr Wilson had decided it was time for him to move on to the next stage of his career.

Mr Wilson’s resignation will come into effective on June 30. The CBH board on May 25 appointed Ben Macnamara as acting CEO of the CBH Group, effective July 1.

Mr Macnamara joined CBH in 2014, and became CBH’s chief operations officer in 2019.

CBH’s Esperance zone general manager Mick Daw has been appointed acting chief operations officer.

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Watertrust appoints head

WATERTRUST Australia has appointed Nick Austin as CEO ahead of its public launch as a national and fully independent policy centre focused on helping improve the way decisions are made about water and catchments across Australia.

Mr Austin, an Australian hydrologist, with decades of experience in cropping, livestock, and land management, is presently with the Gates Foundation working in Seattle, United States, as director of its Division of Agricultural Development and Global Development.

He will continue with Gates Agricultural innovations after he moves back to Australia later this year.

Mr Austin holds a PhD in irrigation and water quality from the University of Melbourne and prior degrees in sustainable management and engineering in agriculture.

His transition to the new role will be facilitated in close consultation with interim CEO Rod Marsh, who has led the research and establishment phases of the centre over the past two years.

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New Ingham’s CEO

INGHAM’s has appointed Andrew Reeves as CEO and managing director.

Mr Reeves was previously an Ingham’s non-executive director, and replaces Jim Leighton, who left the dual role on March 29 and has returned to the United States.

Ingham’s chair Peter Bush said Mr Leighton was leaving on good terms, and his team had built a solid foundation for growth.

Mr Reeves’ was CEO of George Weston Foods in Australia and New Zealand from 2011 to 2016, and he has also held senior roles with Lion Dairy & Drinks, Lion Nathan, and Coca-Cola Amatil.

Mr Leighton will remain with the company until the end of the financial year to facilitate an orderly handover.

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Praphakorn joins Riverina

PULSE trader Metha Praphakorn has joined Riverina (Australia) Pty Ltd as the newest member of its commodity trading division.

Mr Praphakorn was previously with Riverina prior to his 10 years with GrainCorp as a pulse trader.

In a statement, Riverina said Mr Praphakorn would be trading pulses both domestically and for export.

“Metha was brought on board as a key employee as we expand our export footprint and continue to build throughput at our container-packing facility in Oakey, Queensland,” the company said.

Mr Praphakorn is based in Brisbane.

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New GM at AGRIvision

AGRIVISION Consultants has appointed Ed Nixon as its general manager and head of its team of 16 agronomists working with clients in southern Australia’s Wimmera and Mallee districts.

Mr Nixon was previously with IK Caldwell, where he was a regional agronomy manager for the Eastern Murray.

He brings 13 years of agronomic and management experience in various regions throughout New South Wales and Victoria, in private reseller agronomy, corporate-farm agronomy, and agronomic-consultancy businesses.

“I’m excited to be able to lead an already well-established and respected agronomy team, and continue the excellent results and growth of the company,” Mr Nixon said.

He replaces Kent Woodin who left AGRIvision late last year after many years as its general manager.

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Change at Agrocorp

AGROCORP’s Australian division has altered its management structure following the departure in April of CEO Bhuvan Ghandi.

Agrocorp International’s head of pulses Mostyn Gregg is based in Singapore, and said the company has adopted a flat management structure.

This is based on three divisions headed by Peter Horner on finance, Russell Darbey on HR and safety, and Shane Mathieson on site management and packing.

Agrocorp is a global business based in Singapore, and in 2017 bought Associated Grain.

Its site at Dalby on Queensland’s Darling Downs is a major processor and packer of Australian pulses, and also handles cereals and feedgrains.

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Davis steps up to top climate role

FARMERS for Climate Action (FCA) has announced the appointment of its new chief executive officer, Fiona Davis.

Dr Davis, who grew up on a dairy farm in northern Victoria, has held the position of FCA’s deputy director for the past three years and has led the team as interim CEO for the last three months.

Prior to this, she was a journalist and communications consultant, specialising in agriculture and the environment. She also has her PhD in Australian history.

“The conversation around climate is changing rapidly and there is a growing political appetite for how agriculture will achieve a net zero emissions target,” she said.

“At the same time more opportunities are emerging for farmers and regional communities to really benefit from the clean energy transition.

“With the lead up to the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow later this year, as well as a possible Federal election, we have an incredible opportunity to influence much stronger climate commitments.”

FCA chair Charlie Prell said Dr Davis was the ideal person to lead FCA in its work to represent farmers and regional Australians as they worked to address climate change.

“Fiona has the knowledge, skills, relationships and passion for farming which ideally position her to take on this role and provide a smooth transition as FCA enters an exciting new chapter of its work,” he said.

“FCA will continue to be focused on amplifying the voices of farmers and shifting the politics of climate change.”

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New executive officer for Southern Grassland Society

THE Grassland Society of Southern Australia (GSSA) has appointed a new executive officer, its first for many years.

Paris Bell has taken on the role, bringing a background of farming, banking and agribusiness experience to the position.

Board chair Meg Bell said the appointment reflected the strong standing of GSSA as the peak farmer organisation dedicated to transfer of information and technology related to grasslands in south-east Australia.

Paris Bell is from Millicent in South Australia where she lives with her husband Sam and son Harvey on a cropping and cattle property, and also operates a native flower business

She grew up on a cotton and cropping property managed by her parents near Moree in northern New South Wales and has experience working on family properties, as a governess on a cattle station, a banana farm in northern Queensland and on dairy farms while studying a Bachelor of Agribusiness from Marcus Oldham College.

She has worked in retail, agribusiness and small business banking.

Formed in 1959, the GSSA has branches in South Australia’s Limestone Coast, Western Victoria, Gippsland, Albury-Wodonga, Central Ranges, and Mid-Goulburn.

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Cotton industry nominates award finalists

THE Australian cotton industry’s top performers from the past year have been identified, with the announcement of the finalists in the 2021 Australian Cotton Industry Awards.

Cotton Australia chief executive officer Adam Kay said the awards, which recognise resilience and innovation through the cotton supply chain, presented challenges for judges who had the difficult task of assessing nominees.

“We had many high-calibre nominations for this year’s awards program, which was pleasing after a tough few years for our growers, as they managed their operations through drought and the pandemic,” Mr Kay said.

“Our judges had the challenge of whittling down the nominations to select this year’s awards finalists, which I am proud to announce today. The finalists are all high achievers in their own right and have attained significant success in adapting their farming operations to be as efficient and sustainable as possible.”

The finalists in the 2021 Australian Cotton Industry Awards are:

• Bayer Grower of the Year and AgriRisk High Achiever of the Year • Howard Rother, Rother Farming, Cecil Plains, Qld • Ian Carter, Connamara Partnership, Quirindi, NSW • Thomas Popp, RMI Pty Ltd, Goondiwindi, Qld • Tony Quigley, Quigley Farms, Trangie, NSW • Ashley Geldard, Columboola Cotton, Miles, Qld
• ADAMA Chris Lehmann Trust Young Cotton Achiever of the Year • James Kanaley, Kanaley Agricultural Consulting, Griffith, NSW • Emma Ayliffe, Summit Ag, Lake Cargelligo, NSW • Angus Dalgliesh, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Dalby, Qld
• Cotton Seed Distributors Researcher of the Year • Oliver Knox, University of New England, Armidale, NSW • Iain Wilson, CSIRO, Canberra, ACT • Mick Bange, CSIRO (formerly), Narrabri, NSW

Awards recipients will be announced at the 2021 Australian Cotton Collective in Toowoomba in August.

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