Rick Gladigau has been re-elected as a director and President.
South Australian dairy farmer Rick Gladigau has been re-elected as a director and President of national policy and advocacy organisation Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF), following ADF’s AGM.
The ADF Board remains unchanged as:
• Rick Gladigau, South Australia (President)
• Brian Tessmann, Queensland
• Ben Bennett, Victoria
• Heath Cook, New South Wales
• Andreas Clark, South Australia (Independent director)
Victorian dairy farmers Glenn Britnell and Ian Morris were also candidates in a three-way contest for the one seat on the Board open at this year’s AGM.
Following the AGM, at a meeting of ADF’s Board and National Council, Mr Gladigau was re-elected President for a second 12-month term.
Mr Gladigau thanked ADF members for participating in the election process and, in doing so, supporting the organisation. “I look forward to continuing to lead ADF for the benefit of all dairy farmers,” he said.
“ADF thanks Glenn and Ian for nominating and taking part in the election of a Business director.”
The Board announced the appointment of Mr Stephen Sheridan as Chief Executive Officer of Australian Dairy Farmers.
Mr Sheridan has an extensive background in agriculture with a career spanning 30 years in both corporate and non-for-profit (NFP) agricultural management positions. He is a former CEO of the Victorian Farmers Federation and a current director of Rural Financial Counselling Service Victoria West.
Growing up on a mixed cropping, livestock and irrigation property, Mr Sheridan’s love for all things dairy and agriculture was fostered from a young age.
“Stephen has breadth and depth of corporate and NFP experience, as well as expertise and vision that align with where our Board wants to see ADF in the future,” says Mr Gladigau.
Says Mr Sheridan: “I look forward to working with the ADF Board and team, farmers, members, and the broader industry in a sector which makes high-quality products I enjoy, as do people all around Australia and the world.
“Australia is fortunate to have such a fantastic, clean, green, healthy and abundant supply of essential dairy foods. The outlook for the dairy industry appears positive both domestically and internationally.
“This said, I am eager to better understand and meet the challenges faced by the sector, including the immediate impact of current flooding in eastern states, biosecurity risks such as foot-and-mouth and lumpy skin disease, increasing costs of production and equitable pricing, through to the challenges faced by us all to reduce our carbon footprint and improve our environmental stewardship.”
Mr Sheridan says his priority is to “engage with our farmers, members, industry groups and government to understand these immediate and longer-term challenges and opportunities”.
“My goal is that ADF is an effective advocacy organisation, focused on the sustainability of Australian dairy farmers supplying the dairy products we know and love,” he says.
Says Mr Gladigau of the recruitment process: “An extensive search was conducted across the second half of 2022, revealing a substantial number of applicants from within and external to the dairy sector. The Board would like to express its thanks to all applicants for their time and interest.”