MENINGIE dairyfarmer Tim Wright believes knowledge is power when it comes to weathering tough times in the industry.
Mr Wright was one of 14 people from each of the eight national dairy regions taking part in the emerging dairy leaders program, and the sole SA representative.
Mr Wright farms at Majesta Dairies with parents Jeff and Anne Wright, milking 400 Aussie Reds.
He grew up on the farm, then spent some time away from the industry building boats.
As the global financial crisis hit, he came back to the farm for a trial run, which turned into a long-term situation.
“I can see myself staying here,” he said. “It’s a lot better lifestyle.”
Following his completion of the DairySA Dairy Bootcamp, he heard about this program and applied.
“I wanted to get a better understanding of how the industry works and maybe steer where the industry is going,” he said.
“At the moment dairy is in a tight situation, but when I applied I was realistic that there would be rocky times ahead. It’s good to be at the front rather than the rear.”
Mr Wright said the program was a good opportunity to gather as much information on the industry as well as meet other like-minded farmers.
“The emerging leaders were an age group from 18 to 50 years old, so they’re not saying emerging leaders need to be young,” he said.
Mr Wright said much of the information he had learnt had been about communicating with the general public.
“It’s about ways to make the public aware, rather than some of the negative stuff that is out there sometimes,” he said.
The program, co-sponsored by Dairy Australia and Australian Dairy Farmers and run by tafeSA, will continue for 12 months and include visits to dairy regions in SA, Vic and Tas, and will result in participants earning a Diploma of Agribusiness Management from the National Centre for Dairy Education.
DA’s industry education program manager Karen Conrad said the scheme will help participants understand themselves and others better while improving communication skills.
“It’s a chance to develop teamwork and build a network of like-minded dairy people with a broad national focus,” she said.
Ms Conrad said the participants were a good range in age, gender and were spread across the eight dairy regions.
“This representative and well balanced mix of participants was not intentional nor was it mandated,” she said. “We were seeking the best applicants – those deemed to be ‘emerging leaders’.”