GRAIN Growers Association (GGA) southern zone board candidate Chris Kelly does not claim to be looking to turn the organisation on its head should he be elected to replace either one of the two incumbent directors Gerry Lane and Spencer Millear.
Rather, the Woomelang, Victoria, farmer says that he is reasonably happy with the direction of the organisation, but says there are reforms that could be made that could boost things further.
A crucial point of difference is that he will not support the board’s motion to disband the GGA’s regional committees in favour of appointed reference groups.
“I like the idea of getting independent directors and adding some balance to the organisation, but in terms of doing away with the regional committees, I think its all been just a little quick, they’ve only just formed the reference group.
“I just think it would be a little hasty to rush in and vote to do away with the regional committees, they could easily use the services of both for a while until the new structure proved itself.
“The last thing we want to do is hurt or offend growers, especially in NSW, where farmers have a different connection to GGA than in Victoria or Queensland, where it’s a relatively new organisation anyway.”
He also said he would like more information on what the new reference group would be doing and what its make-up would consist of, before rushing in to vote for it to be the major source of advice for the organisation.
Mr Kelly said he was largely happy with the direction GGA was taking, by moving from a pure farmer services organisation into a role involving the entire supply chain, manifested by the company’s purchases of BRI and Kondinin Group.
“There are a number of issues within the industry that need someone to look after them, after AWB stopped providing many of these industry good services, and I think GGA is doing a marvellous job of addressing them.
“Things like classification of wheat varieties, the production of a crop report, all these things are going to be very beneficial for buyers of Australian wheat, which is a big plus.”
The Australian wheat industry has the potential to establish a firm brand for itself internationally, he said.
“Other countries have got their brands, the French do food, the Germans have their precision manufacturing, but I think at the moment Australia is mainly renowned for wool and being a quarry for Asia, and I think the wheat industry is in a good position to change this.”
He said he was firmly in favour of the organisation going national, and commended the push for expansion, saying it made sense to make GGA a truly national organisation, but said the focus must remain on being a not-for-profit advocacy group.
“I love the idea of going national, but we must protect that not-for-profit aspect.”
Equally, while he is in favour of diversification, Mr Kelly said GGA needed to maintain its links with state farmer organisations.
“We don’t want to be doing the work of say, the VFF, we don’t want GGA to be a lobby group, but there things we can learn from the state farmer groups.”
“We can work together, and with GGA’s resources, we can find a lot of things the state farmer groups can’t do, but that need to be done, and GGA could get into that.”
Mr Kelly said he had been involved in agriculture for 34 years, and had taken an open approach to farming, which meant he had been at the forefront of many advances.
“I was involved in getting the lentil industry off the ground in Australia, while I have also been a strong advocate of allowing farmers the choice of using GM technology.”
Mr Kelly has been a board member of research group Birchip Cropping Group and a member of the VFF, while he has also spent six years on the GGA’s regional committee.
He acknowledged he would be up against the odds to knock off one of the incumbent directors, but said he was aiming to bring a new voice to the board.
“I know it will be a difficult road to hoe, and for the most part, I am happy with what GGA is achieving, but I thought I could bring a different viewpoint and some new ideas to the organisation.”
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