VFF Policy Council

VFF contacts
Graeme Ford 
Rhian Fisher 

VFF President
Andrew Broad
Andrew Broad was elected President of the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) in June 2009. Andrew is the Manager of a 1,800ha farming business (owned, share farmed) in Bridgewater, central Victoria, having purchased his first property at 22 years of age. Andrew won the prestigious Nuffield Scholarship in 2005.

Andrew is a past Victorian Director of the Future Farmers Network and is a former Board Member of the VFF Young Agricultural Professionals having previous held the position of Chairman. Andrew was a member of the Rural Industries Youth Advisory Group, and has advised the former Howard Government on biotechnology and agriculture.

Andrew is the recipient of an Australia Day Award in recognition of community service as well as the winner of the VFF Young Farmer Challenge award.  In 2006 he was one of twelve Australian delegates at the International Federation of Agricultural Producers World Young Farmer Congress in Buenos Aires Argentina.

Andrew held the position of Vice President of the VFF in 2008 – 09.

Vice President
Bob Watters

Dep Vice President & Market Security Committee Chair
Ailsa Fox
Ailsa has a family farming business producing beef, lamb and wool. As well as being the President of the Livestock Commodity for four consecutive years she has also been a Director of the Goulburn Broken Catchment Authority for nine years, and was formally a Councillor for the Shire of Mansfield, a Commissioner of the Shire of Murrindindi and a delegate to Cattle Council of Australia.

Treasurer
Aeger Kingma
Aeger worked as Dairy farmer for a year on his parents farm and then went back to school and qualified with a B Bus (Accounting) Dip Ed. Aeger has been working as an accounting teacher for the last 10 years and for the last 20 years he has been involved in the pig industry.  Aeger is also part owner of a piggery business in Northern Victoria.

Aeger has had strong involvement with industry matters including;

• Chair of the VFF Pig Commodity group for a total of five years
• Past VFF board member representing small commodity group Pig, Eggs and Chicken meat
• Member of AWAC for intensive animal industries.
• Current Board Member of Australian Pork Ltd being member of the following sub committees of that Board;  Audit and Risk Committee; Animal Welfare committee

VFF Commodity Representatives

Horticulture President
Rien Silverstein
Rien is the partner in a family orchard at Orrvale close to Shepparton Victoria. The business has 45.75 Hectares, two orchards, of pome fruit supplying and the Australian fresh fruit markets. Personally she is responsible for the financial management, bookkeeping, OHS and socially the involvement that the 35 seasonal employees bring to the orchard.

History of involvement
• Water services member for Shepparton
• Northern Vic Sustainable Water Strategy Working Group
• Irrigation Futures Technical Working Group
• Farm and Environment DPI Working Group Goulburn Valley
• GVWinHort Coordinator
• Shepparton City Council Drought Recovery Committee
• AWiA –Aust Women in Agriculture member
• WIPIAP- Women in Primary Industries Advisory Panel to Minister for Ag
• Goulburn Valley Pear Fest 2009 Convener

Previous Board Positions
• Fruit Growers Victoria
• Women on Farms 2007- Chair

Pigs
Claire Penniceard

Eggs
Meg Parkinson
Meg Parkinson represents the Egg Group on Policy Council.  She has a free range egg farm in South Gippsland and is on the Executive of the Egg Group.

Livestock
Chris Nixon
Chris Nixon is a beef and dairy producer from Orbost.  Operating a 950ha property at Orbost and managing a 1,500ha property in East Gippsland. Chris’s properties contain 500 dairy cows and 1000 beef cattle, which compromises of a self replacing Angus herd mainly producing store cattle for the feedlot market.

He has been involved in the VFF at a range of levels since 1987 ranging from Branch Secretary to Policy Council positions during that time. Chris has a strong history of experience on the VFF Economics Committee and is currently the VFF’s representative on the Cattle Council Australia (CCA) and the Southern Australian Beef Research Council (SABRC).

Chicken
Chris Jones

UDV
Chris Griffin
Chris Griffin is a dairy farmer in Moe and has more than 34 years experience in dairy farming, having begun his career as a farm hand at his parent’s property just north of Moe in 1971. After a brief stint as a Boiler Maker Trade

Assistant at the State Electricity Commission, Chris returned to the 118ha dry land farm in 1980 where he has remained, raising a family and growing his business.  Chris began his involvement in the UDV in 1980, and has held many positions at the local level including Branch President, Branch Secretary and District Council President. He has had a strong history of involvement in industry matters having been a Board Member and Chairman of West Gippsland Herd Improvement and Chairman of the CowTime Advisory Committee.

Since 2005 Chris has been the UDV Central Councillor for District Council 7 and has also held the position of UDV Deputy President since 2007. Chris is currently a Board Member of Australian Dairy Farmers.

Grains
Russell Amery
Russell Amery is a grain grower in Charlton.

Russell completed a motor mechanic apprenticeship, before returning to the family farm in 1984 in time for harvest, where he has remained, clocking up a number of education certificates along the way including further studies in Farm Management and Wool Classing.

Throughout his involvement in his local VFF, Russell served as a Branch and DC Secretary before being elected to the position of Grains Councillor. In 2003 he was elected by his Council peers to the Executive, and in 2005 was elected by Conference to the position of Vice President of the VFF Grains Group.

Russell brings a wealth of experience from within the grains industry to the role, having grown wheat, barley, canola, field peas, lupin and vetch over the last ten years. On his property, 20 kilometres north of Charlton on the Avoca river flood plain, he currently produces wheat, barley and vetch as they have proved the safest crops in the current climate.

VFF Policy Committee Representatives

Industrial
Alan Bowman

Land Management
Gerry Leach

Farm Business and Regional Development
Simon Ramsay
Simon Ramsay is a fourth generation farmer, who owns and manages a farm at Birregurra, running sheep, prime lambs, and cattle and raised bed cropping.

His family has been a member of the Victorian Farmers Federation since 1975 and during that time Simon has been actively involved with the organisation through its committees and councils.  Some of the positions he has held have included:

Current
• Chair VFF Farm Business & Regional Development
• VFF Policy Councillor since 1997

Past
• VFF President from 2005 - 2009
• VFF Board member since 2002
• Farrer House Board member since 2002
• VFF Finance Sub-Committee since 2004
• President VFF Livestock Group
• Vice President VFF Pastoral Group
• Vice President WoolProducers
• Chairman VFF Wool Committee
• Corangamite Pastoral Councillor
• Member National OJD Management Committee
• Member National Emergency Animal Disease Committee
• VFF Animal Health and Quarantine Committee
• VFF Wool Committee
• Vice Chairman Corangamite Rural Counselling Service
• President Birregurra VFF Branch
• Secretary Birregurra VFF Branch
• Secretary VFF Colac District Council
• President Birregurra Primary School Council

Water Council
Richard Anderson
Richard Anderson is a mixed farmer from Bamawm.  Richard has chaired the VFF Water Resources Committee since 2006.  He has also successfully chaired the Rochester/Campaspe Water Services Committee, a stakeholder group for Gouburn-Murray Water, for the past 25 years as well as chairing the Campapse Deeplead Water Supply Protection Area Consultative Committee. Richard is involved in the Echuca and Rochester Victorian Farmers Federation branches.

Richard also serves on a number of reference committees including
• Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy
• National Farmers Federation (NFF) Water Taskforce
• Stakeholder Consultative Committee for Government Buy-Back of Water
• NFF Technical Working Group and salinity reference