Ebony Mull, Laura Thompson, Elise Hill and Sarah Glass at the Dare to Dairy Dinner. Photo: Supplied
More than 110 Alpine Valley dairy farmers were recently treated to a night of fun and networking at the Dare to Dairy Dinner and presentation of the Udderly Grateful award — recognition of a tireless dairy advocate and supporter.
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Running with the theme “positively dairy”, the focus of the dinner was to highlight the excellence within the region and encourage a continued focus on the positive aspects of dairying.
Attendees also had the opportunity to hear from esteemed keynote speaker Esther Price, an agriculturalist, adventurer, plane crash survivor and past executive officer of Western Dairy.
Esther spoke about her own experiences and the importance of a positive mindset, fitness and sleep.
Chair Ebony Mull said the event was a huge success.
“Everyone seemed happy and the feedback we received was really positive. It was a great atmosphere and we had some really good vibes on the night,” Ebony said.
She said this was the third running of the event, which initially came about after the Murray Goulburn milk price crash.
“Farmers were pretty disgruntled at the time after the clawback and the original idea of the night was to get our farmers in the same room just to have a conversation because things were so tough,” Ebony said.
The event was meant to be bi-annual, but the COVID-19 pandemic derailed that and it has been three years since the last one.
“The dinner was a great networking night and with the tough season behind us now, our spring is going really well,” Ebony said.
“Our farmers now want it to become an annual event, a bit like the old Murray Goulburn Christmas party, as a chance to get together and talk about the industry and celebrate our achievements.”
She said a highlight of the night was watching industry stalwart Pat Glass receive the Udderly Grateful award, a celebration of the many hours and hard work he has put into the industry over the years.
“Pat has always seen the benefit in raising awareness about the positives in the dairy industry, finding solutions for issues needing attention and rolling up his sleeves and chipping in when times are tough,” Ebony said.
Pat received the award from respected industry professionals and drawcard speakers John Mulvany and Ian Gibb, who also gave insights about their time in the industry.
Ebony a vet, returned to the family farm during the pandemic.
Her family milks 220 cows at Gundowring.
“I like to go to events and get out and about to see and learn as much as I can,” Ebony said.
Hence her involvement in Alpine Valley Inc.
“The group was looking for a change in direction, so I jumped on board because no-one else would put their hand up,” she said.
Ebony has also been involved with Dairy Australia Ambassador Program and the Young Dairy Network.
“We had 50 people come to our YDN mastitis night as there has been quite a few young people come back to the region to take up share farming/working opportunities,” she said.
She said it was important to hold relevant events to keep people connected and interested, especially in a tough year like this one with a downturn in milk price.
“We have so many great older farmers and they have a role to mentor us and pass on their industry knowledge and wisdom for both the good and bad times and we need to keep that connection,” she said.
Meaghan Daly, Julie Hourigan and Linda Van der Weyde enjoy the dinner.
