Murray Dairy Team

Jenny has a passion for agriculture in the Murray region and a desire to achieve quality outcomes for the dairy industry. She enjoys working closely with dairy farmers and building productive relationships across the industry.

Prior to her role at Murray Dairy, Jenny worked with the Victorian State Government in the agricultural sector, most recently as Program Manager of Dairy and Irrigation Services in the Hume region for the Department of Economic Development Jobs, Transport and Resources.

Jenny graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Science from Charles Sturt University. She also holds an Advanced Certificate in Sustainability, a Diploma of Project Management and, a Diploma of Applied Science (Laboratory Management).

Contact Jenny about: 

• Murray Dairy's strategy and programs
• Industry information
• Industry and regional partnership opportunities
• Corporate and Board activities 

Ross took up a role with Murray Dairy as Extension Officer in Animal Performance after operating his own dairy business for 25 years and working for hay and grain company Feed Central as a supply manager.

Ross has experience in the area as both a farmer and service provider and has developed and maintained relationships with many of Murray Dairy's key stakeholders.

Ross has also participated in the Developing Dairy Leaders Program run by Dairy Australia and the Australian Dairy Federation. Ross was a participant in one of Murray Dairy's first Focus Farms.

Contact Ross about:

• Transition management workshops
• Euthanasia of livestock courses
• Mastitis management and prevention (including Cups On Cups Off courses)
• Downer Cow management courses
• Lameness resources
• Calf management courses

Melva is Murray Dairy's Extension Officer focusing on People and Workforce Development.

Having joined Murray Dairy in 2015, Melva has a sense of arriving home. She grew up on a farm in north-west Victoria before study took her to the city. Melva is actively involved in the Tatura community. 

With professional qualifications in both chemistry and training, Melva brings extensive experience in the education, agricultural, water, laboratory science and industry training sectors.

Contact Melva about:

• Employment, recruitment, managing staff, redundancies or termination
• Wages, employees, entitlements and holidays
• Getting a copy of the ESKi (Employment Starter Kit)
• Succession planning, leasing and shared equity arrangements
• Dairy careers
• Leadership development
• School programs 

Lachlan joined Murray Dairy in June 2016 after 10 years with Agriculture Victoria. He has held several roles including Irrigation and Dairy Program Manager Northern Region, Biosecurity Area Leader - Northern Region as well as the role of Site Leader for the Tatura site of the Department of Economic Development Jobs, Transport and Resources.

Contact Lachlan about:

• Registering for our one-to-one consultations
• Farm Business Fundamentals course
• Dairy Farm Business Analysis course
• Our Farm Our Plan business planning program

Bec has always had a passion for agriculture which stemmed from growing up on her families beef farm and her mum share farming a dairy. Bec then went on to working on a range of dairy and beef farming systems in different roles. She's completed her Cert III in Agriculture and Bachelor of Agriculture Science, graduating in 2017.

Bec joined the Murray Dairy team in 2021 after working in the stockfeed industry for 3.5 years as a ruminant nutritionist, servicing customers in the Northern Victoria region. She is passionate about helping and guiding people within the industry to drive optimum production for their business

Contact Bec about:

• YDN groups and events
• Animal performance
• Cups on, Cups off
• Rearing healthy calves
• Euthanasia workshops
• Transition/dry cow management
• Fertility

Russell took up a role with Murray Dairy as the Extension Officer for Our Farm Our Plan having spent the past 30 years working in the Dairying & Animal Health industries across the Goulburn Valley.

Russell has had experience running his own dairy farm and also as a service provider developing relationships with many of Murray Dairy's key stakeholders.

Contact Russell about:

• Delivery of Our Farm, Our Plan
• Farm Fitness Checklist
• General Murray Dairy extension courses available
• Regional Network Groups and the Regional Extension and Education Committee (REEC)

Amy came to Murray Dairy as Project Manager for the Accelerating Change project. Her current role involves the management of strategic projects across change management and future directions for the dairy industry in northern Victoria.

Amy grew up on the family farm in western Victoria where she experienced the ups and downs of the cropping industry through various seasonal conditions and took this understanding to a wide degree of studies in agricultural science at the University of Melbourne, Deakin University, University of New England and Charles Sturt University.

Before moving to northern Victoria, Amy worked in project management and policy development for Dairy Australia, the Federal Department of Agriculture and the Grains Research and Development Corporation. Her enthusiasm for advancement in agriculture is shown through her previous positions as Chair of the Victorian Farmers' Federation Young Agribusiness Professionals and Chair of the National Farmers' Federation Innovation Committee.

Contact Amy about:

• The industry context - policy, environment, climate
• The Dairy Industry Regional Strategy for northern Victoria
• Murray Region Feedbase RD&E strategy
• The Agronomy Network
• Outcomes of the Accelerating Change project
• New and upcoming investments to support our region

Megan joined the Murray Dairy team in January 2015 as Project Administration Officer. Megan has worked professionally in the financial and legal administration field for over 20 years.

Megan brings a wealth of administrative experience to the team enabling the organisation to achieve its goals. Having grown up in the area, Megan enjoys supporting and learning more about the dairy industry in the region.

Liz has been with Murray Dairy since mid-2015. In her role, Liz assists with the organisation of events, manages the Murray Dairy website and associated data and provides general administration support to Murray Dairy staff.

Liz has worked in the dairy industry for many years in a number of roles including, pasture and animal research with Agriculture Victoria, milk quality control with Tatura Milk Industries and running a dairy farm with her husband for 15 years.

Liz enjoys working with and helping people in the community. She had held a number of voluntary service positions with the local Kyabram community where she is still actively involved in the Kyabram Netball Association.

Yvette brings her breadth of research experience in the dairy industry to the newly created role of Research and Innovation Design with Murray Dairy. Working part time, Yvette will split her week between Murray Dairy and Agriculture Victoria, continuing ongoing work at the Tatura site. Yvette's lengthy experience and keen passion for agricultural research will see her achieve best outcomes for Farmers and Industry, particularly through work on some of Murray Dairy’s key feedbase projects.

Jo has a background in the pasture and forage industry ranging from agronomy to management roles in Australia and Overseas. Jo's early career involved her traveling throughout Northern Victoria and into the Riverina during a period where at times conditions were less than ideal. She developed an admiration for people farming in the regions and an affinity for the farming and ecosystems within it.

Jo graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science Agriculture, holds a Diploma of Applied Science in Natural Resource Management and Cert IV in Training and Assessment. She has experience running her own beef property and has held a position on the Grasslands Society Central Committee.

Contact Jo about:

Natalie graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2015 with a Bachelor of Agriculture, majoring in Production Animal Health. After a brief stint in State Government working in livestock health and welfare, Natalie worked as agronomist for five years in North-Western Victoria. During this time, she has been exposed to high-value irrigation before moving into a commercial agronomy role in the dairy industry.

Natalie has a keen interest in maximising a growers return on investment through sustainable, timely and proactive decision making. She is also an advocate for empowering others through knowledge transfer. Natalie has a particular interest in rural and regional resilience and is a graduate of the Loddon Murray Community Leadership Program.

Contact Natalie about:

• Summer and winter cropping
• Pasture management
• Autumn and Summer start-up
• Fodder courses including Feeding Pastures for Profit and Top Fodder silage