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DOUG HAAS, BFA Chairman
Doug owns and operates a commercial vegetable farm, trading as Red Country Produce, North of Yeppoon, near Rockhampton in Queensland. Apart from the property being certified with ACO.
Doug first became involved in the BFA in 1992 and was asked to become a member of the BFA Board in June of 1996. During the year of 1997, he was appointed to the position of Chairman of the BFA Board, a position he has continued to hold uninterrupted ever since. During this time the BFA has experienced some of the most important and strategical changes in its history. This has been instrumental in preparing BFA, ACO and OGA to assuming the responsibility of assisting and driving the Certified Organic industry in Australia to where it is to-day.
During this time Doug has drawn from his extensive experience in working with governments and their representatives, both at a State and Federal level. It is this lifetime of experience that has assisted Doug in moving the BFA Group forward. This experience has been most important when representing the BFA Group and industry on a number of organic committees over the years.
On the home front, Doug is the Chairman of the Yeppoon District Farmers Co-op, a position he has held for many years. The Yeppoon District Co-op (now with some 400 members) originally was formed to secure and to supply farm inputs for primary producers. However, while continuing to fulfill this role it has made a successful entry into the retail sales area for non-members. With a shrinking number of producers this has been instrumental in ensuring that the Yeppoon district is around for the long haul.
Apart from organic production systems, his family and their farming enterprise, Doug says that his greatest passion is to continually network with members, thus promoting and growing the BFA Group. Known for both his capacity as both a short and long term strategist, to those who are close to Doug you will sometimes here him say “I have been working on that for years.” The BFA Group has certainly benefited from that determination to deliver.
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DR. ANDREW MONK, Director & Standards Convenor
Dr Monk has two decades of experience in organic industry auditing, standards and regulations as well as commercial and management experience across the organic supply chain: organic waste management; horticulture farming ventures; and value adding (food processing).
He has professional training in environmental, food safety, quality and organic auditing systems, and completed a PhD with a focus on organic production systems and sustainability (based upon the Australian ESD in Agriculture White Paper, 1991). He is an adjunct Associate Professor at the University of New England, Armidale, NSW, School of Business, Economics and Public Policy.
He was CEO of BFA between 2000 and 2005 and a Director since 2007.
He is Convenor of the BFA Standards Advisory Group which presides over the Australian Certified Organic Standard which is the certification standard for Australia’s well recognised and awarded organic Bud logo (inaugural winner of the Choice Food Endorsement Program Award).
Dr Monk consults to both public and private entities across the supply chain on environmental, including organic, issues and management systems, while being Managing Director of the environmental sector services company, Mulching Technologies Pty Ltd.
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QUENTIN KENNEDY, BFA Director
Quentin holds a Degree in Agribusiness and was previously theBusiness Manager of BFA and ACO for a number of years. This period of time has given him an intricate understanding of the operational side of the business, as well as the certification process and the organic industry as a whole.
With his family, Quentin owns a major shareholding in Kialla Pure Foods, one of Australia’s leading organic cereal grain processors. Over 18 years of reliable organic production has forged Kialla a hard earned reputation for professionalism and integrity, both locally and in overseas markets. The company mills only 100% certified GMO free organic cereal grains with no cross contamination from non-organic grains.
With background primarily be broad acre grazing production, he also has extensive experience in the entire agribusiness value chain and understands the importance of the roles played by all operators within the industry, both at a national and international level.
He believes passionately in the future of organics and would like to play a part in the ongoing development of the industry.
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HOLLY VYNER, BFA Director
Holly was raised on her family’s sheep and cattle property near Armidale in NSW. In the mid-90’s she completed her studies at University of Queensland in English literature, Spanish and Japanese languages in addition to a Diploma of E-Commerce focusing on marketing principles for applying these to online business systems.
Holly’s professional work experience varies from language teaching and translation, to various forms of certification including ship classification, working in Australia, England, Chile and Japan.
Holly joined the BFA Group in 2004 and working in her capacity as PR Manager expanded the BFA’s PR section from one person to five over three years. Under her management the BFA’s PR section contributed to the BFA’s Bud logo enjoying approximately double the recognition of any other certification logo in Australia according to independent research in 2009.
Since February 2009, in her capacity as General Manager, with the support of several key people, BFA has moved from strength to strength financially, professionally and in credibility it has established inside and outside of the organic industry.
Holly is both passionate and determined to see that BFA continues on its current successful path and the Bud logo becomes synonymous with the Heart Foundation ‘Tick’ for consumers’ guarantee of organic integrity.
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KATRINA HOBBS, BFA Director
Katrina established her own organic business in 1998 identifying a need for top quality certified organic stockfeeds. Country Heritage Feeds became the first certified organic feedmill plant in Australia. From humble beginnings the business has grown from strength to strength, is now well recognised within the organic industry and services many certified organic producers. The business is known for its industry support and involvement, has financially supported many industry events and also industry-based research and development projects including Australian Organic Market Report and Organic Livestock Feeds Research.
Having strong groundings in rural agribusiness, Katrina is heavily involved in her position as CEO of her wider family businesses including one of Australia’s largest hydroponic fruit and vegetable farms and a 25,500 acre certified organic grain and livestock operation. Her years of experience in these roles has opened opportunity for further training including being awarded a federally funded scholarship in 2007 to attend a young entrepreneurs course in Melbourne and a scholarship to complete her Diploma in Corporate Governance through Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) in 2008.
Katrina also has a Bachelor of Business Degree majoring in Human Resource Management and a Diploma in Export Management.
Katrina’s industry involvement and interests has led to her becoming an active member of the BFA Monogastric Livestock Advisory Group for which she has held the position of Convener since 2010.
In addition, Katrina maintains a position on the Board of Directors of the Australian Year of the Farmer. This is a nationwide year-long program scheduled for 2012 in celebration and recognition of the contribution of Australian farmers to our society. Katrina believes the Australian certified organic industry is facing crucial years of significant growth and change and strongly believes it needs to work towards ensuring “sustainability” and growth as it becomes increasingly recognised in the marketplace.
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