Growing a great future in Dairy: How Greg Duncan empowers farmers to thrive
At Dairy Australia, practical minds and purpose-driven people come together to shape a stronger future for Australia’s dairy industry. Greg Duncan is one of those individuals. With sleeves rolled up and boots on the ground, he’s spent more than a decade helping farmers turn challenges into opportunities, region by region, farm by farm. Read on to find out how Greg is proving what’s possible when grounded changemakers lead from the front.
Building capability, region by region
The rolling green hills of the New South Wales south coast are where Greg Duncan calls home. It's from this beautiful bushland setting near Huskisson that he's spent the past 11 years making a meaningful impact on dairy farmers across Australia.
"I'm not from a dairy background originally," says Greg. "My parents were immigrants from Ireland and England with potato and sheep experience, but when I got my first opportunity to work part-time supporting sharefarmers at Charles Sturt University dairy, I thought I'd give it a go. The rest is history."
Greg’s willingness to roll up his sleeves and try something new has defined his entire career journey, from university dairy hand to animal health sales, and eventually to his current role developing national programs that support farmers to enhance business decisions.
Today, as Farm Business Lead at Dairy Australia, Greg works with regional teams nationwide to understand what farmers need to build stronger, more resilient businesses. His days are filled with regional engagements, project development and his personal favourite: getting out on farms to work directly with the people who matter most.
Putting farmers first
Greg's path to Dairy Australia wasn't direct. After his university dairy experience, he spent 12 years with Pfizer Animal Health (later Zoetis) in dairy-focused animal health sales. But over time, he realised that product-based roles couldn’t deliver the meaningful impact he was looking for.
"I really wanted to make more of a difference in supporting farmers' businesses, not just their herd health and reproduction. I wanted something deeper," Greg says.
That deeper connection came after a chance encounter with a Dairy Australia regional manager at a workshop in Kangaroo Valley. When she mentioned an opening in extension, Greg followed up with contacts in the region and soon made the leap.
"It was a step change for me. Instead of just asking, 'How are you going today? What can I help you with?' I was having much deeper conversations with farmers about medium to long-term planning, business performance and risk management. That's what I found truly rewarding."
For seven years, Greg worked as an Extension Coordinator with Dairy New South Wales, supporting farmers across the southern half of the state. But it was his involvement in piloting the Our Farm Our Plan program that opened his eyes to even greater possibilities.
The Our Farm Our Plan program represented everything Greg loved about working at Dairy Australia. It went beyond addressing today’s challenges to uncover farmers’ unmet needs and long-term aspirations.
"Seeing how the participants in the program were really switched on and engaged, how it changed their confidence about the future - that was incredibly empowering.”
When COVID-19 hit, Dairy Australia needed to adapt by moving extension delivery online. Greg saw an opportunity to scale impact and put his hand up to transform a three-day face-to-face workshop into a fully online experience.
"I could see the opportunity to bring more farmers through the program and make it more accessible. The program gives farmers the ability to look at their business and their life, and the interconnectedness between the two, in a way they may never have done before."
Growing with purpose
One of the most significant aspects of Greg's journey has been his leadership development. Through programs like the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation, he has learned that authentic leadership often requires vulnerability.
"It's sometimes confronting learning to be more vulnerable, but I've learned that people respond best when you're genuine. It's given me useful skills to support dairy farmers nationally and strengthen my local community, as well."
This leadership growth has opened doors beyond his core role, from training in foot and mouth disease response in Nepal to serving as a director of Local Land Services.
Looking forward, Greg sees strong momentum building through new business-focused initiatives, such as cash flow management, business analysis and strategic decision-making programs. He’s also focused on targeted efforts to help younger farmers and new starters build wealth and stay in the industry long term.
For anyone considering a similar path, Greg's advice is simple:
"Come with an open mind, because just about anything is possible at Dairy Australia. I've had a variety of different roles, yet I can still live remotely in beautiful bushland. If you want to lean in and be genuinely interested in the work you do, there are tremendous opportunities here."