Celebrating 30 Years of GippsDairy

Imagine opening your farm gate, your financial records and your decision-making to over 200 people and doing it voluntarily, because you believe what you learn together is worth more than what you'd figure out alone. That's Focus Farms.

For more than two decades, the Focus Farms project has been one of GippsDairy's clearest examples of what farmer-led learning actually looks like in practice - practical, local, honest and transparent real farm businesses.

The idea is simple but powerful: invite a farming family to open up their business, set clear goals, share their figures, welcome advice and allow other farmers, service providers and industry experts to learn alongside them. One farm's journey becomes useful to many. And over time, the whole region moves forward.

The Focus Farm model is based on a support group of farmers, friends, bank representative, accountant and milk processor staff who meet at least 10 times per year and hold a farm open day twice a year.

Built on trust, honesty and shared experience

The Focus Farms model took root in Gippsland in the late 1990s and quickly proved its worth. In 2005–06, the Focus Farms at Fish Creek, Poowong and Wonthaggi concluded after three years, with families Keith and Susan Straw, Tony and Lisa Bodman, and Jeff and Dianne Brusamarello each opening their businesses to a support group of 12 to 18 people that met monthly to review progress, evaluate the current situation and work through short- and long-term decisions.

What made it different was the willingness of those families to make their goals, decisions and business information visible to others. Each farm maintained a mailing list of more than 200 people receiving monthly reports, meaning the learning travelled well beyond the farm gate.

More than 400 people attended nine Focus Farm open days during that year alone, and another 65 requested copies of notes containing templates they could use to review their own businesses.

Focus Farms was never just about the families involved. It was about creating a structure where one farm's lessons could become useful to many.

Focus Farms have had excellent support from local newspapers, radio stations and key publications such as the Weekly Times and Stock and Land over many years. Each of these media sources offered editorial and weekly reports. Each year there were over 50 updates on production, financials and farm activities data. These articles were followed by farmers in Victoria and interstate.

By 2011–12, the project had become a major part of GippsDairy's farm business management work. That year produced one of the most memorable moments in the program's history, when Loch share farming couple Paul and Louise Sherar - described in that year's annual report as going "full Monty" - opened their entire financial accounts to public scrutiny. Their major asset was their herd. Their motivation was straightforward: openness helps others in similar positions.

The six Focus Farm families finishing that year had achieved their goals around profitability, ease of management and farm ownership, while the project had also developed 10 service providers mentored by the consultants running each group.

Passing knowledge from one generation to the next

GippsDairy Chair John Versteden, who participated in Sean and Jen Allen's Drouin South Focus Farm in 2012–13, described the project as being about something Gippsland dairy farmers had always done - older and wiser heads passing knowledge to the next generation - but now with a formal structure around it. He estimated the payback to the region would be "at least five or six-fold."

That year's Focus Farms reflected the diversity of Gippsland dairy businesses. Sean and Jen Allen had recently bought their first property at Drouin South and used the program to challenge their thinking on fertiliser use, grazing systems, grain feeding and business planning.

Jon and Lauren Ryan at Newry entered because they wanted to grow their business and knew they needed help to do it. Facilitator Craig McWhinney said the Ryans' willingness to listen and take advice was one of the reasons they benefited so much from the process.

At Binginwarri, Trent and Belinda Crawford milked a smaller-than-average herd but brought big ambition to the project. Trent summed up the value of the support group simply: "it’s a no-brainer that 20 minds are better than one."

At Loch, Paul and Louise Sherar used the group's collective wisdom as they planned to grow their herd and build their dairy careers - a clear example of how Focus Farms could support young farmers making strategic decisions about business growth, assets and long-term direction.

The best sign a program is working? When people refuse to let it end.

When the Binginwarri Focus Farm wrapped up, members of the support group chose to keep meeting rather than go their separate ways. Facilitated by on-farm consultant Matt Harms, the local farmers and service providers formed their own discussion group, moving from farm to farm and focusing on immediate decisions - setting up for spring, autumn resowing, whatever was front of mind. No program required. No formal structure. Just farmers who had discovered the value of learning together and weren't ready to stop.

That moment says a lot about what Focus Farms actually created. Not just information, but networks, confidence and momentum that in some cases became entirely self-sustaining.

A Gippsland idea goes national

Focus Farms started as a Gippsland response to Gippsland farming needs. But it became a model others wanted to copy.

By 2013–14, four regions, WestVic, Murray Dairy, DairyTas and Dairy NSW were using components of the Gippsland model for focus farms. GippsDairy Executive Officer Dr Danielle Auldist noted that GippsDairy had initiated the project and, with Dairy Australia's support, had been running it for 14 years. At that point, 13 Focus Farms were being delivered across Australia - all of them built on the "farmers learning from farmers" model that Gippsland had developed and refined.

The 2014–15 round showed how adaptable the model had become, with GippsDairy Projects and Events Co-ordinator Karen Romano describing it as the most diverse in the project's history. Four new Focus Farms began at Leongatha South, Toora North, Mirboo North and the Macalister Demonstration Farm at Riverslea. Dan and Cindy Knee at Toora North were navigating the next-generation takeover of a family farm.

The Macalister Demonstration Farm - a community-owned working dairy research property - challenged the traditional Focus Farm model entirely, generating valuable discussion about corporate-style structures, labour, return on investment and decision-making that a conventional owner-operator farm simply couldn't produce.

Open days remained a central part of the model throughout. A nitrogen discussion day at Tim Cashin's Leongatha South farm attracted almost 100 farmers and service providers - a consistent reminder of the appetite for practical, farm-based learning across the region.

By 2017–18, Focus Farms were still central to GippsDairy's farm business management work. Three farm businesses concluded after two years in the program - Graeme, Jenny and Shaun Cope from Fish Creek; Paul and Lisa Mumford from Won Wron; and Steve Ronalds and Brenton Ziero from Jindivick, each coming away with improved systems and practices.

Three new farms joined the program, reflecting the changing nature of dairy business challenges: the Moon family at Yanakie working through succession and consolidating two herds; Neil and Keryn Gannon modernising infrastructure at Tinamba; and the Campbells and Turners at Yannathan, whose joint equity partnership offered lessons for anyone considering alternative business models.

In 2018, GippsDairy hosted a two-day Australian Dairy Conference tour that included two Focus Farms, Ellinbank Research Farm, Tarago Cheese and a dinner with guest speakers - a deliberate effort to position Gippsland as a region worth visiting and learning from, and to connect regional dairy with national decision-makers.

What Focus Farms proved

For individual farm businesses, Focus Farms helped families set goals, test decisions, improve systems, reduce costs, increase production, manage debt, plan for succession and build more resilient operations.

For support group members, it created a rare opportunity to look closely at another farm business, compare ideas and learn from both success and mistakes.

For service providers, it offered a way to work alongside farmers in a practical, trusted setting.

But the real legacy of Focus Farms is bigger than any of that. It proved that when farmers learn from farmers - supported by skilled facilitators, service providers and a trusted regional organisation - one farm's journey can help move a whole region forward.

The success of just under 40 focus farms in Gippsland over thirty years has been based on critical skills of industry consultant John Gallienne (Gippsland’s Godfather of Focus Farms) and the range of facilitators who have supported focus farms for more than 25 years. Various funders have also contributed to the program's success.

Focus Farm facilitators and mentees 1998 to 2020:

John Gallienne, Brian Walker, Matt Harms, Gavin Mc Clay, John Mulvany, Neil Baker, Jeff Urie, Peter Notman, Ian Teese, Craig Mc Whinney, Annette Zurrer, Donna Gibson, Gerard Murphy, Karen Romano, Ruari Mc Donnell, Matt Hall, Kylie Barrie, Donna Mc Ainch, Peter Gaffy, Andrew Wood, Alison Potter, Jake Frecklington, Chris Potts, Kirsty Evans, Naomi Bakker & Brian Gannon.

Focus Farms is just one chapter in a thirty-year story. In 2026, GippsDairy is celebrating all of them. Built by farmers. Backed by community. 30 years of dedication, delivery and dependability - and there's plenty more to come.

Subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media to stay across every story we tell this year and get in touch if you've got one of your own to share.

Sources:

• GippsDairy Annual Reports
• Focus Farm reaps benefits
• Programs
• Bettering Business with Focus Farming 

One of Gippsland's longest-serving agricultural organisations is marking a significant milestone in 2026 and spending the whole year celebrating the farmers, families and communities who made it possible.

GippsDairy was incorporated in April 1996 with a clear purpose: to give Gippsland's dairy farmers an organisation that understood the region, knew its people and was genuinely invested in their success. Thirty years later, it is still doing exactly that.

GippsDairy Regional Manager Karen McLennan said the anniversary was first and foremost a chance to recognise the people behind three decades of regional dairy.

"This isn't really about the organisation - it's about the farmers and communities who've shaped Gippsland dairy over 30 years," Ms McLennan said. "We've been proud to stand alongside them through good seasons and hard ones, and this year is our chance to make sure their stories get told."

Sarah O’Brien, Gippsland dairy farmer and GippsDairy board chair highlights that GippsDairy understands the needs of dairy farmers in our region and delivers practical support, knowledge and connections that help farm businesses thrive. 

Dairy Australia Chair Paul Roderick congratulated GippsDairy on 30 years of service to Gippsland’s dairy farmers.

“Regional development programs such as GippsDairy sit at the heart of each dairy region, adapting industry services and programs to the farmers and communities they serve and meeting farmers where they’re at,” said Mr Roderick.

“Over the past 30 years GippsDairy has not only delivered for Gippsland’s farmers, they’ve also piloted programs that have gone on to be adapted for use in other dairy regions, highlighting the important role they play in Australian dairy.”

Over three decades, GippsDairy has delivered programs that have shaped the way Gippsland farmers manage their businesses, develop their people and connect with each other. Its Focus Farms project, developed in Gippsland and subsequently adopted by dairy regions across Australia, is one example of local innovation that became national best practice.

Throughout 2026, GippsDairy will mark the anniversary through storytelling, community events and milestone celebrations, including the GippsDairy Muster in April, the AGM in October and the Women in Dairy Ladies Lunch in November.

"Gippsland dairy has a proud history and a strong future," Ms McLennan said. "Our job is to keep showing up for the people who make this industry what it is."

Built by farmers. Backed by community. GippsDairy is celebrating 30 years of dedication, delivery and dependability throughout 2026.