WestVic Team
Lindsay leads the team at WestVic Dairy. Before starting at WestVic Dairy in 2016, he established a career in the agricultural industry spanning a number of sectors including consulting, accounting, academia and government.
He was a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne's Glenormiston Campus for 14 years, leading the business management section. More recently, Lindsay managed the business development team in the Barwon South West Region with Regional Development Victoria.
He returned to the dairy farming sector with a passion to see the industry thrive.
Amanda Heard
Project Support Officer
Born and raised at Terang, Amanda started with WestVic Dairy in July 2010 with a background in organisational administration and small business. She developed her skills in educational administration over many years at Glenormiston College.
Amanda’s role includes organising event catering, taking RSVPs and making sure everything runs smoothly within the organisation. Amanda is known for her friendly voice answering the phone and is always happy to help.
Libby Swayn
Project Coordinator and Regional Extension Officer - Land Water and Climate
Libby is the coordinator of office operations including human resources and people, finance, and Project Officer Support. Libby works as Regional Extension Officer one day a week and also supports the WestVic Dairy Executive Officer and the WestVic Dairy Board.
Libby and her husband Rod run a dairy farm and Holstein Stud at Nalangil, outside Colac.
Monday to Thursday
Liza Fahey
Project Officer
Liza was raised on a south-west Victorian dairy farm and now farms with her husband at Terang. She is a great contributor to many community activities.
Laurie Hickey
Regional Extension Officer - Farm Business Management
Michelle Muir
Regional Extension Officer - Workforce Planning
Michelle was brought up on a sheep property on the northern edge of the WestVic Dairy region and is now dairy farming with her partner at Simpson.
Peter Gaffy
Regional Extension Officer - Feedbase
Peter joined the team in 2015 and takes responsibility for feedbase extension. He grew up on a dairy farm at Ardmona in northern Victoria and graduated from Dookie College with a degree in Applied Science Agriculture. Peter lives in Allansford with his wife Fiona, daughter Lucy and son James.
For more than 10 years, Peter has worked as a milk supply officer across Tasmania, Gippsland and south-west Victoria. These roles helped Peter develop strong working relationships within the dairy industry.
Debbie Twiss
Regional Extension Officer - Animal Health and Performance
Debbie is WestVic Dairy's extension officer responsible for Animal Health and Performance. Debbie qualified as a vet from Massey University, New Zealand in 1996.
Since graduating, she has always preferred working with dairy cattle and has spent the last eight years working in south-west Victoria for The Vet Group at their Allansford practice.
Matt Wood
Marketing and Communications Officer
Matt grew up on the family farm in the Lake District, England. After completing ag college he worked on several farms before travelling to Australia where he met his now wife Sally.
Following 10 years working as a paramedic both in England and Australia, Matt has now returned to the dairy industry as the Marketing and Communications Officer at WestVic Dairy.
Heather Smillie
Regional Extension Officer - Young Dairy Network
Heather joins the team as our Young Dairy Network coordinator and is motivated to help the YDN grow into an exciting network that connects, inspires and empowers young people to build long and successful careers in the dairy industry.
Heather previously worked for the Victorian Farmers Federation in policy advocacy, project management and communications. Prior to that she completed a Master of Agricultural Science at the University of Melbourne.
Jim Burrell
Careers Development Coordinator
Jim has taken on a new position at WestVic Dairy. The Careers Development Coordinator role aims to identify and promote career pathways for dairy farmers, farm employees and industry service providers.
Jim has been involved in the dairy industry in western Victoria for almost 30 years. During this time he has held various positions, including working with Victorian College of Agriculture and Horticulture and the University of Melbourne running the apprenticeship and traineeship program out of the Cobden sub campus. He has also worked in the employment field and as a teacher.