Mr Meade, a pasture agronomist with the south-west Grass Growers company and a farmer, has so far visited agriculture representative groups in the United States and Canada as part of his scholarship.

He said the American Farm Bureau had massive membership with cheap membership fees but anyone could join it, not just farmers.

It had a very strong presence at field days and a strong focus on face to face contact, finding out how farmers’ seasons had gone, Mr Meade said.

He said American agriculture received substantial government subsidies and it was in the interests of American farmers to have a strong advocacy group to maintain that government support.

In Canada, he visited an Ontario grain research body that also did farmer advocacy.

It was committed to providing real returns on farmers’ investment, Mr Meade said.

He said farm groups had a strong presence in Canada and members were generally satisfied with their representation.

Agricultural production in Canada is heavily regulated such as a quota system for its milk production.

“Protection (of markets) is a big part of their (farm groups’) advocacy,” he said. 

In Australia, which has a much less regulated and subsidised agricultural industry than the US and Canada, farm groups have different goals.

Mr Meade, a former WestVic Dairy board member, said he was keen for Australia’s farm groups to find ways to achieve higher farmgate returns for members.

“All agricultural groups, both here and overseas, are looking for members,” he said.

As part of his scholarship, Mr Meade will next travel to New Zealand and Europe to talk to farm organisations there and their members. He was particularly interested in talking to farm groups in New Zealand that operated in a system similar to Australia’s, he said.

Mr Meade thanked Nuffield Farming Scholarships, the William Buckland Foundation, his employer Grass Growers and his wife Michaela for the opportunity to undertake the scholarship.