Dairy farmers' peak national body needs relevance reset, Richardson says

Given a "clean sheet of paper", he said, the national body would have a very different relationship with farmers and state dairy organisations.

"I'd have an organisation that had a strong base of direct membership as part of its structure," Mr Richardson said.

The ADF had served the industry well for decades but it was designed by earlier generations who attended town hall meetings with guest speakers who answered questions fed to them through the state bodies.

Things had changed.

"There's a mismatch between the structures we've got, the way that it operates and the way that the wider world is presented," Mr Richardson said.

"I'd try and make it so that it was relevant, not to my generation but to the next group of farmers who are not our members.

"What is it that they would seek from an organisation representing their interests?

"We haven't done enough of that work yet.

"We haven't sought to understand what a formal organisation looks like and how it should act to meet their needs."

He said direct membership and better resourcing would allow ADF to improve communication with the grassroots using the latest digital technology.

Frustration with the existing structure had led to the creation of rival groups like NSW's Dairy Connect but he said the solution required fundamental change to the advocacy system.

"You can't do it by taking one party out and replacing it with something that's similar, it has to be significant change that's going to have an impact," he said.

"If you look at Dairy Connect, how different is it to what we do already?"

Some of that frustration, however, was no doubt linked to ADF's policy development process, Mr Richardson said, which was constrained by its legal structure.

"You're governed by the the Corporations Act and so you've got legal obligations, and you've got the expectations of your members as well," he said.

"You've got to ensure you get the right balance.

"Governance means that your first obligation is to the organisation, whereas I think that members rightfully say, 'Well, what about us? What about me? Where do I fit in all this?'." Its conservative lobbying style also had its detractors and he said there were others who were more "strident and direct".

"Some of our members have said 'you should be more upfront, you should be there waving the banners and shouting on our behalf'," he said. "Also at the same time, you're trying to maintain the relationships and your standing with those who ultimately make the policy decisions."

The stagnation of the Australian Dairy Plan in regard to advocacy reform was not a wasted opportunity, Mr Richardson said, but a "work in progress" and there was still hope for significant change.

The most significant roadblock was the conflicting interests of state organisations.

"Put yourself in the position of a state organisation, you've got a lot invested in the culture, the history, the status you have within that particular region," he said.

"Why do you need to change, what is it that's going to be of benefit to you?"

He said an alternative structure would have the state organisations deal with cross-commodity issues.