![Western Dairy chairwoman Vicki Fitzpatrick will stand down in November and is urging other dairy farmers to nominate for three board vacancies. Western Dairy chairwoman Vicki Fitzpatrick will stand down in November and is urging other dairy farmers to nominate for three board vacancies.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/33nFNZ38FxtadDLYqv8sNRP/cfc9b2f6-b86e-4007-8165-98ab26d6d8e3.jpg/r0_259_3280_3643_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
WESTERN Dairy will lose two of its most experienced directors at its November annual general meeting.
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Current Western Dairy chairwoman Vicki Fitzpatrick, who has a young family and runs a 180 cow dairy herd at Waroona with husband Luke, intends to step down from the board in November after completing a three-year term.
Previous chairman before Ms Fitzpatrick, Grant Evans, who farms with his family, milking 850 cows at Jindong in the South West, also intends to step down in November, a year before his second term is due to finish.
Western Dairy's most experienced director Brian Piesse, who is not actively involved in dairy farming, will complete his second term in November and is eligible to nominate for a third and final term.
Western Dairy on Monday formerly called for nominations for three positions on the five-member board.
According to a statement, Western Dairy is seeking nominations for one dairy farmer director for a three-year term to replace Ms Fitzpatrick, one farmer or non-farmer director with specialist skills for a three-year term for the position currently held by Mr Piesse and a farmer director to fill a 12-month casual vacancy to replace Mr Evans.
Nomination information on the Western Dairy website makes it clear the organisation hopes farmers who nominate for the casual board vacancy will be prepared to nominate again next year for a full three-year term.
Ms Fitzpatrick acknowledged that operating a dairy business was time consuming but said completing a term on the Western Dairy board was a good investment of time for farmers, given the small size of the industry in WA and the opportunity to make a difference.
"People always say it is not until they sit on the Western Dairy board that they get the full appreciation of the suite of services that the organisation provides," Ms Fitzpatrick said.
"Being a director, you'll gain insights into research projects and initiatives that are coming our way and you can help direct the future operations of the organisation.
"I have watched Western Dairy grow and mature from when I was a full-time science professional working on projects funded by Western Dairy in its early days, through to today being a dairy farmer myself.
"I really value its contribution to our business."
It is a requirement of Western Dairy's constitution that at least two of the three people appointed to the advertised positions must be owners or part-owners of a WA dairy business that pays a levy to Dairy Australia.
Nominations close at 5pm, Friday, October 18.
Nominees will be interviewed by a four-person selection committee chaired by WA Farmers dairy section president Michael Partridge.
The selection panel will make recommendations to Western Dairy members at the annual general meeting to be held as part of the annual Western Dairy Spring Forum at Busselton on Thursday, November 21.
Board selection criteria, nomination forms and position descriptions are available at westerndairy.com.au or by contacting executive officer Esther Jones, esther@westerndairy.com.au or 0418 931 938.
Completed nomination forms should be marked confidential and emailed to esther@westerndairy.com.au addressed to The Chair, Western Dairy Selection Panel.
There are 135 dairy farms in WA, down from 159 in 2015.