Piesse to join Western Dairy board

Western Dairy, the organisation that sits under Dairy Australia to drive dairy research and extension activities in WA, has announced the appointment of a new director.

Busselton businessman and former fertiliser industry stalwart Brian Piesse has been appointed to the specialist director position, replacing retiring director, Kirk Reynolds of CSBP.

Mr Piesse's appointment was ratified at the group's annual general meeting last month, along with the reappointment of Boyanup farmer Vic Rodwell, who stood successfully for a second term.

Mr Rodwell, known for his passion for research and preparedness to road test new pasture and farm management systems, is currently vice-chair of Western Dairy.

According to Western Dairy chairman Dale Hanks, the recent AGM and spring field day - attended by more than 100 dairy farmers and service providers - was a "coming of age" for the organisation.

"With so many projects and activities being funded, this was an opportunity to really showcase to our levy payers that their investment is being astutely spent on activities that will provide direct benefit to them," he said.

Mr Hanks said one of the most popular services currently being offered by Western Dairy was the complementary dairy energy audit, where an assessor goes on-farm to identify areas of possible energy saving in the dairy shed.

"We have had many farmers who have gone through this process remark to us how much value they received out of the exercise," he said.

Other projects were highlighted in the area of fertilisers and dairy-farm compost production.