VFF elections: President Emma Germano may face challenge

Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano could face a contested battle for re-election amid concerns over membership and staff turnover.

Victorian Farmers Federation president is set to be challenged for the top job.

Victorian Farmers Federation members are sounding out potential candidates to stand against sitting president Emma Germano.

Ms Germano’s first two-year term is due to end on December 15 and under the VFF constitution the board must call for nominations.
In previous years, most incumbent VFF presidents have re-elected for a second two-year term unopposed. In the event there has been a challenge, the incumbents have won re-election easily.

A number of VFF members have told The Weekly Times they are looking to stand rival candidates amid claims of a declining membership, staffing concerns and a deteriorating relationship with the Victorian Government.

Two former VFF commodity leaders told The Weekly Times they had been approached to stand for president, but declined, arguing the job of rebuilding the federation was too challenging.

Rupanyup grain grower and veteran VFF member Andrew Weidemann said “we’ve seen an exodus of key staff out of the organisation, which is distressing to members because they’ve had a lot of great relationships with them”.

“What we need is a strong plan from all the commodities coming together,” Mr Weidemann said.

The Weekly Times understands membership of the VFF’s largest commodity group — the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria — has declined from 1100 members two years ago to 779 today.

It’s understood last November more than half the VFF’s Chicken Meat Group members, including most of the state’s largest growers, left the federation, with the group’s president, Vince Croston, saying he’d been “sacked” by Ms Germano.

In a letter to chicken-meat grower members at the time Ms Germano said: “as elections within the Chicken Meat Council have not occurred in line with the VFF constitution, all positions have been declared vacant by the returning officer of the VFF, CEO Jane Lovell”.

The Chicken Meat group’s move followed a major restructure of the VFF, led by Ms Germano and implemented by Ms Lovell, which led to divisions within the lobby group as commodity groups were stripped of staff. Ms Lovell has since resigned.

Ms Germano refused to answer questions on her performance, membership or staffing issues.