DFMC Board of Directors
The DFMC Board’s primary role is to manage the business of the Co-operative, provide leadership and ensure maximum returns to members. Currently there are five board members (with the South Australian position vacant): four DFMC members elected by the membership base and one independent director appointed for their expertise in finance and business management.
Board members are elected for four year terms. The chairman is then elected by the DFMC Board at the first board meeting after each annual general meeting.
DFMC’s Executive Officer also meets with the Board, but is a non-voting member.
Trevor Middlebrook
Director – Chair
Trevor Middlebrook has been a member of the DFMC Board since December 2021 having served on the DFMC board from 2004 to 2013. Trevor farms near Gloucester in NSW with two of their children, Olivia and Thomas, co-managing the family farm. This will be the fourth-generation of Middlebrooks on Bowman Farm over nearly 100 years. The coming year will see us milk in excess of 500 cows producing over 4.75 million litres a year.
Trevor has a Diploma of Agriculture (Tocal), and has held a number of roles in the dairy industry including Director of Dairy NSW, Chairman on NSW Ready Future Dairy Committee and Chairman of Gloucester / Taree Dairy Farmers MILC Committee.
Michael Scales
Independent Director
Michael has joined the board in January 2024. Michael is a successful director and business manager with over 30 years experience across a number of industry sectors including industrial business-to-business with Monsanto, fast moving consumer goods with BIC Australia becoming managing director, and agribusiness as an owner of Countrywide Pet Foods.
James Geraghty
Director
James Geraghty has been a member of the DFMC Board since 2009 and works, with his wife Sari, on their dairy farm in Millaa Millaa on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland.
His family moved to the area from Lismore in 1932 and have been dairy farming since then. James purchased his farm with his parents in 1981. James and his wife currently milk 230 cows year round and have an annual production of 1.4 million litres a year.
James is the District Chairman and State Councillor for Far North Queensland for the Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation and has an Advanced Diploma in Agriculture.
Andrew Wilson
Director – Deputy Chair
Andrew has been a member of DFMC since 2018 becoming a Ward Representative in 2020. He was invited to join the board as the region 5 (Victoria) representative in a non-voting, observers’ capacity and was then formally appointed to the board in August 2022.
Andrew has been milking 180 cows on the family’s 330-acre farm at Strathmerton in Northern Victoria for 13 years. The farm engages very little outside labour, has flood irrigation infrastructure and calves twice a year. Andrew has an Advanced Diploma in Agriculture.
Wife Jodie runs a real estate business in Cobram, and they have 4 children, with the older 2 at university.
Ross McInnes
Director
Ross was appointed as director for Region 2, South East Queensland, in November 2023 filling a casual vacancy. He has been involved in dairy farming for more than 45 years at Harrisville, one hour south west of Brisbane. The farm is a family partnership which milks up to 500 cows and produces up to 4 million litres per annum in a partial mixed ration system. Ross has been involved in various industry boards and committees since 1997 including Sub-tropical Dairy Program from 2004 to 2017 with 7 years as chair and advocacy body Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation (QDO) as a state councillor from 2003 to 2019.
Meet DFMC’s Executive Officer
Mark Kebbell
Executive Officer
Mark Kebbell joined Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative as Executive Officer in October 2016 and is responsible for the operations of the co-operative, including the development and implementation of its strategic vision in conjunction with the Board.
Before joining DFMC, Mark held general management positions in the automotive services sector including Assist Australia, Allianz Insurance and Manheim.
Mark has a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey University in New Zealand and an MBA (Exec) from the University of Queensland.