Michael owns and operates an irrigation farm in the Denimein Irrigation District, northwest of Deniliquin, within the area of operation of Murray Irrigation. Michael has a strong focus towards a mixed irrigation system focusing on crops including rice, cereals and pasture. He has an intense interest in constantly improving the efficiency of irrigation farming and has been regularly involved in many R&D projects including variety trials, irrigation trials and agronomic techniques. Michael has strong involvement in irrigation off farm with his present roles being a non-executive directors for Murray Irrigation Ltd, Chairman of the Irrigation Farmers Network and a representative on the newly established Regional Cropping Solutions Committee – Irrigation Zone.

Stuart is an Irrigated Cropping farmer based at Numurkah in northern Victoria. After running a large-scale Dairying operation for 22 years, Stuart and his wife Kate decided to sell the dairy herd and move into Irrigated cropping in early 2008. Stuart believes passionately in the contribution of irrigation to the Australian Agricultural sector. The significant reduction in production risk that Irrigated Cropping offers the Hodge farming operation has led Stuart to combine leading-edge agronomic advice with aggressive grain marketing techniques that he believes is relevant to all Irrigated Cropping enterprises. Stuart joined the committee of the ICC in October 2011.

Ray runs a 240 hectare property located at Yalca in Northern Victoria, with a 100 per cent gravity irrigation system, he grows maize, canola, wheat, barley, faba beans. He has been growing corn for 30 years and has seen average yields increase from 10t/ha to 8t/ha as a result of new varieties and sowing technology. While the Thorntons sow more land to cereals than they do to maize, it is maize that has largely driven Ray’s adoption of new technologies, which includes pioneering strip-tilling in Australia along with innovations in seeding and fertiliser applications. Ray is a founding board member of Irrigation Farmers Network.   

Graeme has been involved with ICC since it first commenced and has a strong interest in irrigation. Farming for well over 40 years, first on his parent's dairy farm at the age of 15, and then leasing and share farming around Echuca.  Graeme and his wife Michelle bought a farm between Boort and Kerang in 2006 and now grow processing tomatoes and maize on trickle irrigation during the summer months and cereals, canola and some pulses during the winter months utilising border check flood irrigation and still share farms at Echuca with dry land crops. Graeme is a founding board member of Irrigation Farmers Network.  

Craig has been an irrigation cropping farmer for 30 years and has grown a wide range of crops including wheat, barley, canola, oats, field peas, faba beans, maize, soybeans and sunflowers. He has a range of experience gained from a combination of working and learning from other farmers and research and development, on-farm trial work and observations. Craig is interested in innovation and striving to advance irrigation management and irrigated cropping. He is currently the Chair of the Shepparton Water Service Committee of Goulburn Murray Water and previous member of the GRDC Irrigation Areas Regional Cropping Solutions Committee.

Evan is co-manager of the family farm business with his parents John and Helene. Their 1000ha property ‘Clontarf’ includes 400ha of flood and sprinkler irrigation. They use no-till production systems, continuously cropping cereals, oilseeds, pasture and fodder. They mostly grow Wheat, Canola, Oat Hay, Lupins, Adzuki Beans, Lucerne Hay and Corn. Evan completed a Nuffield in 2010 investigating trace elements, is a previous chair of Riverine Plains Inc and finalists in the 2020 Zimmatic Sustainable Irrigation awards.

Glenn operates a mixed farming enterprise with wife Hayley. west of Echuca.  Enterprises include sheep and irrigated grain, including specialty seed crops, cereal grains, hay and canola. Glenn has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Agriculture) and a Graduate certificate in Rural Science (Agricultural consulting). Glenn has been involved in the dairy industry helping farmers achieve better productivity and profitability outcomes on farm, for most of his working life. He sees the IFN is an important industry asset to both grain and dairy farmers, generating real solutions to challenges on farm.

Rob resides in Darlington Point and manages NSW sales territory as agronomist for multinational plant nutrition and soil health Co., Omnia Specialities Australia. Maintaining Omnia’s wholesale business with his NSW customers, Rob passion is for better biological soil health see’s him working with irrigated row crop, horticulture, irrigated and dryland broadacre and dairy. He has in-field experience since the 90’s in row crops such as cotton, corn, nuts, and grapes, along with broadacre cereals, rice, pulse crops, oilseeds, and pasture forages.

Kimberley works for Local Land Services (LLS) in the agricultural advisory team based in Deniliquin. She has been with LLS since early 2019 and her core work focuses on two key projects: 1) persistence and productivity of irrigated pasture species and their impact on soil carbon; and 2) working with the rice industry to develop a sustainability framework that will help growers showcase their sustainability credentials, improve industry social licence and help maintain market access. Kimberley grew up on an irrigation property in the Deniliquin area that produces wool, prime lambs, and rice, and has completed a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science from Charles Sturt University. Kimberley is currently share farming a small block with her siblings growing rice and wheat. 

Scott has a Bachelor Degree in Applied Science (Agriculture). Scott comes from a farming background (Based at Rochester) before studying and entering the industry working with a seed company from Melbourne. Scott first become involved with the IFN when working with Pioneer seed in 2008. Scott now lives in Moama with his family working with specialty and liquid fertilisers since June 2012, and with SLTEC since early 2016 working in Northern Victoria as a Technical Agronomy Manager.

Dale currently works in the climate team of the Agriculture Victoria grains branch and is also the rural recovery coordinator for the Shepparton response division. Now residing in Moama, he has worked in DPI since 1999, was brought up on a farm in Calivil and has a background in irrigated mixed farming. Dale attended Dookie Agricultural college where he learned more about his irrigated farming interest and background. Projects Dale has been involved in include both the double cropping project and the irrigation technology project that had a high utilisation of soil moisture monitoring equipment. Dale is currently working on a project called risk management through soil moisture monitoring, where he coordinates the moisture probe network for Victoria and data display for a greater understanding of the seasonal conditions. Recently Dale has moved into more specialised areas including rural recovery work and is the Ag Vic representative for field assessments with plague locust responses.

Pat is an agronomist based out of Elders Swan Hill, specialising in broadacre cropping, pastures and rice. He graduated from Dookie College in 2018 with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science, before moving overseas for a year to work on a dairy farm in England. He then pursed an agronomy role in the VIC Mallee, where he has close ties with family farms at Sea Lake, Nandaly and Wycheproof. His passion in irrigated cropping is soil health and irrigation efficiencies.