Supporting farms and people to succeed

BY the age of ten, Dr Michael Stephens had decided he would become a farm manager.

Leaving school early, he worked as a jackaroo and for a wool firm before he was “tricked” into studying at Marcus Oldham College.

By age 23, he was managing farm properties, which he loved, but realised other pathways in agriculture would be better to fund his children’s education.

“I started Mike Stephens and Associates, initially as a farm management company, which gradually morphed into consulting,” Dr Stephens said.

“I just wanted to work in agriculture, and still do. I love the people side of farming, and the business of farming.”

Now Meridian Agriculture, based in Yendon, the company continues with farm consulting and management, providing evidence-based advice to farmers, agribusiness, and government on pastures and livestock.

As the climate changes and farming innovation progresses, Dr Stephens said he is a champion of science, and of what farmers can do to adapt, renew their practices, and lessen their footprint.

His doctorate was about farm succession planning, and helping families prepare for a farm to be passed to the next generation.

“It’s never to early to start planning,” he said.

As a volunteer, Dr Stephens has put many hours into groups including Marcus Oldham Foundation, BRACE Education and Training, CFA, The SoupBus, and the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, where he’s immediate past president and a long-time board member.

He’s also been a key member of agricultural councils, foundations, institutes, and associations, and is a fellow of both the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology.

He was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust fellowship in 1993 and chaired the organisation’s Victorian primary industry selection committee for 25 years.

“I was brought up in a family where the expectation was that you’d pull your weight in the community,” Dr Stephens said.

“There’s not much ‘I’ in the work we do, it’s done by a team.”

This Australia Day, he’s been named a Member of the Order of Australia in the general division for his service to primary industry and the community.

“I had to ring up the Australian honours system to ask if it was fair dinkum,” he laughed. “I’m chuffed.

“It’s recognition for the organisations, and I’m grateful for the support of my wife, Jo, and our four children, in the things that I’ve done.”