BY the age of ten, Dr Michael Stephens had decided he would become a farm manager.<\/p>\n
Leaving school early, he worked as a jackaroo and for a wool firm before he was \u201ctricked\u201d into studying at Marcus Oldham College.<\/p>\n
By age 23, he was managing farm properties, which he loved, but realised other pathways in agriculture would be better to fund his children\u2019s education.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started Mike Stephens and Associates, initially as a farm management company, which gradually morphed into consulting,\u201d Dr Stephens said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to work in agriculture, and still do. I love the people side of farming, and the business of farming.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
His doctorate was about farm succession planning, and helping families prepare for a farm to be passed to the next generation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never to early to start planning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 Institute, where he\u2019s immediate past president and a long-time board member.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
He was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust fellowship in 1993 and chaired the organisation\u2019s Victorian primary industry selection committee for 25 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was brought up in a family where the expectation was that you\u2019d pull your weight in the community,\u201d Dr Stephens said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not much \u2018I\u2019 in the work we do, it\u2019s done by a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
This Australia Day, he\u2019s been named a Member of the Order of Australia in the general division for his service to primary industry and the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to ring up the Australian honours system to ask if it was fair dinkum,\u201d he laughed. \u201cI\u2019m chuffed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s recognition for the organisations, and I\u2019m grateful for the support of my wife, Jo, and our four children, in the things that I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 \u201ctricked\u201d into studying at Marcus Oldham College. By age 23, he was managing farm properties, which he loved, but realised other pathways in […]<\/p>\n