Queensland farmer Hamish McIntyre elected new NFF President

Queensland farmer Hamish McIntyre has been elected as the President of the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF).

Elected by NFF Members as the organisation’s 15th President, Mr McIntyre takes the reins from outgoing President and Victorian farmer David ‘DJ’ Jochinke.

Mr McIntyre runs a family-owned, irrigated and dryland farming, cattle breeding, beef feedlot and broiler chicken meat business in the St George, Dirranbandi, Quilpie and Beaudesert districts in Queensland.

Mr McIntyre was elected as an NFF Director in October 2023 and his broad involvement in agriculture includes serving as Cotton Australia Chair and as a Director on the Australian Wagyu Association and Agsafe Boards.

“I am honoured to be elected as the NFF President. I look forward to working with our members to advance Australian agriculture. My priority will be making sure farmers are front and centre in policy discussions in Canberra,” Mr McIntyre said.

Mr McIntyre paid tribute to outgoing President Mr Jochinke, who has served the maximum 12-year term on the NFF board, the past two as President following six years as Vice President. He was the first Victorian Farmers’ Federation organisation President to also serve as NFF President.

“DJ leaves a legacy of strong farm advocacy. He stood up for what was right and had access to leaders and decision makers at the highest level. Under his leadership, the NFF has delivered significant wins for farmers, including scrapping two taxes – the Biosecurity Protection Levy and the Super Tax.

“But at the heart of what DJ strived to achieve was putting people first. Under his leadership, farmer mental health, wellbeing and safety became key priorities for the NFF. This focus led to the creation of a national mental health coalition supported by more than 50 organisations across agriculture, health and rural sectors.”

Mr Jochinke will continue to serve as President until the end of the 44th NFF Members’ Council meeting on Friday, October 24.

Ben Bennett and Peter Herrmann were also elected to the NFF Board late on Friday.

They replace outgoing Directors NSW mixed farmer Lisa Minogue and David Connolly who is the General Manager at Tipperary Group of Stations in the NT.

Mr Bennett is the President of Australian Dairy Farmers and is based in Victoria, while NSW farmer Mr Herrmann is the President of Ricegrowers Association.

They will join President Hamish McIntyre, Vice President John Hassell, and Directors Georgie Somerset and Mark Horan on the NFF Board.