GRDC welcomes SA grower as Board Chair

Mrs Sharon Starick will become one of the first growers from her state, as well as the first female to lead the largest of the rural research and development corporations, when she officially takes the reins on October 1.

GRDC Managing Director Nigel Hart welcomed the Ministerial announcement saying Mrs Starick’s appointment would provide critical continuity for the organisation, which has responsibility for investing more than $240 million each year in research, development and extension (RD&E) for Australian grain growers.

Sharon has been on the GRDC Board since 2018 so she has an in-depth understanding of the business. She is a highly intelligent, highly capable leader with an extensive knowledge of agriculture and natural resource managment, Mr Hart said.

“She is a grain and pork producer from the Mallee region of South Australia, so she also brings the hands-on practical understanding and experience of farming that is invaluable for a grower-focused organisation like GRDC.”

Mrs Starick has a degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Adelaide and is currently the Chair of Animal Health Australia, Director of the Regional Investment Corporation and independent Chair of the South Australian Future Drought Fund Advisory Group. She is also a past Chair of the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board.

She replaces outgoing GRDC Board Chair John Woods, a Goondiwindi grain grower who has led the organisation since 2016.

“John has been an inspirational and visionary leader for GRDC and under his guidance the organisation has grown in size, scope and impact, investing in RD&E that delivers genuine, tangible benefits to Australian grain growers and the wider industry,” Mr Hart said.

“John has been a formidable and courageous driver of change. His foresight and big picture view of how and what GRDC can and should invest has changed the agricultural landscape in a way that will improve the situation for grain growers for generations to come.”

Mr Hart said the outgoing Chair would leave an impressive legacy including:

• The regionalisation of GRDC: fromthe entire GRDC workforce being located in Canberra to the establishment of regional offices in Toowoomba, Adelaide, Perth, Wagga Wagga and Horsham. We now have 60 per cent of people based regionally which has brought GRDC closer to key stakeholders in Australia’s major grain growing areas and driven significant change in terms of RD&E that is better informed by industry and more responsive, impactful and readily communicated and extended.
• The establishment of Grains Australia: This initiative has brought together some of the key industry good services for the nation’s grain growers and resulted in cost efficiencies and collaboration that will serve Australia well at a global level.
• The establishment of GrainInnovate: GRDC is the only RDC to have successfully set up a managed investment fund investing in start-ups.
• Resilience being built in farming systems thanks to effective RD&E: Over the past 10 to 15 years, GRDC RD&E investments have driven enormous changes in farming practices that ensure growers can ride out seasonal highs and lows. Once dry years meant zero yields, now thanks to improved water use efficiency, improved varieties and better agronomic practices growers are getting results even in incredibly tough seasons.

GRDC has been extraordinarily fortunate to have John at the helm as Board Chair for eight years and prior to that as a Director for four years, so he has been an integral part of the organisation for more than a decade, Mr Hart said.

“People have always been at the heart of what John does and he is renowned for emphasising that you are only as good as the team working alongside you. At GRDC we have benefited from his incredible energy, effort and leadership and we thank him for his exceptional commitment to the Australian grains industry.”

From 1 October 2024, Mrs Starick will hold the Chairperson title for a three-year term, alongside Directors Bob Nixon (Deputy Chairperson), Kellie Benda, Shaun Coffey, Natalie Sommerville, Bindi Turner and Richard Heath.