John Mulvaney was honoured with a national industry award at the 2025 Dairy Muster and spoke about the importance of a support group for personal and business success.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
John Mulvaney acknowledged the role of his wife, when he accepted the 2024 Outstanding Service Award presented annually by Australian Dairy Industry Council to an industry representative or farmer who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, dedication and significant contributions to the Australian dairy industry.
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John was named the 2024 recipient and was publicly presented with the award at the 2025 Dairy Muster in Gippsland because he lives in Leongatha.
“It was about 30 years ago when I did my first couple of presentations on intensive pasture management systems, in NSW,” John said.
“The issues in the mid-1970s and now are the same – tariffs, extreme seasonal conditions and milk pricing structures.
“I feel incredibly humbled to receive this award. I can think of half a dozen peers who should receive this award rather than me.
“Because I’m 70 years old and I’ve got the opportunity, when you give a 70-year-old a microphone, you’re in for it.”
John reflected there were many people and opportunities he appreciated for how they had contributed to his success.
Not least was his wife, Leonie, who he said he dragged from the city to the rural hamlet (then) of Leongatha, so he could teach – and the pair knew no-one.
John found his own group of peers quickly, including dairy industry surnames of Jelbart, Hitchings, and Notman.
These are a group he credits with helping him achieve success in life.
“They were positive innovators and were prepared to share their information,” John said.
“If they hadn’t been my lifeline group, and given me that lifeline, I wouldn’t have made it.”
John paid tribute to his own mentor, John Gallienne, a farm consultant who became the project manager for the GippsDairy focus farms program, among other programs.
“John Gallienne took me under his wing. There were a whole raft of people who mentored and supported me,” John said.
“I’m sorry I’ve never acknowledged to them how much they helped me.
“I appreciate the countless farmers who let me get into their heads, listened to them, recorded their information and then sent them a bill.”
John Mulvaney expressed his appreciation for his wife, Leonie, and his family, who supported him in his trailblazing work.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
John said his own family often missed out on his time and attention, because he would often walk away from them to take a phone call from a farmer, or another industry representative.
“Leonie was the backbone of my business,” John said.
“I’ll never forget the day I woke up, and it was the first day I was self-employed, and I thought, what have I done?
“My family didn’t see enough of me, and I have to thank them.
“I would leave the dinner table and go and do dairy. And I now regret that.”
John said he was pleased to see the industry change away from the old format of focusing on the business first and family and lifestyle secondary.
He acknowledged the wisdom of young farmers who have re-established boundaries around their own family and personal time.
“I reckon you’ve got it right. You’ve got a better life balance than my generation, because we weren’t allowed to have too good a time in my generation,” John said.
“We were expected to work hard and leave having fun until later. And I see too many elderly dairy farmers who are starting to have fun too late.”
John said the modern dairy farmer was prepared to wait longer for the same asset growth, but still benefited from applying the same business principles that farmers have been applying for a long time.
“The dairy industry is in pretty good shape,” he said.
“Dairy farmers are good at innovation and adoption of new ideas.
“They have the ability to make complex decisions quickly, and they share information.
“No industry I know shares information like you do. So I think dairy farming is in good shape.
“It’s still a good industry to encourage young people into, to achieve good asset growth and self-satisfaction.”
