The Australian Seed Federation (ASF) appointed a new board at their recent AGM, held at Seed Business Convention 2022 in Brisbane. For the first time in the Federation’s 80+ year history it elected a female president – Rowena Petrie, managing director of Royston Petrie Seeds.

“We would like to congratulate Rowena on the appointment and look forward to the next two years under her direction,” said ASF CEO, Osman Mewett.

Supporting Rowena on the Board are Tim Pepper, Tim March and Dale Skepper.

Ms Petrie is a respected name in the seed industry with a vast knowledge of seed cultivation and supply.

“Seeds, and the plants that grow from them, have been a passion of mine since I was a child, a passion I inherited from my father Royston Petrie,” Ms Petrie said.

She is also a strong advocate for seed industry training and passionate about passing on her wealth of knowledge to the next generation.

Tim Pepper is the southern region commercial manager for Barenbrug Australia and was president of ASF from 2020–-2022. He has held state or national roles in several seed industry companies and has been active in industry and farmer groups.

“I believe that we all need to contribute to the future and sustainability of the seed industry and primary production in general,” Mr Pepper said.

Tim March is business manager Oceania and South and East Asia at Rijk Zwaan, where he focuses on research and development activities across the region. Mr March is a strong advocate for the role the Australian Seed Federation plays in representing the seed industry.

Dale Skepper is the general manager at Seed Force Australia. Mr Skepper is an agribusiness senior executive with over 15 years’ experience in a range of roles in the Australian seed industry, including sales, marketing, supply chain management and R&D.