NT Farmers Board

Our leadership

Simon Smith
President

Simon is the owner of the Plantsmith nursery in Howard Springs, he has over 30 years experience in plant based industries in the Top End and Central Australia. He is chair of the National Nursery Industry Biosecurity and Accreditation Committee and sits on the NT Government’s Team Territory advisory committee. Simon is currently president of NT Farmers Association.

Frank Miller
Vice president

CEO of African Mahogany Australia, Frank has over 20 years experience in the forestry industry. He manages the largest African Mahogany estate in the world, located outside Katherine. In 2018 he was awarded a Nuffield scholarship to study silvopastoralism and is applying his findings to forestry in the Territory. Frank is a founding member and president of the Forestry Industry Association of the NT. Frank is currently a director on the board of NT Farmers Association.

Kate Peake
Treasurer

Kate is a passionate advocate for the Northern Territory, its landscape and its residents. She has extensive experience working in the Territory for government and non government organisations, she is currently the CEO of RDANT. She has wide networks across the Territory, especially in the agricultural and environmental sectors. Kate contributes to several water allocation planning processes and has an extremely wide knowledge of water regulations and the health of Territory water resources.

Nick Ormsby

Nick has been involved in the agricultural sector his entire life. He owned and operated Northern Hedging and Contracting for 16 years and is actively involved in the mango and forestry industries. Nick owns a mango farm with 7200 honey gold mango trees

Jessie Jenkins

Actively involved in the NT horticulture industry for over 13 years, Jessie is the general manager at Jenko’s Mangoes. She is responsible for the commercial mango packing line, staff administration, audit compliance and IT operations.

Paul McLaughlin

Paul grows watermelons and peanuts near Ali Curung, south of Tennant Creek. He has extensive experience in developing irrigation properties and growing a range of crops from cotton to horticulture. Paul is Chairman of Melons Australia and is on the Strategic Investment Panel with Hort Innovation. Paul is currently vice president of NT Farmers Association.

Andrew Dalglish

Andrew is a Katherine based organic mango and asparagus farmer. He also operates a premium fresh produce packing company from his farm in Katherine. In 2020 he won the Territory NRM Farmers and Fishers Sustainability Award for his coordinated soil health and an organic plant nutrition program.

Gavin Scurr

Gavin established Pinata farms with his brother in 1992 and now has 1010 hectares under cultivation across Australia. Pinata is the largest pineapple producer in Australia and also grows a wide variety of produce including mangoes and berries. He is managing director of BerryWorld Australia and is former chairman of the Australian Mango Industry Association. Gavin is currently a director on the board of NT Farmers.

Bruce Connolly

Currently Farm Manager at Tipperary Group of Stations. Bruce was a founding member of the Northern Territory Cotton Growers Association and is the inaugural President of the association. Bruce has many decades of experience in broad acre cropping across North Australia and is a passionate advocate for regional issues.

Andrew Coldbeck

Founder and CEO of employment agency The Job Shop, Andrew was instrumental in providing labour to the NT agricultural sector. During the COVID-19 border closures, he played a critical role in securing two charter flights of Seasonal Workers for Territory farms.

Vin Lange

Originally from South Australia, Vin has been involved in agribusiness for thirty years. He has successfully created and run small and large businesses in Australia and Europe. Vin’s enduring support for and experience with traditional remote Aboriginal people gives him an understanding and skills that are utilised daily in his role as CEO of Centrefarm Aboriginal Horticulture Ltd. Centrefarm is an Aboriginal-owned commercial economic development entity and the peak body for the development of viable economies on Aboriginal land in the NT.