Our guest on this week's MSF Farm Talk Podcast episode is someone extra special to MSF. Meet Ian Hastings! 

Ian Hastings is a fourth generation farmer operating 4,000ha in a family business around the Ouyen area (Victorian Mallee). 

In this episode Ian tells us his MSF stories and also outlines some handy mice control tips for mallee farmers to keep in mind for this year.

Ian has been active in many agricultural organisations including being the past President of the Victorian Ground sprayers Association and was honoured with a life membership upon his retirement from the Presidents role.

MSF is also incredibly proud to have awarded Ian with Life Membership at our recent Mildura Mallee Research Update and AGM. 

Ian contributes substantially to the local community holding positions such as President of the Local RSL sub-branch and Ouyen Farmers Festival Committee member.

He is a past President of the VFF Grains Group (2003-2007) and served on the VFF Board of Management from 2003-2007.  From 2002-2009 Ian was a member of the Grains Council of Australia and served as Deputy Chair from 2005 -2009.

Ian was an inaugural Board Member of Mallee Sustainable Farming Inc in 1998 and remained a Victorian farmers’ representative until 2002. He re-joined the Board in 2008 becoming Vice Chair in 2009 and is a member of the Executive, Finance & Audit and RD&E committees.

Ian Hastings involvement with MSF began prior to the organisations inception when he attended pre-formation meetings. Ian's board service commenced in 1997/98 and continued through to 2002 when he resigned to enable full commitment to his new role as VFF President. In 2009 Ian was invited to rejoin the board and soon after he was appointed Chairman, a role that he continued on with until 2018.

Ian has been instrumental in many achievements for MSF. Recent examples that require acknowledgement include his commitment and passion for attracting research into the Mallee to deal with ‘Sandy Soils’ and ‘Mallee Seeps’ challenges. Ian's dedication to ensuring attention to the constraints of farming sandy soils resulted in funding for a large project that would not have been as significant without his leadership.

Ian Hastings is a fierce and passionate advocate for Mallee and Dryland Farming and we can't thank him enough for the value and contributions he has added to MSF over the years.

Congratulations Ian for your well deserved MSF Life Membership Award and thanks for joining us on the MSF Farm Talk Podcast!