My initial reaction when our CEO, Chris Sounness, informed me of his plans to leave in mid-August was one of sadness, but as the time for his departure approaches, this has been replaced with pride when reflecting on his legacy and the strong position in which he leaves the Birchip Cropping Group (BCG).
Chris has been Chief Executive Officer for five and a half years and in this role, has given his full commitment and passion to the agricultural sector both locally and across Australia.
Chris has nurtured, developed and worked diligently to expand an impressive network of over 100 organisations that collaborate with BCG including; Research and Development Corporations, Universities, Industry, Cooperative Research Centres, emerging AgTech companies, Local, State and Federal Government departments, philanthropic organisations and social and environmental organisations, to mention a few.
The relationships built with these organisations have led to many projects secured for and delivered by the BCG team.
Chris has a rare ability to mix ‘blue-sky vision’ with an understanding for its practical application. In conversations with Chris, I’ve appreciated how he sees all discussions about future directions as opportunities.
Chris has been the driver for implementing a new organisational structure, giving staff the space to deliver their work and advance their careers in agriculture.
Perhaps one of his greatest achievements was the early identification of the desire of farmers to use, and be rewarded for, the data they generate. This knowledge of AgTech, and the desire to see innovation adopted to make our farms more sustainable, is second to none.
Chris recently expressed the view that digital technology has yet to sweep through Australian agriculture, but it has the capacity to increase returns of up to $120/ha across the value chain with successful implementation. By using satellite imagery for variable rate technology adjusted in real time, traceability and provenance attributes for increased consumer confidence and biosecurity creating opportunities and challenges for us all to improve our farm sustainability.
His vision to set up Data Farmer, a weather station network for farms to have real time data to support on farm decisions and best practice, and a large network to support climate data and existing weather data collection, has been widely accepted.
Chris has an outstanding, value-driven passion for the region and in his new role, I am sure Chris will continue to be engaged within our network to further develop agriculture and sustainable communities in our region.
On behalf of the BCG Members, Board, staff and all our collaborators, thank you Chris and congratulations for all that you have achieved in your time at BCG. We wish you and your family all the best in the future and we look forward to working together with the common goal of improving the prosperity.
