Retired? Deb's as busy as ever

HEADING up two of the state’s key agricultural organisations is not without its challenges but that is exactly what Deb Morice enjoys. 

After a long and varied career including many years dairy farming with her husband Greg, Mrs Morice is now the chair of Tasmanian Women in Agriculture and also the regional manager for DairyTas.

Mrs Morice grew up on a dairy farm at Meander and in her early years decided dairy was not the industry for her. 

“I always swore and declared I would never marry a dairy farmer that I would find something else to do,” she said. 

But difficult economic circumstances and a downturn in the building industry led the couple to take on a sharefarming position at Montana with Seaton Brock in their early 20s.

After starting a family and working there for seven years, in 1987 the couple then decided to take on an opportunity in the state’s northeast near Derby.

“It was a big jump because we went 50/50 sharefarming then and bought all the cows,’ she said.

“Of course, interest rates were pretty high then so it wasn’t easy.” After realising some of the cows in the herd needed improving, the couple bought 10 cows from well-known breeders the Wagner family, which became the nucleus of their herd.

“They were beautiful cows, but it did put a bit of a strain on things and we didn’t have a lot of money for a long time,” she said.

During that time the couple often employed visiting international students and they are still in contact with some of them today.

After a number of years at Derby, the couple became one of the original share farmers on the Rushy Lagoon property, then owned by Alan Pye. 

“We had a lot of people tell us how stupid we were,” she said. 

“By that time we had bought land and leased out cows so we brought the leased cows home and took them to Rushy.” 

Despite the isolation, Mrs Morice said farming at Rushy was an enjoyable experience. 

“It was a remarkable feat because we built three houses and three dairies with no power,” she said. 

“We built those houses in 42 days, the three of them. We were there when the first lot of cows were unloaded and the first pivots went up.” 

“Greg and I used to go out every day and we fenced it ourselves. It was a big job because it was 1000 acres.” 

Despite initial misgivings, the property proved ideal for dairying with good soils and a mild climate, which ensured year-round grass growth. 

They milked 480 cows there the first year. 

“The wind is the thing I remember most, we were forever getting sand out of everything,” she said. 

The couple stayed for five years before moving back to Greg’s family farm at East Parkham in 2002 where they built a new house. After working at Ashgrove for a while, where she eventually became the logistics manager, Mrs Morice went on to work for Premium Fresh. 

She also did some electoral work for Brett Whiteley in Burnie before working for Guy Barnett in Deloraine.

While she was working there, Mrs Morice was offered a role as northeast area manager for Fonterra. Mrs Morice spent five years in that role helping farmers, including during the difficult price claw back period in 2016.

After officially retiring, Mrs Morice said she had planned to take things a little easier but then an opportunity came up for the regional manager role with DairyTas and she decided to put in an application. 

Mrs Morice said after working in the industry for so long she knows many of the farmers involved and has seen firsthand the challenges they are dealing with. She said this year’s milk price drops combined with higher interest rates and a poor season will impact significantly on farmers’ bottom lines. 

Mrs Morice said the shortage of fodder was a major concern. In her role at regional manager, Mrs Morice has some clear goals. 

“It has to have a farmer first approach, and that’s what Dairy Australia is very much about,” she said. 

“Getting these programs out to the farmers is the main thing because we are extension.

Especially in times like this, because things are challenging.” 

Another one of Mrs Morice’s long term passions has been Tasmanian Women in Agriculture and she has been involved with the organisation for about 30 years. 

After taking on a number of roles in TwiA over the years, including executive positions such as treasurer, Mrs Morice put her hand up for the chair role two years ago. 

“I was a little bit concerned about the direction it was heading so I thought well if you want to do something about it you need to get on there and actually do something,” she said.