DAIRY farmers should and must be more involved in the way the industry is run.

The industry was "shrouded in a veil of mystery and smothered by a mist of secrecy" said Drew Sloan, chief executive of Semex.

"We are all being separated from each other by the fog of uncertainty," he said in his keynote address on the eve of the conference.

He emphasised the need for greater levels of business accountability, responsibility and transparency to guarantee the industry's long-term success.

Mr Sloan said: "We need to participate and be more pro-actively involved with the way farming companies and organisations operate," he said. "As an industry, we tend not to get involved in annual meetings, or ask awkward questions, and generally leave the decision-making to others.

"But we have a right to ask questions of directors and company bosses. Our fate, our future, is in the hands of those whom we employ to act on our behalf.

"We have every right to voice our concern and we have the right to seek greater accountability on behalf of the shareholders and the company. Others have to be made aware of their accountability to us, as shareholders."

Farmers had a responsibility to ensure that companies worked in accordance with sound business practice, and to ensure that the interests of shareholders and producers were consistent with profitable long-term planning.

"We have a responsibility to ensure a profitable today, in order that we may have a profitable tomorrow. It's your future; your business and your responsibility and we shouldn't let others dine out on our apathy.

"We have a right to know if suppliers are actually receiving milk price increases - and it's not just milk pricing that needs to be transparent, we need business transparency all the way up to the boardroom."

Farmers were not in business to produce food but, like any other organisation, were in business to make a profit and receive a fair return on capital investment. He urged caution, however, and warned that the goal of profitability could not be achieved by militancy.

The way forward for the industry was by creating new brands and brand-awareness, initiating top-class marketing and the continual introduction of added-value products.

"We need to provide opportunities for young talent to emerge, to be encouraged, developed and nurtured into positions of power and responsibility," said Mr Sloan. "We must also seek new markets, products and initiatives. We must create new companies and develop business leaders.

"We must become entrepreneurial, dynamic, market driven, completely focused, as well as the custodians and creators of wealth for our industry."