For Dhami Singh, leadership comes down to a simple principle.
“Leadership is to look after everyone,” he said.
The Congupna farmer, business owner and community radio presenter is preparing to graduate from the Fairley Leadership Program alongside Judes Gadzinski, with both supported by Gardiner Foundation scholarships.
Gardiner’s support helps people connected to Victoria’s dairy industry and its communities develop their leadership skills, build networks and contribute to their regions. For Dhami and Judes, it is an opportunity to build on an existing commitment to community.
Widely known as “Mr Sheppy”, Dhami arrived in Australia in 2008 and settled in Shepparton in 2010. His working life has included selling ice-cream, owning a pizza store and working at Bega Cheese. But his ambition was always to become a farmer.
“We are all farmers by blood,” he said of his Punjabi heritage.
Today, Dhami farms a 200-acre property with three business partners, all from Northern India. They grow broccoli, turnips, radishes, chillies and eggplants, with zucchinis their speciality. Their produce is distributed through agents to markets across Australia.
Establishing the farm took persistence and support.
“Farming is hard, especially when you’re starting from scratch with no local experience,” he said.
Alongside farming, Dhami is passionate about social cohesion and bringing people from different backgrounds together. He had volunteered with Fairley since 2013 before deciding to participate himself to strengthen his public speaking and communication skills.
The program offered opportunities to meet community leaders, ask questions and learn alongside participants from different walks of life. Those conversations helped him better understand how different parts of the community connect and depend on one another.
A session hosted by a local Landcare group on water policy was particularly relevant to his work as a grower.
“If there’s no water, there’s no farmers,” he said.
For fellow Gardiner scholarship recipient Judes, community connection is also a strong motivation.
Growing up in Girgarre, Judes saw a move to Melbourne as a natural next step after school, beginning her career as a laboratory technician. Her passion is helping others and creating opportunities for young people to feel connected, supported and actively involved in their communities.
Through its scholarships, Gardiner supports participants like Judes and Dhami to develop the confidence, skills and relationships to extend their contribution. Investing in local leadership is part of Gardiner’s commitment to thriving Victorian dairy communities.
For Dhami, Fairley has reinforced that leadership is open to people with many different backgrounds and experiences.
“Some people get confused with leadership that it’s only about the political game,” he said.
“Leadership is to look after everyone.”