Rob Stapylton-Smith is a commercial dairy farmer from Donnybrook and a director of Stapylton-Smith Farming CC, Baynesfield Estate and the SA Large Herds Conference. He has been farming for 30 years and believes that farmers have a debt to pay and need to work together to redress the wrongs of the past. HGA he believes provides the vehicle through which to achieve this.

Rory Bryden has been a commercial dairy farmer in Kokstad for 20 years and is the former chairperson of the Mount Currie Farmers Association and HGA. He believes HGA presents the opportunity to help developing farmers and people in our communities and in the process, secure the future of farmers and food security in our land.

Leigh-Anne Hauff is a registered Counselling Psychologist and married to a successful commercial dairy farmer in the Donnybrook area. She is excited about the role that agriculture (and commercial farmers in particular) can play in reducing the huge levels of inequality in South Africa. She believes that no project is too small and that connection and communication is the key.

Phila Mkhize is a Clinical Research Associate by profession but having grown up on a farm, is passionate about agriculture and it has always been his dream to make a contribution to the organised agricultural sector. He farms alongside an inspiring group of growing commercial farmers in Hlutankungu near Highflats. He believes that the promotion of agriculture in our rural communities is the backbone of a healthy future in our country.

Nathan Barrow has been an agricultural consultant and accountant for 15 years during which time he also spent 9 years setting up and overseeing an 800-cow commercial dairy on community owned (restitution) land. He is passionate about education and the mentoring of farm managers and excited about the potential of rural communities to make meaningful contributions to food security by combining the use of latent land with innovative farming techniques to get the best use out of what they have in a sustainable way.

Cindy Kidger is a publicist whose PR agency represents numerous agricultural companies and organisations in South Africa. She is married to a dairy farmer in Creighton, and together they owner-manage a cheesery on the farm which produces a range of dairy products and cheeses which they supply to the hospitality and retail industries in KZN. Cindy is a strong advocate for education and the power of self-respect as a step in the right direction for raising the daily average income of households in Africa.

Dylan Weyer has been working as the only full-time employee at HGA since April 2018. He is responsible for managing and driving progress in the organisation’s two key focus areas as well as managing stakeholder relationships. He has a passion for rural communities and their development and this has helped him facilitate key partnerships between commercial farmers, developing farmers, agricultural students, and the private sector.

Misty Weyer has a background in occupational therapy, social entrepreneurship and small business development. With 15 years experience in the non-profit sector, she took on the part-time role of secretary at HGA in May 2022 and is responsible for the administrative tasks related to the operations of the organisation.