Board Member Farewelled After Over A Decade

After 13 years on the Board, Michael Roncato is retiring from his role as Deputy Chair of Queensland Cane Agriculture & Renewables (QCAR), formerly Burdekin Cane and Agriculture Organisation (BCAO).

A cane farmer of nearly 30 years, Michael was asked to join the board in 2010, then called the Pioneer Cane Growers Organisation Ltd.

He has filled many roles over the years, including Chairman before stepping down to allow Charles Quagliata to take over the role.

“My father, at a rather early age, took a step back to allow me to prosper, so I want to do the same thing at QCAR and go out on a high to allow new blood to come in,” he said.

“I truly believe that every farmer should do a term on the board.

“I have learnt so much, things that you didn’t worry about when you were just farming.

“You need the board.

“When you’re on the board and you see what goes on, you realise how much they do.”

Michael stepped up to his new responsibilities almost immediately as he was heavily involved in the Queensland sugar marketing dispute stemming from the infamous and unprecedented events of the 2010 season.

He also advocated passionately to keep Queensland Sugar Limited in the Burdekin in 2017, providing his membership with a choice of sugar marketer.

Throughout the highs and lows of his tenure, however, Michael’s QCAR legacy will remain, having spearheaded the creation of QCAR through the intuitive collaboration of BCAO and AgForce Cane Limited following efforts to achieve BCAO’s visions for representational unification.

This merger was one of his key goals and was achieved in February 2023, allowing Michael to leave the board on a high.

“This couldn’t have been done without the genuine support of both boards, but especially Charles (Quagliata, QCAR Chair) and Russell (Hall, AgForce Cane Limited President), effectively delivering on what the respective members wanted,” he said.

“We got it to a certain stage but then those two pulled it off.

“It wouldn’t have happened without them, and it needed to happen.”

The QCAR Board farewelled Michael at a Christmas breakup earlier this week where Charles ceremoniously presented him with a framed cane knife gift and thanked him for his service and commitment to the QCAR membership impacting the entire sugar cane industry.

“It’s not an easy job, being a director on the board,” Charles said.

“There’s a lot of unaccounted time that gets put in, especially in the last year with the unification process.

“We’ve already started to see the benefits of building a larger, stronger and more resilient membership base.

“Michael’s supportive vision in being able to see the importance of such benefits  has established the foundations for enhanced representation on a state and national level.

“Such representation now enables us to advocate more effectively for our members as a vital voice playing a pivotal role in fostering the enduring success of Queensland’s agricultural industry.”

‍

QCAR Chairman Charles Quagliata, outgoing Deputy Chairman Michael Roncato and CEO Panikos Spyrou

L-R AgForce Cane President & QCAR Director Russell Hall, QCAR Director Peter Papadimitriou, QCAR CSO Michael Kern, QCAR CEO Panikos Spyrou, QCAR Chairman Charles Quagliata, outgoing Deputy Chairman Michael Roncato, QCAR Director Christian Lago, QCAR and ACFA Director Dean Sgroi and QCAR Director Frank Mugica