By Alesha Capone
Werribee South egg farmer Danyel Cucinotta says she is “humbled and grateful” to be elected vice-president of the Victorian Farmers Federation.
Mrs Cucinotta, 28, is the federation’s youngest-ever vice-president.
Mrs Cucinotta’s VFF appointment was announced last week, along with the federation’s new president, South Gippsland farmer Emma Germano.
Together, Mrs Cucinotta and Ms Germano are the first female leadership team in the VVF’s history.
Along with her sister Renay Ahmed, Mrs Cucinotta is a third-generation farmer at LT’s Egg Farm in Werribee South.
Mrs Cucinotta said she first started attending VFF meetings with her father, Brian Ahmed, who is president of the federation’s Eggs Commodity Group.
Mrs Cucinotta has also volunteered with the VFF’s Egg Group committee, which represents 33 Victorian egg producers.
Last year, Mrs Cucinotta was invited to address a state parliamentary inquiry into the impact of animal rights activism on agriculture, where she talked about trespassing at farms.
Mrs Cucinotta said that as the VFF’s vice-president, she would work with groups focused on all aspects of farming and work to ensure they were represented in policy and political decisions.
“For local farmers, access to affordable water will always be a massive one,” she said.
“For me personally, I’m very passionate about animal welfare within agriculture and guidelines in that area are under review at the moment.”
Mrs Cucinotta said that in becoming the VFF vice-president, she hoped to be a strong role model for her own daughter.
“If it wasn’t for the support of my family and people around me, I wouldn’t have considered running for such a high and honourable position,” she said.
