Leader board

For a quarter of a century, Su McCluskey has been at the forefront of international and national policy development for agriculture and issues affecting rural Australians.

Story + Photos Ken Eastwood

It’s hard to believe this stunning Arcadian valley near the Murrumbidgee, with rolling pastures and scant mobile coverage, is less than an hour’s drive from our nation’s capital. But hidden on 360ha here, among 50 shades of Murray Grey and a glorious garden with prolific rose blooms almost as big as her head, is Su McCluskey, a pint-sized powerhouse for Australian agriculture and regional communities.

Currently the interim chief executive of the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), Su has quickly returned from a trade delegation in Indonesia and Brunei to the farm she’s lived on for 33 years, before flying out again to Brisbane. No stranger to national or international travel, Su has held multiple roles in private organisations and government that have seen her at the big table discussing, forming and reviewing policies that affect rural Australians, from taxation to telecommunications to skilled migration. From 2021 to mid 2025 she was the Federal Government’s inaugural special representative for Australian agriculture – one of only two people in the world to hold such a title. She had been appointed by then minister for agriculture David Littleproud (now leader of the Nationals), who told OUTBACK, “This role, and Su’s work, was crucial in increasing Australia’s presence in international agriculture and food policy discussions. Su did a fantastic job with her wealth of experience and passion for agriculture.”

“It was very much about building relationships and building trust,” Su says of the special representative role. “There was a real concern that we needed to have a stronger voice in global organisations. In terms of sustainable agriculture, we’re well ahead of the game globally. We just have to demonstrate this better.”