The 26-year-old has an agribusiness degree, he is a member of the Victorian Government Young Farmers Ministerial Council, he has been to China as part of a trade delegation, and travelled to New Zealand on a national study tour.
But by the end of this year he will have sold off 400 dairy cows, packed up his house, and cut ties with the family farm and a piece of his family history.
Mr Ryan returned to take over the family farm in Dumbalk, South Gippsland, after his father died from cancer.
He loves being a farmer, but farming is no longer an option for him.
Just a few weeks ago he and his family made the heartbreaking decision to sell the family farm.
Drought, debt and the state of the industry has made it almost impossible for Mr Ryan to continue.
«The mood is hauntingly depressing,» he said.
«It’s a difficult time for many farmers [in drought-affected areas] who have taken on large debts and spent a lot of money on buying hay to get through the summer.
«It’s difficult to get up and work 16 hours a day and to know that you’ve lost $1,000 or $2,000 for that day.»
Writing on the wall in global markets
Mr Ryan said he had become increasingly concerned at the state of the global dairy market in the past six months, which prompted the decision to sell.
Prices at Global Dairy Trade auctions have fallenfor every auction held in 2016, and Mr Ryan was paying close attention to market movements.
«I could kind of see about four or five months ago what was going to happen,» he said.
«I was looking at the international dairy trade and I knew this wasn’t matching up with what the factories were paying here in Australia.
«I knew that when the new milk season was going to open up, that it was going to be bad.»
Heartbreaking to sell cows for slaughter
Mr Ryan said the most difficult experience for him had been selling off his cows for slaughter.
He has sold off more than 50 animals at local cattle sales in the past two weeks.
«They’ve done everything they can for the dairy farmer and you try to do everything you can for those cows.»
Mr Ryan said the decision to sell the family farm was much more than a decision to sell the business.
He said it was a decision to cut ties with everything he had known.
«You’re packing up everything that you’ve tied yourself to, which is agriculture,» he said.
«It’s a privilege to work amongst the trees and the animals, and once you step away from that you’re stepping away from your family and your grassroots.
«I don’t know how far back our family farming heritage goes, but this is the first time the Ryan family are not moving on to another farm.»
Dairy industry in crisis
In the past fortnight Australia’s largest dairy processor Murray Goulburn has announced it would cut the price it pays farmer suppliers from $5.60 per kilogram of milk solids to between $4.75-5 per kilogram.
Its main rival, New Zealand dairy processor Fonterra, followed suit just days later with a retrospective cut to the prices it pays its Australian suppliers, from $5.60 per kilogram of milk solids to $5.
A third processor, Lion Dairy and Drinks, announced a drop in its farm gate milk price for some of its Victorian, Tasmanian and South Australian suppliers a short time later.
Murray Goulburn farmer suppliers have said the retrospective price cut cost them two year years’ worth of income.
The co-operative partially floated on the Australian Stock Exchange in July last year, raising $500 million for new buildings and infrastructure.
But since it announced its supplier price cuts and downgraded its profit forecast, the corporate regulator ASIC has launched an investigation into the information Murray Goulburn supplied the stock exchange since releasing its half year results on February 29.
The competition watchdog the ACCC has also encouraged farmers with concerns about the company to contact authorities.
