Pat Rowley

Rowley married Mary Monica Rospigaroff [née] on September 12, 1959, at St Peter's Catholic Church in Caboolture, Queensland, after meeting at a Junior Farmers gathering in Caboolture. After marrying, the couple moved to Dayboro, north-northwest of Brisbane They have five children together and as of 2020, have a total of eleven grandchildren. Mary died at their farm on 16 July 2021, after having received a terminal cancer diagnosis of glioblastoma exactly one month prior.

In 1999, the federal government announced plans to implement the Dairy Structural Adjustment Program (DSAP), a scheme that would be introduced nationwide to deregulate the dairy industry. This involved the removal of state and federal legislation surrounding the manufacture, sourcing and pricing of milk as a commodity. Deregulation would ensure a far more competitive dairy industry while simultaneously benefiting consumers by lowering retail prices of milk. Prior to deregulation, the Domestic Market Support scheme, a federal initiative, ensured that dairy farmers across Australia received efficient financial compensation for their contributions to the commercial dairy industry.

In 1984, in an effort to make the export of milk more competitive, the federal government undertook a Public Benefit test to examine the benefits of the current regulation levies in place across all Australian states. After most states failed to prove public benefit, the State Dairy Authorities concluded the results proved ending regulation would ultimately benefit the dairy industry. Because the current legislation prevented the interstate sales of milk and other dairy based products, the government determined that deregulation would relieve significant pressure on the commercial sales of milk in Victoria, in which the largest production of dairyfarming, and manufacture of milk, occurred.

Patrick Desmond Rowley (born 23 September 1935) is an Australian agricultural leader. He was chairman of the Australian Dairy Farmers Federation from 1977 until 2006, during which time he assisted in initiating significant industry changes. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation described him in 2003 as "the most influential figure in the history of Australian dairy farming".

Rowley was born to Charles "Charlie" Rowley and Lilian Henn [née] on September 23, 1935, in Melbourne, Victoria. He is the eldest of four siblings. The family moved to Queensland, and established their dairy farm in Burpengary, north of Brisbane, where Rowley Road is today. Pat Rowley attended Marist College, Ashgrove, a Catholic boarding school for boys, from grades 5–12.