Mr Bennett, who was recognised as one of the most influential figures in the Tasmanian and Australian dairy industry, passed away peacefully early Saturday morning.

Mr Bennett's daughter Anne Bennett described her father as a visionary who made an enormous contribution during his life.

"Dad believed in having a dream and keeping the passion to refresh and grow in every aspect, whether it was in business or in his own life," she said.

"Dad was a gentleman in the truest sense of the word. He was humble and a quiet achiever known for his graciousness to others.

"He was a man of action who focused on goals, whether building a dairy or a cheese factory, or projects with his grandchildren or representing Tasmania on the national and international stage."

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Premier Jeremy Rockliff commemorated Mr Bennett's life on Tuesday, saying, "John was a farming legend, a leader and he will be dearly missed by the Tasmanian dairy industry".

As a young man, Mr Bennett studied agriculture in the UK, where he observed cheese manufacturing on family farms.

It was this experience and the economic climate of the dairy industry in Tasmania at the time that guided him to begin his own dairy processing farm in 1983.

Along with his brother Michael Bennett and their wives Maureen and Connie, Mr Bennett founded Ashgrove Cheese and Ashgrove Farm.

As Mr Bennett said, in his own words, "At the time, unemployment in North-West Tasmania was high. Tasmanian dairy farmers were the worst paid in the world, and five generations of the Bennett families were proudly in gumboots and were going nowhere".

Taking a hands-on approach to the development of Ashgrove Cheese on his farm at Elizabeth Town, he headed the development of one of Australia's strongest and most successful dairy farming family businesses.

Mr Bennett will be remembered not only for his contributions to the agriculture industry but also for his generosity and kindness.

His wife of 58 years, Connie, said of their life together, "We had a wonderful life, filled with love and trust".

"He was a visionary whose mantra was 'to look beyond, embrace cultural and rural diversity, transcend boundaries, and stay focused'," she said.

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