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Ask An Expert: Agreements with new members
Photo credit: Oliver Holmgren Experts: Hugh and Katie Finlay of Harcourt Organic Farming Co-op in Central Victoria: Question: Will there be another shift in agreements and in your relationships with existing co-op members when a new member comes on board? “We’ve been...
Fair food mission and agile leadership drives Prom Coast Food Collective success
In 2017, a small group of organic and regenerative farmers met at the Blue Tree Honey Farm, in South Gippsland, with the idea of forming the Prom Coast Food Collective. In their first month, they were delighted to take $8,000 in sales from their fortnightly...
What does resilience really mean?
By Lorraine Gordon In November 2019, off the back of the toughest drought in Australian history, my family farm at Ebor was 'smashed' by the Ebor fire at one end of the property and the East Cattai fire at the other end. This took out approximately 20kms of boundary...
Ask an expert: How do you maintain member engagement?
Member motivation flagging? It’s been a long year and many of our farmer groups are finding it challenging to keep members, particularly volunteers, engaged. This month, we hear from Deb Bogenhuber, ecologist, slow food proponent and co-founder and Executive Officer...
Cutting edge – In a growth industry, forestry venture breaks the barriers
Project: Quality Timber Traders Industry: Forestry Location: NSW and Queensland Growing rainforest cabinet timbers is a complex process with challenges that managers of monoculture plantings do not face. With mixed species and varying growth rates, faster growing...
Co-op training a new generation of beekeepers
Glenda Holowaty of The Australian Beekeepers Cooperative Limited explains how the co-op members are a part of a new beekeeper’s journey: fostering an interest in all things bees, presenting beekeeping as a possible livelihood if chosen, and teaching our young...
Ask an expert
This month we ask Sam Byrne, Secretary of The Co-op Federation: Why choose a co-operative structure for the next stage of our farming collaboration? Collaboration can deliver substantial benefits for farmers all along the agricultural supply chain. Sharing farm...
Staying positive during COVID-19
By Professor Robin Stonecash “There is power in collaboration and cooperation.” In February this year, I was talking to someone whose property had survived the bushfires. They said they survived fires and floods – it couldn’t possibly get any worse – 2020 had to be...
So you want to collaborate, but is a collaborative business model right for you, right now?
Critical questions for collaboration: Farming Together Project Team Leader Amanda Scott has compiled a set of self-check questions so you can see if collaboration is the right approach for you right now. Collaborative business models can be a powerful tool enabling...