News & Stories
Case StudiesIndustry
Saving the co-operative model for a dairy community
Concerned about the possible closure of their local processor, a group of dairy farmers got together and took control of their farming future.
Address:
Australia 3691
Timber growers improve scale by joining forces
Two not-for-profit small-scale tree growers from South East Queensland and Northern NSW unite to improve marketing power and milling potential.
Address:
Northern Rivers (incl Lord Howe Is.), New South Wales, Australia 2480
Categories:
Applied Research
Collaboration
Farmer Groups
Forestry
Marketing & Sales
Website Development
Workshop facilitation
Phone:
0439 602480
Waratah Alpaca Fibre Coop exports to China
Three farmers at a small Australian alpaca show, yarning about the potential for industry growth. Fast forward 18 months and the Waratah Alpaca Fibre Coop is establishing export operations to China…
Address:
South Coast (incl. Jervis Bay), New South Wales, Australia 2535
Categories:
Business Planning
Co-op establishment
Expert Support
Exporting
Other livestock
Website Development
Wool
Phone:
0407 407 618
Organic farmers eye-off wholesale markets
Organic fruit and vegetable farmers in the Coffs Harbour region of NSW were all incredibly busy with their own farms, until they started a conversation about how they could work smarter, and more sustainably, [...]
Transforming a native food supply chain
Ann Shanley is director and founding member of Kindred Spirits Enterprises, which supports transforming indigenous projects. Ann attended a Farming Together forum about the pros and cons of the co-operative business model and thought [...]
Address:
Northern Territory, Australia 0820
Beechworth Food Coop ~ next level collaboration
The Beechworth Food Cooperative is an Australian cooperative success story. Located in picturesque Beechworth in rural Victoria, the Coop launched three and a half years ago and grew to 800 members within two years. [...]
Address:
Hume, Victoria, Australia 3747
Margaret River small producers make their mark
The 80-plus members of the Margaret River Rural Producers Association are small producers. But they are thinking long term and acting big…
Address:
SouthWest, Western Australia, Australia 6285
Growing market exposure for natural alpaca fibre
Small Breeders, big opportunities. How does an alpaca grower expand market exposure for fibre? Market research and collaboration was a good first step.
Address:
Southern Inland, New South Wales, Australia 2582
Categories:
Business Structures
Collaboration
Expert Support
Market Analysis and development
Website Development
Wool
Phone:
0403 991 612
Collaborating for fresh local produce
Building a local brand and collaborating business networks is often difficult for farmers, who rarely have a spare moment due to their own business demands. Distribution costs are sometimes prohibitive for small holders and [...]
Address:
Northern Inland, New South Wales, Australia 2372
Phone:
02 6736 3500
Planting the seeds of good business planning
Plant Varieties Australia is grower owned company with a focus on the intellectual property of plant material. Already running $8m in domestic berry sales to large supermarkets, the company secured rights to a new [...]
Address:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3795
Phone:
0419 318 082
Tidying up governance for a clearer future
The Liebe Group is an established not-for-profit business supporting WA’s mid ‘wheatbelt’ region. Established to address concerns of isolation from agricultural R&D, most of the group’s 100 members run broad-acre cropping and livestock [...]
Address:
Wheatbelt, Western Australia, Australia 6535
Phone:
08 9661 0570
Developing supply strength with solid legal contracts
Most Australian strawberries are eaten in the Australian market and many are grown in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. However, marketing and sale of berries to the major supermarkets is controlled by a few large companies, [...]
Address:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3799
Categories:
Contracts
Expert Support
Fruit
Negotiation & Mediation
Pricing
Developing an export co-op for the Canberra region
There is growing demand in Asia for healthy Australian food but limited air-freight export hubs with appropriate bio-security measures in place. In 2016, food exporters from southern inland NSW were paying high prices to [...]
Address:
Australian Capital Territory, Australia 2620
Developing trust in a citrus value chain
The WA citrus industry faced downward price pressures. A large group of small producers were struggling for viability while a few large operators, who dominated the market, embarked on expansion. These investments had the [...]
Address:
Mid West Gascoyne, Western Australia, Australia 6151
Relocating oysters for a more sustainable industry
Australian oysters are NSW’s largest aquaculture industry, with more than 300 growers and $35 million in product each year. However, low yield and disease are a permanent risk – for both the native (‘Sydney [...]
Address:
SouthWest, Western Australia, Australia 3795
Nuts about cross-border co-operating
The aromatic essential oil from sandalwood timber is in high demand, especially in Asia. The sandalwood nut is also developing as a gourmet native ingredient. There have been incidents of poaching from Australian groves. [...]
Address:
Adelaide and Hills, South Australia, Australia 5255
Australian bee keeper co-op – a hive of activity
A group of beekeepers and honey packers in the Moreton Bay area of Queensland wanted to create long term partnerships between investors and primary producers to help them become export-viable. They wanted a new [...]
Address:
Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia 4550
Categories:
Co-op establishment
Collaboration
Expert Support
Feasibility
Infrastructure Planning
Legal
Logistics & Distribution
Other crops
Phone:
+61 7 3881 3417
The power of local branding
Led by dairy farmer, Sue Harnett, the Burringbar Catchment Group, gathered to ponder a problem; their local produce was being overshadowed by products from the more recognised Byron Bay region. The group, which includes, [...]
Address:
Northern Rivers (incl Lord Howe Is.), New South Wales, Australia 2483