Meet the Co-op Farmers

Latest Episodes:

Meet the Co-op Farmers | Season 2 Nov 16, 2021

Show notes

Welcome back to the podcast series from the farming front line. Meet the Co-op Farmers. It's our second season and this time we're going wider and digging deeper to uncover more great stories of co-operation in regional Australia. We'll not only be talking to the farmers, fishers and foresters who put the food on our table and get the wood to the mill. We're going to look at what's driving a rediscovery and take up of this tried and tested model of doing business together. Along the way, you'll meet people across our rural communities working together to overcome disasters and crisis and plan for a better future. It's truly inspiring.

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Episode 8: Secrets of the world’s biggest macadamia processing plant Jun 23, 2021

Show notes

Marquis Macadamias CEO Larry McHugh takes us on a fascinating farming journey on the far north coast of Australia. This is the story of a group of growers who were not able to sell their crop for a reasonable price, so a few of them got together and decided to create a co-op and the rest was history. The company now processes and markets to sell all the macadamias from the growers here around the world.

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Episode Notes:

From small beginnings, Marquis Macadamias has grown into a huge co-operative enterprise, and long-time CEO Larry McHugh tells renowned agriculture journalist Pete Lewis all about that journey, as well as their recent major rebranding and restructure to become the biggest macadamia processing plant in the world. The farmer-owned co-operative grows, processes, and sells almost half of Australia’s macadamia production, as well as 22% of the world’s kernel sales and 16% of the international nut in shell sales, what they describe as the world’s finest nut. This is a story of innovation and success, and how a small number of individuals, with a vision for something greater, created world-leading scale together.

In this fascinating podcast series, you will hear from real farmers who are successfully using co-operative farming business models. Through their stories and real-life experiences, you will learn how this positive farming model changes lives.

Links & Resources:

Listen to all podcasts – https://coopfarming.coop/podcasts/
Watch Peter Lewis interview Larry McHugh – https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-3-part-1-interview/
Watch Pete Lewis discuss how co-operatives add value with the Hon. Karen Andrews MP, Larry McHugh, Matt Rutter (Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative), Simon Stahl (Casino Food Co-operative), Michael Hampson (Norco) and Melina Morrison (BCCM). https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-3-part-2-roundtable/
Want to find out more about Marquis Macadamias – https://marquis.com/
Find out more about co-op farming – https://coopfarming.coop/
Contact the Meet the Co-op Farmers Podcast team – https://coopfarming.coop/contact/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 7: What’s at the heart of a community co-operative? Kerry Murphy knows, after 33 years in the job Jun 16, 2021

Show notes

From the end of tobacco farming to innovative reinvention, the Tobacco & Associated Farmers Co-operative Organisation (TAFCO) has seen huge change over the years. When TAFCO started off 32 years ago they never thought they face the reality of an end of tobacco growing. But as always when facing adversity, they pivoted and reinvented themselves. Today this successful co-op has more than 620 members and is the very heart of their community.

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Episode Notes:

Victoria’s influential, award-winning and profitable rural supplies co-operative TAFCO, managed to reinvent itself to continue to benefit members after the decline of the tobacco industry. Today, they supply retail goods and farming services to a range of retail customers including primary producers, hobby farmers, tradespeople and townsfolk, and have a gross annual revenue of $7 million, providing a dividend to its 620 members who are primarily farmers. Kerry Murphy was fundamental in launching and growing the Myrtleford Farmers Markets and has helped source funds for other local economic development initiatives, such as the free delivery service to farms. Hear about how she makes it all work when she talks to Pete Lewis. How do they work to attract and engage farmers? How do they attract loyal customers and retain community support? How do they work together?

Links & Resources:

Listen to all podcasts – https://coopfarming.coop/podcasts/
Watch Peter Lewis interview Kerry Murphy https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-9-part-1-interview/
Watch Pete Lewis discuss how buying together works to benefit members and communities. Featuring Kerry Murphy (TAFCO), Dr George Ujvary (Master Butchers Co-operative), Donna Avery (Yolla Producers Co-operative Society) and Anthony Nehme (Yenda Producers Co-operative) https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-9-part-2-roundtable/
Want to find out more about TAFCO https://www.tafco.com.au/
Find out more about co-op farming – https://coopfarming.coop/
Contact the Meet the Co-op Farmers Podcast team: https://coopfarming.coop/contact/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 6: How travelling the world’s farms helped Emma discover the best way to run her huge cattle business Jun 09, 2021

Show notes

Emma’s massive 55,000-hectare farm is based in the remote area of Charters Towers but she is a big believer that farmers who share insights, knowledge and work together can thrive, even in such isolated environments. Upon being awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study abroad, Emma went in search of answering fundamental questions in search of the best model for beef farming and agriculture. After looking at lots of different models, Emma returned to the co-operative model as the ideal structure.

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Episode Notes:
North Queensland-based Emma Robinson is passionate about family farming, beef and business models and believes the co-operative business model can help future proof the family farm. So much so, she founded the Beef Collaboration Project and has stories to tell about building producer membership and providing scalable opportunities in the bush. Listen to her fascinating journey spreading the word about collaboration in farming and how much it can benefit agriculture and the economy. In spite of her being in such a remote area, she travelled the world as part of a Churchill Fellowship, exploring and connecting with other farming enterprises – and she kept coming back to the co-operative model as the structure that seemed to stand out. In this podcast episode she talks about why that was.

In this fascinating podcast series, you can hear from real farmers who are successfully using co-operative farming business models. Through their stories and experiences (warts and all), you will learn how this positive farming model can change lives.

Links & Resources:

Listen to all podcasts – https://coopfarming.coop/podcasts/
Watch Peter Lewis interview Emma Robinson talk about her unique journey into farming https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-8-part-1-interview/
Watch Pete Lewis discuss how co-ops attract, keep and engage members in a co-op. Featuring Emma Robinson (Beef Collaboration Project), Kate Davies (Tooraweenah Prime Lamb Marketing Co-operative), John Seccombe (Casino Food Co-op), and Melina Morrison (BCCM).
Want to find out more about the Beef Collaboration Project https://beefcollaborationprojectinc.com.au/
Find out more about co-op farming – https://coopfarming.coop/
Contact the Meet the Co-op Farmers Podcast team: https://coopfarming.coop/contact/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 5: The farmer-owned berry company making $200 million a year Jun 02, 2021

Show notes

The biggest blueberry supplier in Australia formed out of a different fruit, with a reluctant leader from a completely different business. And it thrived.

What started as four farmers creating a partnership selling their berries to the most competitive cities, became a successful business that any other people wanted to be a part of. From there the Oz Group Co-operative just grew.

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Episode Notes:
Fiercely proud of their 100 per cent Australian ownership, Oz Group Co-op is passionate about providing their community with the freshest blueberries, raspberries and blackberries through sustainable farming. Founded by members of the Coffs Coast Sikh community in an innovative pivot after the decline of the local banana industry, it has grown to be the biggest blueberry supplier in Australia. A powerful force in Australian horticulture, they have grown from four to 140 members, with much of their success attributed to leveraging their community ties and Aussie-made credentials. Renowned agriculture journalist Pete Lewis talks to Stephen Thandi, former Oz Group chairman and local businessman about his very unique journey into farming and co-op management. For this fascinating podcast series, you will hear from real farmers who are successfully using co-operative farming business models. Through their stories and real life experiences, you will learn how this positive farming model changes lives.

Links & Resources:

Listen to all podcasts – https://coopfarming.coop/podcasts/
Watch Peter Lewis interview Stephen Thandi talk about his unique journey into farming https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-7-part-1-interview/
Watch Pete Lewis discuss how co-ops provide a marketing advantage in leveraging paddock to plate and farmer-owned. Featuring Stephen Thandi (OzGroup), Dick Groot Obbink (EAT Truffle), Greg McNamara (dairy farmer), Doriana Mangili (Sweeter Banana) and Melina Morrison (BCCM). https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-7-part-2-roundtable/
Want to find out more about OzGroup ozgroupcoop.com.au
Find out more about co-op farming – https://coopfarming.coop/
Contact the Meet the Co-op Farmers Podcast team: https://coopfarming.coop/contact/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 4: How a fishing co-op formed with friendship May 26, 2021

Show notes

A job offer at local football game led to Rodger Long helping to form one of the most innovative fishing co-operatives in the nation. After a trip to visit the Geraldton Fisherman’s Co-op, local Limestone Coast fisherman were inspired to crate the Limestone Coast Fishermen’s Co-operative, Better yet, the Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative threw their solid support behind the Limestone Coast fisherman, including guidance on what they might be able to do, how to get established and helping them further down the track. In short, actively living the 6th principle for co-operatives – co-operation between co-operatives!

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Episode Notes:

The Limestone Coast Fishermen’s Co-op is locally owned and operated by 27 local fishing family businesses. Just two years old, it started out of necessity and with some business planning support is now growing to become a very important part of its local community. Hear about the many barriers they have had to overcome, including trade barriers, and how they learned to trust each other enough to pool their capital and the benefit it has had on their local community. All this when renowned agricultural journalist Pete Lewis interviews Limestone Coast Fishermen’s Co-op founding member and inaugural Chair Rodger Long.

For this fascinating podcast series, you will hear from real farmers who are successfully using co-operative farming business models. Through their stories and experiences (warts and all), you will learn how this positive farming model can change lives.

Links & Resources:

Listen to all podcasts – https://coopfarming.coop/podcasts/
Watch Pete Lewis interview Rodger Long – https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-6-part-1-interview/
Watch Pete Lewis discuss how small producers can gain power and position by working together. Featuring Rodger Long (Limestone Coast Fisherman’s Co-operative), Justin Phillips, (Limestone Coast Fisherman’s Co-operative), Danielle Adams (Clarence River Fisherman’s Co-operative), Greg Wall (Former Group CEO of Capricorn Society and Director of the International Co-operative Alliance), Melina Morrison, Chief Executive Officer – BCCM.
Find out more about co-op farming – https://coopfarming.coop/
Contact the Meet the Co-op Farmers Podcast team: https://coopfarming.coop/contact/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 3: How Australia’s largest grain exporter works May 19, 2021

Show notes

Farming can be a risky business, swinging from feast to famine, drought to flooding rains. But CBH, one of the biggest in the world, has managed high consistent results for its members for more than 85 years.

It’s just an amazing story where the CBH grain growers of today are forever grateful that grain growers back then, had the foresight and the courage to start a co-op which truly delivers the biggest benefits to WA grain growers.

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Episode Notes:
Co-operative Bulk Handling, or CBH, is Australia’s largest co-operative and one of the nation’s biggest agribusinesses, exporting the grain of 4,000 West Aussie farmers. It was formed by farmers more than 85 years ago to drive collective efficiencies for Western Australian farmers in exporting their grain to the world, a purpose which holds true today. It has a fascinating story, with lots of triumphs and tribulations along the way. Renowned agriculture journalist Pete Lewis talks to farmer Natalie Browning about her journey from co-operative member to CBH Deputy Chair, about how farmers can take some of the risk out of agricultural production by co-operating in business together, as well as how the grain giant has become one of the biggest co-operatives in the world.

For this fascinating podcast series, you will hear from real farmers who are successfully using co-operative farming business models. Through their stories (warts and all), you will learn how this positive farming model can change lives.

Links & Resources:
• Listen to all podcasts – https://coopfarming.coop/podcasts/
• Watch the video of Pete Lewis interviewing Natalie Browning from CBH – https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-5-part-1-interview/
• Following the video interview – learn more about how knowledge could be captured and shared through co-operative ventures with a video roundtable discussion hosted by Co-operative Farming. https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-5-part-2-roundtable/ . Featuring Wally Newman (farmer), Phillip Guthrie (Birchip Cropping Group), Kelly Pearce (Wheatbelt Science) and Melina Morrison (BCCM)
• Want to know more about CBH – https://cbh.com.au/
• Find out more about co-op farming – https://coopfarming.coop/
• Contact the Meet the Co-op Farmers Podcast team: https://coopfarming.coop/contact/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 2: How a little banana saved our farms May 04, 2021

Show notes

“When disaster strikes and you can’t see another way out, people become very innovative,” says Sweeter Banana’s Doriana Mangili on how a ‘lunchbox banana’ saved their co-operative farms – despite a stack of geographic and weather circumstances conspiring against them.

This is a story that demonstrates that ingenuity will get you a long way, even in the toughest of environments. Believing in what you do and sticking together as a co-operative help everyone grow their business.

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Episode Notes:
Despite the cyclones and the geographic isolation, Sweeter Banana has not only pioneered the lunchbox banana market, it has remained profitable by sticking together and thinking differently. Carnarvon is home to a group of banana growers whose remarkable co-operation has been forged out of a history of natural disasters and market challenges. The remote WA coast may be the last place you’d imagine finding a group of successful family farmers who changed the way we think about buying bananas. But, despite the unpredictable weather, isolated location and their many differences, the members of Sweeter Banana not only pioneered the lunchbox banana market, it triumphed. Renowned agriculture journalist Pete Lewis talks to Doriana Mangili, Business Manager of the Sweeter Banana Co-operative.

For this fascinating podcast series, you will hear from real farmers who are successfully using co-operative farming business models. Through their stories and real life experiences (warts and all), you will learn how this positive farming model can change lives.

Links & Resources:

Listen to all podcasts – https://coopfarming.coop/podcasts/
Watch the video of Pete Lewis interviewing Doriana Mangili on demand – https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-4-part-1-interview/
Learn more about the co-operative advantage. Watch Pete Lewis talking with farm co-operatives and the challenges that brought them together and co-operative works to mutual benefit. Featuring Doriana Mangili (Sweeter Banana), Brett Kelly (Australian Mango Industry Association), Basil Lenzo (Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative) and Melina Morrison (BCCM) https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-4-part-2-roundtable/
Want to know more about Sweeter Banana http://www.sweeterbanana.com/
Find out more about co-op farming – https://coopfarming.coop/
Contact the Meet the Co-op Farmers Podcast team: https://coopfarming.coop/contact/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 1: The little dairy co-operative that could May 04, 2021

Show notes

How Stuart Crosthwaite and the Mountain Milk farmers came back from the brink of destruction after the collapse of Murray Goulburn. This is the story of how you can go from the edge of disaster to creating a business direction the next generations will be inspired to follow.

The Mountain Milk journey really is a David and Goliath story. Fed up with trying to attract another processor into the region, it became clear that there was a real competitive advantage in starting a new co-operative.

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Episode Notes:
After the collapse and then demutualisation of the Murray Goulburn Co-operative, a group of Victorian dairy farmers nearly walked away from farming altogether. But they regrouped, joined forces, and helped to secure the future of their community by working together in a co-operative business model. Today, the Mountain Milk Co-operative is proud to be one of Australia’s newest and highest quality dairy businesses. Join renowned agriculture journalist Pete Lewis as he talks to Stuart Crosthwaite, Chairperson of Mountain Milk Co-operative, about their interesting adventures in farming.

For this fascinating podcast series, you will hear from real farmers who are successfully using co-operative farming business models. Through their stories and real-life experiences (warts and all), you will learn how this positive farming model can literally change lives.

Links & Resources:

Listen to all podcasts – https://coopfarming.coop/podcasts/
Watch the video of Pete Lewis interviewing Stuart Crosthwaite on demand https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-2-part-1-interview/
Learn more about why some co-operatives succeed while others fail. Watch Pete Lewis and our farmer panel as they discuss and explore the conditions and events that impact the rise and fall of agricultural co-operatives. Featuring Stuart Crosthwaite (Mountain Milk), Sean Cole (CCW Co-operative), Mark Kebell (Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative) and Melina Morrison (BCCM) https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-2-part-2-roundtable/
Find out more about co-op farming – https://coopfarming.coop/
Want to know more about Mountain Milk – https://www.mountainmilkcoop.com.au/
Contact the Meet the Co-op Farmers Podcast team: https://coopfarming.coop/contact/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Extras: Meet the Co-op Farmers May 03, 2021

Show notes

Could co-operative farming future proof Australian farmers? Farmers and other primary producers are known for their resilience, but in the last few years they have faced unprecedented business challenges: natural disasters, drought, fires, floods, COVID-19, issues highlighted in the Banking Royal Commission, geopolitical trade disruptions and the problem of raising working capital without ‘selling the farm’. Co-operative farming is seen as one model that can assist, giving farmers competitive advantage and market power by scaling, collaborating and innovating.

Hosted by renowned agricultural journalist Pete Lewis, Australian co-op leaders discuss the future of farming and if the co-operative model could help protect our home-grown agribusinesses. What are the situations where co-operatives work and what does it take to make them succeed? Where, when and why do they fail? Hear the nation’s best agricultural experts debunk some myths about co-operative farming.

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Links & Resources:

Listen to all podcasts – https://coopfarming.coop/podcasts/
Watch the video with Pete Lewis talking with local and international co-op leaders, agricultural experts and farmers debating and discussing the future of farming. Find out why the co-operative business model could be an option to protect our home-grown agribusinesses. Featuring Fiona Simson (NFF), Jimmy Wilson (CBH), Emma Thomas (Achmea), Emma Robinson (Beef Collaboration Project), Professor Mike L Cook (University of Missouri), Kevin Franey (TNR) and Melina Morrison (BCCM). https://coopfarming.coop/coop-conversations/episode-1-growing-together/
Find out more about co-op farming – https://coopfarming.coop/
Contact the Meet the Co-op Farmers Podcast team: https://coopfarming.coop/contact/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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