“Co-operatives and other collaborative business models can help farmers band together to take greater ownership along the supply chain, boost their bargaining position and deliver increased returns at the farm gate.”
That’s the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, and we couldn’t agree more.
OBE Organic was formed by farmers more than 20 years ago – at a time when outback cattle producers were considering how they could better participate in a valuable global beef supply chain. These founding farmers wanted a brand that would deliver them better returns for their livestock.
We now export organic beef around the world, and as a farmer-owned business we have never stopped working to maximise returns to farmers. More recently, our collaborative approach has extended to forming partnerships with incredible organisations like Grazing BMP, Livestock Biosecurity Network, Pastoral Profit, and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland to benefit cattle producers – an approach getting plenty of industry acknowledgement.
OBE Organic’s success in making a farmer-owned business work has been recognized with our General Manager Dalene Wray appointed to the Industry Advisory Group (IAG) of the Australian Government’s Farm Co-operatives and Collaboration Pilot Program.
Dalene and the other seven IAG members are responsible for providing advice to help the program meet its objectives of providing expert advice and assistance to farmers across Australia looking to establish co-operatives or collaborative business models.
We’re very excited to be part of this initiative, and hope this will be a catalyst for more farmers to see collaborative farmer-owned business models as another way of maximising returns for farmers.
Further information on how to get involved in the program is at: http://www.agriculture.gov.au/ag-farm-food/farm-collaboration or by emailing co-operatives@scu.edu.au
