Farming Together - a resource for primary producers

Farming Together (Farm Co-operatives and Collaboration Pilot Program) - is $14,934,000 Federal Government initiative that aims to provide farmers with knowledge, skills and materials on co-operatives, collective bargaining and other forms of collaboration.

Farming Together aims to:

• Improve knowledge of how co-operatives, collective bargaining and supply chain negotiations can improve farmers’ returns.
• Improve the knowledge of options available to farmers and farm advisors regarding such innovative business models including various forms of collaboration
• Improve the agriculture focused legal and financial expert advice available regarding the process, implementation and management of such business models

To be eligible for the programme, you must be a primary producer, or be part of a group of primary producers.

Funding is available for:

• Financial and legal consulting services
• Market research and development
• Project management
• Other services as required

Funding will not be provided as direct financial support, for capital or infrastructure purposes, travel, or ongoing wages.

The program lead is Southern Cross University (SCU), and the program is based at the SCU campus in Lismore, NSW. The Government has listened to the challenges that farmers are facing and discussed what is required for them to be successful on the land. From this feedback they have developed the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper. The White Paper outlines the initiatives and commitments by the Australian Government for each of our five priority areas for action. It is a $4 billion investment in our farmers. Our vision is to build a more profitable, more resilient and more sustainable agriculture sector to help drive a stronger economy.

Further information on this initiative can be found by visiting the website http://www.farmingtogether.com.au/