Are super-funded agri-businesses good for rural Australia?

The Rural Focus 2016 symposium is to improve the link between commercial enterprise and the platform of education and research provided by UNE. The symposium, organised by the Robb College Foundation, comprises three themes;

1.     1.  Agri-business models

2.      2.  Employment and Careers

3.       3. Technology and efficiency

Duncan Fraser, Chairman of the national Sheep Industry Co-operative Research Centre and a Director of industry rural and regional super fund Prime Super heads up the industry presenters and will address some of the larger distance-based owner-models that are spreading through rural Australia; ‘I am concerned that some of the regulatory controls imposed on Australian Super funds restrict their ability to invest more widely in longer term agricultural projects’, said Duncan.

This adds support to the views of Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce who has been campaigning strongly for a greater share of the superfund pie to go into rural infrastructure.

Large corporate models are not new in Australian agriculture and there have been many notable successes and failures. Duncan points out that finding new funding or business models is one of the seven strategic challenges recent industry reports have identified facing agriculture in Australasia. ‘Making a suitable rate of return for lenders and shareholders while managing the widely fluctuating weather, water, pest and market-prices facing agriculture in Australia is beyond the normal algorithms of the current investment market’.

Some larger corporates do it well and Harvey Gaynor, CEO of Auscott, a large American owned, vertically integrated company supplying cotton and grain. has been operating successfully in Australia for over 55 years will also speak at the conference.

Harvey will share some of the reasons why his company, which grew from family based values, has been so successful. He will identify the methods they have used to help reduce risk and will also cite some of the current issues he sees currently challenging the industry.

Another strategic issue identified in industry reports for agriculture is how to retain a quality work-force. Andrew McConville, Head of Corporate Affairs for Syngenta, will share Syngenta’s best-practice methods for recruiting training and retaining a quality agricultural workforce.

Primary producers, agricultural policy makers, rural investment brokers and agriculture students are all expected to attend what should be a highly informative symposium.

To register for the symposium go to www.une.edu.au/ruralfocus. The symposium precedes the Farming Futures Expo held on campus on 29 July.

Media contact:

Geoff Perry, Chairman Robb College Foundation UNE Armidale. 0417 226 698 or ruralfocus@armidale.edu.au