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Agribusiness Session Puts The Dollars Into Smallholdings

Find a niche and make it pay. That was the secret shared with more than 50 people who attended Latrobe City Council’s annual smallholder forum held recently.

By Latrobe City - 26th November 2010 - Back to News

Participants travelled from as far as Melbourne and Bairnsdale to attend the morning session at the civic precinct in Traralgon, which was organised for Latrobe City Council by Agribusiness Gippsland.

Latrobe City’s general manager, economic sustainability, Allison Jones, said that participants heard presentations from smallholder operators in Gippsland, who are covering their costs and sometimes even making a profit.

"To hear real life stories from presenters was inspiring for the audience. Those with small rural properties were given good examples of how to potentially profit from their land. It was definitely food for thought.

"Feedback from the session was exceedingly positive. We received emails of praise from attendees the very same afternoon. The speakers gave great insights into the business of smallholder farming and the networking after the event proved useful," Ms Jones added.

Ian McFee, a sheep farmer for more than 20 years, runs a flock of about 50 ewes on about 23 acres on Phillip Island. He discussed his farm set-up, his choice of pasture and breed as well as some of the issues of farming close to residential development.

Clare Hoffman and her young daughter Ava, explained how she came to lease an organic apple orchard at Ellinbank and how she managed to win markets within the first year of the enterprise.

Maria Grey inspired the group with her story of a direct-sell meat business off her 100 acre farm at Allambee Reserve. Adding pork to the frozen beef and lamb sales had given her business a point of difference that has seen phenomenal growth over only two years, enough to keep two people employed, she said.

Free range egg producer, Anne Westwood from Grantville, offered some insights into her profitable operation, a business that produces returns comparable to mainstream conventional farms for an average four-day working week.

Agribusiness Gippsland chair Alex Arbuthnot said that Latrobe City Council was a long-time supporter and staging these annual sessions provided opportunities for rural landholders.

"Smallholdings are an increasingly important part of the agricultural sector. For a start, there’s more of them. It’s a growth area of Victorian agriculture identified in official data. Smallholdings are more than an individual’s lifestyle choice. They boost the local economy.

"Smallholders contribute proportionately more to the local economy than large-scale, conventional farmers. They pay more per kilometre for fencing, they often are not self-sufficient in home-grown fodder and have to buy in feed. They use vets, and diesel, and the many other inputs necessary for modern farming," Mr Arbuthnot explained.

Ms Jones added that helping to optimise the outputs of small farms boosted local employment directly on-farm and further up the processing and supply chain.

"Being innovative in how we use our land to do business will be the key for our region as we transition to a low carbon economy," Ms Jones concluded.

Photo: L to R: speakers Ian McFee; Maria Grey, Claire Hoffman and Agribusiness Gippsland's Sue Webster

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Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com