Farmers are raised with a dislike of middlemen. The blokes between the grower and the end user are viewed as parasites who take few risks and expend relatively little effort, yet pocket a lot of profit. Farmer’s Co-ops are the result. This 2003 paper on VPC by John Gill (ex Chairman of the Co-operative Federation of Victoria) is a good reminder of why farmer’s co-ops begin and why, unfortunately, they so often run their course and then keel over. Like communism, co-cops are fabulous in theory, and work well at the start – but especially if they grow to a large size – after the founders pass on or lose their initial drive, it usually goes pear-shaped.
Tags: Pastoral companies