Working with over 28 500 primary producers, FTP has compiled numerous case studies showcasing producers who have worked together to achieve outcomes they could not have attained alone. Below are some case study snippets about groups who received a better return at the farm gate during the program.
(More comprehensive case studies can be provided on request).

• A milk cooperative is receiving a higher farmgate price for their unique milk pool.

• A fishing cooperative has enabled fishers to sell by-catch, earning them up to 300% increases in prices for by-catch.

• A group of garlic growers sold out its first season at double the market prices a few months after forming their cooperative. The co-operative is attracting larger order and increased prices for their garlic and has secured sizable discounts on their mulch hay.

• A timber processor co-operative has established potential markets, both domestically and internationally. The group is in the process of setting up a processing facility to turn the waste product of milling into plasticised products such as rail sleepers.

• An alpaca fibre co-operative exported its first commercial shipment of 11 tonnes of raw alpaca fleece to China. It is collecting for another 10 tonne export order and has had buying interest from Turkey and India. Additionally, it supplied almost five tonne of fleece to Australian manufacturers.

• A group of northern NSW farmers converted their $30,250 grant into a $1.5m investment in less than 12 months, and now have projected a $50m investment over the next five years to convert their floodplain farms into macadamia orchards.

Taking on board lessons learnt from traditional outreach models and engaging directly with farmers as the first step in the design process, FTP took a radically different approach to engagement. By placing farmers as the primary partner, the program deeply valued the lived experience and expertise of farmers as the primary source of knowledge to guide the development of their farm businesses.

The vision was big and at first daunting, with tight time frames, ambitious objectives, and a time intensive methodology that focused on building authentic and deep partnerships. However, by enabling primary producers to join minds and resources, fuelled by shared understanding and aspirations, there were powerful outcomes.
Initially tasked by the Commonwealth to reach 2000 primary producers, support 100 farming groups and grant-fund 15 groups, by 2018 FT had reached 28,500 primary producers across 23 industries via 730 groups and funded 51 significant projects.

In order to meet the unexpected and unprecedented demand for the program, the team, led by Lorraine Gordon, modified the pathways into funding, with an innovative staged system that worked on a needs-basis. This system ensured a more streamlined and targeted process enabling FTP to support more collaborative initiatives.

FTP has demonstrated the power of collaboration in catalysing systemic change that has the potential to last beyond seed-funding. This future-focused innovative model could be implemented in other sectors needing transformational change such as affordable housing, food security, and health just to name a few.

Southern Cross University is set to lead the movement of regenerative change for agricultural resilience through its brother-sister initiatives Regenerative Agriculture (RAA) and Farming Together Program (FTP).

After its successful 2-year pilot, the proven Farming Together model has been funded for its second stage. Now a mature proven model, it will act as the engine that will the drive critical projects identified by Southern Cross University’s Regenerative Agriculture Alliance. Working together, the model is set to build resilience for farmers, communities and landscapes through collaboration.

It will take collaboration on an unprecedented scale to meet the urgency and the complexity of the current agricultural and climate challenges. Continuing to work in silos and in competition with each will not get us where we need to be.

Driven by a vision to improve holistic health and wellbeing of Australian landscapes, farmers and communities, the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance is bringing together farmers, researchers, educators and policymakers to develop strategies to inform policy through sound scientific enquiry. The Alliance is also developing on-the-ground capacity building and practice change initiatives driven by farmer needs. Utilising the Farming Together Program’s extensive network of more than 28,500 primary producers and award proven collaboration model, Southern Cross University is delivering multi-level solutions facilitating broad-scale change for a resilient future.