Three new online courses available for Australian farmers, fishers and foresters

05 August 2020

Ethical Fields and the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutual (BCCM) are hosting a series of courses for Australian farmers, fishers and foresters, focusing on some of the key challenges and opportunities in the agricultural space.

The program will be facilitated by experts in the agricultural and co-operative sectors.

As part of the Co-operative Farming project, BCCM is providing access to educational bursaries to cover 90% of the cost of this series for farmers, fishers and foresters who are interested in co-operatives, or currently engaged within a co-operative. If you are eligible for a bursary, this reduces the cost to you from $550 to $55 (GST inclusive).

Learn more about the bursary program

Beyond Bushfires: Co-operative bushfire recovery

A 6-week (one session per week) of online learning

Dates: Mon 17 August-Mon 21 September 2020

Recommended for: Co-ops, not-for-profits focused on bushfire recovery and community groups.

Course content: Looking at post-bushfire challenges and opportunities, business resilience and recovery, and applying learning from bushfires to potential future challenges.

Learn to use collaborative online tools to create better outcomes for your business and the community.

More information about Beyond Bushfires course

Co-operative Advantage: Why agricultural co-ops make good business sense

A 6-week (one session per week) of online learning

Dates: Wed 19 August – Wed 23 September 2020

Recommended for: Anyone who wants to know more about the economics of agricultural co-ops, and members of existing co-ops.

Course content: What are the competitive advantages of agricultural co-operatives? This course looks at the producer value chain through case studies of coops in supply management, marketing and sales.

Aggregation is the superpower of co-ops.  Aggregation of supply reduces input costs for members, aggregation of members allows sales into new markets, not achievable by individuals, and aggregation of data allows for more relevant and robust insights.

More information about Co-operative Advantage course

Protected Habitat: Monetising the value of sustainable farming

A 6-week (one session per week) of online learning

Dates: Fri 21 August – Fri 25 September 2020

Recommended for: Farmers and aligned stakeholders interested in opportunities for co-operative ownership of a sustainable farming brand.

Course content: How agricultural producers can monetise the value of their sustainable farming practices. This series will focus on how co-ops can create and capture value for their members and their customers by prototyping a producer co-op that would build and own a Protected Habitat brand.

The aim is to assist producers to understand the emerging opportunities in sustainable farming and how a cooperative can help maximise the value being created. We will draw on expert participants from farmer groups and practitioners, as well as from the finance, retail, and conservation sectors.

More information about Protected Habitat course

About Co-operative Farming

Co-operative Farming is a project delivered by the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) that will help Australian farmers, fishers and foresters to start, develop or expand a co-operative enterprise. The project will support a range of activities and provide resources including an advice and information hotline, a mentoring program, educational bursaries, business advice and professional services and interactive website with self-help tools and information about co-operatives.

About the Co-operative Farming project

This project is funded by the Australian Government under the Starting Farm Co-operatives Program.