Last week’s AOA webinar Co-ops 101 for Olive Growers proved that multi-grower co-operatives are a concept olive producers are keen to contemplate.
There was a great turn-out for interactive webinar, which explored the opportunities provided by co-operative business operations, and ended with some great discussion around structure options and practical realities.
A second webinar being held next week will further explore the practical realities of co-operatives, with New Zealand producer David Sullivan of Mahurangi Olives sharing his experiences as a longtime member of the Matakana Olive Co-operative.
Matakana Olive Co-operative
Over its lifetime, Matakana Olive Co-operative encompassed between four and ten groves, ranging in size from 1200 trees down to a few hundred, with a total of around 2,500 trees. Members maintained and harvested their own groves, with the oil pressed at the one mill. The combined oil stock was evaluated, filtered, stored and bottled by members in a central purpose-built facility, and sold under the Matakana Olive Co-operative label, with members paid from the net proceeds of sales based on their percentage of the total for the harvest period.
Run as a collective, the Matakana Olive Co-operative provided a shared-cost, viable production and distribution model for a regional group of boutique olive oil producers. Join David to learn more about this successful olive co-operative in practice.
Presenter: David Sullivan
David Sullivan is co-owner (with Isabella Sullivan) of Mahurangi Olives, New Zealand and the major supplier of award-winning extra virgin olive oil to the Matakana Olive Co-operative for more than 10 years. The co-op recently recalibrated due to a change in circumstances for some members, and Mahurangi Olives is now a stand-alone business focusing on the production of artisan products.
Details:
Monday, 19 February @ 11:00am AEDT
Register here.
Note: For those unable to attend on the day or who would like to reference again in the future, a link to a recording of the webinar will be sent via email to registrants within days following the webinar.
Miss the previous webinar?
The first AOA webinar on the topic of co-operatives for small businesses, Co-ops 101 for Olive Growers, was held on 7 February. Presented by Claire Fountain from Co-operative Bonds and the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM), the session covered the foundations of ‘what is a co-op?’, with case studies shared for inspiration and discussion.
A recording of the session is now available on the OliveBiz website, so if you weren’t able to attend, or want to refresh before David’s webinar, you can access the recording here.
This webinar series is part of the Olive levy project Australian olive industry communications and extension program (OL22000), funded by Hort Innovation, using the Hort Innovation olive research and development levy, co-investment from the Australian Olive Association and contributions from the Australian Government.
