Collaboration, shollaboration

Collaboration isn't something that comes easy to many British farmers. The same can be said of many Australian farmers as well.
However, the Aussie's have a slightly different take on some wider industry and general collaborative activities.
1. They regularly use multi-tier sponsorship options to capture as many sponsors/partners as possible. (detail in report)
2. When they develop an initiative it often has many more facets than we in the UK would usually consider. This is demonstrated by comparing UK Year of Food and Farming against Australian Year of the Farmer.
3. In Australia, farmers often work with a network of other farmers in discussion groups (e.g. SANTFE non-till discussion group and arable discussion groups), but the links with their "farming union" (State based Farmers Federation) is limited and consequently the links with the National Farmers Federation are even more tenuous. Nothing new there I guess, but when translated in the Euro situation, you can see how most people aren't that engaged with COPA-COGECA, but are likely to know of or be involved with NFU or similar.