Farmers Union (brand)
| Company type | Co-operative |
|---|---|
| Industry | Dairy, Agriculture |
| Founded | 1888 |
| Headquarters | Adelaide , Australia |
| Products | Dairy products, butter, milk, cream |
| Owner | Bega Cheese |
Farmers Union is a label created by the South Australian Farmers' Co-operative Union Ltd (SAFU), which is currently under the ownership of Bega Cheese.
Jamestown
A committee was formed on 28 February 1888 in Jamestown, South Australia with the aim of establishing a union for grain producers to counteract low agricultural prices and the dominance of dealers. By October, John Pearce, Thomas Mitchell, Alex McCallum, and others had established the "South Australian Farmers' (later Co-operative) Union Ltd" with initial capital below £300 and ninety-four investors. Pearce took on the roles of managing director and chairman until 1902; Mitchell and McCallum served as directors, while George Hingston Lake acted as secretary.
Following Pearce’s tenure, Mitchell assumed the chairmanship, and Lake became secretary-manager until 1895. The union recorded its first profitable year in 1893.
Adelaide
In 1895, the organization relocated its headquarters to Adelaide. The business broadened its scope to include merchandise operations at Port Adelaide, trading in wheat sacks, machinery, and superphosphate fertilizer. Mitchell led the company for two decades until his passing in 1908; his son Robert subsequently joined the board as a director.
Yorke Peninsula
The union ventured into dairy production by opening a factory in Stansbury, South Australia in 1923, which had a weekly butter output reaching 2,400 pounds. Nevertheless, increasing wool prices encouraged farmers to prioritize sheep farming due to higher profitability and reduced labor demands. Consequently, the butter facility ceased operations in 1951.
Murray lands
The development of irrigation communities along the lower Murray River during the early twentieth century supported a growing dairy sector. In 1922, the South Australian Farmers Union inaugurated a processing plant in Murray Bridge. Between 1919 and the mid-1940s, milk and cream were delivered via a fleet of swift boats owned by the Union, including vessels named Loyalty, Union, Co-operation, and Progress.
Competitors
The principal rival in Adelaide was AMSCOL, or the Adelaide Milk Supply Co-operative Limited, which merged with the South Australian Farmers Union and Dairy Vale in 1978. Dairy Vale was subsequently acquired by Dairy Farmers in 1993; Dairy Farmers later became part of National Foods in 2008.
Ownership
Farmers Union was integrated into the portfolio of the Adelaide Steamship Company and featured in National Foods' public offering in 1991. National Foods was then purchased by Lion Nathan, which itself was acquired by Japan's Kirin in 2007. In November 2019, China's Mengniu Dairy bought Lion Dairy from Kirin.
On 26 November 2020, Bega Cheese reached an agreement to acquire Lion Dairy & Drinks for $534 million, with the transaction finalizing in January 2021.
See also
Further reading
- G. M. Messner, The Formation and Early History of the S.A. Farmers Co-operative Union Ltd (B.A. Hons thesis, University of Adelaide, 1964)
External links
- History, Farmers Union Iced Coffee Facebook page