It takes a lot of resolve and resilience to make a success of life on the land.
Australian farmers are good at it – world-class, in fact – producing more than twice as much food as our nation consumes.
Coles, as a foundation partner of National Ag Day, is proud to acknowledge the special contribution to national life of our farming communities.
As a 103-year-old Australian-owned business, Coles has strong and enduring partnerships with many family farm businesses, supplying each day the essential fresh foods our customers buy.
At the dawn of the 20th century, the father of GJ Coles bought the Railway Corn Exchange, a small general store in the rural township of St James, a community of just a few hundred people in the riverlands of northern Victoria.
Today, Coles has stores from as far south as Blackman’s Bay in Tasmania to as far north as Casuarina in the Top End, and employs 107,000 Australians –a third of whom live and work in regional Australia.
Our suppliers extend from lush vegetable plots in Tasmania to grass-fed beef producers in Victoria’s Grampians; from family poultry farms on NSW’s Central Coast to the Norco dairy co-operative on either side of the Tweed; from the Queensland food bowls of Far North Queensland and the Lockyer Valley to bush foods sourced in central Australia; from the dairy farms of SA to sow-stall free pork in WA.
Around 96 per cent of our fresh fruit and veg is Australian grown, 100 per cent of our fresh meat is sourced from Australian farms.
Australian consumers are passionate about local produce. A survey conducted by Coles Customer Insights showed 91 per cent agree it is important to support Australian farmers.
A secure economic future for the farm sector is vital to Coles as a business. It is also critical to ensuring Australian families continue to have assured supplies of food of the highest quality.
Coles believes National Ag Day is a chance to celebrate, and strengthen, that connection between Australians in the cities and the people and communities of regional Australia – the people who work so hard to provide us with food we love – up there with the very best the world has to offer.
- Coles managing director John Durkan.
