Losses at Cobram Estate
At the end of its first year as a listed public company, Cobram Estate Olives has declared a 3.3 cents a share dividend after posting a $700,000 loss, dramatically down $35.2 million on last year's $36m profit.
Cobram Estate is also losing one of its co-founders and board director, Paul Riordan (pictured), who has been primarily based with the company's US operations since 2018.
Mr Rirodan played a key role in researching olive production and processing opportunities before finding the company's initial Boundary Bend site in northern Victoria, planting its first trees in 1999 and establishing a processing mill.
He also oversaw Cobram's expansion into groves at Boort and Wemen, near Mildura.
Chairman, Robert McGavin, also a founding partner, told last week's annual general meeting Mr Riordan was credited as a key reason the company won the industry's inaugural Australian Olive Grower of the Year award in 2004.
Mr Riordan will be replaced, potentially with a female director, after a current board selection process is finalised.
Cobram Estate blamed its full year loss on a lower crop yields in Australia of almost half last year's 16 million litres; higher fertiliser, energy and wages costs; a $4.7m loss from US olive oil operations because of lower sales, and higher US packaging and freight costs.
.........
Giles leads Hancock Ag
Former Northern Territory Chief Minister, Adam Giles, has returned to Gina Rinehart's Hancock Agriculture and S. Kidman and Company business as interim chief executive officer, replacing John McKillop.
Mr McKillop, who is also chairman of the Red Meat Advisory Council, stepped down last month after a year in the Hancock role.
He has held an array of other executive jobs at agribusinesses such as Stanbroke, Elders, Clyde Agriculture and Hassad Australia.
Mr Giles was Chief Minister from 2013 to 2016 before joining Hancock in a corporate relations role and more recently was a consultant to the big pastoral business.
Hancock Agriculture's board and executive welcomed him rejoining the management team's commitment to the beef business and its strong focus on employee safety, innovation and animal welfare standards.
.........
Kalyx buys into NZ
National agricultural research business, Kalyx Australia, is expanding offshore with the takeover of Staphyt Research Limited's New Zealand business.
Kalyx has helped clients bring hundreds of new crop varieties, pesticides, fertilisers, and other related technologies to Australian farmers for the past two decades.
"The NZ expansion represents a significant investment and milestone for our business as we continue to look for ways to improve services to clients, many of which also operate in both countries," said managing director, Ashley Bacon.
Staphyt has also operated for more than 20 years under the Peracto and Staphyt brands, with branches in Pukekohe, Hastings, and Ashburton.
It conducts research across horticultural and arable crops including potatoes, onions, vegetables, grape, pome, cereal and forage crops.
Back in Australia Kalyx has opened four new branches this year in Cairns, Bundaberg, Orange, and Melbourne, to improve and broaden its horticulture work
.........
Namoi share offer
Namoi Cotton has had a 92.5 per cent uptake for its pro-rata share offer to raise about $14.1 million.
About 30.3m of the 33m new shares on offer were taken up by existing shareholders at 43 cents each.
The remaining 2.5m will be absorbed by the sub underwriters, Namoi's two largest shareholders, Samuel Terry Asset Management and Louis Dreyfus Company.
The new shares commence trading on November 7
.........
New AACo CFO
Virgin Australia's airports, property and procurement general manager, Glen Steedman, will join the Australian Agricultural Company as chief financial officer in January.
Mr Steedman, a chartered accountant, has previously spent time as CFO and chief commercial officer with rail freight business, Pacific National, and was vice president of global financial reporting at commercial property and investment group, Lend Lease.
Managing director, David Harris, said the new CFO's commercial and supply chain experience would assist AACo focus on performance aligned objectives to make it a simpler, more efficient business, delivering full potential from its beef brands.
Meanwhile, new AACo director from the Tavistock investment camp, which owns half the company's shares, Sarah Gentry, has declared her personal share interest in the business at 9261 shares.
Outgoing director, Tom Keene, whom Ms Gentry replaced last week, had accumulated 75,000 shares during 11 years on the board.
.........
RLF fertiliser demand
Recently listed West Australian specialist liquid fertiliser business, RLF AgTech, has reported a strong first quarter of sales during what is traditionally a lower activity period, with cash receipts up 57 per cent on the same time last year.
Notably, RLF saw an uptick in product interest in high growth markets, which it attributed to farmers recognising the competitive advantage of its technology to contain their input costs while simultaneously boosting crop quality and yield.
The company has identified Africa as increasingly offering high growth sales opportunities as it progresses with cotton trials in West Africa.
A South East Asian distribution expansion strategy was well underway with advanced discussions with potential distributors in Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand, while its X2 Foliar product was received in Cambodia for distribution by local partner Total Agree.
The new financial year also gave RLF the chance to release what it has called its breakthrough Veridium Seed Priming Technology.
.........
Bubs defies China worries
Goat milk-based nutritional powder producer, Bubs Australia's lucky run in the depleted US dairy formula market has been undermined by a 21 per cent fall in sales to China, which accounts for about a third of the Sydney-based company's total sales.
However, strong USA sales growth into 6500 stores and a record market share in Australia, including 56pc of the total goat formula category, ensured a 28pc jump in gross revenue to $23.6m for the first quarter of 2022-23 (above the same time last year).
Managing director, Kristy Carr, said demand in China and South East Asia would likely remain subdued after shipments of adult goat milk powder and business-to-business ingredient sales were significantly impacted by lockdowns and channel disruption.
Many infant formula brands in China, including locally made lines were oversupplied, causing a notable fall in margins for all distribution partners.
In Australia, Bubs infant formula sales hit new market share peaks in major retailers, Coles, Woolworths and Chemist Warehouse.
.........
Regional NBN grants
The Regional Australia Institute is again partnering with the NBN Co to provide $125,000 to support regional and remote businesses to drive development.
Innovate grants will help businesses and individuals transform ideas into game-changing innovations and lift the digital capability of people and businesses across regional Australia.
Grants are available for the categories of agriculture, arts, education, health, Indigenous business, tourism, and women in regional business.
Each winner receives $15,000, with overall "Innovate with nbn champion" collecting an extra $20,000 to help take their idea to the next level.
"Together the RAI and NBN are sending a message to regional entrepreneurs and change makers that, with fast, reliable connectivity, it is absolutely possible to realise your digital business dreams in the regions," said RAI chief executive officer, Liz Ritchie.
Applications close on November 20.
.........
Norco business praise
Australia's largest and oldest dairy co-op, Norco, has been named the NSW North Coast's most outstanding large business in this year's Northern Rivers Business Awards.
It's the second consecutive year Norco has received the Excellence in Large Business Award recognising its commitment to its farmers, employees and the local community, in what has been an unprecedented and challenging year in the flood-ravaged region.
One of Northern Rivers largest private employers, the dairy company was praised by judges for continuing to safeguard its 292 dairy producers while also cementing itself as a strong, vertically integrated business with exceptional expertise in food and rural retailing.
The award coincides with four NSW Norco suppliers named in Dairy Australia's Top 100 Australian dairy farmers list, recognising high quality milk producers.
.........
Engineering innovation
Some of Australia's leading engineers and inventors have been recognised for building a better nation through technological innovation at the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering's annual awards, including Dr George Chen.
The ICM Agrifood Award winner and chemical engineer found a 20 per cent energy saving by using the salty whey from cheese-making, reducing the waste and energy in milk powder manufacturing.
Australia makes over 220,000 tonnes of milk powder to support the production of chocolate, ice cream and infant milk formula.
This year's AATSE's Ezio Rizzardo Polymer Scholarship winner was solar engineer, Jefferson Lam, who has taken cues from plants to develop lightweight panels with better performance.
His polymer science and engineering mimics the structures of plants to create solar panels that can be deployed across Australia and the world at ultra-low cost.
Start the day with all the big news in agriculture! Sign up below to receive our daily Farmonline newsletter.