Working together to achieve communication solutions for rural, regional and remote Australia
Sowing the seeds of success

Westpac & Charles Sturt University Agribusiness Index

The Westpac and Charles Sturt University Agribusiness Index is based on a nationwide telephone survey of 1200 businesses in the agriculture sector conducted every quarter. The survey includes agricultural producers, their input suppliers (upstream) and related transport, manufacturing, wholesale and retail businesses (upstream). The Survey provides results for 48 statistical divisions across regional Australia. The Survey provides a timely snapshot of business conditions, confidence and performance of agribusiness across Australia.

Communication Goal:
Achieve extensive media coverage in rural and regional Australia and position the local Agribusiness managers as a valuable source of agribusiness information.

Key outcomes and achievements:
Across the three Index distributions in February, May and July 2008 media coverage was achieved in 45 of 46 Westpac banking regions. State and national coverage was also achieved with each distribution.

Westpac utilises estimated advertising equivalents as its key evaluation of this activity with an EAV for three indexes in 2008 achieving $1,137,000.00 in media coverage. This is a significant increase on previous results that saw an average EAV of $262,000. The relationships developed with ABC radio and ABC television program Landline has resulted in these media outlets contacting Westpac for other interview requests.

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Observant

Observant Pty Ltd is an Australian company that designs and manufactures integrated remote monitoring systems, which enables the user to manage a vast range of remote equipment saving labour, and fuel costs, as well as addressing the numerous OH&S issues associated with ensuring the safety of labour in remote locations.

Communication Goals:
• Achieve ongoing media coverage in various media outlets (industry, rural, regional and agribusiness media, specific metropolitan media, specific internet).
• Leverage Observant partnerships and sponsorships through media coverage and stakeholder engagement.
• Leverage Observant’s presence and sponsorship of key regional and national industry events.
• Introduce Observant and its products to relevant stakeholders including natural resource managers and producer groups nationally.
• Increase enquiry to Observant and resellers where relevant.

Key outcomes and achievements:
The brand building activities have proven very successful in building Observant’s image through media coverage as a remote management solution provider. Media coverage has been achieved repeatedly in key outlets including; ABC TV’s Landline, Australian Farm Journal, regular inclusions in state weekly rural newspapers, ABC online, ABC country Hour, ABC regional Rural Reports, ABC NT TV Stateline, ACE Radio syndicated radio network as well as regional newspapers, magazines and radio stations.

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Biodiversity in Grain & Graze

Biodiversity in Grain & Graze (BiGG) was Australia’s largest ever evaluation of biodiversity on mixed farms. A community-government-industry partnership, BiGG’s innovative combination of strong science and participatory research achieved an unprecedented understanding of biodiversity on mixed farms and the social, economic and production relationship between farm management and the biodiversity of rural landscapes.

Communication Goals:
The BiGG project aimed to identify practices to improve natural diversity in agricultural landscapes, including farmland outside remnant vegetation. The communication strategy for BiGG involved showcasing biodiversity work in the Grain & Graze regions using ‘Biodiversity Champions’ as the most powerful way to raise awareness about biodiversity in the target audiences.

Key outcomes and achievements
• BiGG won the Biodiversity category in the prestigious Banksia Awards
• A foundation of 47 farmers passionately engaged withbiodiversity through their personal experience
• 8,500 farmers aware of BiGG through Grain & Graze extension activities
• Thousands more landholders aware of biodiversity issues through BiGG communication activities.

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Grain & Graze

Grain & Graze is a holistic, systems approach to practical research on mixed farms in the wheat and sheep belt. It combines the knowledge and expertise of the four national Research and Development Corporation (RDC) partners with new on-farm research creating a unique, Australian whole-farm approach. Grain & Graze became the largest research and extension program of its type to help Australia’s mixed farmers increase their profi tability, while better managing natural resources including water, soil and biodiversity.

Communication Goals:
The program aimed to raise awareness among 15,000 farmers and directly influence 6,800 producers to change their mixed farming practices to deliver:
• A 10% increase in mixed farm profitability driven by a 5% increase in grain yields and a 10% increase in livestock production.
• Improved, or at least stable, conditions for the natural resources on mixed farms in line with regional or catchment targets.
• Confident and knowledgeable mixed farmers making decisions and using management tools which sustain production and promote biodiversity.

Key outcomes and achievements:
More than 4000 producers were actively engaged in Grain & Graze activities and nearly 2000 are now using Grain & Graze recommended practices on their farms. Participating producers increased their profit by an average of nine per cent. This was achieved during a period of severe drought in all nine regions.

The awareness targets for Grain & Graze were all achieved earlier than targeted and were higher than targeted. Grain & Graze set a target of 8,000 producers becoming aware of the program by June 2005 and 24,000 by June 2008. The program achieved an awareness level of more than 18,000 producers by December 2005 and 24,500 by November 2006.

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Making More From Sheep

Making More From Sheep is a national program that provides sheep producers with a best practice package of information and management tools to assist them achieve profi table and sustainable sheep production.

Communication Goals:
• Making More From Sheep had the following set targets for awareness participation (including manual distribution) and ultimate adoption to June 2007/08:
Producer businesses aware 10,000
Manuals distributed 2,000
Producer businesses participating in a delivery activity 1,000

The Sefton & Associates’ communication strategy was responsible for the achievement of the awareness target and contributed to the other targets (in conjunction with the State Coordinators, website strategy, Advocates, Industry partners, other complementary programs and the National Coordinator).
• Motivate sheep producers to engage with the program by either:
--Obtaining a copy of the manual and/or associated products from MLA/AWI.
--Participating in a related learning activity.
• Encourage adoption by sheep producers of the key management principles and practices outlined in the manual with a view to increasing profitability and sustainability.

Key outcomes and achievements:
• Between the launch (January 23) and June 30, 2008, more than 100 stories relating to the launch were published / broadcast in national, state and regional media with a combined circulation of almost 400,000.
• ABC NSW Countryhour devoted a significant portion of its program on January 23 to the launch and a national story was syndicated to other states in the same week. On the NSW Countryhour website, the story included the AWI and MLA hotline numbers.
• Coverage was achieved in all state rural weekly publications: Queensland Country Life, The Land, Stock & Land, the Weekly Times, Stock Journal, Farm Weekly, The Countryman.
• ABC TV’s Landline reported on the launch on May 25, featuring Advocates from QLD, NSW, and SA. This coverage resulted in an immediate spike in visitors to the website.

Since the launch to June 30, 2008 at least:
• 850 hardcopy manuals were sold.
• 650 CDs were ordered.
• There were 568 downloads of the complete manual.
• There were 6,600 website visits from within Australia.
• Independent research conducted by Agscan in mid-2008 indicted that 58 per cent of sheep producers were aware of the program.

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Murray Darling Basin stakeholder forums

Coorong and Lower Lakes and Moama
Before mid 2008 it became apparent that the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) areas were facing a serious ecological crisis. In May 2008, the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council directed the Community Advisory Committee to work with stakeholders to coordinate two ‘invitation only’ stakeholder forums regarding management options for the Coorong and Lower Lakes. Through these forums held at Murray Bridge in South Australia and Moama in New South Wales, stakeholder and community views would be formulated and provided to Ministerial Council to assist Ministers’ consideration of the immediate and short-term management options.

Key outcomes and achievements
The two workshops, dealing with complex issues and intense emotions, were expertly facilitated so that all participants felt heard and recorded. After the workshop the findings and suggestions were drawn together under seven main themes:The need for urgent action, guiding principles and values, exploring the problems and challenges, short term approaches – preferred options, longer term approaches – preferred options, social/cultural considerations and questions and further issues. This allowed those receiving the report to comprehend and assess the large volume of material arising from the workshop.

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Look. Check. Ask an Expert

Animal Health Australia’s Protect Australian Livestock Campaign ran from 2001 to 2006. It aimed to educate Australian livestock producers about biosecurity. In 2003 Plant Health Australia commenced a similar plant health awareness campaign which aimed to make commercial plant producers aware that plant health is an important issue to them individually, to their industry and the national economy at large, and there are steps they can take to reduce the risk of exotic pests and diseases.

The Plant Health Australia campaign won the Public Relations Institute of Australia (ACT) Award for Excellence 2004 in the Community Communication Category and was commended in the PRIA National Golden Target Awards 2004 in the category of community communication.

Main project outcomes:
These major campaigns saw the production of extensive national communication materials across all key livestock sectors and plant industry groups. Many of these materials are still in use, including:
• Biosecurity information kit
• Extensive web information and updates
• Fact sheets, posters, fridge magnets, postcards
• Media relations materials – editorials, feature stories and newsletters.

Communication goals:
The campaigns aimed to:
• Educate Australian plant and animal owners about biosecurity
• Encourage them to prevent pests and disease outbreaks on their property
• Reduce the risk of exotic pests and diseases.

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