IYC PARTNER ORGANISATIONS

GOLD PARTNERS

ALLIANCE GROUPEstablished in 1948 in Southland, Alliance Group is a farmer owned cooperative with over 5,000 farmer-shareholders. The company produces around 30% of New Zealand’s sheepmeat production, 10% of its beef production and 20% of its venison production. Alliance Group is one of the world’s largest producers of sheepmeat, accounting for 15% of the world’s cross-border sheepmeat trade.

CAPRICORN SOCIETYIn the 1970s, the first members of Capricorn joined together to level out the competitive playing field between themselves and ‘big’ business in the automotive industry. Capricorn provides its members with greater access to suppliers, rewards their spending with suppliers and allows them to enjoy other benefits of being a member. Today, Capricorn has a growing membership with over 14,000 members in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, and it works with more than 2,200 suppliers.

FOODSTUFFS NEW ZEALANDFoodstuffs has a long, proud history dating back to 1922, when founder J Heaton Barker called together members of the Auckland Master Grocers’ Association to discuss the formation of a cooperative buying-group. Foodstuffs manages the New World, Pak’nSave and Four Square stores and is New Zealand’s biggest grocery distributor, and one of the country’s largest organisations.

RABOBANKRabobank New Zealand is part of the international Rabobank Group, the world’s leading food and agri-business bank. Rabobank believes New Zealand has some of the world’s leading primary producers, and they are extremely important in the global food chain. As one of New Zealand’s largest rural lenders and a significant provider of corporate financial services to the food and agribusiness sectors, Rabobank has 32 branches strategically located to service rural communities.

THE CO-OPERATIVE BANKThe Co-operative Bank was founded in 1928, which makes it one of the longest-serving financial institu-tions in New Zealand. What differentiates The Co-operative Bank from other banks is that it is 100% owned by its customers. With its head office in Wellington, The Co-operative Bank has 31 branches around New Zealand, approximately 127,000 members, and employs more than 350 people.

SILVER PARTNERS

NZPMThe NZPM was established in 1964 when a group of master plumbers formed a cooperative to establish a merchant chain throughout New Zealand. The goal was to improve the profitability and quality of service and products to its plumber members. Today, with around 1,000 members, NZPM is the only 100% New Zealand owned national plumbing cooperative.

RAVENSDOWNAs a cooperative 100% owned by farmers, Ravensdown exists to optimise soil fertility and farm profita-bility in a sustainable way. Ravensdown people source, combine and apply nutrients for New Zealand and Australian farmers who need to manage farm inputs effectively. Using its buying power, supply chain, logistical infrastructure, personalised technical advice and efficient fertiliser production, Ravensdown enables shareholders to secure maximum value and to farm sustainably.

SILVER PARTNERS

SILVER FERN FARMSSilver Fern Farms is New Zealand’s leading processor and marketer of lamb, mutton, beef, venison and associated products. As a farmer-controlled cooperative representing more than 16,000 farmer sharehold-ers, the company operates 23 processing facilities throughout the country, employing more than 7,000 staff in peak season. Silver Fern Farms aspires to be a fully integrated, market-focused company investing in differentiated consumer products which adds value for its farmer partners, customers and members.

BRONZE PARTNERS

ASHBURTON TRADING SOCIETYAshburton Trading Society (ATS) is a rural supply cooperative in Canterbury which was established by local farmers who were seeking a means of achieving lower input costs for their farming businesses. ATS began business with a discount charge card and went on to establish retail outlets in Ashburton, Methven and Rakaia. Today, with more than 3,000 shareholders, ATS has a growing membership and employs over 70 full-time staff.

BALLANCE AGRI-NUTRIENTSA 100-percent farmer-owned cooperative with more than 18,000 shareholders throughout New Zealand, Ballance Agri-Nutrients is one of this country’s leading fertiliser specialists. Today, Ballance is a truly national company, with 700 staff located from the Far North to the Deep South. The cooperative places a strong emphasis on delivering value to members and on the use of a scientific approach to plant nutrient management.

FARMLANDS TRADING SOCIETYFarmlands started out in 1962 when a group of like-minded farmers and growers banded together to get better prices on the rural supplies they needed for their farms and orchards. They had two objectives: to supply members with products and services at a lower everyday cost than they would pay elsewhere; and to deliver shareholder returns in the long term. Nearly half a century on, this hasn’t changed – today the cooperative has 27,000 members and employs 450 people around the North Island.

LICAs a dairy farmer owned cooperative, LIC exists to provide farmers with solutions which will boost their productivity and profitability. LIC dates back to 1909, when dairy farmers in the Manawatu joined together to compare herd production. Since then, it has been behind the biggest innovations in dairy science and has grown into a business with 500 full-time staff and 10,000 members.

NZACUThe New Zealand Association of Credit Unions is the industry voice for its 21 member credit unions and four associate members. The NZACU promotes and supports their members, providing them with cost-ef-fective business services, and it plays a leadership role in the financial services industry. NZACU members have 110 branches across New Zealand, assets of over $1.2 billion and 209,000 members.

DONORS

CRTCRT Cooperative exists for one simple reason: to use the collective power of its members to negotiate better deals and improve their individual profitability across all forms of agriculture. The cooperative has developed into a significant feature in the rural market and has grown to more than 25,000 sharehold-ers who transact over $1 billion worth of business through the cooperative annually. In the early 1960s, regional cooperative entities were started, and these later came together to form CRT. While there have been many changes over the years, the one thing that remains true is that the ownership and ultimate direction of the business is in the hands of those who own it – New Zealand’s farmers.

DONORS

PLUS4Plus 4 provides specialist insurance consulting and advice to businesses and individuals. As a cooperative not affiliated with any insurance companies, they provide objective advice based on extensive analysis and research on your personal or business requirements.

DAIRY GOAT COOPERATIVEDairy Goat Cooperative is the world’s leading manufacturer of goat milk nutritional powder products. Established in 1984 as a farmer-owned cooperative, it has 46 members who supply the cooperative and is governed by six farmer directors. DGC developed the world’s first commercial infant formula from goat milk, the world’s first long-life goat milk, and continues to develop and manufacture a range of premium specialty formulations based on goat milk.

WESTLANDIn 1937, a number of small dairy enterprises in the West Coast region joined forces to form the Westland Cooperative Dairy Co. To this day, it is a 100 per cent independent dairy farmer-owned cooperative which sources and processes more than 500 million litres of quality milk annually. Westland produces and exports a range of dairy ingredients and finished products including butter, milk powders, caseinates and milk protein, to more than 50 countries worldwide.

PHARMACY WHOLESALERS (BAY OF PLENTY)Pharmacy Wholesalers Bay of Plenty Ltd supplies pharmacist members with stock requirements and other services essential to their businesses. The cooperative started business in 1978 with 21 members, and this has now grown to 149. Headquartered in Tauranga, they service pharmacists from Gisborne to Kaitaia, with the bulk of members based in the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Coromandel and Auckland regions.

PHARMACY WHOLESALERS (CENTRAL)Pharmacy Wholesalers (Central) provides a comprehensive range of pharmaceutical and related prod-ucts. The cooperative supplies both ethical drug lines and over the counter general sales lines. With fully stocked warehouses in New Plymouth, Napier and Wanganui, the cooperative carries in excess of 12,000 product lines sourced from suppliers in New Zealand and overseas for its members.

COURALCoural provides a New Zealand wide rural parcel, circulars and non-subscription newspaper delivery service. A cooperative, it is owned by 550 independent rural delivery contractors throughout New Zealand. The network operated by Coural utilises the local knowledge of its members, providing the rural sector with a targeted and prompt deliveries to nearly 200,000 rural residents and businesses.

LBMXLBMX is a leading provider of technology solutions for purchasing cooperatives, independent members and their suppliers. These solutions comprise rebate and purchase analysis software, member electronic document delivery and complete EDI services to assist members and groups connect to suppliers. Formed in Canada in 2000 to help cooperatives effectively compete with investor-driven corporate entities, LBMX provides real time rebate management (to ensure rebates are not missed), access to line item member purchase detail (to facilitate focused buying), invoice management solutions (to reduce effort required to process supplier invoices) and effective electronic communication solutions (to make EDI with suppliers and members affordable).