It’s hard to believe it has been two years since I was awarded a Nuffield scholarship to study the role of the co-op in helping dairy farmers prosper in marginal areas. The time has skipped by so quickly.

I have travelled to South Africa, Brazil, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Israel, England, Wales and the Netherlands, as well as Washington DC, Virginia and Wisconsin in the US.

I have been honoured and humbled to meet some of the hardest working farmers around the world. Many endure tough working conditions and long working hours in their daily lives.

They survive and put food on the table for their families in remote places such as Brazil and Indonesia through the support of small co-ops (eg Co-op Cootaquara in Brazil) and producer groups.

To watch another individual, develop and grow as a human being is inspiring in itself, and when you are part of a global focus group, travelling and learning together it is infectious

These co-ops and producer groups have given their members financial stability and a brighter future to look forward to through working and communicating with each other.

At the other end of the spectrum, I have wined and dined in embassies around the world, meeting with government officials and attending countless receptions to celebrate all things great about the largest industry in the world - agriculture.

Dairy farming is great for Ireland. With a good milk price, it is financially rewarding. It creates employment, it requires ongoing capital investment and the products are natural healthy and highly nutritious.

Core of rural communities

The social capital created is also huge and dairy farms are a core part of the rural communities in Ireland, especially in marginal areas.

There are two sides to every story and being the slightly more mature Nuffield scholar has helped me appreciate this as I travelled and witnessed all the amazing moments of enlightenment and empowerment that happen during many presentations, discussions, debates, formal and informal meetings and farm visits with my fellow Nuffield travellers.

To watch another individual, develop and grow as a human being is inspiring in itself, and when you are part of a global focus group, travelling and learning together it is infectious.

Learnings

My light-bulb moment glowed red hot while in Japan where I realised that too much farm support is not good for the farmer or the long-term benefit of the agriculture industry. It just stifles innovation and discourages market development and research.

A group of the 2017 Nuffield scholars discussing all things agriculture in Washington DC.

While at the Contemporary Scholars Conference in Brazil, I was introduced to the world of value innovation. Put simple, it is the art of producing a product that people want but that not many other businesses can replicate. This product can be processed economically and safely, while ensuring a premium price is achieved from the customer.

A2 milk is one example of this.

Internal communication

While sitting in at a Nuffield Ireland meeting, reviewing our travel plans last summer, one executive member talked about “IT systems” (internal communications) with other buzz words about two-way communication systems.

Internal communication is the function responsible for effective communication among participants within an organisation and it is one of the most important assets a co-op has.

I realised that it is only with an open and honest system of internal communications between farmers and board members along with the management and staff of a co-op that the co-op will achieve all that it aspires to in the first place.

It was refreshing to see good communications helping to bring about new ideas and ways to encourage participation within many of the co-ops I visited

On further travels to the Netherlands and England, I discovered the importance these buzzwords/concepts have for co-ops to achieve the goals that the farmer members want from them.

It was refreshing to see good communications helping to bring about new ideas and ways to encourage participation within many of the co-ops I visited.

When the members of the co-op get involved and support the direction the co-op is moving in, problems are shared and solved and, out of necessity, many good innovative solutions emerge. It is every bit as powerful and infectious as being part of a group learning on a global travel programme such as Nuffield.