2012/732 Trialing regional grower groups to extend and build on CRC outputs

By Tom Lewis, Ray Murphy, Don Defenderfer and Rachel King

The Oysters Australia Board and the Seafood CRC identified the need to develop and deliver practical, grower-focused extension and communication activities to increase the return from CRC research and development outputs. Discussions with oyster growers from Tasmania, South Australia and New South Wales indicated that many would value the support to form and establish such groups but lack the time or knowledge to do so effectively.

RDS Partners’ experience in working with terrestrial farming enterprises shows that properly formed and managed industry-driven grower groups can become self-sustaining and provide ongoing value to members – sometimes for decades.
This project was designed to deliver and test the efficacy of grower group activities in extending CRC-related research information to the Australian edible oyster industry. The project will report on and evaluate the success of trialing these grower groups.

This project aimed to: 

1. Establish six regional oyster grower groups in Tasmania (2), South Australia (2) and New South Wales(2).
2. Evaluate blogs, video vignettes and webinars as tools to increase grower links and learning opportunities.
3. Work to ensure the project (e.g. grower group extension model) has a self-sustaining legacy after the life of the CRC
4. Support the establishment and support of commercial grower groups by a commercial provider on a voluntary, non-exclusive basis