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Ekka · 8th April 2008, 09:58 PM

Here's a great story from Oz, bad guys were Canadian as well as Yank corporations, people screwed over for 10 years with no price rise was spud growers.

Landline - 20/10/01: Potato price war a warning to big business . Australian Broadcasting Corp

Quote:

Potato price war a warning to big business
Reporter: Pip Courtney
First Published: 20/10/01

Richard Boville never set out to lead potato farmers in a David and Goliath battle against processors but a chance comment made at a grower meeting triggered a series of events that changed potato farming history.

While Mr Boville is adamant agripolitics is not for him he is prepared to share the experience he gained in the great potato price war. It serves as a cautionary tale for big business and an inspiration for other farmers who may feel as helpless and outgunned as the Tasmanian potato growers did.

On a sleety miserable Tasmanian morning in May this year 400 potato growers driving millions of dollars worth of farm machinery blockaded the McCain's factory in Smithton.

It was an extraordinary piece of theatre played out for the national media.

"The blockade was only ever meant to be an event to gain media attention to allow us to tell our story to the wider public the blockade was not intended to cause economic harm to the factory," Mr Boville said.

Weeks later potato growers got what they wanted. Canadian-based McCain's was the first to agree to the $30 a tonne increase growers demanded. Some weeks later, with the threat of a national blockade hanging over its heads, Texas-based Simplot followed suit.

But why did more than 400 farmers drive hundreds of kilometres to the Tasmania's north-west corner, to vent their anger in the first place?

Every year grower negotiators like Philip Beswick and Max Mckenna meet Simplot and McCain's to set a price for the coming season. And every year for the last 10, the likes of Phil and Max have walked away with nothing.

Growing the once profitable crop had become unprofitable, so when the call went out for action more than 400 growers agreed to take unprecedented protest action.

"We understand that most of their products have gone up over 30 per cent and many pack sizes have been reduced when we look at the balance sheets we don't see the companies doing very badly at all," Mr Boville said.

"When you look at the spud farmers their net return on investment was - 7 per cent, not the signal of people doing well."

The blockade idea was born in May at a growers' crisis meeting.

At that meeting growers heard if the contract price had kept pace with inflation they would be paid $270 a tonne for their potatoes not $200, but as McCain's and Simplot were unlikely to agree to such a big rise, they should ask for $30 a tonne more.

Richard Boville was in the audience. He had just joined his brother David on the family farm, after 18 years working in supermarket wholesaling. He was still getting used to being a farmer and working the rich chocolate soils of the north-west. The supermarket trade is not a game for the faint hearted and Mr Boville had picked up plenty in his time, including a reputation as a hard-nosed businessman.

He thought the processors were playing the game too hard. His plan was to increase grower earnings not with more talk, but by hitting the companies where they were most vulnerable. Mr Boville wanted a blockade but needed to know how many growers would back such radical action.

Within four days of a mail-out Mr Boville knew he had the numbers, he then appointed group leaders.

Mr Boville's next step was to play a game not many farmers know how to play - the PR game.

Simplot offered roughly half what the growers were after, a bit more than McCain's, but growers were not interested. A date was set for the companies to agree to the increase and when it passed, with no joy for growers, the group leaders were called.

The blockade was a huge success. The national media was all over the story like a rash - the pictures went around the country, as did the growers' simple but effective story.

The blockade was a turning point, the balance of power shifted, the farmers winning the media and PR battle. Even Tasmania's Agriculture Minister backed the growers.

Meanwhile farmers on the mainland watched the blockade intently.

Mr Boville was invited to Victoria to speak to the 85 Ballarat growers contracted to McCain's. McCain's has a large factory in Ballarat and because of the company's importance to the city the local newspaper reported Mr Boville's visit.

McCain's refusal to comment gave the story legs and Ballarat growers voted to blockade if growers around the country did not get a price rise. South Australian and New South Wales growers agreed.

Geoff Moar is one of the biggest growers in the Riverina in southern New South Wales and when the Tasmanian growers won their price rise so did growers around the country.

Mr Moar says growers will never allow processors to hold down the contract price for a decade. He says the blockade brought the country's growers together, something that had not happened before.

Growers might have the price they want for now but it is not clear if things have changed for good.

Last month Simplot cancelled the Bonville brothers pea contract, growers were furious and although Simplot has since reinstated the contract, it is now refusing to collect the TFGA levy - something it has always done.

Following Mr Boville's campaign growers will get more money for their next crop of potatoes, but with the next price negotiation two years away what happens then is anyone's guess.

While the stoush has given Mr Boville an insight into the processors' strengths and weaknesses, he just wants to get back to farming.