Ag group builds on strong foundations

Past and present members, staff and partners of the grower group made their way to the Dalwallinu Hall on Friday, August 25, to honour the significant contributions the Liebe Group has made to agriculture since its inception in 1997.

The idea for the grower group was born in 1996, when Buntine farmers and Liebe Group co-founders Stuart McAlpine and the late Kim Diamond decided it was time to act upon the community’s desire for greater investment in local agricultural research.

“Basically we were just chewing the fat and probably complaining a bit because most of the research was conducted out of the Department of Agriculture which had offices in Moora, Three Springs and Wongan Hills and we just happened to be right in the middle of all of those and probably weren’t – we didn’t feel – getting enough work happening in our area,” Mr McAlpine said.

“So we started talking about getting a group of farmers together – Kim had done a lot of innovative stuff in Landcare and Saltland Pastures and had seen the benefit of that – so we thought we needed to set up a grower group that worked in more of a co-operative environment with everyone.

“What we wanted to do was create this group where everyone came to us and we created this efficient environment where we did trials close by so we could look at all the trials on one day and have an information day, so we had a lot of information on one day, rather than going here and there for different events.”

In 1997 Mr McAlpine and Mr Diamond presented their proposal for a not-for-profit, grower-driven, grassroots grower group covering the agricultural regions of Latham, Buntine and Wubin to local farmers and were met with overwhelming support.

The organisation, first named the Latham, Buntine, Wubin (LBW) Research and Development Group –evolved to include Coorow, Dalwallinu, Perenjori and Wongan- Ballidu shires.

With the inclusion of the new shires a new name was needed, with inspiration coming from renowned German-born builder and local farmer Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Liebe.

Mr Liebe came to Australia from Germany in 1885, after making his name as a builder and an architect in Hungary and Bulgaria.

His building career continued in Australia and he was involved in the construction of His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth, the WA Art Gallery and The Peninsula Hotel in Maylands.

In what was a late career change, Mr Liebe began farming in 1908 and by the by the late 1920s he owned more than 8000 hectares in the Wubin region.

He is believed to have been the first person in the world to produce about 9500 tonnes (106,000 bags) of wheat in one season in 1929.

Mr McAlpine said Mr Liebe’s legacy of innovation and progressive farming was one that matched the key drivers of the grower group.

“Liebe was a very innovative farmer,” Mr McAlpine said.

“He did early night shift lights on tractors, bulk handling and started farming when he was over 50 years of age.

“He was a renowned builder so the name had this nice linkage to other areas and cities because I think even back then – and it’s probably only gotten worse – that sort of linkage back to the city was lessening along with that understanding of the intricacies of agriculture.

“That has been a great part of our story.”

Over the past 20 years the Liebe Group has grown to represent more than 100 farming businesses covering more than 1 million hectares of land and has been instrumental in assisting the progression of agricultural research and development across the State.

The group has grown from one staff member to five, and will soon move into a new building in Dalwallinu.

Mr McAlpine said a major achievement of the group – and something he was most proud of – was its inclusivity of all community members.

“Our motto is working together in agriculture and it has really been that collective, that working together motto that we have that is the success of the group, it has been well supported,” he said.

“It’s been about empowering other people to have a go and have a turn – that has been our success, the people have been our success and the partners.

“The inclusivity of everyone, particularly the women with our women’s committee, it was traditionally a male thing but we were seeing a lot of capable, professional, young women coming back into the area that have a lot to offer so we wanted to create that environment of inclusivity.”

Liebe Group executive officer Rebecca McGregor attributes much of the success of the group to its founding members, who were each honoured at the anniversary dinner.

She said although the Liebe Group had evolved, its core values remained much the same as they did 20 years ago.

“A lot of the values and the core business objectives as a group that were set in those early days still remain and that’s probably how the group remains true to what its purpose is, it needs to remain grassroots driven and driven from the ground up so I think that’s definitely something that hasn’t changed,” Ms McGregor said.

“I am excited for the next 20 years and believe it will see new opportunities for the Liebe Group and our members.

“We are keen to continue to drive local RD & E from the ground up and proactively seek new opportunities that are relevant and beneficial to our members.”

Mr McAlpine said he was confident the Liebe Group would remain instrumental in progressing agriculture locally and across the State, with the next generation of Liebe Group members showing plenty of enthusiasm.

He believed there were several opportunities on the horizon for the organisation to explore, which he hoped would continue to improve the industry for generations to come.

“Now that it’s a generation old and we see the next generation of farmers coming through, we’re seeing a lot of father and sons involved in the group and I’m confident that we’ll see grandsons and granddaughters being involved in the group as well,” Mr McAlpine said.

“There’s lots of opportunities out there to create industries that can be a lot more efficient and grower groups need to be a part of that.”