FAQ

Invest in Farming Co-operative Ltd (IIF Coop) is member owned. All active members can participate in share farming programs on the IIF app.

A co-operative is a democratic organisation, owned and controlled by its members for a common benefit.

Members of a cooperative can benefit from economies of scale through the combined purchasing, distribution or marketing power or influence of the group.

You must be an active member of the co-operative to leverage its services. In this case, access to a diverse range of share farming opportunities available on the IIF app.

You simply need to complete the online application form and pay the membership fee. We will confirm your membership by email.

There are two fees to be aware of.

In order to access the app and member share farming opportunities, you need to be a member of the IIF Coop. Membership has an annual fee of $55 (including GST).

For members, there is also a 1% IIF listing fee included on purchases.  For example, a lamb showing in the marketplace for $100 will cost a total of $101 when including the IIF fee at order confirmation.

IIF Coop will source, screen and offer share farming opportunities to its members via the IIF app. As a member, you can elect to participate in any program that you are interested in, in the volumes you desire.

Once a member selects an opportunity, the member provides the funds to the IIF Coop by way of a member contribution (debenture). IIF Coop will then purchase the items on the member’s behalf and the item will be show in the member’s Farm on the IIF app.

The relevant farmers will use their best endeavours to farm the items on behalf of IIF (and the member). The farmers will provide updates during the growing period. An indicative holding period will be displayed, but the farmer will determine when the items are ready to sell and fetch the best price. IIF Coop will oversee this process and collect the proceeds upon settlement.

The profit (or loss) will then be determined and settled with the member.

One of the key benefits for the IIF model is the ability to build a farm spread across different products, producers and regions. This reduces the concentration and the risk. We encourage members to learn about and participate in a diverse range of opportunities.

There are risks in farming and there are no certainties in the outcomes. The harvest yield, price and timing will be determined by an array of factors, especially weather and market conditions. There is a chance your farm product will be negatively impacted and not reach potential. In this case you may suffer a financial loss on that farm item.

No, this is not an investment product or managed investment scheme. With a managed fund, people typically invest in a fund and the manager of that fund chooses where to invest.

With the IIF Coop, we simply find farmers producing foods that we think our members would like to support. We provide the app that facilitates each opportunity. But each member is free to choose what product to purchase and members may profit from the outcomes of their selected programs. That’s it.

The reason behind IIF is the same as the reason behind community supported agriculture (CSA). It is designed to connect the people who grow it with the people who eat it.

With CSA, supporters are paid with a share of the produce. With IIF, members are paid from the profit of sale of the produce.

Community supported agriculture generally only works for local farms – because investors need to collect their share of the year’s harvest.

With IIF, members will be able to support farms around the world – and get paid when these farmers send their produce to market.

When each farm item you have purchased is harvested and sold, the profit is added to your account where is can be used to reinvest or withdraw. Profits are treated as interest in the hands of members and you will receive a tax statement at the end of each financial year.

In the event that a loss occurs, there would be a repayment equal to the actual sale value and the loss may be deductible depending on your own circumstances.

In this example you are buying an actual cow, but it is part of a larger mob of the same type/stage. For instance, IIF members might own 40 cattle of a farmers mob. If 1 unfortunately dies, the remaining 39 will still sell and the profit is shared across the 40 members. This spreads the mortality risk.

We have a robust process in place to ensure positive outcomes with farmers. In addition to our vetting process and the Co-operative taking title to the assets, there’s a signed agreement in place with the farmer that has documentation and validation clauses. Transparency also encourages positivity and there are many agricultural benchmarks to ensure reasonable outcomes. In the unlikely event a farmer breaks the agreement, there are legal avenues available to recoup the initial capital.

Farming is variable and the outcomes are not guaranteed, but we present opportunities to members that have a strong likelihood of succeeding in most periods. In consultation with the farmer, we will present the target outcome (timeframe and price) but the actual return to the member will be determined by the final sale price. The resulting profit is always shared as illustrated in the table below.