Beangrowers Australia

Managing Director's Report

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Managing Directors Report - November 2011

2011 has been a tough year by any standard. With crops impacted by floods, poor growing conditions, a softer international market and a high Australian Dollar, there has been little positive news to report. The resolve and support of our grower base cannot be underestimated, having received the second largest crop in our history under very difficult circumstances. With the majority of the crop having been marketed, our staff have worked extremely hard to deliver as much value as possible in terms of price, clean seed yield and payment back to the grower. Having made losses for the season to date, we have shared some of the financial pain with our stakeholders and learned many lessons from this adversity. Bean Growers Australia is now looking forward to the new growing season with enthusiasm. There are a number of new projects and opportunities which will offer more value and profitability to our stakeholders.

In light of an excellent offer from Ruralco, Bean Grower's Board made the decision to sell its controlling interest in its rural merchandise subsidiary BGA AgriServices. BGA AgriServices will continue to operate under the same banner with the same staff but with a different shareholder. The sale crystallised significant value for all BGA AgriServices shareholders. A portion of the proceeds will be employed to enhance the core Bean Growers Australia business by lowering its financial exposure and to fund previously approved capital projects.

Commissioned in April at a cost of $1.4 million, the first stage of our Plant 2 redevelopment has seen service through the current season. The state of the art plant, consisting of Cimbria cleaning equipment out of Denmark has tripled capacity on our Plant 2 line. The De-Stoner has more than proved its worth this season enabling efficient removal of dirt clods and stones that would have otherwise made some lines unsaleable. It is planned that the second stage, which will enhance our existing polishing and colour sorting capacity, will be commissioned prior to the 2012 harvest.

With the increased growth in our business, pressure on segregated storage is now at an all time high. Early 2012 will see the removal of our 3,500t Bulk Storage Shed and 14 low quality seed silos and the construction of 3,500t of sealed, aerated, segregated storage will replace the outdated facility. Individual silos of 155t and 200t constructed by Denny’s Engineering will provide the necessary segregation for the future. Under-silo belts planned for the new storage system will, allow us to directly feed both cleaning plants from over 7,500t of storage, giving us considerable savings in labour costs and efficiency.

Management and staff (with the support of the Board) are continually striving to keep Bean Growers Australia at the forefront of the pulse industry. We wish everyone the best for the New Year ahead and look forward to working with established and new customers in 2012.

Lloyd Neilsen

Managing Director

Bean Growers Australia

Board Members

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A proportion of board positions are declared vacant annually. Nominations are called for in September. Voting is on the basis of one vote per share held. Copies of booklets containing company rules and the election process are available from the Company Secretary, Katrina Usher, phone 07 4162 1100.

Serving Directors are Mark Adamson (Chairman), Lloyd Neilsen (Managing Director), Ian Broadfoot and Colin Hoey. The Finance and Administration Manager is Rebecca Williams.

For Customers/Buyers

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This section is under construction, please contact Domestic Sales Manager, Mark Schmidt, for more information.

Dealing with Bean Growers Australia

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Bean Growers Australia prides itself on being a professional and friendly organisation to deal with for growers and customers alike.

For general enquiries or contact information for one of our staff members, please visit Contact Us.

If you are a grower and have some questions about dealing with Bean Growers, please visit For Growers. If that section doesn't answer all your questions, please don't hesitate to contact the appropriate staff member.

If you are a customer of Bean Growers Australia, or have enquiries regarding becoming a customer, please visit For Customers/Buyers for information regarding dealing with us. If that section doesn't answer all your questions, please don't hesitate to contact the appropriate staff member.

A range of grower forms are also available for printing from this site, including:-

If you require directions for our bean handling facility at Kingaroy, please visit Get Directions.

Contract to Supply Bean Growers Australia

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How do I supply my crop to Bean Growers?

First & foremost, make contact with us; preferably before you plant & definitely before you deliver any crops.
After making contact & deciding you wish to deal with us, mail/fax a completed EFT/RCTI form immediately to our office so we can pay directly into your bank account
Get in touch if/when you want to discuss a contract to supply Bean Growers Australia
At harvest time, make arrangements for delivery (see below for more detail)

How do I arrange delivery of my crop to Bean Growers?

Choose the transport company you want to deliver your crop
Give the Bean Growers team 24 hours notice of your delivery
Ensure you send a Grower Vendor Declaration Form with your first load of each crop (ie. one form, per crop per season)
General Weighbridge Open Hours – 7.30 am – 3.30 pm (ensure you have give 24 hours notice)
Instruct your transport company to enter the weighbridge from Youngman St (see Get Directions).

Shareholder Information

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Shareholder Information

Beangrowers Australia is a public unlisted company limited by shares. There are 1,423,945 shares in Bean Growers Australia Limited.

Company performance - Year 2010/11

Audited results for 2010/2011 will be released to shareholders in October. The year finished on a negative note and was impacted by crop losses, intake quality issues (including weather damage and dirt in many deliveries slowing production), the continuing difficult international market, general lack of business confidence, client business failures and the high Australian dollar. The unaudited result showed profitability retreating to $1,038,616. This is not a poor result but is one that failed to capitalise on a promising beginning.

A large client, Pars Ram Brothers Pty Ltd, went into administration during August 2011. Bean Growers Australia has been a long term supplier to this business and seems very likely to suffer losses in the end result. As the trading debts arising from sales to this customer were incurred in 2010/2011, provision has been included in the accounts for the year. Quite a few industry competitors were also affected. For Bean Growers Australia, the occurrence is a setback rather than a disaster.

New Financial Period

First quarter months, July and August, trading has continued to be below expectation with very poor or no margin being available on some export lines. A turn around in the Mungbean and Adzuki Bean markets would be welcome news. A lot hangs on weather events in other parts of the world and a return of consumer confidence.

Sale of Subsidiary - BGA AgriServices

In light of an excellent offer from Ruralco, the Bean Growers Australia Board made the decision to sell its controlling interest in its rural merchandise subsidiary BGA AgriServices. BGA AgriServices will continue to operate under the same banner with the same staff but a different shareholder. The sale crystalised significant value that had previously been illiquid. Some of the proceeds will be employed to enhance the core Bean Growers Australia business. This enhancement includes a storage upgrade at River Road, Kingaroy.

Shares and Trading

For more information about the impact on Bean Growers Australia share trading arising from the sale of its shares in AgriServices see the letter to shareholders from the Company Chairman Letter to Shareholders. This segment is updated each quarter.

All enquiries to buy or sell shares are to be made with the Company Secretary, Katrina Usher, at the company's head office (see Contact Us).

Our Team

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Lloyd Neilsen, Managing Director

Lloyd Neilsen was appointed as Managing Director of Bean Growers Australia in 2008 after commencing in the role of Marketing Manager in 2001. Lloyd has 19 years experience in the Grains and Pulse industries and currently sits on the Board of Soy Australia.

Having grown up on the land, Lloyd considers the growers to be the foundation that Bean Growers Australia is built upon and is proactive in the development of grower products and services.

As manager of Export Sales, Lloyd is responsible for the development of the company’s international trade and risk management strategies and is actively developing relationships with customers in key geographic locations around the globe.

Lloyd attributes much of Bean Growers Australia’s success to being the direct supply chain link between growers and our export and domestic customers.

Mark Schmidt, Domestic Sales & Mungbean Marketing

Mark Schmidt has 20 years of experience in the Grain and Pulse industry and is responsible for the domestic marketing of grains and pulses processed by Bean Growers Australia. The ranges of commodities include Popcorn, Navy Beans, Soybeans, Chickpeas, Mungbean, Black Eye Beans, Adzuki Beans and Field peas. Mark works with a wide range of customers including Popcorn Cinemas and Popcorn processors, repackagers of all of these products, Soybean manufacturers and Mungbean Sprouters.

Mark is also involved with the marketing and purchasing of Mungbeans and involved with industry groups.

Ronnie Burgess, Production Manager

Ronnie Burgess leads the Bean Growers Australian production team and has fifteen years experience in staff management, production management and quality assurance. Ronnie is responible for overseeing the electronic colour sorter, grading plant and automatic packaging line in addition to managing the company's Workplace Health and Safety policy.

Andrew McDonald, Specialty Grain Procurement

Andrew McDonald has been involved in agricultural production for all of his working life of nearly twenty years. Andrew grew up on a cropping and cattle family farming enterprise in the South Burnett Region and knows the challenges faced everyday by people on the land. Before joining Beangrowers Australia, Andrew was an Agronomist with BGA Agriservices, specializing in servicing their Horticulture clientele in a broad and diverse range of crops, as well as continuing to have a strong interest in broad acre production in that role. Since joining Beangrowers Australia in 2008, Andrew has continued to provide a high level of expertise to all of our loyal producers and provides assistance to the pulse industry. Andrew currently sits on the panel with the South East Zone for the Grains Research and Development Corporation. All accumulation employees are involved in the agriculture industry in some way or another, from research and development through to quality assurance. Beangrowers Australia continues to build strong relationships with growers in ever changing seasons and trading arenas.

Judy Plath, Wide Bay Area Manager

Judy Plath has twelve years experience working in crop production and extension in the horticultural and sugar cane industries. Judy championed the introduction of legume break crops in the sugar industry in the Childers and Maryborough districts and supported sugar growers to grow profitable, food-grade soybeans. Judy now supports growers from the Wide Bay region who are interested in growing pulse/legume crops in their farming systems.

Lee Moller, Seed Production Coordinator

Lee Moller recently joined the Bean Growers Australia team and brings sixteen years of experience in farm management and crop production. For the past eight years Lee has been managing an irrigated, mixed cropping enterprise in Central Queensland, specialising in seed crop production. This role saw Lee win the Inaugural National Australian Mungbean Association Grower of the Year Award for his excellence in mungbean crop production and marketing. Lee has extensive experience with many crops including mungbeans, navy beans, black eyed peas, millet, pasture grasses, chickpeas and more.

Andrew Zerner, Technical Support

Andrew Zerner has 20 years experience in rural industries. For the last two years Andrew has worked in the Accumulation Department at Bean Growers Australia in a technical support role. This has naturally led Andrew into being more involved with Quality Assurance while maintaining his accumulation duties. He works closely with the Accumulation Department and growers, the entire production process and then with both the Domestic and Export Departments. Andrew actively strives to improve the overall quality of our products, the efficiencies of our systems and satisfaction of our customers.

For contact details for our team, please see Contact Us.

Other Crops

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Chickpeas - Macarenas

large white seed
culinary markets – domestic & export
similar to a standard Desi chickpea agronomically but more susceptibe to lodging and waterlogging
planting window is typically mid May to mid June
100 – 125 kg/ha depending on seed size etc
Most suited to Tropic of Capricorn ie Central Qld (Emerald/Central Highlands)
Need contract to grow as they are a speciality seed

Popping Corn

Black Eye Beans

Field Peas

Our Crops

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Bean Growers Australia trades in a number of pulse and grain crops including Mungbeans, Soybeans, Navy Beans, Adzuki Beans, Chickpeas and Popping Corn.

Bean Growers Australia sources product from growers (shareholders and non-shareholders) from a range of growing regions throughout Queensland and New South Wales, including (but not limited to):-

Lakelands District (West of Cooktown)
Burdekin Irrigation Area/Far North Queensland
Emerald Irrigation Area
Callide/Dawson
North Burnett
Wide Bay-Burnett
South Burnett
Darling Downs
Fassifern Valley
Northern Rivers NSW
Southern Downs/QLD Border
? Plains (Mooree/Narrabri)
Wagga Wagga / MIA

To learn more about supplying Bean Growers Australia with product or purchasing seed from Bean Growers Australia please see For Growers.

Australian Retail

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Bean Growers Australia offers a ranges of commodities for Australian retail customers, including Popcorn, Navy Beans, Soybeans, Chickpeas, Mungbean, Black Eye Beans, Adzuki Beans and Field peas. With this range of products we service a wide range of customers including Popcorn Cinemas and Popcorn processors, repackagers of all of these products, Soybean manufacturers and Mungbean Sprouters.

We can organise freight to all capital cities and outlying areas.

Bean Growers have been supplying the domestic market since 1964 with product being handled to ensure safe use for our customers. Product is screen and gravity graded, destoned, color sorted and checked by magnets and metal detectors.

For enquiries regarding Australian retail matters please contact, Domestic Sales Manager Mark Schmidt.