2025: Better Crews, Better Margins

Despite all the challenges of 2024, the ongoing cost of production crisis, workforce shortages, and razor thin margins, we believe 2025 can be the year our vegetable, potato, and onion growers rally and reimagine what’s possible in agriculture.

The Current State of Play

The AUSVEG Vegetable Industry Sentiment Report in September highlighted some alarming trends:

34% of growers were considering leaving the industry within the next 12 months.
50% of growers were financially worse off than the previous year.

With many growers unable to invest in critical infrastructure, innovation, and sustainability projects, the question is:

How do we turn this around?

As a labour hire organisation focused solely on agriculture, we’re delivering high value workforce solutions that meet the unique needs of farms. We don’t dabble in other industries. We live and breathe farming.

We don’t just find you “workers.” Our recruitment funnel is rigorous, using psychometric testing and thorough vetting so your farm gets reliable, committed team members who actually want to be there. This means:

Less waste on unproductive employees.
Reduced turnover and training costs.
Higher productivity and profit for your farm.

Firm and Focused

We might be friendly and supportive, but we don’t muck around. Our team continuously monitors and supports your workforce to keep performance levels high, making sure your farm’s standards are not just met but exceeded.

Compliance That Protects You

When it comes to compliance, we tick all the boxes (and then some):

Fair Work
SEDEX
StaffSure

A recent example highlights the challenges farmers in Northern Queensland faced during a Fair Work blitz. Many farmers unknowingly contracted undocumented foreign workers without visas because they trusted smaller, non-commercial labour hire providers. Despite being unaware of these compliance issues, farmers were still fined and subjected to public shaming through media coverage. For some, this not only led to hefty financial penalties but also tarnished reputations built over generations.

We’re 100% compliant with Fair Work, SEDEX, and StaffSure standards. Our team regularly assists clients with their own audits (SEDEX, Fair Farms, Coles, Woolworths, just to name a few). This high level of compliance and transparency means you stay on the right side of the law, maintain a stellar industry reputation, and protect your farm’s bottom line, without worrying that something might “fly under the radar.”

PALM Scheme

There’s been lots of talk about the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme, how it works and which farms benefit the most. We’ve seen its advantages first hand:

Reliable, Dedicated Workforce
Workers from the Pacific Islands and Timor-Leste are committed, often returning season after season, giving you a stable labour force.

Long Term Employment
With placements of up to four years, you can significantly lower turnover and training costs while building a core group of experienced workers.

Flexible Placement Options
Whether you need short term (6 – 9 months) or longer term (1 – 4 years), you can tailor your workforce to meet seasonal peaks.

Unique Cultural Insights
We don’t just parachute in an Australian manager with zero cultural understanding. Left Field employs Pacific Islanders to manage Pacific Islanders, creating a harmonious, productive environment.

Direct Recruitment
We rely on embedded local operatives who scout, screen, and select the very best workers, so you get the best, and the others get the rest.

Cultural Understanding and Support

Our commitment doesn’t end when workers arrive on your farm. We take care of pastoral needs properly, not just to tick a compliance box. Our dedicated Welfare Managers ensure:

Quick in-person response times
High levels of worker satisfaction
Seamless conflict resolution
Workers in a positive, productive mindset

When issues are managed quickly and support is ongoing, your workers can do what they came to do – work hard and work well.

Motivated, Goal Oriented Workers

We treat every PALM worker as an individual with big dreams and real life goals. By helping them set and track their personal objectives, they stay focused and motivated. For you, this means:

Higher performance
Greater productivity
Reduced turnover

When workers feel their job aligns with their ambitions, everybody wins.

Cost Effective

We get it, some assume we’re pricey because we don’t cut corners. And yes, top tier recruitment, genuine pastoral care, and ironclad compliance do cost money. But here’s the twist: we’re constantly finding ways to be more cost effective just like you are. That means through systemisation and smart decision making, our low overhead costs are passed directly onto our farms in savings. That means you get a high quality workforce, unwavering compliance, and continual support without breaking the bank.

How can we stay cost competitive? We don’t have any physical offices, we’re now fully remote, so you’re not paying for our rent. We’ve also automated everything from onboarding to invoicing, meaning no unnecessary admin or finance overheads that you end up paying for. Plus, we’ve redesigned our management and supervisor structures (without losing support) so you’re not paying for unnecessary wage and vehicle overheads.

Make 2025 More Productive

With the reducing margins in Australia’s agricultural industry, we know you have to constantly switch gears, which means we do to. Let’s make 2025 the year we: