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24/02/2025
The Bonaccord Group’s Gerald Ingram with Farm to Fork host, Michael Weldon.
Visit any supermarket aisle across Australia and chances are you’ll find fresh produce grown by Victoria’s Ingram family.
And soon all Australians will have the opportunity to step on-farm virtually, thanks to a partnership between Rabobank and Channel 10’s Farm to Fork cooking program.
Three episodes will air featuring host Michael Weldon showcasing recipes using produce grown by the family, filmed on farm, and it’s an opportunity CEO of The Bonaccord Group, Ross Ingram, believes is valuable in promoting agriculture to consumers.
“One of the biggest issues plaguing agriculture is connecting rural and urban Australia,” Ross says.
“This partnership between Farm to Fork and Rabobank clients sharing stories of their produce, how it’s grown and incorporated into recipes ultimately helps educate Australians on where their food comes from.”
With the whole family involved in filming, Ross said everyone ‘got a kick out of it’, despite a few nerves.
“Michael Weldon was brilliant, a really lovely fellow and thankfully he put us all at ease, and we’re excited to share with Australia our part of the world and our fresh produce – I think the whole crew was surprised by how much we are able to grow.”
Episodes featuring the Ingram family will be aired on Monday, February 24th, Monday, March 3 and Wednesday March 5th at 12pm on Channel 10, or catch up anytime on 10Play. An episode has also previously aired on February 20.
Family values fuel success
With four Ingram brothers, their spouses, and the next generation working side-by-side, The Bonaccord Group is synonymous with family.
Generations of the Ingram family.
Together, they run a fully integrated operation, producing vegetables, grain and beef while also managing a freight service that supports their diverse business activities.
It is this strong sense of family that has been integral to the company’s success and growth, Ross believes.
“We enjoy what we do,” Ross explains. “We put everything back into the business, so having that solid family foundation and wives that support you and are prepared to work with you is a massive advantage.”
Starting out as a 20-hectare dairy farm on the Mitchell River near Lindenow in Victoria’s East Gippsland region, the now multi-faceted operation spans around 1,860 hectares, including 100 hectares of leased land.
Ross and Joy Ingram.
“We have grown from a dairy farm growing a few vegetables for a processor through to now, producing 30,000 tonnes of vegetables, turning over 1,000 steers a year, and growing barley and wheat,” he says. “We also run a transport company of 50 interstate trucks carting produce and goods for other major companies.”
The group specialises in fresh and processed vegetables for the domestic market, including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, cos lettuce, baby spinach, lettuce mix, sweet corn, beans, and potatoes.
Cameron Ingram with the family’s current cabbage crop.
With an in-house nursery to grow seedlings, as well as packing shed, cool rooms, and refrigerated trucks, the business is “fully integrated from one end to the other,” Ross says.
Innovations driving sustainable growth
Their circular approach sees them utilise the vegetable waste to feed their steers, with around 3,000 tonnes of shed waste including corn husk, cauliflower leaves and cos lettuce trimmings fed out each year.
“We have been feeding out the waste for around 16 years now,” he says. “With one of the farms we bought used to run more cattle to feed the waste out.”
This focus on sustainability is part of the business’s continual adoption of best practice, new innovation and technologies.
“We are very early adopters of technology,” Ross says, citing early industry adoption of safety features on their trucks and trailers, GPS technology, on-farm cool rooms, and refrigerated trucks.
However, he emphasises the importance of strategic adoption. “I don’t necessarily think you need to adopt every new technology that comes down the track, but you have to ask yourself: Is this going to add value to our business before you go out and spend the money?”
Michael Weldon, Gerald Ingram and Rabobank manager, Dee Commins inspect the current corn crop.
Ross says surrounding themselves with good people has also been a core foundation of their business, with up to 360 people working across the various arms of the business.
“We have an extraordinarily good team of people that work with us – not for us,” And it is that sense of partnership, he says, that has also been important in their 23-year relationship with agribusiness lender, Rabobank.
Rabobank by their side
“Rabo have been tremendous, really good to work with over the years”, citing the agricultural background of their managers as critical to understanding rural people and farming.
“They come in and they want to understand our business. So, we have made a point of the bank coming here, showing them around, telling them what our future looks like, what we want to do, showing them some crops, and letting them get their feet dirty. It’s very important.
“I would emphasise that to any person’s business. Make sure your bank understands your business. All of our Rabobank rural managers have been on farm multiple times, and if they are passing through, they will always call in and have a look around.”
Ross’ involvement with Rabobank extends beyond banking, being a member of the bank’s Rabo Client Council, a group of rural clients that deliver grassroots community initiatives focused on education, rural health and wellbeing, and industry capacity.
“Through the Rabo Client Council, we also get the opportunity to have a macro view of the bank and how it’s run. They ask questions about what we think they should be doing better, and are interested in our feedback. There are no other banks that I know of that does that stuff.”
Gerald Ingram in the corn crop.
Ross admits he didn’t know much about the Rabo Client Council before joining the committee, however he was drawn to the like-minded group all dedicated to contributing back to rural and regional communities.
“I was surprised a bank would have such a formal platform to give back to community endeavours, and it took me a while to get my head around it all, but being on the Rabo Client Council is thought provoking and rewarding.”
“I’m impressed that a bank would look at rural communities and say ‘what do you need, what gaps can we fill?’ – it’s a great testament to Rabobank’s community values.”
With the Rabo Client Council supporting initiatives to connect rural and urban Australia – such as George the Farmer, and helping contribute to rural health through workshops with men’s mental health advocate Mary O’Brien of ‘Are you Bogged Mate’, Ross is proud to be helping Rabobank give back.
“There’s an enormous opportunity for us to make a difference, however the Rabo Client Council is not the sole source of knowledge. We rely on community engagement so we can feed the information back to the bank and contribute where we can.”
Educating urban Australians on rural issues remains at the top of Ross’s wish list, and he’s passionate about using the Rabo Client Council, and now Farm to Fork, to help spread their farming message.
“If people want to eat, farmers need to be able to farm, and people need to understand that farmers do what they need to do to put food on the table.”
“There’s a real disconnect, and with an aging farming workforce we need to be engaging young ones to stay on the land, and for city consumers to support them.”
Cameron Ingram with Rabobank manager, Dee Commins.
With the fourth generation of Ingram’s now growing up on the farm, Ross is heartened that the future of The Bonaccord Group looks bright.
The Rabo Client Councils are calling for nominations of grassroots initiatives that support the growth and well-being of rural and regional Australia. Learn more and apply for support via the Rabo Community Fund
The Fund is focused on helping address key agribusiness industry and community challenges relating to: long-term industry capacity and agricultural education; environmental sustainability; the rural/urban connection; natural disaster resilience; rural wellbeing; and adaptation/disruption.