Southern Highlands Food Logistics Hub: Collaboration as climate infrastructure

After a decade of shocks from fires and floods to supply chain breakdowns, Southern Highlands producers are finding strength in coordination, not competition. 

‘Collaboration is how small producers turn agility into reliability.’  

Jeff Aston, Tractorless Vineyard and Southern Highlands Food Logistic Hub

Born from the Highlands Homegrown Economy workshop, the Southern Highlands Food Logistics Hub is translating local collaboration into concrete infrastructure – turning agility and trust into regional resilience.

The challenge

Farmers across the Southern Highlands have weathered a decade of intensifying shocks: hailstorms, floods and the devastating 2019-20 bushfires that wiped out the region’s grape harvest.  

‘It was as if we had to start our business from scratch,’ recalls local producer Jeff Aston.

Yet even as climate risks grew, market forces compounded the strain. Small producers competing with the convenience of supermarket chains  struggled to guarantee continuity of supply. Losing one crop could mean losing a long-term buyer. Meanwhile, local institutions such as hospitals and councils wanted to source locally but couldn’t find a single, reliable contact point.

‘The problem wasn’t a lack of innovation,’ Jeff explains. ‘Farmers here are agile –we adapt every day. The problem was there was no framework for working together.’ 

The response: Innovative approaches

Out of this gap emerged the concept of the Southern Highlands Food Logistics Hub. This shared infrastructure platform aggregates supply, coordinates logistics and provides a single trusted interface for major buyers.

At its heart, the hub embodies collaboration as climate adaptation. By pooling produce and sharing delivery routes, local farmers can buffer against shocks. If one crop fails, another fills the order. Coordinating planting schedules ensures a steady supply and opens the door to new markets.

A council grant is funding the hub’s establishment under an open-book company structure, allowing members to operate transparently and cost-effectively. Inspired by successful cooperatives, the model avoids prohibitive compliance costs. Future plans include digital software to streamline communication, a shared market and storage site at Bargo, and a long-term vision to integrate with the local town co-op.

The hub also champions regenerative diversification by linking vineyards with livestock and natural pest management and by sharing resources across farms. The result is ecological resilience that also improves economic stability through de-commoditised agreements. ‘I’ve got a set price with a set buyer,’ says Jeff. ‘That makes planning possible – and the banks take you more seriously.’ 

Positive impacts: Early signs of transformational adaptation

Even before its physical launch, the initiative generated tangible outcomes. Local councils are revising procurement processes to include small suppliers and, for the first time, are tracking local spend. Regional financial institutions are exploring green and impact finance pathways for producers.

The concept has also catalysed broader collaboration: energy partners like WinZero are exploring renewable integration, while local social enterprises are designing waste and food redistribution partnerships.

Most importantly, farmers are beginning to see reliability and regeneration as shared community assets rather than individual burdens. ‘Take some of the most innovative people in the region and give them an extra 20 hours a week,’ says Jeff. ‘That’s a massive powerhouse.’ 

Building capital across multiple dimensions

Regional businesses often play an outsized role in driving transformational adaptation, responding to the needs of place and creating value that extends far beyond jobs or profit. Much of this impact is often invisible or unacknowledged, but applying the Eight Capitals of Regeneration framework reveals how Southern Highlands Food Logistics Hub is contributing to the vitality of its region.

1. Collaboration is resilience: Small producers are agile; networks make them reliable.
2. Legal simplicity matters: An open-book company model can lower barriers to cooperation.
3. Anchor procurement unlocks stability: Pre-committed institutional demand provides the foundation for adaptation and investment.
4. Shared infrastructure frees innovation: Removing logistical burdens unleashes creativity in regenerative practices.
5. Data and openness accelerate trust: A culture of sharing information and coordination replaces competition with cooperation.

Looking ahead

The Southern Highlands Food Logistics Hub is establishing an appropriate legal structure, appointing a hub coordinator, and piloting its first anchor procurement contract - likely an egg supply for a local hospital.  

Beyond logistics, the hub’s data-driven collaboration model could extend to carbon and biodiversity offset aggregation, enabling small landholders to access new revenue streams and market ‘carbon-negative’ produce.

The Southern Highlands Food Logistics Hub shows how local collaboration can become climate infrastructure – turning risk into reliability, and convenience culture into community connection.

This case study is part of a series sharing inspiring examples of regional enterprise and their positive impacts across multiple dimensions, using the Eight Forms of Capital framework.