Australian farmers are twice as likely to use agribusiness brands they trust.

A special Roy Morgan Agribusiness Survey of Australian farmers looking at trust and distrust in Australia’s agricultural sector shows that farmers who trust a particular agribusiness brand are 127% more likely to have used that brand in the past 12 months.

These findings show a direct correlation between trust and brand use – those who trust a brand are much more likely to use them, and to use them regularly, while the reverse is true for those who distrust brands.

According to Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine, “When customers trust a brand, they continue buying its products or services, they recommend it to others and remain loyal to the brand. So trust is the underpinning foundation of brand reputation.”

“This is especially important in the farming and agribusiness industries where building and maintaining trust is a key pathway to developing business and personal relationships within this competitive sector.”

The research also found that the top reason farmers trust agribusiness brands is a ‘strong customer relationship’, followed by ‘good customer service’ and a ‘good track record’, indicating that relationship building in agribusiness is paramount in driving trust and gaining repeat business from farmers.

In their own words, farmers described their reasons for trusting agribusiness brands: ‘Personal service, long-term relationship’, ‘their ongoing assistance and experience with products we need’, ‘have dealt with them for 30 plus years and have always found the people reliable and trustworthy’, ‘I have dealt with them over a long period of time and know the employees.’

Top reasons farmers trust agribusiness brands

Source: Roy Morgan Farmer Agribusiness Brand Trust Survey 2022. Base: N= 1,230 Australian Farmers aged 18+, Reasons for trust in prompted agribusiness brands

The same study found that farmers who distrust agribusiness brands are 53% less likely to consider using that brand in the future.

Ms Levine said, “While trust puts the business into agribusiness, distrust destroys it. Distrust is an active belief in a brand's unreliability or dishonesty.

“Distrust implies negative experiences or perceptions that can significantly damage a brand's reputation, leading to more severe and often long-term financial consequences.

“Distrust is much more challenging to overcome and requires substantial efforts to rectify the underlying issues, rebuild the brand's image, and regain customers' confidence.”

Major industry player Elders was the most trusted agribusiness brand by Australian farmers in 2022 while NAB emerged as the most trusted bank for agribusiness.

The research also analysed the challenges faced by Australian farmers, which put inflation and soaring costs as the number one challenge, followed by weather events and labour shortages.

The Roy Morgan Farmer Agribusiness Brand Trust Survey results are based on 1,230 interviews with Australian farmers aged 18 and over, conducted during June and July 2022.

This regular survey draws on Roy Morgan’s unique research panel of over 30,000 Australians farmers, including:

• Dairy farmers
• Cropping farmers
• Livestock farmers
• Horticulturalists
• Farmers on large to small farms
• Farmers from large, medium and small businesses.

For more details on trust and distrust in the Agribusiness industry among farmers, watch the Roy Morgan Agribusiness Brand Trust Webinar here.

The 2023 Roy Morgan Farmer Agribusiness survey will be conducted in June, providing the latest insights into challenges for farmers, and their perceptions of, and experiences with key agribusiness brands including brand health, trust and distrust and brand funnel metrics. The research will provide the latest insights into:

• Net Trust/Distrust Scores and rankings for agribusiness brands
• Which agribusiness brands farmers trust and distrust
• Why farmers trust and distrust these brands
• Performance on key brand attributes
• Which attributes have the strongest influence on farmer trust in agribusiness brands
• Which agribusiness brands farmers have used, and would consider using
• The biggest challenges for farmers currently
• Analysis overall, as well as by farm type, size, revenue and state.

Brands analysed in the 2022 Farmer Agribusiness Survey included: 4Farmers, AACo, Adama, Ag n Vet, AG Warehouse, AIRR, ANZ, Australian Wool Network/AWN, AWB, Baristoc, BASF, Bayer, CBH Group, Commonwealth Bank, Coopers, Corteva, CropSmart, CRT, CSBP, Dairy Australia, Dairy Farmers Group, Delta Agribusiness, EPG Seeds, Elders, FMC, Fonterra, Gallagher, Graincorp, Incitec Pivot, Inghams, John Deere, Kenso, Landmark, Meat and Livestock Australia, Megafert, Monsanto, NAB, Norco, NRI, Nufarm, Nutrien, Ozcrop, Pacific Seeds, Pastoral Ag, Rabobank, Ridley, Rural Bank, Sipcam, Summit Fertilisers, Superfert, Syngenta, Titan Ag, UPL, Waratah, Wesfarmers, Westpac, Yarra International, Zoetis.

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