Community
12 June, 2025
Rural Store extends a helping hand to farmers
THE Terang and District Co-op Rural Store has extended all credit on invoices from this month in a bid to support farmers through difficult economic and drought conditions.
From the beginning of June an extended term of 60 days has been made available on all rural store invoices.
The change has been automatically made after administrative staff wanted to find ways to support customers through tough times.
The extended credit will be in place over the next six months before being reviewed based on seasonal conditions.
Terang and District Co-op chief executive officer Gary Tempany said Rural Store staff were determined to support the 1300-strong monthly customer base, the majority of whom are farmers, through the drought.
“Our customers all have an account which is sent out and due within 30 days – but with rural purchases we want to lighten the load,” he said.
“We’ve decided to add an additional 30 days on top of that.
“Our hope is we can give our customers some peace of mind knowing that whatever they buy at the Rural Store is not due for another month after when they would normally pay.”
Mr Tempany said giving Rural Store customers greater flexibility was another way the business could look to support its community, an unwavering aspect of operations which is at the heart of the business.
“It’s in our DNA,” he said.
“The best Co-op is a profitable Co-op, but at the same time it has to be tipping back in to the community to keep the whole community vibrant and the business profitable.
“Our customer count has been increasing recently so this gives us the opportunity to support them.
“This can make life a little easier for the 1300 customers we have on any given month.”
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