1548 | Part 3 of 5 | The Challenges of Australian Coffee Farming (Rebecca Zentveld)

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Episode Description

This is Part 3 of a five-part series on Australian Grown Coffee with Rebecca Zentveld, second-generation coffee farmer at Zentveld Coffee Farms and President of the Australian Grown Coffee Association.

In this episode, Rebecca explains the major structural and economic challenges facing Australian coffee farmers.

Land in Australian coffee regions can cost millions of dollars, and farmers must invest heavily in equipment, processing infrastructure, and labour just to operate. Australia also lacks cooperative processing systems common in other coffee-producing countries, which means smaller growers often struggle to access harvesting equipment or mills.

The conversation also explores labour costs, regulation, harvest timing challenges due to rainfall patterns, and the economic reality that many coffee farms must rely on value-added businesses like roasting in order to remain financially sustainable.

This episode offers an honest look at why producing coffee in Australia is so challenging — and why those challenges reflect broader economic pressures across the global coffee industry.

Connect with Rebecca Zentveld and Zentveld’s Coffee Farms here:
https://www.zentvelds.com.au/
https://www.instagram.com/zentveldscoffee/
https://www.agca.au/