On the Kapunda property, the family transplanted century-plus vines from a Barossa estate and now bottles ~5,000 bottles a year. Most of it is given away—to farmers, customers, and partners.“We love food, wine, and friendships,” Johnson says. “It’s our way of saying thanks.” PARTNERSHIPS THAT MOVE THE WORLD Johnson draws attention to the reality that export success depends on partnerships and fostering these relationships over the long term.The group’s freight brokerage JV with the TM Fildes family handles most overseas shipments, extending a decadeslong relationship between the families and their now-adult children. On the production side, a JV pellet mill in Ningbo deepens market insight and responsiveness. Upstream, relationships with growers are paramount. Johnson Group coaches farmers on agronomy, buys across cycles, and shares data to help suppliers plan and invest. Downstream, the company collaborates with importers, wholesalers, and end users to optimize last-mile delivery—the critical step that turns a good ration into actual animal performance. “If any link fails—farm, factory, port, vessel, warehouse, wholesaler—you feel it,” Johnson says.“We work every link, every year.” CARBON-NEUTRAL BY DESIGN, NOT DECLARATION Sustainability runs through the operating model. Johnson Group is well advanced on a carbon-neutral pathway, driven by solar generation, on-farm practice change, efficiency investments, and a supply-chain lens that prizes miles, moisture, and methane. “We don’t view carbon as a marketing line,” Johnson says. “It’s operational resilience. Lower energy per tonne, better fibre per litre of milk, fewer losses from paddock to port—that’s good business and good stewardship.” 95 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 07, ISSUE 11 J.T. JOHNSON AND SONS
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