A band of campaigners committed to reviving the former single desk formed the nucleus of opposition to the company, but there was other grower opposition concerned with AWB’s apparent disengagement with its core customers - farmers.

Ardlethan farmer Rod Hatty said he had voted against director Tony Howarth, easily elected on the back of proxy votes, as a protest against the board.

“I believe the voting figures reflect that many growers have lost interest and haven’t bothered to vote,” he said.

However AWB chairman Peter Polson said Mr Hatty’s opinion could only be speculation, as since the company had been normalised, there was no way to tell whether retail investors were growers or non-growers.

However non-grower shareholder Martin Mackay, Batemans Bay, agreed with Mr Hatty, advising the company to re-engage with growers or risk losing its income base.

“The board has made a mess, you need to get out to growers and acknowledge your mistakes or risk the situation getting worse,” Mr Mackay said.

Wedderburn farmer Reg Holt said the company needed to re-establish a rapport with its grower customers.

“You need to get out of the board room, get out in the countryside, out among the headers and get yourselves dirty,” he said.

“There’s a big gulf between AWB and the farmers and that has led to a breakdown in communication, and that will mean a drop in custom for your businesses.”

Mr Polson said the board was aware how vital its rural customers were to the business, and said he did not believe the company had abandoned them.

Also under attack was AWB’s corporate governance, which shareholder activist Stephen Mayne said was a shambles.

“There appears to be no board accountability, what we have is a board carrying the taint of having lost $200 million in Brazil,” he said.

“The directors know who did what in regards to the operation of the Brazil business, and yet no-one has gone yet.”

He also wondered why there had not been further action on increasing the board size, which the company had raised as a possibility when it was normalised last year.