Victorian Farmers' Union
[4] At the time of the inaugural conference, the VFU consisted of 130 branches and 2,836 members, drawing its most enthusiastic (and militant) support from farmers in the wheat-growing districts of the Mallee region.In 1921, the Union caused the dissolution of Parliament after it voted with Labor against the Nationalist government, over the issue of abolishing the state-run wheat-marketing system which had been introduced during World War I, and which benefited small farmers by keeping wheat prices high.In September 1923, Harry Lawson formed a composite ministry, Victoria's first conservative coalition, and bringing the VFU into government, with five members, with John Allan as Deputy Premier.The VFU, however, refused to support the coalition and voted it down at its annual conference in March 1924, forcing Lawson to dismiss the Country ministers and form a Nationalist cabinet.After gaining a promise from the Nationalist Party led by Billy Hughes to replace the first-past-the-post electoral system with preferential voting, the VFU made a "strategic defeat", withdrawing Hall from the campaign.Following the 1922 federal election, the Nationalists lost its majority in the House of Representatives and formed a Coalition government with the Country Party, now with 14 members, which obtained five ministers in an 11-member cabinet.