Rural

Global beef market to tighten on contracting US beef production

The global beef market is set to tighten further in 2022, driven in just-released global Q4 The agribusiness in the US – one of the markets as a major of beef – would alter

and drought liquidation

Move to net exporter

demand – the US has moved from being a net author, Rabobank senior to remain for US beef, but it is the growth in driving the rising US China now the third for the United States,” China rose to 29,000

said the growth in US of Australia – “due to our Argentina and Brazil, and a growing demand

Farmers get their say on land use

other land use interests areas, NSW Farmers is urging landholders to President Xavier Martin “Farmers are being interests in regional areas

viewed as a default zone of land suitable for moment, we are losing it but the state government’s Mr Martin said the NSW Government’s understanding of the regional and state areas would go a long “The understanding of land must be multi “If the government is need to understand what “The goal of NSW start somewhere, and this

of the government’s Consultation on the

People Product Partnerships

FEAR FACTOR IN FRESH FOOD SUPPLY

A government report has revealed farmers are afraid to speak out on their dealings with the major supermarkets because of a “fear of retribution”. NSW Farmers Dairy Committee Chair Colin Thompson said the from the inaugural Food and Grocery Code review vindicated the efforts to secure fairness in fresh food supply chains.

“The majority of pay rise negotiations were fruitless for farmers in 2021 and almost a third of major supermarket suppliers cited ‘fear of retribution’ as a reason for not raising issues under the Code,” Mr Thompson said.

“Something is clearly wrong when people are afraid of having their say, and it’s clear that many farmers won’t raise concerns or ask for improved pay arrangements because of how powerful these supermarkets are.”

While Mr Thompson commended Coles and Woolworths for complying with the Code’s voluntary reporting regime, he said there was clear room for improvement in fresh food supply arrangements.

“The perishability of their produce basically means farmers are price-takers and are in a vulnerable position in their supply chains,” Mr Thompson said.

“This dynamic can give rise to abuse of power by bigger players, such as wholesalers and retailers.

“However, we do need to recognise there was some positive feedback, particularly for Aldi.”

Mr Thompson said NSW Farmers had been pushing for change in this space and had a key breakthrough with the Perishable Agricultural Goods (PAG) inquiry and its subsequent

“NSW Farmers has advocated for intervention to make supply chains such as dairy, horticulture and poultry meat more equitable – essentially so that farmers can receive the pay they deserve for their produce,” Mr Thompson said.

“Our advocacy led to a Treasury-led ACCC power dynamics are likely to favour wholesalers, processors and retailers, and the ACCC made a suite of recommendations to help remedy this situation. commitments for legislative reforms to protect farmers from unfair trading practices.”

ENERGY FIT FOR THE REGIONS

NSW Farmers is moving agriculture ahead of the energy transition with a new working group to help manage the shift to renewable energy sources.

The Energy Transition Working Group will look at the challenges and opportunities arising amount of new energy infrastructure earmarked for regional NSW as part of upcoming Renewable Energy Zones (REZs).

Working Group chairman Reg Kidd from Orange said it was all about getting the settings right for the communities at the heart of development.

“We absolutely support a transition to renewable energy generation, but we need to ensure that impacts are minimised, in the regions and opportunities aren’t missed,” Mr Kidd said.

“The NSW Government has set out to completely transform our energy system within 15 years, which is about half the time our current grid took to build - we must make sure the needs of agriculture and regional NSW are not overlooked in the fast-tracking of this ambitious goal.”

Mr Kidd said high levels of investor interest coupled with co-ordination from government could bring opportunities to drive higher standards.

“The Central West Orana REZ is oversubscribed with developer interest at nine to one, meaning there is a real opportunity to be selective with the projects that are approved and compel proponents to adopt the highest possible standards,” Mr Kidd said.

“Government is going to get to choose which projects go ahead, and we want to make sure the things that matter to agriculture and regional communities are part of that criteria.”

Mr Kidd said factors such as location, commitments to local jobs and procurement, community engagement, decommissioning and end of life arrangements should all be considered. Furthermore, the Working Group was also very interested in reform to the NSW planning system to better protect and retain the state’s

“Whether it’s energy developments or transmission lines, we need good strategic planning that recognises the value of agricultural land and protects it for future generations,” Mr Kidd said. “Planning decisions based on cost alone are short-sighted and will come at the expense of regional NSW. “The bulk of the energy transition will take place in the regions, and for it to be successful it needs the support of those communities – so we are inviting government to work with us to achieve just that.”

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