farming
farmers to walk away from the land. It seems that even in the midst of Australia’s resources boom, austerity in government spending doesn’t afford much hope for those farms that can’t adapt to the new financial realities of agriculture. So, perhaps even the government has woken up to the fact that the old model of Australian farming is no longer sustainable or indeed helpful for the country’s future. Yet moving towards a bigger, better farming future demands key investment. Australia needs to embark on a wave of farming innovation that would see the boosting soil carbon levels to increase the nutrient supply to plants, backed by programs to achieve better water use efficiency, new crop genetics, the promotion of best farming practice; and a serious increase in R&D investment. The government needs to continue to support sustainability practices such as no-till cropping, irrigation management and on-farm nutrient recycling With a new agricultural model Australia would be able to target the huge demands of Asia. But the seeds need to be planted – now is not the time for Government to be cutting budgets for innovation support for farming and food production. With a shared vision, Australia could have an agricultural industry that rises to the changing climate and markets.
Focus Agriculture
thinking and management demanded by the market is met by managers with the necessary skills and talent, while the actual farming is looked after by someone just as highly qualified in the business of growing crops and husbandry. This might seem to many to fly in the face of the doom and gloom we associate with the image of farming – and the undeniable fact that Australia’s food production and manufacturing sector is slowing. Many critics of the current model of agriculture claim that it’s actually the vested interest of many traditional farming groups – with an agenda focused on getting financial support from government – that’s holding back this much needed evolutionary step. The reality is that a high percentage of existing farms are never going to be profitable. This clearly to be seen in the fact that in WA in the past month five wheatgrowers and their families have abandoned their farms in despair, throwing the banks the keys to their vast cropping properties east of Perth and large debts as they walk out the gate. Hundreds of other grain farms are for sale in a crescent stretching from Morawa, 350km northeast of Perth, east towards Merredin and Southern Cross, and south to Bruce Rock, Kulin, Corrigan, Narembeen, Lake Grace and Hyden. Neither can farmers expect a lifeline from Government, with the only response to the crisis being a $20,000 exit grant to allow those
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