Farewell and a New Chapter: Continuing the Advocacy for Farmers in Agribusiness

Being one of six children born and bred in the NE of Tasmania where my parents were farming pioneers on land released from the government in the late 60s. Together as a team, they faced hurdles every which way they turned with no power or phone services, isolated with young children, clearing ground and sowing new pasture, no dams or water infrastructure, and the list goes on.

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It’s hard to imagine farming like that today on that same now productive property, it now consists of large areas under irrigation, with a section of improved, pasture dryland system consisting producing a whopping 800kg/ha.

Further changes I’ve noted in the agriculture space would be the uptake and passion of women involved in agriculture from, aspiring young farmers, to executives in corporations, or managing teams on their farms while juggling the multiple audits and endless meetings.

And there has been the dairy transformation that is now not only appealing but profitable, with dairy adding about $1 billion to the agriculture sector.

I appreciate how TFGA has supported our farmers with these changes over the years, and seeing our farmers so proud of their brands, their produce and their farming practices. Like our farmers, TFGA is committed to supporting best-practice farming. We need to be promoting our carbon stance more publicly.

You cannot ignore history and the foundations of why TFGA started. A quote from the archives “Various committees had been formed, dealing with the marketing of crops, rabbit plagues and other pests, freight, stock diseases and brands, immigration, bush fires, and meat export”. In this era, when you google ‘farming advocacy’ you see headlines such as ‘sustainable farming’ and ‘farmers need help’.

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For the future, TFGA will continue to be vital to our farmers creating pathways, perhaps focusing more on the forever evolving expectations from not only “our” consumers but those of the processors too, that pebble in the shoe called “social licence”.

Together with our dairy, beef, sheep, grain, vegetable and seed producers, TFGA will be drafting off the untenable expectations, weighing up positive decisions, and enabling farmers to maximise yield with best-practice farming.

Although I have now finished with the TFGA, my new adventure will still be in agribusiness however, I will continue advocating for farmers. I’d like to thank our long-term valued and loyal members, and I’ve been overwhelmed by the take-up from all our new TFGA members.

If you don’t belong as a member of TFGA today, please call us or email to join like-minded farmers, who appreciate the value of partnering with TFGA for a stronger alliance for your future.