Farmer sentiment towards the Federal Government’s policy agenda has continued to slide in the second National Farmer Priorities Survey, with over 90 per cent of farmers voicing concerns about the government’s approach to farming policy.
The survey of 1026 farmers, conducted in conjunction with Sefton’s, found heightened levels of concern across a range of issues compared to last year, up by an average of 8 per cent across all metrics.
Biosecurity topped the list of concerns with 94 per cent of farmers voicing concerns, followed by supermarket and processor power at 93.9 per cent and federal environment laws at 92.5 per cent.
The largest swings in concern levels, compared with 2023, were seen towards biosecurity, up 12.7 per cent and live sheep exports, up 12.2 per cent.
There has been a steep decline in farmers’ confidence in the Federal Government, with ratings across four sentiment measures deteriorating by an average of 32 per cent in the past 12 months. Only one in 10 farmers believe the government has a positive plan for the farming sector, down 38 per cent on last year.
NFF president, David Jochinke said the results were unsurprising considering the backlash in the last 12 months.
“Critical issues like the live sheep export ban, biosecurity tax and water buybacks have weighed heavily on farmers,” Mr Jochinke said.
“Particularly telling are the results around the live sheep exports. Despite only 10 per cent of respondents hailing from WA, it rated as one of the highest areas of concern.
“This clearly demonstrates when bad policy infiltrates one sector, it puts every other sector on notice that they could be next.
However, in good news, the survey found 89 per cent agree with the statement, I love what I do, and 78 per cent say their community is a great place to live.
Mr Jochinke said it was promising to see so many farmers still have faith in the industry.
“Despite a growing list of challenges keeping farmers up at night, it’s positive to see an uptick in farmers being proud of what they do and where they live,” he said.
“Farming is meaningful work where you get up each day knowing you are making sure people have food in their bellies and clothes on their back.
“We hope the new ministerial team in Julie Collins and Anthony Chisholm will re-evaluate the Government’s direction and work with farmers to support the sector.
“Yes, farmers are frustrated. They feel they aren’t being heard and they are being steamrolled by harmful policies – that appear to be driven by activist groups or politicians, not farmers.
“With meaningful engagement from the Government together we can build a more positive outlook for Australian agriculture and reach our shared goal to be a $100 billion industry by 2030.”
