AGRICULTURE is sexy — that’s the message espoused by grain farming experts at an industry event held in Swan Hill last week.
Grain producers from across the region gathered to take part in the panel, hosted by well known radio broadcaster Alan Jones, which examined the future of Australian farming and the economic role grain will play in years to come.
Panelists for the Swan Hill leg of the national event included Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh, Grains Research and Development Corporation board director Doctor Andy Barr and chairman of Grain Producers Australia Andrew Weidemann.
Over the course of two hours the four men weighed in on a range of topics from deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and environmental watering to corporate farming and China’s agricultural science budget.
There were some difference of opinion about how best to facilitate a dependable water supply for farmers and arguments bandied around included building more dams and the viability of desalination plants.
However, all panelists agreed on one main objective — to attract the next generation onto the land, a shift in farming rhetoric is required.
“We need to talk positive about agriculture,” Mr Walsh said.
“If Mum and Dad are saying it’s tough, why would [children] go there?”
Mr Walsh, who represents the Swan Hill region’s interests at Spring Street, pointed to the markets in Asia as providing a myriad of opportunities for Australian grain farmers who pitch their products right.
“We need to aim at the high end of the market,” he said.
“We need to be their deli, not their supermarket.”
For more about this event, pick up Monday’s Guardian (March 7, 2016).
