Farmers put on their jackets and head to town next week for the annual gathering of the faithful at the Country Club in Launceston. Our annual general meeting is on Wednesday afternoon, biennial policy forum on Thursday and field day on Friday.
In previous years, the nature of the policy forum has been to attract sages and soothsayers from all walks of life to examine the entrails and tell us our fortune, which has been both interesting and useful. This year we are doing it differently.
The theme is “sleeves up, heads down, share your thoughts, be part of the solution”.
In other words, it is more inclusive, more consultative. We want to know what farmers think about farming matters. So there are fewer invited presenters and much more open discussion. Hopefully, it will be a melting pot of ideas, suggestions and we might even reach some consensus.
Clearly, farming in Tasmania changing. The landscape is changing. Irrigation is a game-changer. We are able to diversify our businesses; we are able to intensify our production; we are able to optimise the use of our soils; we use technology to our advantage; in short, we are farming smarter.
It is therefore not coincidental that there are more players entering the industry and there is a growing tendency to large holdings. Foreign investors are showing unprecedented interest and they are not only coming from China.
The policy forum is focusing on significant issues. The format is for four separate break-out sessions in the morning aimed at those with a particular interest in a sector.
Those separate sessions will look at:
Freight: the perennial problem of shipping goods across Bass Strait; the adequacy of the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme; the threat of increased charges at the Port of Melbourne, etc
Local government: one area of constant concern is whether Tasmania can really afford economically and in terms of efficiency to have 29 local councils
Energy: in particular the specific problems that farmers and Aurora have with accessing remote meters or estimating accounts
Export opportunities: is this indeed the Asian Century or should we be looking at export options elsewhere at the same time and if our future is in China and other Asian nations how do we make the most of the opportunities?
Those groups will come together later in the day to present summaries of their deliberations so that the full forum can debate the issues and, hopefully, come to some constructive conclusions.
On Friday’s field trip we will visit Gavin Clark’s property at Deloraine to learn of his experiences in the berry industry; Tim Schmidt’s property at Deloraine to look at his revegetation projects, river erosion repairs and hemp plantation; Hazelbrae Hazelnuts at Hagley; and Chester Holdings at Hagley where Andrew Archer will talk about the Making More From Sheep program, a partnership between MLA and Australian Wool Innovation.
This article first appeared in the Tasmanian Country on 26th June.
TFGA president Wayne Johnston
