NSW farmers head to Rosehill for Annual Conference

The NSW Farmers Annual Conference is a highlight on the agricultural calendar, bringing together farmers and industry thought leaders from across NSW to Western Sydney for three days of discussions, networking, presentations and exhibitions on Feeding the Future.

An ancient Chinese curse says, ‘May you live in interesting times,’ and the times have been interesting indeed for Australian primary producers. The worst effects of bushfire, flood and the COVID pandemic may be behind us but as anyone wanting to buy a new tractor, ute or other piece of farm machinery knows, global supply chain issues continue to put a brake on farmers’ productivity.

Supply chain issues coupled with war in the Ukraine continue to drive inflation leading to higher prices for fuel, energy and other inputs such as fertiliser and other agricultural chemicals. These and other issues promise to be the source of lengthy and lively discussion as delegates debate around 100 motions on agricultural and rural affairs.

Some of the major topics of deliberation will include biosecurity, a perennial topic brought into sharp focus by the Varroa mite incursion and federal government changes to funding arrangements; energy transition, another highly relevant topic in the light of skyrocketing energy bills; land planning, livestock traceability and the management of pests, weeds and water.

“Our annual conference brings together the who’s who in agriculture for three days of in-depth discussions on the challenges and opportunities facing our food and fibre future.”

Peter Arkle
NSW FARMERS CEO

An impressive line-up of speakers

NSW Farmers is Australia’s largest state agricultural organisation, representing the interests of farmers and regional communities right across the state.

That mantle justifies yet another impressive array of Annual Conference speakers providing insight on a broad range of industry, corporate and government issues. The NSW Premier, Chris Minns, will attend the conference and there will be presentations from companies and organisations including Bayer, WaterNSW, AWI, nbn co, Telstra, ARTC Inland Rail, the Biodiversity Conservation Trust and the GRDC.

NSW Farmers Association CEO, Peter Arkle, said it is exciting for the conference to be at a new venue in the geographical centre of Sydney.

“NSW Farmers is the voice of farmers in New South Wales. As a grassroots organisation, our policies are made by farmers, for farmers. From paddock to parliament, we advocate on issues as broad and varied as biosecurity, water and environmental reform, infrastructure, regional health, and farm resilience,” Peter said.

“Our annual conference brings together the who’s who in agriculture for three days of in-depth discussions on the challenges and opportunities facing our food and fibre future. Australia needs strong farms to feed the future, but they’re facing a range of challenges – from the cost of doing business to climate change and a highly competitive global market.

“It is vital to have a strong agricultural sector and robust supply chains that can stand up to these challenges, and this will be highlighted in our ‘Feeding the Future Panel’ on Monday 17 July at the conference venue.”

NSW Farmers CEO Pete Arkle

A workforce for the future

As with all industries, finding the workers of the future is a major challenge for agriculture. One organisation dedicated to meeting that challenge is the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA).

Formed through a collaboration between the Australian Government, primary industries organisations and the education sector, PIEFA is the one-stop source for educational information and resources about agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food and fibre within the school system.

In past years the value of food and fibre production was top of mind in the national psyche, Australia’s prosperity rides on the sheep’s back, and PIEFA aims to rekindle this vision through a variety of web-based and real-world resources. Its Primezone web portal delivers hundreds of curriculum-aligned, high quality, food and fibre teaching resources for students from Foundation through to Year 12; while the PrimeZone Academy eLearning portal allows students to undertake free, interactive courses.

PIEFA’s national Farmer Time program allows students to ask questions, take a virtual tour of a farm and participate in live sessions with primary producers while the Career Harvest online portal provides students with a one-stop resource for career options, information on career pathways, scholarships and other opportunities.

NSW Farmers referral partner, WFI (in association with WFI)

One of the many challenges farmers face is finding an insurer who truly understands their business, WFI is one such insurer. For example, a challenge farmers often face is the risk of underinsurance. According to WFI’s spokesperson, “farmers who are not regularly reviewing their insurance coverage are at risk of finding themselves underinsured, which is where there is a gap between the true cost of rebuilding, repairing or replacing the items you have insured and the amount you are covered for under your insurance policy”.

To help farmers address this risk, WFI aims to clearly communicate with its policyholders. “At the time of policy renewal and review, we seek to ensure that farmers are promptly notified of any policy changes that could impact their coverage,” says the WFI spokesperson.

“Furthermore, we understand that each farm and business may have unique circumstances, and a one-size-fits-all approach may not always be suitable. As a result, we have Area Managers who can visit the farm or business to help provide farmers with information about the insurance coverage available to them through WFI.”

WFI

NSW Farmers is a referral partner of WFI and does not provide any advice, recommendations or an opinion about WFI’s products. If you take out a policy with WFI, NSW Farmers receives a commission from WFI of between 7.5% and 10% of the policy premium (excluding taxes and charges).

This is general advice only and does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs (“your personal circumstances”). Before using this advice to decide whether to purchase a product, you should consider your personal circumstances and the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determinations available from wfi.com.au. Insurance issued by Insurance Australia Limited ABN 11 000 016 722 AFSL 227681 trading as WFI.

Look Up and Live

While electricity prices and reliability are top of mind for farmers; exhibitor Essential Energy is focused on avoiding the preventable accident of farming equipment and machinery encountering powerlines. The company looks after the poles and wires that deliver electricity to 95 per cent of New South Wales and parts of southern Queensland.

According to a company spokesperson, the greatest electrical safety risk on farm is machinery such as augers and harvesters encountering powerlines and power poles. The company is urging agribusinesses to take the steps necessary to protect the safety of themselves and their employees when working near powerlines and poles.

These measures include actively identifying the electrical safety risks present when starting work each day, installing aerial powerline markers and using the ‘Look Up and Live’ app. The app is a tool that includes information such as the location of overhead powerlines and imagery via an interactive geospatial map. The free app can be accessed by anyone from their computer, tablet or smartphone.