The National Farmers Federation is busily campaigning against what it describes as Labor’s “anti-farming” policies, arguing that food and fibre production is not a central priority for the Albanese government.

Predictable complaints range from the proposed live-sheep export ban to the spread of energy transmission lines, voluntary water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin, industrial relations, and changes to visas for agricultural workers. Concerns about the prospects of a potentially prolonged period of drought are only going to make those tensions worse.