VirtuAg Pulse survey: Farmers have their say on ag’s hot topics

Plant-based meat, foreign investment and on-farm safety are some of agriculture’s hot topics. Here’s what farmers had to say about the issues.

online artwork nov 18 pulse survey

FARMERS have revealed how they feel about on-farm safety, among other hot agriculture topics, in a VirtuAg Pulse survey.

More than 60 per cent of respondents said there had been a time when they second guessed safety on their farms, while 73 per cent said there were improvements to safety they wanted to make in the next six months.

Confidence in on-farm safety remains relatively high, with only 2 per cent reporting they did not feel that they had safety well covered, while 45 per cent said they weren’t sure and 53 per cent reported being very confident. The issue of safety on quad bikes was supported by 59 per cent of participants saying they were for compulsory rollover protection devices.

Of those surveyed, 57 per cent thought the 2030 goal for ag should be $100 billion pre-farmgate while 43 per cent thought it should be $300 billion pre and post-farmgate.

There was a fairly even split when it came to opinions on the need for re-regulation of Australian agriculture, with a 53 per cent ‘yes’ vote. Thoughts on plant-based meats were contentious, with 58 per cent thinking the rise in the food’s popularity was a bad thing.

There was strong support for the identity of large water buyers to be revealed (95 per cent), as well as the label of milk on products that only come from cows (68 per cent).

A majority of respondents expressed concerns with foreign investment in Australian agriculture, with 89 per cent believing the industry relies too heavily on trade with China, and 88 per cent said they were worried about the amount of farms owned by overseas.

The survey also found a consensus in job satisfaction, with 89 per cent of respondents saying they would recommend farming as a career.