NFF Keep Farmers Farming campaign rails against government’s ‘anti-farming’ policies

We speak to new NFF president David Jochinke about the NFF’s new campaign, priorities for farmers, expectations of the government and more. Watch the interview here.

Australia’s farming sector has declared war on a raft of federal government “anti-farming policies” it fears will strip billions of dollars from the value of the nation’s agricultural production.

In launching the Keep Farmers Farming campaign on Thursday, newly elected National Farmers’ Federation president David Jochinke will call on grassroots members to prepare for “the fight of our lives.”

During a fiery and pointed inaugural speech at the organisation’s national conference in Canberra, he will ask parliamentarians to ignore party lines and stand up against “an avalanche of bad ideas” detrimental to the $94 billion industry.

“We cannot stand by and watch a government slowly erode the basic foundations of our farm sector,” he said.

New National Farmers’ Federation president David Jochinke at Old Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“If we do nothing, the next three to six months will see decisions made which will reduce our access to farmland, to water, to workers and to overseas markets.

“We need to make ourselves incredibly clear that these are bad ideas that will ultimately drive farmers out of business, harm rural communities and push up the cost of living for everyday Australians.”

The campaign will zero in on agriculture-related policies including the proposed water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin and plans to ban the live sheep export trade, aiming to reverse Albanese government policy positions.

It will also push for a dedicated visa pathway for agricultural workers to address labour shortages on farms and along supply chains.

Along with angling to change Australia’s competition laws to ensure a “fair deal for consumers and farmers”, and ensuring balanced environmental reform to protect farmland from being whittled away by the climate and energy transition.

This will include calls for a mandatory code of conduct for pole and wire transmission projects.

A recent NFF report found 54 per cent of farmers surveyed believed current federal government policies were harming the agricultural industry.

Mr Jochinke will say that, should the current policy pipeline be enacted, it will likely result in farmers walking off the land, growing domestic and global food insecurity and compounding cost of living pressures.

New National Farmers Federation president David Jochinke harvesting his property in western Victoria. Picture: Zoe Phillips

The Western Victorian crop and livestock farmer, who served as NFF vice-president to Fiona Simson for several years, comes to the role as producers across Australia stare down deteriorating climate and market conditions and a government he says has failed to position food and fibre production as “a central priority”.

He said this was due to both a “lack of awareness or understanding” of the sector and an active political pursuit of a “niche ideological agenda”.

“Farmers have always put food on the table for Australians and clothes on our backs, but decisions are being made in Canberra that will make it harder to do,” he said.

“They’re taking away the water, land and workers needed to grow food. That means fewer farmers doing what they do and when farmers grow less, everyone pays more.”