Moree farmer Oscar Pearse says conditions on his family’s cropping country are looking “pretty good” this season, with rainfall since the fallow period well above median and cereal crops established on time looking “pretty magic”.
But Mr Pearse said the strong start to the season sits alongside a growing list of unknowns facing farm businesses across the region.
“We’ve got a lot of uncertainty,” Mr Pearse said. “Will we be able to get diesel and on time? Will we be able to get further fertiliser? What will it cost? What are the regulatory systems that are going to be put in place on the management of these lands and on us growing food?”
Mr Pearse will travel to Canberra for the National Farmers Federation’s Leaders Summit, to be held Tuesday, 18 August at Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia, followed by a cocktail reception at Parliament House.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty ahead,” Mr Pearse said. “And so it’s great that the National Farmers Federation has made the decision to hold at this year’s National Leaders Summit, which is on the 18th of August, so coming up soon in Canberra. They’re holding a discussion on that. How do we grow in these uncertain times?”
This year’s Summit, called The National Table, will bring together industry leaders, business figures and government decision makers to examine how agriculture can keep growing through a more uncertain and contested global operating environment. Sessions on the day will cover productivity and growth, security and the global economy, competing land use pressures, and trust and public expectations of the sector.
Mr Pearse is among the presenters at the Summit, though he was quick to point to the calibre of other speakers on the program.
“I’m really lucky I’ll be presenting there, but there’s far better speakers and far more important decision makers from business and government, really valuable sources to hear from and understand what the future of our industry is going to be,” Mr Pearse said.
The Summit will also mark a major milestone for the sector. Australian agriculture reached the NFF’s long-standing goal of becoming a $100 billion farmgate industry in 2025-26, and delegates will celebrate the achievement at a cocktail reception at Parliament House following the Summit.
“There’s also a celebration because the good news is that after NFF setting its strategy of 2030, our $100 billion industry, well, here we are,” Mr Pearse said. “We’re about to have a celebration of that milestone and that achievement, which is incredibly important because it gets the attention of policymakers and governments and investors and allows us to be seen as such a critical employer, a critical land manager.”
Mr Pearse said the milestone should not overshadow the challenges ahead.
“But in that context, while we can celebrate $100 billion, we’ve got to think about the uncertainty and the ways that we’re going to have to respond as an industry and as farm businesses to all these challenges coming up,” Mr Pearse said.
“So look forward to some discussions, hopefully see a lot of farmers in Canberra on the 18th of August for the NFF Leaders Summit. See you there.”
More information on the Summit program is available at https://online.flippingbook.com/view/479209607/, and tickets to the $100 Billion Celebration cocktail reception can be booked at https://events.humanitix.com/100-billion-celebration-cocktail-event.
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