Advocacy in Ag

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By Dwain Duxson

Advocacy in Ag - Do you think we in Agriculture are well represented? The first thing that comes to mind when asking this question is our Farmer's Federations, national and state ones. Do they do enough?

Now I am not here to bag them out because these people put their hands up to do these roles when they could be at home running their own Farms or businesses. More often than not, these people in these positions think beyond themselves and their own backyard to represent the industry or a specific sector as a whole. 

However, I do think the Farmer Federation membership model is broken, and they need to find another way to stay liquid and keep the lights on. We wrote once about how Farmers detest subscription models. But, I am not sure what model would work, so I don't have a counter-solution to the dwindling membership issue. 

The WA Heritage Act we wrote about a week or so ago is an example of when these organisations are needed. I think that WA Farmers is working on something, but it's not standing out in the places I go to get info. Are they doing enough? Or is it a national thing where the NFF needs to step in? I have had alot of feedback on this particular WA case, and there is a lot of concern out there as to all the restrictions being put on Farmers and taking away the right to Farm their Land. Farmers are fiercely independent when it comes to running their own Farm businesses. Perhaps, that works against us a little when it's time to unite and fight these ever-increasing roadblocks that are being thrown our way. 

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