WHEN addressing a Farm Writers lunch in Sydney before Christmas, deputy NSW Nationals leader and Minister for Department of Primary Industries Niall Blair said right to farm issues would feature prominently in 2017.
This is a complex issue, and an increasingly important one.
Right to farm covers obvious potential land-use conflicts, such as urban sprawl and mineral and gas extraction, to the less obvious, such as new farming businesses entering areas with already established enterprise mixes. It also directly touches on the loss of farmland to other uses.
All land uses have the potential to create conflict. Some situations have the potential to pit farmer against farmer. Other situations serve to paint farming in an unwanted light. While it’s not clear yet what direction Mr Blair might take, it would be nice to see it go beyond talk and have something tangible developed - something previous ministers have failed to achieve.
Any solution, initiative, or legislation needs to protect our farming and grazing land, and water, and needs to protect farmers against opposition based on misinformation, prejudice, or misunderstanding.
It also needs to make sure genuine questions and opposition isn’t lost among frivolous claims. Any strategy must be more socially palatable than the “ag gag” concept and be more effective in its application than the shelved Strategic Regional Land Use Policy.
How farmers engage with an encroaching development, or community, also continues to be a frustration, be it negotiations with resource developers or general residents.
Along with measures to help farmers stave off the threats, any right to farm framework should therefore assist farmers to become better ambassadors. Initiatives such as the Syngenta Growth Awards is one example of agriculture celebrating adaptability.
A feeling common in rural communities is that residents in the expanding peri-urban fringe should realise they’ve moved into a farming area and accept the noises and smells that come with that, yet this mindset is often not productive.
The best outcomes come when those feeling threatened are effectively engaged in a way that grows understanding and gives people confidence in the activities next door. This, of course, is not always achievable, hence the need for a better strategy to protect the right to farm.
