NOT USUALLY one for TV or for long, sweeping dramas, I'm afraid to admit there was one series which had me hooked during the Covid-19 lockdowns last year.
Yellowstone.
That Paramount series which sees Kevin Costner cast as the owner of The Yellowstone, the largest ranch in Montana. It's full of antagonists who seek to diminish his power; they attack his men and undermine him financially. Their lackeys attack his guys, but Dutton's guys fight back. If you've seen it too, you'll know it's full of panoramic shots, music and great dialogue.
You might be forgiven for thinking, perhaps more than once, I think I'd like to go farming in Montana.
Of course Yellowstone paints a rosy picture.
I don't think even Paramount, with its endless supply of actors and airbrushing, sounds and special effects, could capture the hard, hard work of a life on the land.
It could not do justice to the heat, to the cold, to flies, drought, fire or flood.
It could not do justice either to the eye-watering fatigue at harvest, to physical exhaustion, to the frustrations of pests, disease, the weather, financial pressures and a plethora of others.
And while agriculture might be less than "Paramount perfect," is there anywhere else in the world you'd rather be?
The way I see it, as a young woman living and working in rural NSW, Australian agriculture has only one constant. That is change.
And with change, comes opportunity.
Last Thursday, Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall announced that in just 12 months, NSW agriculture had grown by $5.2 billion last year to become a $20.9 billion industry.
On the same day, the NSW Farmers Association released its report, Growing our Future, which presents ideas on how to help grow the sector to $30 billion in farmgate output by 2030.
"Our 30 by 30 goal means NSW will need to lift its share of the national farmgate value and almost double its annual growth rate to 7 per cent year-on-year," NSW Farmers Association CEO Peter Arkle said. "Farming is characteristically unpredictable, but our roundtable participants have agreed that climatic variability, carbon markets, value-adding and trade will influence the sector's growth journey over the next eight years."
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The threat to agriculture from climate variability is already well known.
According to the NSW Farmers' report, heat stress could reduce milk yields by up to 40 per cent; the Australian grains industry could have weakened export reliability, and beef output in the North could decline 19pc by 2030.
Another issue to be addressed is trade.
Historically, Australia has been less competitive than other nations in raw terms, due to its high cost of labour, energy and transport.
The report indicates the crowding of export facilities in metropolitan areas, with agribusinesses still in the regions, is problematic.
Funding and investment could change that.
It falls to investment in infrastructure to get our goods to market, and to investment in jobs, education and training, social services and livability to retain an agricultural workforce in the regions.
The pay-off is clear.
In August, the Australian Farm Institute found that "a strong agricultural sector and the availability of regional jobs, financial capital and improved regional liveability are not only linked, but interdependent."
As NSW agriculture progresses towards its new 30 by 30 goal, opportunity is endless. By preparing for climate change, biosecurity threats and investing in R&D, yet more opportunity can be unlocked.
While agriculture might be less than "Paramount perfect," is there anywhere else in the world you'd rather be?
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