It's not often that you can describe a trip to Canberra as "refreshing" or even "enjoyable", and being the only Queenslander on the NFF Board, I have had my fair share of visits.
It's always too cold, often too windy, and then there are the politicians (who generally just add more wind!)
However, attending National Ag Week in the national capital this week has left me with a really positive feeling.
Despite the many challenges facing agriculture - notably the record-breaking drought and, in Queensland, a government that seems determined to legislate us out of business - it's clear the future for ag is one of sustainable growth.
The NFF confirmed that, despite 'headwinds', the industry is on track to become a $100 billion farmgate industry by 2030.
And, in what must be one of the rarest events in Canberra, both sides of politics agreed!
Long-time Shadow Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon gave the plan a ringing endorsement in his keynote address at the Summit, pledging Labor's support.
And the federal government loves the target so much that they have adopted it as their own!
Now, we just have to get the pollies on the same page as to how to get there. And there's the rub.
Some examples.
Federal Labor remains committed to a Queensland-style approach to vegetation management nationally (a move that would surely be as disastrous for the rest of the nation's farmers as it has been for us).
And PM Scott Morrison just this week ruled out the need for a national drought policy, and this in the world's driest country that is enduring a record drought.
To get the pollies where we need them, we MUST do two things.
We need to continue to engage with politicians and policy-makers at all levels of government, and that is where peak bodies such as NFF and AgForce are critical.
Secondly, and possibly most importantly, we need to reconnect with people in the cities and help them appreciate the vital role of agriculture in their day-to-day lives.
For that reason, it was exciting to see NFF announce our $10 million, 10-year We Are Australian Farmers awareness campaign to re-engage Australians with the source of their food and fibre and the people behind it.
This is a goal shared by AgForce's Stand Up for Regional Queensland campaign, surely an indication that industry is on the right track when it comes to bridging the widening gap between people who live in our cities and those on the land.
