Welcome to the NFF’s Weekly Wrap, bringing you the week’s farming and political news each Friday.
Headlines
Industry calls for revised rating for fresh Aussie juice
Today, the Ministerial Forum for Food Regulation voted to slash the rating for pure Australian fruit and vegetable juice, rating it lower than diet soft drinks, despite calls from the NFF and Citrus Australia to secure a higher star rating for fresh juice to support Australian growers.
Registrations open for NFF's 2021 National Conference The NFF's Annual Conference is scheduled to take place on 28-29 September 2021 under the theme of Sustaining the Nation. After suffering a 12 month delay due to COVID-19, the NFF's 2021 Conference will examine agriculture’s role in sustaining Australia’s communities, economy and environment in a post COVID-19 world.
Innovate with nbn™ grant winners announced How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) transform your cattle herd? The winners of the inaugural Innovate with nbn™ Grants Program were revealed on Tuesday. In partnership with Regional Australia Institute (RAI), the Innovate with nbn™ Grants Program offered grants totalling $95,000 across seven categories – agriculture, arts, education, health, indigenous business, tourism and women in regional business. The ag sector winner, Black Box Co, has developed a system that allows
farmers to better manage pregnancy in their herds. Find out more and see the list of winners Innovate with nbn grants: the winners | nbn (nbnco.com.au).
Weekly insight
Cattle herd to enter rebuilding phase: MLA
MLA's 2021 Industry Projections for Australian Cattle forecasts that the decimated national beef herd - which fell to its lowest numbers since the early 1990s last year - would start to rebuild from 2021. MLA forecasts a 2.3% increase in numbers by the middle of this year (YoY).
Australia’s biosecurity system is fundamental to the success of our agricultural industries and communities and our 2030 Roadmap identifies a robust national biosecurity system as integral to achieving the agriculture sector’s vision of $100 billion GVP by 2030.
Australia remains free of many damaging pests and diseases found elsewhere in the world, a status that brings many benefits. Not only does this status protect the environment, community and agricultural industries from the direct damaging impacts of these pests and diseases - it also provides a competitive advantage when marketing our produce overseas.
Export markets demand high-quality, safe food and fibre, and market access often relies on being able to demonstrate freedom from certain pests and diseases. It follows that Australia’s favorable pest and disease status contributes to our produce being both highly competitive and
sought-after on the world market. Maintaining this status is central to industry growth ambitions.
NFF’s biosecurity policy seeks a strong, well-funded and well-resourced biosecurity system that is “up to the job” in protecting Australia’s agricultural industries. The CSIRO, in their 2020 report “Australia’s Biosecurity Future: Unlocking the next decade of resilience” identified a 50% increase in the detection of biosecurity risk materials, due to a range of factors including growing levels of trade and travel.
The report also highlighted concern that Australia is at risk of increased disease outbreaks and pest incursions, weakened exports, and damage to our global trading reputation.
In response to increases in biosecurity pressure, the NFF strongly supported the introduction of a Biosecurity Imports Levy as proposed by the Biosecurity Levy Steering committee back in 2019.
Such a levy would have raised over $100 million
per year in funding for biosecurity in-line with increased in trade and transport risk. The Commonwealth Government’s failure to implement this proposal is seen by the NFF as a blow to resourcing and funding for biosecurity surveillance and detection.
In the wake of the government’s failure to implement the Biosecurity Levy the NFF, in its prebudget submission to government, requested $400 million over four years to ensure adequate long-term funding for the national biosecurity system, targeting risk-creating activities and giving trading partners confidence in Australia's pest and disease-free status. Further, the NFF has joined with other concerned stakeholders to declare 2021-2030 a “Decade of National Biosecurity”.
The NFF will continue to demand a stronger, better resourced and better funded biosecurity system into the future on behalf of Australia farmers and their communities.
"Well, I think Australians need to understand that agriculture's already done the heavy lifting, with
respect to us meeting Kyoto and putting us on the trajectory to not just to meet but beat Paris. Because back when Kyoto came in, agriculture had an impingement of rights for particularly our farmers to managing their vegetation."
- MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE THE HON. DAVID LITTLEPROUD MP
Sent by the National Farmers' Federation, NFF House, 14-16 Brisbane Avenue, Barton ACT 2600
