And that’s the problem.

The anti-livestock, vegan and environmentalists movements have been getting a lot of airplay in the news and online.

The problem is that this is a one-sided view. It’s not balanced. Why? Because the farmers are not being heard. They don’t have a collective voice.

And when the general public sees frequent campaigns against livestock farming, live exports, cruelty to animals, and land clearing for farming as the biggest threat to our environment, everyone quietly nods their heads because perception becomes reality.

What about hearing about what the farmers and agri-businesses have to say about this? Why don’t we have a balanced view?

For example, protecting our $60 billion agriculture industry that puts premium quality food on the table of every Australian, that is safe, and creates thousands of jobs at the same time.

What about balancing the perceptions of land clearing in the context of how to feed an ever-growing population that requires more land for housing leaving less land for farming to feed them?

This is what needs to be looked at.

Our farmers have been taking it on the chin for far too long and it is time we got off the ropes and hit back to put things into perspective.

If farmers don’t speak up, our politicians will bend to public perception, and before you know it, cheaper foreign imports of substandard quality (compared to Australian grown) will be increasing on our supermarket shelves, export revenue will start to drop, farms will start to close down, and a whole industry will start to go into decline.

I am not an activist. I just have the courage to have the hard conversations and challenge public perceptions for the betterment of farmers and our nation as a whole.

Yours sincerely,