Shrinking margins, animal activism, grain production and potential changes to rural election boundaries were some of the major issues raised by farmers and industry groups at last week’s WAFarmers conference.
The conference was a global affair with a satellite link established to hear the Canadian Farmers Federation’s views on falling profit margins and the drive for efficiency.
WAFarmers president Trevor De Landgrafft said farmers had been on efficiency drive for the past two decades.
“You need to be efficient to survive but at the same time farmers haven’t been able to pick up a margin with the extra efficiency,” he said. “The margin has gone into agribusiness.”
Mr Landgrafft said margins had decreased as new technology had been introduced.
“The cost has exceeded the benefit, but that’s not supposed to happen,” he said.
The live export industry was also a concern for farmers, particularly the scrutiny they receive from animal activists.
Mr Landgrafft said farmers had lost contact with the average consumer and needed to justify to the public what they did and why they did it, or they would continue to get “fly blown” by animal activists.