Ear to the ground from the north to the south
Over the past couple of weeks we’ve been fortunate enough to visit two major horticultural regions – connecting with our members and hearing first-hand the issues affecting them.
In late May we attended the Rotary FNQ Field Days in Mareeba. If the traffic jam into Mareeba and the rodeo grounds was anything to go by, this year’s Field Days was bigger and better than ever. The event was buzzing as producers and growers alike checked out the machinery demos, did deals, and caught up with their agronomists and industry reps.
As we made our way around it was valuable hearing first-hand what issues were of most concern for our members.
The potential closure of the Coen Roadblock and biosecurity threats were a constant worry for many as they are the first line of defense at the state border – an important role they take very seriously. Another issue we heard loud and clear in the north was the compliance burden and ever-increasing costs of audits. One grower we spoke to quoted their auditing costs (three full audits and a variety of essential testing) at $10,000 per year! A recent random audit also resulted in a very stressed wife and business partner.
How can we be competitive, achieve a fair margin and have profitable, sustainable agribusiness long-term with this level of impost and no ability to ‘pass through’ additional charges like in every other business? If the products or part in your coffee, bread and car repairs go up, then it is accepted that these will be passed through to the consumer – us. This is not the same rule for our growers.
Likewise in our recent visit to the Lockyer Valley last week we also heard growers match the concerns up north about the desire for fair margins and the current inability to ‘pass through’ additional costs such as compliance and labour.
We heard loud and clear that the new IR laws will mean major impacts to both agribusinesses, backpackers and PALM workforce who currently rely on the ability to be flexible around voluntary additional hours. We met employees who believe they are ‘better off already’ and growers who want fair consideration of the seasonal nature of horticulture and putting fresh produce on the table.
Where does this all start? At the consumer we say. Apple grower Hervey Giblette said it better than we could… “Consumers needed to reassess the value placed on fresh produce… as a society we seem to have the opinion that fruit and veg should be cheap. Well, that’s fine but we can’t grow them cheap, and if you are, you are not going to be growing them long.”
