Deep Roots

[

] 219

continuing to build thriving regional and rural agricultural

communities, and making sure that the cultural divide

between city and country areas of Australia is closed while

ensuring that metropolitan-based Australians have a good and

correct perception of the Australian agriculture industry and

the contribution it makes to the country.

Handing over the family farm

One of the major issues the ageing population brings with it

for family farming is successful secession planning of the farm

from one generation to the next. Succession planning and

successful implementation remains a major barrier to retain-

ing young people in agriculture. Making sure these family

farms are financially viable and finances are managed correctly

is another key factor.

The attitudinal survey revealed the vast majority of FFN

members (90 per cent) indicated that being able to afford

the services of a succession planning and financial manage-

ment consultant was their main barrier in undertaking

planning. The membership agreed that government assis-

tance to make the provision of these vital business services

attainable is essential.

“My grandfather’s farm is currently being torn apart by

a very long and unsuccessful succession planning process.

Help is needed in the areas of planning for succession before

it is needed to be implemented. Also maybe we shouldn’t

talk about it as succession planning as I think that scares my

grandfather, maybe just call it future planning as that’s what

it is and that to me sounds like a much simpler and easier task

to do,” said one FFN Queensland member.

“It [government assistance] would encourage more families

to participate in succession planning, which as we know is

integral in achieving the farm being passed onto future gener-

ations and managed in a successful way that fulfils all family

wishes,” said an FFN New South Wales member.

FFN has recommended to the Australian Government that

through the Department of Agriculture, it should create a

succession planning programme, aimed at helping to finance

family farms to implement succession planning as the farm

transitions from one generation to the next. This would

help to ensure the next generation of Australian farmers can

continue to boost the country’s economy through lucrative

Asian trading opportunities and build upon the strong opera-

tional foundation the generation before them has created.

Building better regional and rural communities

Australia is a sparsely populated nation, with 22 million residents

living in 7,692,024 square kilometres, the majority of whom live

in capital cities. This means that for the most part, regional and

rural towns in Australia are very spread out with small popula-

tions ranging anywhere from a few hundred residents right up

to 10,000. It is very common for these residents to be hours and

hundreds of kilometres away from their nearest capital city.

Geographical isolation brings about certain community

issues. However, Australia is combating these issues through

trying to build more dynamic and vibrant rural and regional

communities. It is focusing on empowering women living in

these areas who work in agriculture by ensuring that they

have access to health services, particularly mental health

support services, and by bridging the divide between rural

Image: Future Farmers Network

Australia is combating the issues of rural isolation by working to build dynamic and vibrant rural and regional communities

eep

oots