The nation’s agricultural leaders have concluded the industry’s peak policy-making forum in Canberra with a clear warning to the Australian Government: workforce disruption, crushing input costs and a substandard European Union trade deal are putting mounting pressure on Australian farmers.
National Farmers’ Federation President Hamish McIntyre said the message from Members’ Council was unmistakable.
“Across commodities and across the country, three issues dominated the room: access to workers, the continuing pressure of fuel and fertiliser prices, and the proposed Australia–European Union Free Trade Agreement,” Mr McIntyre said.
“They directly affect whether farmers can get crops harvested, keep businesses viable and compete on a level playing field.”
Workforce uncertainty has caused havoc
Mr McIntyre said recent and proposed migration policy changes had caused havoc for farm businesses and regional communities, with many farmers feeling the rug had been pulled out from under them as part of a wider political debate.
“Workforce access is the number one policy stressor for many farmers right now.
“Farmers planned their seasons and made employment decisions based on a long-established system, only to face visa delays, uncertainty and proposed changes to the Working Holiday Maker program on the cusp of the busiest time of the year.
“The emergency referral process secured by the NFF is helping some farmers in critical situations, but it is a pressure valve, not a workforce policy.”
Members’ Council stressed that backpackers are one of agriculture’s most productive workforce cohorts, working in one of Australia’s most productive industries. They also reiterated the contribution of migrants extended beyond farms to local mechanics, hospitality businesses and other essential regional services.
“Working Holiday Makers provide the mobile, flexible workforce needed to respond to harvests and other short and intensive production windows,” Mr McIntyre said.
“The PALM scheme is important, but it is not a like-for-like replacement. The programs perform different functions and must be treated as complementary, not interchangeable.”
Mr McIntyre said proposed caps and ballots for second and third-year Working Holiday Maker visas risked turning access to experienced regional workers into a lottery.
“A ballot is a fiasco waiting to happen. Farmers cannot plan planting, harvest or livestock operations around the luck of a draw.
“The Government must maintain the emergency pathway until reliable replacement settings are operating, restore predictable visa processing and work with industry on lasting reform.”
Farmers still bowing under input costs
Members’ Council also reaffirmed its serious concern about fuel and fertiliser prices, warning that sustained high costs were eroding margins and placing acute pressure on farm cash flow.
ABARES forecasts average broadacre farm business profit will fall by 39 per cent, from $219,000 in 2025–26 to $133,000 in 2026–27. Fuel prices rose 21 per cent in 2025–26, while fertiliser prices increased 16 per cent, with both expected to remain elevated.
“Farmers are price-takers who cannot simply pass every increase in diesel, fertiliser, freight and other inputs down the line,” Mr McIntyre said.
“Farmers borrowed money to buy fertiliser at elevated prices earlier in the year and now we are also staring down the barrel of another interest rate rise. The Government must recognise that farmers and regional communities are bowing under these costs.
“Members’ Council has called for targeted assistance for farm businesses facing acute financial pressure, as well as faster action to strengthen Australian agriculture’s fuel security and reduce our exposure to global supply disruptions.”
EU deal remains unacceptable
Trade Minister Senator Don Farrell addressed Members’ Council, speaking directly with agricultural leaders about the proposed Australia–European Union Free Trade Agreement.
“We appreciate the Minister fronting the room and making the case for Members’ Council to reconsider its position,” Mr McIntyre said.
“He heard directly and respectfully from agricultural leaders, but the room remained staunch: Australian agriculture cannot support this agreement in its current form.
“What is now on the table delivers no material improvement for key agricultural commodities like beef, sheepmeat, dairy and sugar, over what the Government rightly rejected in 2023. It offers substandard access for Australian producers while asking them to compete against European farmers backed by hundreds of billions of euros in subsidies.
“That is a double blow for thousands of Australian farmers.”
Cattle Australia has emphasised after a decade of negotiations, the access the Government secured for Australian beef will eventually amount to about 30,000 tonnes annually, phased in over a decade. By comparison, Australia exported approximately that volume of beef each week over the past 12 months.
Australian Dairy Farmers had also highlighted the fundamental lack of free and fair trade for the sector under the deal. In 2025–26 Australia imported $858 million worth of European dairy products while exporting only $28 million in return, an existing dairy trade deficit of $830 million. Under the proposed agreement, Australia would phase out its remaining tariff on European cheese while several Australian dairy exports would remain restricted by small quotas and substantial tariffs.
“Australian agriculture supports open trade and ambitious trade agreements. The proposed deal does not meet the test of an ambitious or commercially meaningful trade agreement with one of the world’s largest markets,” Mr McIntyre said.
Changing of the guard
The forum was also an opportunity to acknowledge the service and dedication of the outgoing Vice President John Hassell and five committee chairs being Angus Atkinson, Malcolm Holm, Bron Christensen, Tony York and David Jochinke.
Members’ Council also welcomed Peter Herrmann as the new Vice President, Tracy Sullivan as Director and the new chairs Stephanie Terry, Perin Davey, John Lowe, Ange Hutchinson and Hamish McIntyre, who all commenced their positions at the end of today’s meeting.
NFF Board
• Hamish McIntyre, President
• Peter Herrmann, Vice President
• Georgie Somerset, Director
• Ben Bennett, Director
• Mark Horan, Director
• Tracy Sullivan, Director
NFF committee chairs
• Ange Hutchinson, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Committee
• Perin Davey, Water Committee
• John Lowe, Economic Policy and Farm Business Committee
• Stephanie Terry, Workforce Committee
• Hamish McIntyre, Trade Committee
• Peter Thompson, Telecommunications and Social Policy Committee
• Chris Groves, Farming Systems Committee Chair