Farmers welcome move to cut chemical red tape

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has welcomed the release of draft legislation by the Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, designed to prevent further red tape around the use of agricultural and veterinary chemicals on Australian farms. NFF CEO Matt Linnegar thanked the Minister for his comments – including the need for the Government to listen to farmers and stop the unnecessary cost and paperwork imposition on farmers. “The Minister has stressed that while we certainly need a regulatory system that supports the responsible use of chemicals, we also need one that allows our farmers to operate without unnecessary additional time and cost imposts,” Mr Linnegar said. “Chemicals are a critically important part of our farm businesses – helping us to manage pests and diseases that would otherwise threaten our food and fibre production – and ensuring farmers have access to chemicals that are safe, affordable and effective is vital. “We thank the Minister for releasing draft legislation to do just that, and we urge all farmers to have their say during the public consultation period,” Mr Linnegar said. The NFF will be making a submission on the draft legislation. Farmers and others within the agricultural sector can also do so via the http://www.daff.gov.au/agvet[Department of Agriculture website] until 7 March 2014.