By Paula Doran

Agriculture has always evolved. New technologies emerge, markets change, seasons turn and farm businesses adapt. 

But the scale and pace of change now confronting the sector feel different. 

Farmers and rural communities are not dealing with one isolated challenge. They are navigating multiple pressures at the same time – and the way we support them must evolve as well.

Workforce shortages, rising production costs, climate variability, biosecurity risks and increasing regulation are reshaping the operating environment. 

Farm businesses are also managing succession, generational transition, changing community expectations and the rapid development of automation, artificial intelligence and other technologies.

Alongside those industry-wide issues are the personal realities of running a farm business: making decisions under pressure, leading employees, supporting family members, managing risk and finding the time and headspace to plan for the future.

None of those challenges exist independently. Workforce availability affects productivity and safety. 

Business profitability influences succession and investment. Community resilience depends on viable farms, strong local leadership and access to services. 

Decisions made in Canberra or in corporate offices can have very different consequences when they reach the farm gate.

This is a new era for Australian agriculture, and it requires us to think carefully about whether the support structures surrounding the sector remain fit for purpose.

For Partners in Ag, that means taking the time to reassess our role. Our organisation has always been grounded in connection, education, leadership and the belief people are agriculture’s greatest strength. We have brought people together to learn, share experiences, build confidence and strengthen their businesses and communities. 

Those foundations remain important, but we also recognise the needs of the sector are changing.

The question for us is not simply how we continue what we have always done. It is how we pivot so that our work remains practical, relevant and capable of helping people meet the challenges in front of them.

Do farmers need different leadership and business-development opportunities? How can we better support the next generation entering agriculture? What skills will people need to manage increasingly complex businesses? How do we help agricultural leaders communicate with the public, influence policy and advocate for their industries? What role should Partners in Ag play in strengthening workforce capability, innovation, wellbeing and regional communities?

We have ideas, but we do not want to make assumptions. 

The people living and working across agriculture are best placed to tell us where the gaps are, which pressures are most significant and what forms of support would make a genuine difference. 

That is why Partners in Ag is inviting farmers, employees, agricultural professionals, advisers, industry representatives and rural community members to complete our new survey.

We want to understand what people are experiencing now, what they believe is coming next and where an organisation such as Partners in Ag can add the greatest value. 

The survey will help us identify priorities, test potential directions and shape programs and partnerships that respond to real needs rather than perceived ones.

This is not consultation for the sake of consultation. The feedback will directly inform the next phase of Partners in Ag and help determine where we focus our time, resources and relationships.

Agriculture’s future will depend not only on technology, investment or policy, but on capable people who can adapt, lead, communicate and work together. 

Our role is to consider how we can best support those people – and how we can help create the conditions in which farm businesses and rural communities can thrive. A changing industry requires organisations to change with it. 

Partners in Ag is ready to listen, learn and evolve, but we need the sector to help shape what comes next.

People can complete the Partners in Ag survey at bit.ly/3VtP3fs. 

 

The entire September 30, 2026 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!