News
Issue No. 31 - October/November 2006
New SAFF president aims to weather the big dry
Tough times bring rivals together and for farmers in SA, times don't get a lot tougher. As newly elected SA Farmers Federation President Wayne Cornish takes the reins of a fractious community, he is clear on the obstacles he faces.
It's not an unfamiliar position for the grazier, potato and cherry farmer from Gumeracha, who was SAFF President from 1995 to 1999 and a National Farmers Federation vice president for six years.
But climate change appears to be carrying farmers into new country.
"(This year) is very challenging," he says. "Some regions have to deal with drought on a regular basis, but that has been easier in the past. With terms of trade as they are, maintaining reserves so you can miss a year is getting more and more difficult."
And the great difference this year is that regions previously considered safe from drought may now be vulnerable. In the Southeast and Mid-North, years have varied in quality, but absolute failure with nil income was never in prospect.
"And we are only considering going into the drought," Wayne says. "Coming out next year they will have to buy fertiliser, seed, livestock. That amounts to two lots of annual cost in a row.
"The average level of debt doesn't tell you much. That debt has to be serviced and eventually repaid (despite the uncertain future)."
Farmers are already curbing their spending, causing an "immediate fallout" for farm suppliers.
"Rural communities have been instantly affected," Wayne says. "The spending cycle has suffered a major hiccup and there will be casualties.
"If there are significant rains some farms could recover some sort of year. The position that looks desperate now won't be so bad as it seemed. But already some areas are too far gone."
Looking into the future, Wayne is optimistic that the family farm will survive. A lot depends "on what climate change has to show us".
He says farmers generally farm well, with 40% to ...
