23 January 2014
NFF Media Release

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) are encouraging Australian farmers to head online and complete the Farm Sector Employment Survey, which was released today, in order to help build an accurate picture of the employment challenges facing the farm sector. 

NFF General Manager of Policy, Tony Mahar, is calling on Australian farmers who currently employ, or have previously employed farm workers, to head online to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VHLGMHF and complete the five minute survey.

“The survey forms a critical component of the Agricultural Workforce Development Plan, a joint government-industry initiative, and will provide valuable data on the key employment issues affecting the farm sector,” Mr Mahar said.

“As the NFF has long said – people are our sector’s greatest resource, and ensuring we have a capable and sustainable workforce is vital, not only for farmers, but also the wider food and fibre sectors.

“The lack of skilled workers available to farm businesses and across the broader sector emerged as one of the key challenges in the NFF-led, industry-developed Blueprint for Australian Agriculture,” Mr Mahar said.

It is anticipated the Farm Sector Employment Survey will help address the lack of robust data that currently exists around workforce development, and in turn – inform the future direction of agricultural workforce policy discussions.

“The survey is an opportunity for farmers to quickly, document their experiences and key concerns relating to the on farm employment process,” Mr Mahar said.

“The more responses we receive, the more valuable the survey will be in reflecting the current situation of farmers accessing skilled workers, so we encourage participants to take the time to complete it, and further promote it to other farmers.

“Respondents of the survey can be assured of complete anonymity, and that the information gathered will be considered and analysed on a collective basis.

“The survey will be conducted over four weeks, commencing today and concluding on Thursday, 20 February 2014,” Mr Mahar said.