Farmers in Australia seek changes to FMD scheme

Published Jul 19, 2021

Tridge summary

GrainGrowers has made several recommendations to the Federal Department of Agriculture regarding the Farm Management Deposit (FMD) Scheme. The scheme is used by farmers to manage risks in the highly-volatile agricultural environment. The key recommendations include reviewing the FMD holding threshold cap and the 'non-primary production' income eligibility. The organization has also urged the government to open up the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to more countries to reduce international trade barriers. Despite COVID-19 restrictions, GrainGrowers has continued to work with the Federal government on diversifying Australia's markets for barley and a range of other crops. Their Innovation Generation conference was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions but the Australian Grain Leaders Program components have been transitioned online.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

GRAINGROWERS has made several recommendations to the Federal Department of Agriculture regarding the Farm Management Deposit (FMD) Scheme. With Australian growers operating in a highly-volatile environment, being exposed to both production and pricing risks as demonstrated with the politicisation of trade with China, the scheme is a tool used by farmers to manage those risks. However GrainGrowers chief executive David McKeon said some adjustments were required to the scheme to ensure it reflected the realities of modern farming enterprises. A GrainGrowers survey of farmers across Australia this year demonstrated that the ability to put money aside and the structures modern farming businesses operated in were major impediments to the scheme. Mr McKeon said limitations of FMDs included that they were unable to be held in a company-based structure and instead needed to be held by individuals. "The basic premise should be that we need modern farm policies that reflect a modern farming ...

Source: Farmweekly