Tasmanian agriculture is a success story.
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There is no doubt about that.
It even has all the hallmarks of a great story – full of bumpy plot holes and dizzying heights.
Over the past year alone, Tasmanian farmers have had to deal with a new and very real biosecurity threat, in the emergence of Queensland fruit fly’s arrival on our shores.
However, that has been tempered with a kinder weather outlook and bolstered by the record-breaking heights of recent wool prices.
AgriFutures’ report, New Opportunities in New and Emerging Agricultural Industries in Australia, looked at global food industries that have a potential $10 million annual turnover, as well as global demand and a commercial presence.
Tasmania’s agricultural industries contribute to the national economy, as well as giving the state’s rural and regional communities the opportunity to shape emerging products.
Seen as an industry that is moving from a micro to emergent, quinoa was highlighted in the report as one to watch.
Managing director John Harvey said AgriFutures Australia had set an “ambitious goal” of supporting five emerging agricultural industries with a collective turnover of at least $50 million in the next five years.
“These industries are tipped to be the next big thing… [and] could make a significant contribution to the future prosperity and profitability of Australian agriculture,” Mr Harvey said.
Farming is undoubtedly one of the hardest jobs in the world, and it doesn’t often get the most credit. It is a career that is integral to our survival as a species, but one that often goes unnoticed in today’s society.
Tasmanian farmers are among the most innovative in the world – and this could be for a number of reasons.
Our small island state demands higher quality, as Tasmanian producers will never be able to compete on quantity alone.
In addition, quality comes hand-in-hand with experimentation, an urge to innovate and create, but also to supplement and diversify.
Nature can deal a cruel hand to farmers at any moment, without warning, so diversification offers a safety buffer net to weather against any storm, literal and figurative.
It will be fascinating to see what they come up with next.
