We are the proudest supporters of primary industries and the rural communities which depend on them.

We understand that agriculture is a key pillar of Tasmania’s economy and are working with stakeholders to deliver real outcomes.

This was highlighted in last week’s state budget, which delivered for agriculture with an additional $70 million over four year.

It’s part of our comprehensive AgriFood Plan to grow the value of agriculture to $10 billion by 2050.

A hallmark of this budget is the spread of investment right across marketing, research, biosecurity, development and extension, as well as our rural financial support services.

The budget is unashamedly about supporting our strong farming families and also the diverse primary industry family – dairy, beef, fruit and vegetable sector as well as seafood, winemaking, organic industries, beekeepers and wool growers.

Tasmanian primary producers are rightly up-beat about their quality produce, which is increasingly being sought by markets throughout the nation and the world.

And confidence is increasing.

Just last week leading agribusiness banker Rabobank said Tasmanian farmers were the most confident in the nation, with 70 per cent planning to maintain current investment levels and 24 per cent looking to increase investment, against the national average of 19 per cent.

This is an 18-month high on the back of strong sheep prices, stability in dairy and strong price predictions for most commodities.

This survey found 90 per cent of Tasmanian farmers expected the agricultural economy to remain stable or improve in the upcoming 12 months – and that is great news for regional communities and further job creation.

Most notably, Rabobank said a significant percentage of primary producers were looking to increase stock levels, purchase additional equipment and/or invest in new technologies and infrastructure, like irrigation.

The Tasmanian government is also looking to the future, and with a balanced budget we can invest in initiatives like $4.18 million to work with farmers, processors and agribusiness on practical strategies to improve productivity and profitability through the food chain in red meat, dairy, wine, honey, hemp, organics and fruit and vegetables.

We can invest $860,000 for two additional AgriGrowth Liaison Officers based in the North, a new Primary Producer Hotline and $2.4 million to support the move of 100 department jobs to the heartland of Tasmanian agriculture in the North and North-West.

There is an additional $595,000 for Rural Financial Counselling Services, Farm Business Mentoring, and increased funding for Rural Youth, Tasmanian Women in Agriculture, Landcare programs and an additional $3 million over five years for the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture.

The seafood sector continues to be a star performer and additional funding of $12.7 million over four years will help us work alongside fishers and the industry to grow this sector and create more jobs.

Of course, all of these sectors require better and improved biosecurity to underpin their success and the Tasmanian government has delivered more biosecurity funding every year for the past four years, and has committed a further $8.6 million to further strengthen Tasmania’s biosecurity in this budget.

We are focused on protecting Tasmania with $5.6 million to address pests like fruit fly, to $2 million for truck wash-down stations, to on-farm hygiene strategies and $480,000 to boost biosecurity on King Island and Flinders Island.

The Tasmanian government will continue to promote our magnificent primary produce to the world and the 2018-19 budget provides the ongoing investment to help this sector prosper, excel and create more jobs.