Budget 2021: What’s in it for farmers and ag

The Federal Budget 2021-22 has been delivered in Canberra and it has been described as a “shot in the arm for agriculture and regional Australia” by the National Farmers Federation (NFF).

Dubbed the ‘pandemic budget’ by the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, the latest Budget will inject $850.4 million into the farm sector to ensure the NFF-led goal for agriculture to be Australia’s next $100 billion industry by 2030 is within reach.

Here are some key measures from the Budget that concern farm workers, farm business owners and the Australian agricultural industry.

Small and medium businesses (businesses with turnover of less than $50 million) will enjoy a tax cut from 26 per cent in 2020-21 to 25 per cent from July 1, 2021.

The popular

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The temporary loss carry-back measure, which works hand in hand with the temporary full expensing scheme, has also been extended by one year (claimable to 2022-23). The measure allows businesses that previously had an income tax liability and have subsequently made taxable losses to claim a refundable tax offset up to the amount of their previous income tax liabilities.

More cash back means more money to spend, which translates to more economic activity.

The Government is also reducing taxes on income from innovative research to encourage businesses to undertake their R&D in Australia and keep patents here.

The Government’s

The program, which subsidises 50 per cent of an apprentice’s wage for 12 months from their date of commencement, now has a new deadline of March 31, 2022, which means businesses who want to take part in the program will have to sign up new apprentices or trainees before March 31 of next year to be eligible. The subsidy will be capped at $7000 per quarter per apprentice or trainee.

A hefty $30 million will also be poured into an ag career program to attract more talent into the agricultural industry with initiatives that include piloting ways to give young Australians a way to do a gap year in agriculture.

If you’re a worker on low to middle income (earning up to $90,000 pa) you’ll receive a tax rebate of up to $1080 for singles or $2160 for couples.

The $450 per month threshold for super contributions by an employer has been scrapped, meaning if you work part time or casual and earn less than $450 a month your employer will still need to pay you superannuation.

The Government is expanding the JobTrainer scheme by a further 163,000 places and is extending the program until December 31, 2022. The measure was first introduced in 2020 to provide job seekers, school leavers and young people with access to free or low-fee training places in areas of skills shortages.

The Government is also committing to help women gain access to non-traditional apprenticeships like construction or agriculture.

The Government is pouring over $400 million to strengthen our biosecurity systems to keep Australia safe from exotic pests and diseases.

The funds will go towards investing in frontline measures to better manage the risk of pests and diseases entering Australia as well as building a modern and effective biosecurity system.

Almost $230 million will go towards helping farmers better understand and manage their farms’ soil health to improve farm yields.

The funds will be used to implement a national soil strategy to set out how we can value, manage and improve our soil resource base over the next 20 years. Money will also go into running a National Soil Monitoring and Incentives Pilot program over two years to help improve understanding of Australia’s soil condition and how to better manage it and assist farmers in improving their productivity and profitability.

Recognising the importance of diversifying Australia’s export markets especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government is committing close to $100 million to help farmers diversify and increase their exports.

The funds will be used to establish a new international agriculture envoy dedicated to protecting and promoting Australia’s international interests.

It will also be used to support access to agricultural and veterinary chemicals to help farmers respond better to pests and diseases.

An Agri-Business Expansion Initiative (ABEI) will continue to help farmers access critical trade information, with one-on-one exporter support services and greater access to market intelligence.

The Budget has allocated $258 million to fund new dams and irrigation projects in Eurobodalla, Werribee, Warwick and the Bellarine.

The Government is also committed to helping Murray-Darling Basin irrigators better understand future water availability and plan for drought and flooding.

An extra $15.2 billion has been injected into the infrastructure pool to improve connectivity between regions across Australia which is crucial in helping farmers get their produce to market efficiently.

The Government’s commitments include:

Farmers and regional Australians are no strangers to natural disasters that have struck Australia in recent years, such as drought and devastating bushfires.

To help Australia prepare for future events, the Government is providing $90 million to enhance Emergency Management Australia’s capabilities.

This includes facilitating resource sharing decisions with the states and territories which in turn will lead to better informed, timely and harmonised government decision making during emergencies.

A further $209.7 million will go into establishing the Australian Climate Service that will bring together world-leading climate and natural disaster information and expertise to better inform how Australia can build climate resilience and better respond to natural disasters.