National Agriculture Day celebrates innovation in ag

November 18, 2022 is National Agriculture Day and the National Farmers Federation (NFF), which initiated the first AgDay in 2017, is urging Australians to join in the celebrations and show their appreciation for farmers who work hard around the clock to put food on everyone’s tables.

This year's AgDay theme is 'Innovation in Agriculture' and a number of farmers have been invited to speak to that today, in an event that is livestreamed online on the National Agriculture Day website and AustralianFarmers' Facebook page as well as at two public events – one in Sydney at Martin Place in the CBD, and another in Melbourne on Southbank Spillway, Southbank Promenade.

Farmers will be zoomed into big screens to talk about their farms and the innovative practices they apply in their operations to make them safer and more sustainable. People will also be able to take away fresh, farm produce, and enjoy a cutting edge virtual reality farm experience at the Sydney event.

The events are running from 8am to 2pm today.

According to NFF President, Fiona Simson, many people didn’t realise what modern farming looked like, with a survey commissioned by the NFF revealing only 18 per cent of Australians agreed the sector was focused on innovation and improvement.

“This has prompted the AgDay theme ‘Innovation in Agriculture’ to shine a spotlight on the innovation our farmers use to move the dial on this misconception,” she said.

In addition to the livestream events, more than 140 registered events will be held around the country to celebrate AgDay, Simson said.

“After two years of scaled-back events, AgDay is back and bigger than ever and it couldn’t come at a better time,” she said.

“Devastating floods have swallowed crops and pastures and caused major infrastructure damage, creating heartache for farmers and food shortages in our supermarkets.”

In NSW alone, a flood impact survey by NSW Farmers Association has found more than two-thirds of respondents have experienced their second consecutive year of flooding and more than three-quarters of farmers planted less than half their usual winter crop.

“These losses are significant and much of the damage isn’t covered by insurance. We are now also facing serious supply chain issues that will further exacerbate the pain our sector is feeling,” Simson said.

“It’s so important this AgDay that the Australian public rallies behind our farmers to let them know their work is valued.”

In conjunction with AgDay, NFF is holding a photography competition with a prize pool of $5000, where contestants are asked to take photos or videos capturing innovation in agriculture. But hurry as entries close at 5pm AEDT today (November 18).

Another way people can celebrate AgDay is by posting a tribute to farmers on social media using the hashtag #AgDayAU. And if you have some 'I Love Farmers' merchandise, make sure you have them on!

Find out more about AgDay at agday.org.au