Amidst the challenges faced by the primary sector under the previous government, a silver lining emerged in the form of a more unified approach from industry bodies like Beef + Lamb, DairyNZ, and Federated Farmers.

Despite the unique challenges facing each segment of the agriculture sector, working collaboratively makes way more sense when effecting change at a government level.

This unified approach works.

There is also a greater alignment between these organisations and the farmers they represent.

Federated Farmers, in particular, following pressure from their members, have proved their worth and grown teeth.

There was definitely a time when many farmers I know were questioning how effective the Feds were, particularly as advocates for the sector.

There will no doubt be farmers reading this who feel the Feds have got it wrong in some instances (their stance on gene editing, for example). Still, the prevailing sentiment among most farmers I engage with is that Federated Farmers are now well and truly earning their keep.

Recently the organisation had another win for the sector by successfully lobbying for the government inquiry into rural banking.

The scope of the inquiry ticks off most of their concerns, and credit has to be given to Wayne Langford, Richard McIntyre and the team for pushing relentlessly for the inquiry on behalf of their 13,000 or so members.

Here’s hoping the inquiry provides some answers and brings some change.

Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ )is another organisation that I can see moving into the advocacy space and beginning to gain some clout.

RWNZ was once known for knitting and scones, but change is afoot with a new chief executive, Marie Fitzpatrick, at the helm.

She is a force of nature keen on advocating policies affecting rural women and children.

They deserve to be taken seriously, and hopefully we can see more collaboration with them from the likes of Federated Farmers in the future.

With a current government that appears to be more farmer-friendly and our industry bodies working together and generally more active in the advocacy space, do we still need organisations like Groundswell or the Rural Advocacy Network?

We absolutely do.

They are our watchdogs on the porch and our canaries in the coal mine.

They are there to ensure that the current government keeps its promises and meets its deadlines and that our industry bodies listen to and align with the farmers they represent.

Even though this government supports farmers more than the previous one, changes still need to be made, such as in Freshwater Farm planning and Significant Natural Areas.

This emphasises the importance of ongoing advocacy and engagement from all stakeholders in our sector.

It’s not just central government that needs to be on notice.

Regional and local councils should still be held accountable.

To ensure we stay on track, we must continue applying the lessons we learned before the election.

This means maintaining the pressure, ensuring that our industry organisations continue to listen to farmers and advocate effectively on their behalf, and collaborate to maximise our farmer voice.

By Claire Inkson