Written by Lauren Butler – Country to Canberra Teen Blogger
Growing up in rural Queensland has given me an insight into the agricultural industry and has shown me the real meaning of hard work. After living on the land for almost 16 years now, I have learned to appreciate the effort that goes into producing the food on supermarket shelves. The outback isn’t always a forgiving place and puts farmers through hard times, with long droughts and little rain to keep stock and crops alive.
I believe that having an appreciation of the land is an important part of growing up and valuing the hard work and determination that goes into keeping the rural industry alive. Farmers across the land create produce for Australia and the overseas markets. In recent months overseas companies have been purchasing properties around Australia and buying farmers out in their weakest moments. It is well known that farmers in central west Queensland have been doing it tough in the past months, and during this time corporations have used this opportunity to take properties off of farmer’s hands, essentially taking over the land.
These purchases mean that less money made from farming and beef producers, is going back into the industry. Instead, it is heading overseas. This cycle means that hard working men, women and families who are keeping properties running aren’t getting the recognition they deserve; instead Chinese companies are using their progress to promote their companies.
Australia is losing the true meaning of hard work due to the shadowing from these overseas buyers. We need to help rural farmers stand up against these takeovers to ensure that the wealth of these properties goes back into the industry and supports our farmers, who keep Australia alive. If we don’t support our farmers during this time, overseas companies will continue to buy properties out and there will be nothing left that we can call genuine Australian produce.