Beef farmer Michael Moller
“One of the main things I learnt at the summit was that in regional areas, 70pc of residents, including farmers, don’t oppose renewable energy developments on rural land, despite what a vocal minority is claiming. It was also good to see how many farmers are embracing renewable energy to cut costs and emissions and the way many are adopting regenerative agriculture on their properties. It was a great event, I learned a lot and it was great to mix with people making science-based decisions.“
Joanne Schembri (beef, cropping/horticulture)
“There were a couple of key take aways for me. Firstly, the power we all have as farmers when we are brought into the same room – the room for collaborative change – it really hit home. We can accomplish so much when we come together for a shared purpose. On a personal note I was encouraged and proud to see so many intelligent, powerful and genuine farming women taking part, women encouraging and supporting each other from all ages and backgrounds. I’ve come away with homework, including an action plan to engage with my local and state members and research carbon credits at Dover Downs. It was a great event with an open and honest approach to our journey ahead. I felt like part of the family and I’m looking forward to the next one.“
Beef farmer Maureen Noakes, Mount Mee
“The Farmers for Climate Action Summit left me astounded. Genuine yet frank discussions were held among farmers, agribusiness representatives, researchers, advisers, public servants and politicians. My take-away was that sustainable grazing management and regeneration, backed up with data and professional advice, can be applied to any scale of farm business, from 16 to 3000 hectares.
Just a friendly hello was all I needed to begin to know someone’s story and the kinds of climate challenges and solutions they faced. Networking is a powerful way to share knowledge, to tap into others’ experience and to make friends with like-minded people, whether farmers, public servants, researchers or politicians.
The summit also provided a platform for robust discussion about rural and regional communities adopting renewable energy such as wind farms and solar batteries. Government subsidies, increased profitability and productivity can drive adoption of new technologies in Australia, but community agreement is essential.“
Beef farmer and non-executive FCA director Noel Preece, Atherton
“I loved meeting so many enthusiastic farmers and supporters who believe they can do something about the changing climate and are already doing amazing work. Farmers across the country face the extremes of our warming climate every day – floods, longer droughts, loss of pollinators, extreme temperatures and many more very hot days – and many are implementing better practices to ensure their farms’ sustainability.
I was hugely impressed with the actions farmers are taking, from hosting wind farms and solar arrays to changing grazing and cropping practices, planting windbreaks and restoring gullies. Farmers are generating income from renewables and from revegetation by selling carbon credits, which really helps stabilise their bottom lines. The Farming Forever Summit left me with positive feelings that we can turn around the heating trend, much of it through efforts on the half of Australia that is farmland. Farmers are leading the charge.“
Elena Garcia, Burncluith
“I got so much from participating in the national summit! Learning from the gains other farmers are getting from switching to regenerative methods, because it’s better for soil health, productivity and profitability. Learning how much money you can make from switching over from diesel to electric power and vehicles- something I know from farming on standalone solar power since 2000. And, also, the financial security from hosting wind turbines or solar panel generation on the farm, so that my family and our community can keep on farming and looking after our animals and biodiversity no matter what climate disasters get thrown at us. There are so many exciting ways other farmers are adapting to keep on sustainably looking after our land and water and to be there to share and learn from their experiences was well worth the time.
Also, it is so inspiring to be a part of so many farmers and our supporters agreeing that farmers and our communities are not just stakeholders but need to be partners in the big renewable projects so we can be sure that they’re put in the right places and that our regions directly benefit from locally produced and stored power and better regional services paid from it.“
