NSW Farmers has welcomed calls from the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Compe­tition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh to introduce a legislated right to repair for agricultural machinery.

NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said commitment to legislate this was long overdue. “Right now, much of our modern farm machinery can only be fixed by an ‘authorised repairer’, but this often costs a fortune and there’s the likelihood of costly delays,” Mr Martin said.

“We can choose who fixes our cars and trucks, but can’t choose who fixes the ag machines that help us feed and clothe the nation – and that’s costing our industry time, money and productivity.

“Farmers should be able to choose to use and support a qualified local repairer or do repairs and maintenance work them­selves if they’re qualified, so they can get their machinery fixed without huge costs or wait times.”

According to the Productivity Commis­sion, legislating a right to repair agricultural machinery would boost agricultural produc­tivity by $97 million annually.

“We need our tractors, headers and other machines to be fixed efficiently if we’re to keep putting clothes on backs and food on tables,” Mr Martin said.

The Albanese and Minns Labor Governments are continuing to ensure regional communities are able to thrive with a new powerful online tool to help NSW farmers better prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters including fire, flood, and drought.

The agriculture industry is the engine room of the New South Wales economy, contributing around $20 billion each year. This tool will help farmers safeguard their livelihoods during the climatic variations impacting their farming operations.

The platform, called myStockPlanner, enables farmers to pro­vide details of their farm, risks and resources so they then in return can access tailored actionable response options to consider and implement with their feed and livestock.

myStockPlanner enhances and brings together the functions that previously existed in a suite of existing tools so they are up­graded into a smarter and single platform. The old tools such as the Drought and Supplementary Calculator, DroughtPack, Feed Cost Calculator and Drought Feed Calculator have been collated into a one stop shop myStockPlanner.

This platform is designed to empower farmers with real-time in­sights, scenario planning, and recovery tracking so they can make better and quicker decisions. Importantly, myStockPlanner allows users to save their business information to a farm profile, which they can access and update anywhere, anytime even if their busi­ness records are destroyed in floods or fires.

Farmers use the free platform to calculate livestock require­ments, develop feed plans and evaluate projected annual costs of livestock sale and retention options to improve the farm’s per­formance. To learn more or sign up – myStockPlanner – https://mystockplanner.dpi.nsw.gov.au

The Minns Labor Government is plant­ing the seeds for a new wave of primary production manufacturing across regional NSW, unveiling a prospectus designed to harvest the economic benefits of the grow­ing plant-based protein sector.

This prospectus is part of the Govern­ment’s plans to strengthen regional econo­mies, build new industries and drive jobs and investment.

The prospectus is aimed at metropolitan and international food manufacturers and is designed to encourage them to consider re­gional NSW as a base for their operations.

The prospectus highlights the competitive advantages regional NSW has including:

• Access to premium raw commodities suitable for plant-based protein food and beverage manufacturing with the ability to scale and meet growing demand.

• Consumer market access with regional NSW ideally positioned and able to de­liver goods to 81 percent of Australia’s domestic market overnight.

• Skilled workforce with relevant education­al backgrounds, export-ready ports, and affordable industrial land.

• Research and development ecosystem that actively encourages collaboration between researchers across universities, DPIRD, CSIRO, Government and agri­business.

The Prospectus also identifies five key re­gions particularly suited to plant-based pro­tein manufacturing: Riverina Murray, New England North West, Central West Orana, North Coast and Hunter Central Coast.

Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said: “Regional NSW offers the ideal combination of resources and advantages, from efficient transport networks and export-ready ports to skilled workforces and affordable industrial land, creating a compelling case for investors and manufacturers.