Supporting and listening to Tasmania’s agriculture and food producers is a key part of our plan to grow the sector ten-fold to $10 billion by 2050.
The Government’s Stock Underpass Pilot Scheme is a great example of consultation and action to assist farmers and the wider community.
Based on industry feedback, the cap on funding available under the Program has been lifted to 33 percent of costs to a maximum of $80,000.
The Stock Underpass Pilot Program was created last year to support improved farm and road safety and increased farm productivity, across the livestock farming sector.
Crossing cattle on roads is a significant issue for many dairy and livestock farmers and we have been working with the TFGA and DairyTas, as well as local farmers and councils, to develop a practical approach to address the issue.
Today at Moltema I was pleased to inspect the first cattle underpass built under the scheme and congratulate the Dornauf family for taking this step.
The Tasmanian Government already fully funds stock underpasses where a new road alignment splits a property.
$750,000 was allocated to this pilot program in 2017-18 as part of our pledge to support Tasmania’s agriculture and food producers.
We think boosting safety and productivity on Tasmanian farms is so important we’ve allocated an additional $600,000 for this purpose, which means funding is available out to 2021-22.
The Hodgman Liberal Government is a staunch supporter of Tasmania’s agriculture sector and we are continuing to look at the best ways to help improve its competitiveness.
Today we are honouring our commitment to prepare a whole-of-government White Paper on the Competitiveness of Tasmanian Agriculture for 2050.
We have commenced consultation with peak industry groups to identify both barriers and opportunities when it comes to economic growth for the sector.
We want to increase awareness and understanding of the broad range of factors contributing to industry competiveness, including cost of production, investment and profitability of Tasmanian farmers and agribusiness.
The first stage of the draft White Paper will be released for consultation in coming months.
More Media Releases from the Minister for Primary Industries and Water