Ryan Milgate

That's what Ag Victoria has to say, but growers and producers in Victoria are asking for greater government assistance.

Angus Verley visited the farm of Victorian Farmers Federation President Ryan Milgate to discuss the scale of the outbreak in Victoria and the response from that state government.

It's a bit of a challenge when people are asked to, out of their own pocket, control something on their land which ultimately is going to get up and leave their place and be a greater burden on the rest of the community on the way down.

You've heard this morning what Agriculture

During windy weather last month, residents say dust from the demonstration mine site in East Gippsland blew towards nearby vegetable crops and the VFS has asked mining regulators to determine whether licence conditions and reporting requirements were met.

VFF President Ryan Milgate says the Mineral Sands Project poses a risk to the region's long-established horticulture industry.

In the middle of September, there was a windy day and we've had a significant dust event from that four hectare test pit.

So we're really calling that out because we're really concerned that, you know, this is a very small representation of what this company is planning to do.

So it's essentially a double jeopardy situation for the farmers around there.

who are, you know, been through this long process already and now potentially have to go through it all again when it's already been proven that the risks are too great to the, you know, agriculture in the community and, you know, the waterways in that region.

That is President of the Victorian Farmers Federation, Ryan Milgate, speaking there with Fiona Broome.

Well, the company behind the proposed Fingerboards Mineral Sands mine has been back on the phone to Fiona Broome today.

The organisation says it wants to ensure the next generation has a stronger voice in representing the industry.

Ryan Milgate is the VFF president and says it's important younger farmers have their voices heard with the government so policies that are formed come from all members of the agricultural sector.

I don't think we've seen a period for a long time where policy and advocacy has been so important to agriculture.

We see there's a real disconnect and there's a lot of policies that are coming from government that are just completely missing the mark.

Now, we've got to regain the confidence and get those members back, and it's that value that we have to resell back to those members.

Now, we've had very good gains already under the new tenure of both Brett Hoskins and Ryan Milgate at the BFF, but look, ball and that's not going to be an easy fit.

President-elect of the United Dairy Farmers of Victoria, Paul Mumford.

Speaking the country today is Jade Egan.

We allow cheeky sometimes on the Country Hour, so happy for you to be involved in the program.

Ryan Milgate is the president of the Victorian Farmers Federation and is on the line to talk about their priorities this, uh, state election too.

Ryan Milgate, welcome back to the Country Hour.

Thanks for having me on, Warz.

When you hear comments like that, and I've no doubt you've seen them spiraling, spiraling around, uh, all through this election campaign so far, what goes through your mind in terms of the, the state of Victorian agriculture and what farmers are calling for?

Stop fining farmers." Nick in Lakes Entrance says, "Hi, we want a government that looks at what's happening in the country and to put country people first." And Horton in Hawfield says, uh, "Just know something has to change to get confidence and optimism back in rural areas.

The key word is respect for rural people." Uh, there's some of the thoughts coming in.

Um, just before I get to, to some of the, the comments and some of your priorities, Ryan Milgate, the idea that regional Victoria has more of a say in this election than other elections because of the rise of One Nation, because of regional seats being in play where they haven't been in play before, including, uh, the former premier Jacinta Allan's own seat, is that something that you subscribe to? Do, do you think regional Victoria will have a greater say this election?

Just couple of things to tell you about.

First off, tomorrow, the head of the VFF, Ryan Milgate, is going to join you.

We're talking their election priorities for agriculture, but I wanna hear yours.

What are the biggest things, uh, that you think people will be voting on when it comes to farming and agriculture and producing food this Victorian state election? We'll be 50 days and 12 hours away from election day when we talk tomorrow on The Country Hour, so what are your big prio- priorities? Let me know.

Farmers' priorities have been outlined by the Victorian Farmers' Federation ahead of the November 26 state election.

President Ryan Milgate says the organisation consulted members and commodity councils earlier this year before identifying its key areas of concern.

The VFF's priorities include removing taxes and regulations it says unfairly impacts farmers.

common issue we're hearing from everyone was around remove unfair taxes and regulations so the emergency services fund obviously was a key part of that along with you know what was happening with the federal government obviously that's not a state issue but it's a it certainly piques people's interest when governments are looking at

Dale, you were just talking about modeling there and, uh, i-in response to a question from Gavin on the text line about, about how there can be different interpretations about the impact of El Niño.

Uh, Ryan Milgate from the VFF has made this comment or question.

The question that we struggle with is, you know, the actual probabilities of El Niño and what it actually means.

People hear El Niño, and that doesn't necessarily mean that we are gonna have a dry year, but trying to...

The National Farmers Federation said while they struck the deal with the government, the NFF would rely on state federations to put forward applicants for priority processing.

I spoke with Ryan Milgate from the Victorian Farmers Federation to find out how they'll be managing that process.

Yeah, so what's happening is via NFF members, which are the state farming organisations and some of the peak bodies, we can submit our members' applications for people that are waiting for visas.

So we send them through to NFF and then once a day they will submit that to the Home Affairs Department and the agreement is that then those names and details submitted will get go to the top of the list and hopefully expedite the process and get their visas and get them out onto farms where they're needed.

So, you know, it's not ideal.

And that's why, you know, we're really pleased that we have got this, you know, short-term solution at the moment, but we can actually get a bit of a fix, you know, put a Band-Aid on it for the minute and actually get things happening out in the paddock as we need it.

Ryan Milgate from the Victorian Farmers Federation is with you on the Country Hour.

Ryan, in just a moment, we're going to check in on some folks on the season and seasonal conditions and how things are looking out there.