NEW Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford has hit the ground running, meeting with farmers at Donald on Thursday and Friday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Victorians Farmer Federation hosted a farm tour at Donald, which included a barbecue on Thursday night.
Ms Pulford said about 90 farmers attended the barbecue, along with federation president Peter Tuohey and grains group president Brett Hosking.
"We talked about new policy commitments and the way I hope to approach my new role," she said.
"It was mostly an evening of informal discussion and while I didn't get to meet all 90 farmers, I met the vast majority."
Ms Pulford toured Cope Cope farmer Brad Bath's family farm on Friday morning and had a kitchen table discussion with farmers and federation representatives.
She said there was interesting discussion on a wide range of topics at the both sessions.
"There was talk about succession planning, research and development and the dry season, which puts communities under a lot of pressure," she said.
"We are keen to stress that we are monitoring conditions and will offer support where we can."
Ms Pulford said other discussions were around access to market and the role of State Government in agriculture production.
"There are many things that affect farmers that no one can control, and then there are some things the Federal Government and State Government can have influence in," she said.
"We want to make farms more profitable and productive.
"Not all discussions were about managing the farm, there was also issues raised about life in small communities - things like sustaining population, the need for great schools and healthcare and agriculture training and skill development for people working on farms."
Ms Pulford said it was important for her to meet farmers in the region.
"A critical part of being an active and affective politician is being accessible and talking to people, who's day to day operations relate to my ministerial responsibilities," she said.
"I want to spend as much time talking to agriculture producers as I possibly can.
"There will be times when meetings need to happen in Melbourne, but it is my strong belief to spend as much time as possible talking to people in rural Victoria."
Ms Pulford said agriculture in Victoria had a bright future.
"It's a dynamic, innovative part of the economy," she said.
"I'd like to work with producers to encourage new players to the industry and encourage young farmers to seize the opportunity to become part of the industry."
Earlier last week, Ms Pulford toured the Grains Innovation Park in Horsham and met with Rural Council's Victoria chairman Rob Gersch at Nhill.