WIMMERA farmers could benefit from a Labor Party promise to keep Hamilton's National Centre for Farmer Health open.
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The party announced on Friday that if it won next month's State Election, it would guarantee the centre $1 million a year to stay open.
The centre provides on-the-ground programs throughout Australia in areas affected by drought, which could include the Wimmera.
Victorian Farmers Federation vice-president and Murra Warra farmer David Jochinke welcomed the announcement on Friday.
"Member for Wannon Dan Tehan has been a strong supporter of trying to get funding for the Hamilton-based farmer centre and it's good to see that Daniel Andrews and the Labor Party taking it on," he said.
Mr Jochinke said it was important to remember Labor was not in government and the centre was yet to be funded beyond July 2015.
State and federal governments gave the centre an eleventh-hour chance by providing a $625,000 grant in July.
Mr Jochinke said the centre had made important contributions to research and provided on-the-ground programs in areas affected by drought.
"It has done specific work in different areas and released a lot of scientific information about farmer welfare that hadn't previously been done," he said.
Mr Jochinke said the centre had faced challenges in securing funding, partly because of the difficulty of communicating the value of its work to governments.
"It's been about ensuring it has programs it can pull of the shelf for times of need and communicating to government its relevance to the rural sectors," he said.
As the Wimmera's farming season becomes increasingly grim, Mr Jochinke said the centre might implement programs in the region.
"With scenarios like we've seen this season where people are under financial duress, we should probably see some programs potentially coming to Wimmera farmers," he said.
"I'd like to think if they've got the capabilities, areas like the Wimmera get support from the centre."
Mr Jochinke said the pressure was on the State Government to outline what it intended to do for the centre after its funding run out.
Health Minister David Davis said the State Government funded the centre in conjunction with the Federal Government.
"Unlike Labor, the Coalition Government is in favour of sustainable funding solutions that do not stop and start every few years," he said.
"The Coalition supports ongoing sustainable funding."
Member for Western Victoria Jaala Pulford said the Coalition had nearly destroyed the centre.
"Only Labor will save the centre for farmer health by providing the ongoing certainty and support it needs," she said.
"You simply can't trust the Liberals and the Nationals to look after rural health."