Whether it's Occupational Health and Safety rules, quarantine, biosecurity and regulation measures or specialised leave entitlements in crisis situations; or whether it's processes, practices and expectations around management and accountability of workers - the standards are clear.

This week's parliamentary inquiry hearing in Horsham into the impact of animal rights activism on the agriculture industry detailed concerns from Wimmera farmers around security, privacy and mental health.

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John Millington only learned activists broke into his property and set up cameras when he saw video footage of his farm online. His offence to his property listed on the Aussie Farms map is more than justified. The Victorian Farmers Federation's Leonard Vallance hit the nail on the head when he likened such acts to breaking and entering.

Many workplaces - including the Wimmera Mail-Times office and those of our elected officials - have strict security protocols in place. You can't access those workplaces without appropriate access. People respect those protocols - but they also don't have a choice. Those same securities cannot be put in place when it comes to hundreds or thousands of acres of farming land. It's the appropriate checks and balances - and the penalties - that can ensure people who do the wrong thing receive suitable consequences relative to the laws they break.

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This parliamentary inquiry has allowed our farmers to add to a conversation - about animal welfare, responsible practices, property law, mental health - the list goes on.

Our farmers know the most productive animals are the ones that are well looked after. Farmers take welfare issues very seriously - because it's their business. If people in any industry - including farmers - aren't working in a responsible and ethical way, then their actions should be condemned. Likewise, for ill-informed activism and campaigns. But there's a way to express those concerns without, in turn, breaking the law and putting people's livelihood at risk.

Jessica Grimble, editor