Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from ACM, which has more than 100 mastheads across Australia. Today's is written by ACM national agriculture writer Chris McLennan.
Some food companies are portraying farmers as hicks again.
Just when you thought today's farmers were afforded the respect they deserve, it appears some companies are taking cheap and ill-informed shots again through their marketing campaigns.
They need to pull up their socks.
Farmers - who are their suppliers after all - deserve much better respect.
They operate multi-million dollar enterprises using some of the most advanced agricultural practices in the world.
In recent years, they have been taking huge gambles to invest heavily in increasing the size of their properties and updating machinery.
Australia's farmers helped in no small way to keep the nation financially afloat during the COVID emergency.
Wage slaves bank on a weekly pay-day while our farmers are still risking all on the weather.
It takes real bravery to do that.
And smarts to navigate the ups and downs.
Uneducated marketers have been resorting to outdated stereotypes which I had thought were consigned to history.
Just when you thought they - and the companies that employ them - should know better.
The dollop of cream ads, the farmer sucking on a straw under a fraying hat, oh my.
Now we have television ads with farmers playing some sort of hokey-pokey with fist and feet slaps.
City people often get their information from these ads, it makes me shudder.
I have farm friends who have a way better formal education than I.
Agronomists, veterinary and conservation scientists.
The days when one thought the dumb sibling was the right fit to take over the farm was never the truth.
It takes a smart operator to run this complex and expensive operation these days with stuff all government support.
Today's tractors have so many information screens you are flat out seeing outside.
It has been that way for generations now.
These marketers need to hire a bus and travel outside the latte-belt to see for themselves.
Our farm lobby groups need to hold these companies to account and show them who grows their food.
And by the way, there are many female farmers as well.
I thought this fight had been won years ago, but sadly it seems some people need constant reminding.
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Chris McLennan
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
