Nine out of 10 people oppose renewable projects on farmland, a national survey has found.

Farming advocacy group Farms for Food launched an online survey in December after Farmers for Climate Action published survey results last September saying seven in 10 people supported renewable projects on farmland.

More than 1800 people responded to five questions in the Farms for Food survey during the 15 days it was open. It is the first renewables survey to specifically include neighbours of renewable projects.

Of those who responded, 90.1 per cent own, work or have a close connection to farmland.

Ninety-two per cent of all respondents strongly opposed renewable energy projects on farmland. Of 729 people who classified themselves as a neighbour to a renewable energy project, 81 per cent were in opposition to energy projects.

Wimmera Mallee Environmental and Ag Protection Association president Ross Johns from Warracknabeal in Victoria says the survey results reflect the conversations they are having in rural Australia.

Mr Johns, a Warracknabeal farmer and former director of ABB Grain and Deputy Chairman on the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), says the government is neglecting the vital importance of the agricultural industry in providing food security.

It is also neglecting the health of rural communities, soils and waterways.

“The government is out of control and has lost its connection to rural and regional Australia. It is ignoring agriculture and this survey clearly shows our communities are sick and tired of its poor strategy,” he says.

Mr Johns says the Farms for Food survey highlights several key concerns such as a lack of planning between the different energy proponents, ignoring the rights and voices of the neighbours of project sites, non-genuine community consultation and fast-tracking planning approval times.

“It’s a great pity that the governments of Australia are guaranteeing the profits of multi-nationals over the interests of Australians, energy users and farmers. Not to mention the huge carbon footprint in building and maintaining this industrialised landscape across prime agricultural land,” he says.

WMEAP formed in October last year because of ‘extreme frustration’ around processes and procedures around wind turbine and mining projects. This includes frustration around changes to individual justice which has withdrawn people’s rights to appeal to VCAT.

Late last year, the Victorian Government approved a minerals mining project that stretches across 3546 hectares of prime cropping country near Horsham.

This is one of many projects that will mean farmers will not be able to farm or live in their family homes, many of which have been in the same family for 150 years.

“We are also concerned about the negative impacts on hardworking Australians to pay energy bills and high taxes,” Mr Johns said.

• Full survey results are published on the Farms for Food website www.farmsforfood.org. You can also request a copy via email, farms4food@gmail.com.
• Farms for Food is an advocacy group based in the heart of the Victorian wheatbelt concerned about the pressure on rural communities from companies wanting to harness renewable energy and mineral sands mining. Their goal is to empower rural communities through education and advocacy. With 3500 Facebook and 2800 TikTok followers and growing, their interviews with impacted farming families have been viewed more than 1.1 million times in the past four months. 

This article appeared in the Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 19 February 2025.