Rising Farm Costs Continue To Squeeze South Australian Producers Despite Temporary Fuel Relief
You’re probably sick of hearing about farmers doing it tough, and I get it.
There’s sometimes an eye roll, and a quiet “yeah, right,” especially when you picture a LandCruiser in the driveway and a shed full of shiny farm gear.
But please, hear me out on this one.
From today, April 1, the Federal Government has halved the fuel excise, and no, it’s not an April Fools’ joke. Any drop at the bowser helps, but for South Australian livestock producers, it barely touches the bigger issue of rising farm costs..
While the excise cut will take 26.3 cents a litre off for three months, producers are still dealing with freight increases of up to 40 per cent, rising fertiliser prices, and higher costs for feed and treatments. In some parts of the country, diesel prices have doubled in a matter of weeks.
Farmers Wear The Cost Every Step Of The Way
Livestock SA Chair Gillian Fennell said livestock producers are price takers, not price setters, and have no capacity to pass increased costs down the supply chain.
“Fuel underpins every part of agricultural production, from running machinery and moving livestock, to delivering feed, animal health products and fertiliser. Producers are already reporting freight surcharges of up to 40 per cent, alongside rising costs for fertiliser, animal health treatments and supplements. These are not discretionary inputs; they are critical to productivity and animal welfare.”
“Farmers buy everything at retail prices, sell at wholesale prices, and pay the freight both ways.”
That pressure is already forcing tough decisions, with some producers selling stock, offloading machinery or delaying operations just to stay afloat.
“When the cost of essential treatments, feed, fertiliser and transport rises this sharply, producers are forced to make difficult decisions,” she said.
“That has implications beyond farm profitability. It affects animal health, productivity and ultimately the cost of producing the high-quality red meat Australian consumers expect.”
More At The Checkout, Less At The Farm Gate
And while consumers are noticing higher prices at the checkout, it doesn’t mean farmers are making more.
“There is a misconception that higher retail prices flow back to farmers, they don’t,” she said.
“If anything, producers are wearing more of the cost than anyone else in the system.”
The concern is that this pressure doesn’t just hit farm profits. It flows through to animal welfare, productivity and the long-term stability of food production, not to mention the regional communities that rely on agriculture.
South Australia’s red meat and wool industries contribute more than $4.49 billion to the state economy each year, so when farmers get squeezed, it doesn’t stay on the farm.
The fuel excise cut is a start, but the real cost doesn’t disappear, it just gets carried by farmers long before it ever reaches your plate.
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