Tasmanian farmers and producers will now have more time to access critical financial assistance with an extension of Tasmanian Government hardship grant programs over the winter months until spring.
Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Jane Howlett, said that many of our farmers are still facing hardships, including higher feed and fodder costs as they increasingly rely on imports from mainland Australia.
“The Tasmanian Government will always back our farmers and primary producers, and we have provided significant assistance to help support them during the unseasonal dry conditions this year,” Minister Howlett said.
“In March, we announced new hardship grants would be available to farmers on both King and Flinders Islands as well as mainland Tasmania as a result of unseasonably dry conditions. In April we extended the availability of those grants, until June.
“We have listened to calls from farmers and advocacy groups like TasFarmers on the availability and prices of feed and fodder and the need to ensure positive animal welfare outcomes.
“That’s why we are extending the time that farmers have to apply for these important grants to 31 August 2024.
“As of 27 June, grants for 420 Tasmanian farmers have been approved totalling $3,390,000 since the two hardship programs commenced, and we’ll continue to back our farmers and producers during these difficult times,” Minister Howlett said.
President of TasFarmers Ian Sauer welcomed the Government’s announcement.
“This is timely, it shows the Government is listening and it will be greatly appreciated by farmers on the ground,” Mr Sauer said.
Ms Howlett said she had also written to Federal Agriculture Minister Senator Murray Watt requesting the Federal Government alter its settings under their Regional Investment Corporation (RIC) to re-establish an interest-free period on their Drought Assistance Loans, as was done previously.
“Federal interest-free loans would provide Tasmanian farmers with more options,” Minister Howlett said.
“I’ve also written to Federal Transport Minister Catherine King calling for more support under the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES) for King Island and for southbound feed and fodder to mainland Tasmania during this time.
“I call on State Labor to support us in asking the Federal Labor Government to back these important changes to support our farmers at this critical time.”
The extensions until 31 August 2024 apply to the Mainland Tasmania – Livestock Producers – Seasonal Conditions Scheme, which offers one-off payments of up to $5,000 to eligible mainland Tasmania farm businesses; and the King and Flinders Islands Primary Producers – Seasonal Conditions Scheme which offers financial support of up to $20,000.
Details on these schemes and a range of other support available for Tasmanian producers can be found on the NRE Tasmania Managing Seasonal Conditions page https://nre.tas.gov.au/agriculture/government-and-community-programs/managing-seasonal-conditions
