Eco farm warriors are leading the way

This article was published in The Age 5 November 2009

The founders of the rural newspaper I joined reminded readers from 1911, above the editorial, that "… the land will care for him who cares for it".

But this disappeared from the newspaper more than 20 years ago. After all, responsible stewardship of the land goes hand-in-glove with a successful farm business. Or does it?

A sceptical public, a sometimes hostile metropolitan media and, increasingly, processors and retailers of Australian food and fibre products don't believe so. No matter how environmentally responsible farmers may be, they will soon need to prove their environmental credentials to satisfy critics and gain market access.