In 2025, Australian farmers face more complex demands than ever, balancing productivity with ESG compliance, sustainability expectations, and global reporting pressures.
In this Insight article originally published on The Land, Robbie highlights how frameworks like the Australian Agricultural Sustainability Framework (AASF) are shaping the future of farming, and why governments must step up to support producers navigating this new landscape.
01 April 2025
Insight from: Robbie Sefton
There’s a lot to say about agriculture in Australia in 2025, one of which is that while in some respects farming has become easier, in others it’s become a whole lot more complicated. Increasingly sophisticated technologies related to farming practices have made some aspects far less labour-intensive and removed some of the guesswork farmers from past generations were forced to contend with. Agricultural inputs have drastically improved leading to enhanced productivity and profitability.
But in 2025 the expectations around agriculture and farmers have never been so high. The pressure to produce quality food and fibre remains, as well as the need to do this in an environmentally-sustainable and socially-acceptable way. Where once it was enough to grow a high-yield crop or raise a herd of fat, market-ready cattle, there’s now many other boxes that need to be ticked along the way.
Environmental, Social and Government (ESG) is a framework used to measure an organisation’s impact on society, the environment, and its transparency and accountability. ESG has been around for a while, but for many people it’s a term they may have only heard of in more recent years. It’s a framework now adhered to across a wide variety of businesses and industries, including agriculture.
Qantas chair John Mullen said in a newspaper article recently that companies today really had to have a view on social issues, because their employees – and I would add consumers and shareholders – wanted to know what these businesses stood for.
Agriculture is no different, and for many years has recognised the importance of demonstrating the likes of sustainability and ethical practices. A formal structure – the Australian Agricultural Sustainability Framework (AASF) – is now in place. It’s the first country-specific tool that “sets out a unified understanding of sustainability objectives through a standard set of themes, principles and criteria”. This includes “environmental stewardship, wellbeing of people, animals and the community”.
Farmers would argue they’ve been doing much of this for years, but there’s never been a greater need – or expectation – for these practices to be formalised as part of the ‘social licence’ between the industry and wider community. The AASF is also seen as important for maintaining existing trading markets and capitalising on new opportunities, and to prepare for a growing number of global reporting requirements related to the likes of sustainability.
As a farmer, I welcome the AASF and the guidance it offers for producers who are trying to maintain viable farm businesses, while negotiating these added levels of complexity, including a challenging global environment. We are all doing the best we can, with the resources we have, but I do find it challenging that as the first level of the supply chain, farmers are bearing many of the costs associated with reporting and demonstrating ESG compliance.
However, Australian farmers continue to step up and lead the way with our agriculture practices, systems and management for our food and fibre industries, caring for our soils, water and livestock, while working hard to maintain domestic and international demand. We also appreciate the importance – and necessity – of what we have to do, but would argue our agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries need our policy-makers to understand what we’re contending with, and provide the appropriate support to maintain our strength and competitiveness.
