Food production, security and the challenges posed by environmental management will dominate a two-day meeting of farmers in Brisbane, which kicked off this morning.
The inagural congress - Modern Farmers - convened by the National Farmers Federation, was opened this morning by NFF president, David Crombie.
More than 350 farmers and farm leaders from across Australia have converged on the Brisbane convention centre for the two-day congress, which is set to cover topics from water reform and climate change to genetically modified crops and modern marketing tools.
Mr Crombie said there were lots of opportunities and responsibilities for Australian farmers to play their part in the growing demand for food.
He said Australian agriculture supports 1.3 million jobs, half of which are in the cities.
He said Australia was 93 per cent self-sufficient - but these were all facts "too often taken for granted".
"Food production and environmental management are not mutally exclusive," Mr Crombie said.
"Yet we find ourselves having to justify food production.
"Our farming systems are renowned the world over."
Mr Crombie said the congress, among other issues, will look at some of the trade barriers impeding the movement of food from where it is produced to where it is needed.
"There are big issues and challenges facing the farm sector."
Regular updates from the NFF Congress will be posted on FarmOnline.
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