FarmDay 2010
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke is asking all Australians to remember the important role of farming families on FarmDay 2010, to be held this weekend.
The Rudd Government is a major supporter of FarmDay 2010, providing $50,000 of funding through Australia’s Farming Future program to bring Australians together. This year 340 families from the city will travel to farms all over the country to experience life on the farm firsthand.
“FarmDay is a very important event that brings city and country Australians together on the farm,” Mr Burke said.
“All over Australia this weekend, city children and country children will be playing and learning together, along with their parents, as farming families welcome their city cousins to showcase the vital role of farmers.
“FarmDay is about increasing the community’s awareness of farming practices, food production and farming life. Better awareness is crucial to the future of our food security and wellbeing.”
FarmDay is the brainchild of the 2007 National Winner and Victorian Winner of the Australian RIRDC Rural Women’s Awards, Deb Bain.
“Families get to see a working farm in action, they make connections with rural people on a personal level, and they see parts of Australia they may not have been to before. A great deal of consciousness-raising and relationship-building goes on during the FarmDay weekend,” said Mrs Bain.
Mr Burke said FarmDay is another great example of the generosity of rural communities, to share their lives with families who may never have been to the bush before.
“Increasing numbers of children have had no experience of where their food actually comes from. To give them the chance to see farming firsthand and make that connection from the paddock to the plate can have great effects on their general knowledge, nutrition, their family’s shopping habits, and their outlook for the future,” Mr Burke said.
“This is the perfect way for children to learn that food doesn't start in the refrigeration aisle of the supermarket, it starts with the family farm.”
For more information, visit www.farmday.com.au or call 1300 367 036.
