The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF), in partnership with the Rural Press Club of Victoria, is holding a state election forum next month with candidates for the seat of Ovens Valley. The forum is scheduled for 7pm on Monday, 16 November at the Wangaratta Turf Club. It’s free entry, but registration is required - go to the VFF website at: https://vff.org.au/events/ The VFF said candidates Tim McCurdy (Nationals), Steve Manning (Independent) and James Rouel (One Nation) have been invited, with Labor and Greens candidates to be confirmed. The VFF said the forum will be moderated by the Rural Press Club of Victoria and attendees can put questions to candidates to hear where they stand on issues to help make an informed decision ahead of the Victorian state election in November. VFF key election asks to help reinvigorate regional Victoria: The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has launched a five-point election platform calling on every party and candidate to back Victorian farmers ahead of the state election in November. ‘Back Victorian Farmers’ sets out five priorities and 15 commitments the VFF is seeking from every party and candidate contesting the 2026 Victorian election. The five priorities are: • Remove unfair taxes and regulations. • Rebuild the infrastructure that carries our rural economy. • Protect productive land and secure our water. • Defend Victoria’s farms. • Back communities and the next generation. Among the 15 asks, the plan calls on parties and candidates to: • Commit an extra $2 billion to fix Victoria’s crumbling regional roads. • Scrap the Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund for good. • Appoint a Land Use and Food Security Commissioner and protect farmland in law. • Take VNI West and the Western Renewables Link back to the drawing board. • Establish Right to Farm laws and lift wild dog and pest control. • Deliver the childcare, healthcare and housing that keep farming families in the regions. • Deliver the Western Victoria water security and pipeline strategy and continue the fight against federal water buybacks. VFF president Ryan Milgate said Victorian farmers are one of the state’s most productive industries, but too often policy failed to reflect the reality of life at the farm gate. “Far too often we are held back by needless bureaucracy, contradictory rules, rising costs and decisions made by governments without any real understanding of life at the farm gate,” he said. “This election is a chance to change that.” The full platform, ‘Back Victorian Farmers’ is available at vff.org.au FOR THE RECORD: VFF HIGHLIGHTS $22B SECTOR Victorian farmers work three per cent of Australia’s agricultural land but produce almost a quarter of nation's farm output by value. • The sector generated $22.1 billion in food and fibre exports in 2024–25, the largest of any state, and now supports 153,840 jobs in farming and food manufacturing. • Victoria is the nation’s largest producer of dairy, sheep meat and horticulture, supplying 63 per cent of the nation’s milk, 40 per cent of its vegetables and 28 per cent of its beef cattle herd.
