Rising Costs and Challenges for South Australian Farmers
Soaring fuel costs and interest rates are significantly impacting the lives of many South Australians, particularly small producers who are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain their businesses. Matthew Gore, a farmer from Lakeview Acres Farm in the Adelaide Hills, is one such individual. His family runs a pig farm and sells part of their produce at the Adelaide Farmers’ Market. However, despite working multiple jobs, Mr. Gore admits that they are “struggling massively.”
“Fuel prices are going through the roof, which puts our feed cost up as well,” he explained. “Interest rates going up make it even harder to put food on the table these days.”
Mr. Gore mentioned that he works another full-time job while his partner manages the farm. Despite this, they are still struggling to keep up with rising expenses. He emphasized that he does not want to raise his prices but finds it challenging to compete with supermarkets.
“We’re the ones, the small producers, are wearing it, we don’t really want to pass it on to the customers at the moment if we can afford not to because they’re struggling just as much as we are,” he said.
Struggles Across the Agricultural Sector
Robert Brokenshire, president of the SA Dairyfarmers’ Association and a former Liberal MP, highlighted the broader challenges faced by farmers in South Australia. He noted that high fuel and fertiliser costs have been a persistent issue, with some farmers now in their third year of drought.
“This is already worse than what we experienced through COVID, and we fear that inflation is going to be more rampant than in COVID,” he said.
The opposition has called on the state government to expand its Drought Loan Scheme, which provides low-interest loans to affected grain and livestock farmers in three regions of SA, to include producers across the entire state. An SA government spokesperson stated that they continue to monitor the pressures affecting farmers and will respond as necessary.
They also mentioned that both federal and state governments are assessing and responding to the situation around fuel security and the supply chain, pointing to a further cut in the fuel excise using extra GST revenue.
Impact on Families and Travel Plans
Christine Robertson OAM, executive officer of the Adelaide Showground Farmers’ Market, reported that more families have visited the Easter Sunday event, but they are likely spending less than usual. “We had more families coming today, which is really interesting, but people do step out for the market … they’re coming from local, they’re not coming from a long way away,” she said.
She added that while the amount of money spent may have decreased slightly, people are still buying luxury items when they come to the market because they know the products are made by local producers.
Adelaide residents have also shared their experiences with rising fuel costs. Father Marek Dubovinsky canceled a planned trip to Victoria due to expensive petrol prices. “We were planning to go to Victoria, but the petrol prices were quite expensive, so we decided to stay local, stayed in Adelaide,” he said.
Hannah Tran abandoned her Sydney trip, while Rachel Georgeson has been commuting more using public transport. “My husband and I have been taking the train a little bit more going into the city, which has been really helpful,” she said.
Ashley Hallse, who visited Adelaide from Victoria for Easter, decided not to head to Western Australia later this year. “We’ve come from Victoria, so we’ve driven over; it’s cost us a fair bit extra to get over in fuel, but we’re still enjoying it, take what we can, I suppose. We were planning on going to Western Australia for a couple of months this year, but we’ve cancelled those plans just because of the cost of fuel. And not necessarily just the cost, just the unknown of whether we’ll even be able to get it.”
Finding Connection in a Disconnected World
At the Easter Sunday service, the Catholic Archbishop of Adelaide, Patrick O’Regan, spoke about the current global conflicts and expensive fuel prices, encouraging people to keep showing up, sharing, and supporting each other. He emphasized the importance of peace, referencing Jesus’s first words when he rose from the dead: “peace be with you.”
“That would really be my message for people, to receive that peace but also to be instruments of that peace, because our world needs it,” he said. “Every human being actually needs it [peace], and this is the gift that the risen Lord gives to us all, and that’s really the essential message of Easter.”
At Adelaide’s St Francis Xavier Cathedral, the 11am service was standing room only, with dozens of people crowding at the back of the room, some filling out the entrance foyer and at the front doors, enduring light rain. The archbishop noted that although he did not have the number of people who attended the various Easter weekend services at the cathedral, he has the impression that more people are seeking and wanting to belong to something.
“There’s a real longing in people’s hearts, so I think that’s getting people to come together and make sense in a very disconnected world.”
