Crossing the city-country divide: how do Australian farmers advocate for their industry in an urbanised world?

‘Farmers manage more than half of Australia’s landmass. We are arguably custodians of one of the country’s greatest assets: its ability to feed and clothe its own people, and the wider world,’ writes Felicity Richards. Photograph: Aston Brown/The Guardian

The view from my front lawn is paddocks and trees. From here, almost all I see is farmland and native bushland. A couple of years ago, I stood in this spot with a good friend, an immigrant from the UK. A smart, interested and interesting friend, and also a vegetarian. Which wouldn’t be relevant except I’m a beef farmer, so for our friendship to prosper, this particular difference of opinion needs to be accommodated.

Jess asked me what we would grow on our farm if we weren’t growing livestock. The question initially confused me. Were we looking at the same landscape? Could she not see the steep hills, the prolific rocks, the lack of water? Assuming you still needed or wanted to use this land to produce food (which I do), to my mind, it is grazing land. Anything else would be extremely challenging.