Australia celebrated National Ag Day on Tuesday but there is an argument that every day should be a celebration of farmers, growers, researchers and sellers.
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Last year, Australian farms surpassed $60 billion in farm gate income and The National Farmers' Federation has a vision to grow this figure to $100 billion by 2030.
The story of agriculture is not just about farmers.
Agriculture supports 1.6 million jobs from the city to the bush, in areas like retail, logistics, processing and many more.
The Riverina and southern NSW is considered the food bowl of Australia and in fact a mecca for primary industries and certainly contributes a major portion in terms of agricultural success.
And educational centres like Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga draw in the increasing number of people who have their heart set on cementing a career in primary industries.
For those who enjoy the hustle and bustle of the markets, the Riverina is home to the Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre, which is the largest sheep and lamb selling centre in the world.
It is also an influential cattle market too.
Genetic success is something that can’t go unnoticed.
The region has been labelled by industry sources as the ‘stud capital’ of the country and for those who want to secure top-quality store lines sales such as the annual Gundagai Weaner auction hold pride of place on the calendar.
To the south of the region, Henty Machinery Field Days is on the map as one of the best outdoor trade shows in the world.
It takes more than one day to give the rural sector the kudos it truly deserves.
National Agriculture Day was the ideal platform to get all of the vital statistics about primary industries into the world of social media and beyond.
It was a chance to share happy snaps on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook with the characteristic #agday tag.
And it was also an ideal opportunity to gather for a breakfast – like members of the AgriFutures team did in Wagga – and really celebrate the virtues of the sector.
But is one day really enough?
Putting agriculture on a pedestal is something that many in the industry do daily.
With high prices for livestock and wool at the moment it is not hard to find someone with a success story.
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