Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
There’s no greater supporter of Tasmanian farmers and rural communities than the Hodgman majority Liberal Government.
The Government’s Stock Underpass Program, another agriculture-backing election commitment, is a great example of consultation and action to assist farmers and the wider community.
Today at Mount Patrick I was pleased to inspect the recently completed cattle underpass built as part of the scheme, and congratulate the Griffin family for taking this step.
The Stock Underpass Program was extended with $600,000 in the State Budget to support improved farm and road safety, and increase farm productivity across the livestock farming sector.
Farmers can receive up to 33 per cent of costs to install a cattle underpass to a maximum of $80,000.
Crossing cattle on roads is a significant issue for many dairy and livestock farmers and we have been working with the TFGA and DairyTas, as well as local farmers and councils, to develop a practical approach to address the issue.
The Tasmanian Government already fully funds stock underpasses where a new road alignment splits a property.
Supporting and listening to Tasmanian farmers is a key part of our Agrifood plan to grow the sector ten-fold to $10 billion by 2050 and the latest Agri-Food scorecard shows our plan is working.
