Time for farmers to get own version of benchmarking

FARMERS gave away lambs to highlight low prices, winter finishers wondered if it was their last year with cattle, and nurses secured a shorter working week.

After a week like that, it is clear that farmers have to get their own version of benchmarking, or face less and less pay for harder work over longer hours. Bench marking has ensured that earnings by the public service have leaped ahead of industrial, commercial, and banking salaries. As for farmers, they are far down the field, considerably behind the average industrial wage.

They could count on getting 65% of the beef retail price 25 years ago. Today they get less than half of that.