During a Press Briefing today, ARD Agriculture Planner Keith Owen said the Survey will help to ensure future planning reflects the needs of farmers and will also provide much needed information about the way farmers have been coping since Hurricane Ivan.

The Survey will begin on Wednesday (November 2) and farmers will be asked a wide range of questions about their particular farms, marketing strategies, access to information, crop rotations, praedial larceny, labour constraints, farmer associations and many other pertinent issues.

Consultant Michael Phillips, while acknowledging that some farmers may be wary of another survey, took the opportunity to encourage farmers to cooperate, since the information will be used to develop the industry on a sustainable basis. It is expected that the Survey will take about 25 minutes with each farmer. A total of 1,000 farmers are being randomly selected, using Enumeration Districts to ensure balanced geographical representation. Confidentiality is assured.