Competition for land is one of the greatest threats facing Australian agriculture, with the majority of prime agricultural land in Queensland, for instance, subject to exploration permits for gas, coal and other minerals.

Incoming AgForce president John Cotter says new mining developments are coming on-line at an unprecedented rate and more farms are either being dug up or having their productivity and property valuations reduced.

“It is one of the great ironies that farmers can be subject to community pressure and government regulation to achieve certain environmental outcomes and could work towards this for generations on a property, only to have this forgotten in the blink of an eye if a mineral resource is found,” Mr Cotter says.

“Government policy currently puts greater emphasis on the one-time sale of a mineral resource than the ongoing sustainable economic and environmental benefits obtained from the farm sector.

"We also have the added irony that governments stopped land clearing because of its impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

"But we continue to set new records in sending coal to China.

"The double standard is breathtaking.

“Government thinking must change from its fixation on a quick dollar to consider the long-term implications of the continued destruction of farmland and its implications on food supplies, communities and the environment.”

Mr Cotter says agriculture is not saying that the resources sector should be shut down, but it needs to be treated more equitably and there must be a balance and logic in government polices which is missing at the moment.

“We need to look at new processes and fairer compensation and to reduce the impact of the resources sector on agriculture.

"This should not be beyond the scope of human intelligence,” the new AgForce president says.

Organisations such as AgForce have a critical role in ensuring the future of agriculture because strong farm organisations engender greater resilience in farmers for dealing with challenges such as drought and create a stronger sense of a viable farming community.