It was a rather sad day on Friday at the Ballarat saleyards to see the an end of era come to a close.
The occasion involved the penning and sale of a TA Edwards & Co pen of Hereford Shorthorn heifers, aged 18 to 24 months that normally would have been retained into the Delacombe family’s breeding herd.
The Edwards property, which is located on the edge of the Ballarat’s western residential area, has been swallowed up by urban development that has mushroomed around the western perimeter of the city.
John Edwards, who has farmed the Hamilton Highway/Wiltshire Lane property since taking over from his father almost four decades ago, said that at the cost $1000 per acre, spiraling Council rates had made the property non-viable as a profitable beef breeding enterprise.
This has especially been the case since a major shopping complex has sprouted immediately across the road outside his front gate.
Pictured above Mr Edwards also sold a draft of his Hereford-Shorthorn weaners, aged 6-8 months that would normally have been sold in Ballarat’s weaner sale held each February.
No doubt Mr Edwards and other farming families like his on the outskirts of Ballarat and other regional towns have been financially well rewarded by the sale of the land for residential development. But it begs the question as Governments and local Councils attempt to disperse Victoria’s growing population into regional areas that agriculture is being pushed further out of town and off once strong and profitable farming country.
Moorabool Shire Councillor, Tom Sullivan, who farms land at Millbrook, to the east of Ballarat says the dilemma of the “best use of land” has become a double-edged sword problem.
He said that accommodating Victoria growing population, which is increasing at a rate of around 100,000 people per year across the Greater Melbourne area, poses the vexed questions of where and how the future footprint should be developed.
“Government has in its policies that it supports and encourages agriculture and it needs a level of protection” he said. “There are some areas that are ideal for residential accommodation in what we in agriculture might call rocks and rabbit country. But there is also development that has and is being planned for prime growing areas that will, in the the future, limit agriculture’s ability to feed and clothe the population”.
He said in peri-urban Council areas, the likes of Moorabool, the focus has been on developing the existing small towns and their services while maintaining their rural environment.
He said any policy that involved the the rezoning of farming land for residential purposes would maintain the pressure of land rates not matter how profitable the farm enterprise.