Aborigines are everything from artists to activists who visit the Queen. But farmers are still men talking slowly wearing big hats. Now this image is a long way from the truth. For a start, one third of farmers are women. One third belong to Landcare, view themselves not as rugged individualists but as members of a community, and do more for the environment than many city people who call themselves conservationists.
Farmers have a greater uptake of the internet than their city counterparts.
They are more likely to be aware of globalisation than city folks. Farming is also a highly technical profession, and I suggest a lot of the fear city people are expressing about genetically modified foods springs from an ignorance about modern farming systems and food production. Rural Australia is still a vital part of the Australian imagination. Our best poet Les Murray is an ardent advocate for country Australia. A good number of recent novels have all been set in the bush.