'Avalanche' of bad policy will shrink Australian farm output, industry group says

CANBERRA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Australian farmers face an "avalanche" of bad policy that will shrink the country's agricultural production, the head of Australia's largest farm industry group said on Thursday, launching a grassroots campaign against the government.

Australia is one of the world's largest agricultural exporters, shipping A$78 billion ($49 billion) worth of products as varied as beef, wheat and wine in the 2022-23 financial year.

National Farmers' Federation (NFF) President David Jochinke said the government was choking industry with policies often driven by "niche ideologies" such as restricting water use, outlawing export of live sheep and regulation on employment, the environment and competition.

"We are facing an avalanche of bad ideas that, if seen through, will see farmers severely impacted and indeed see an entire industry close for no good reason," Jochinke told an NFF conference in Canberra.

"These policies will see farmers grow less tomorrow than they do today."

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt in a speech to the conference said he was surprised by the NFF's stance and that the government had passed policy that had helped farmers and improved access to foreign markets.

"It's 1% of the industry gone. That will never come back," he said.

Announcing a campaign called "Keep Farmers Farming", he said, "These are bad ideas and will ultimately drive farmers out of business, harm our rural communities and push up the cost of living for everyday Australians."

An NFF survey last month found that more than half of farmers thought government policies were harming the industry.

Minister Watt called on farm groups to be honest about the need for policies such as water conservation.

"What we're interested in doing is working with industry ... to rise above politics and actually deliver many of the things that the agricultural sector has been calling for," he told reporters.