Tasmanian Country's 2025 in review

Mop-top, egg shortages, potato price protests, landowners taking legal action against the government, and both a state and federal election in the same year.

It was a tough 2025 for Tasmania’s agricultural sector.

But among all the gloom were stories of hope, camaraderie and innovation.

Tasmanian Country was there to capture it all, the good and the bad.

Here are some of the biggest stories from 2025.

JANUARY

All sheep and goats born from January 1 onwards are required to have electronic identification tags, and their movements are recorded in the National Livestock Identification System database.

Crop harvesting in Tasmania also started late due to mild weather and rain at the back end of 2024.

Supermarket shelves that were usually filled with egg cartons were empty at the start of the year due to a national shortage caused by an Avian Influenza outbreak on the mainland that saw many producers have to cull their entire hen flock.

Wild rabbit numbers were exploding in January, which TasFarmers president Ian Sauer said at the time was becoming a serious problem for areas such as Deloraine and pockets in the south.

FEBRUARY

New data showed that milk production in Tasmania was down 4 per cent from the same time in 2024, with a lack of fodder and dry conditions blamed for the downturn.

The federal government also effectively scrapped plans to introduce a biosecurity tax, a move that was welcomed by the agricultural sector.

Tasmania’s peak fruit industry body was calling for immediate changes to the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme, with the federal government eventually announcing an independent review into it.

With the review expected to be released in the first half of 2026, the government also provided a 25 per cent funding boost to the scheme.

MARCH

The state government released calicivirus into Tasmania’s wild rabbit population in the hope of controlling its population.

March saw the release of 2024 data on farm fatalities, with 72 deaths and 133 serious injuries reported.

The beloved King Island Dairy also secured new owners after the business looked set to close permanently.

Tasmanian-bred Angus bull Uppercut U15 smashed the state’s auction record after selling for $275,000.

The federal budget was handed down, with the TasFarmers describing it as a “non-event” and the agricultural sector as a whole expressing its disappointment.

Tasmanian Country editor Karolin McGregor also left the newspaper to take on a role with Biosecurity Tasmania.

Northern Courier editor and Tasmanian Country journalist Lana Best replaced her.

APRIL

The month began with concerns that farms in parts of Tasmania are at a tipping point, or close to a point of no return, regarding winter feed supplies due to ongoing dry conditions.

Australia’s only wasabi farm near Port Sorell closed down.

Shimi Wasabi’s owners, Hillwood Berries, said they decided to cease operations because the business was at a “crossroads”.

The ongoing egg shortage saw many people buy chickens and keep them in their backyards.

The debate over deer continued into 2025, with many farmers calling for the species to be classified as invasive rather than partially protected.

MAY

The premier event on Tasmania’s agricultural calendar, Agfest, kicked off May in style.

The entire Tasmanian Country team was there to soak up the sights and sounds and to meet many of our loyal readers.

On the eve of Agfest, Tasmania Police conducted a major sweep of the Northern Midlands to catch poachers shooting from public roads and targeting animals on farms.

May also saw the federal election, which saw a red wave crash against the state.

Four female Labor MPs were voted into the House of Representatives - including newcomer Jess Teedsdale in Bass, former state opposition leader Rebecca White in Lyons, incumbent Julie Collins in Franklin and former senator Anne Urquhart in Braddon.

Long-serving Clark MP Andrew Wilkie retained his seat easily.

Julie Collins also retained her agricultural portfolio, but lost her role as small business minister.

The Tasmanian Country also reported that the state’s poultry producers are not allowed to supply chicken to hospitals and prisons because they are not Halal certified.

May was capped off with the 186th Campbell Town Show, which is now the second biggest wool show in Australia.

JUNE

Tasmanians found out they would have to go to the polls to vote in their fourth state election in seven years after a successful no-confidence motion against Premier Jeremy Rockliff.

Rural Youth also celebrated its 75th anniversary, with the organisation charged with running Agfest each year.

TasFarmers also took issue with many councils around the state raising rates for the 2025-26 financial year, a move that CEO Nathan Calman said would negatively impact agricultural producers.

JULY

A group of landowners set to be affected by the North West Transmission Development rejected a payment offer to host power lines on their property.

The effects of the egg shortage lingered, as Tasmanian poultry producers said they were still experiencing high demand.

Lactalis and Fonterra announced they would merge, which raised concerns among dairy farmers about a lack of competition in the industry.

The state election saw the shuffling of the deck chairs, with the number of seats the Liberals, Labor and Greens got remaining unchanged from before Tasmanians went to the polls.

But the crossbench saw some new faces, with independents George Razay and Peter George – along with Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP Carlo Di Falco – joining parliament.

AUGUST

Eight Hampshire Down ewes from Manganna sold for $278, a Tasmanian record, as lamb and mutton prices around Australia surged.

The new look state government cabinet was unveiled in the aftermath of the election, with Gavin Pearce taking on the Primary Industries portfolio.

His first press conference as minister was to announce that mop-top virus had been detected for the first time in Australia at a property in Tasmania’s north-west.

The state government also announced it would appoint an independent reviewer to examine the Tasmanian salmon industry in a move by the Liberals to secure parliamentary support from the largely progressive crossbench.

SEPTEMBER

Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia all placed biosecurity restrictions on unprocessed potatoes from Tasmania due to mop-top virus.

Later in September, a national management group deemed the virus was not eradicable.

The state government also announced plans to reduce the number of elected officials at Tasmania’s councils, a move that was met with mixed responses.

OCTOBER

The potato price negotiations between producers and their processor, Simplot, reached new heights of tension as farmers protested.

Around 150 potato growers travelled from different parts of the state to Deloraine in their tractors to protest the treatment they were receiving from Simplot.

They eventually reached a deal in the weeks after the protest, just in time for potato planting season.

Another stoush that continued was between landowners affected by the North West Transmission Development and the state government.

All involved parties returned to the negotiation table to strike a new deal.

An agreement was struck with most landowners by the end of October.

Results of an aerial survey were released showing that Tasmania’s deer population had increased to 71,655.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment estimated that the deer population had increased by anywhere between 12 and 55 per cent in five years.

Biosecurity Tasmania also handed over mop-top management to the potato industry.

Hydatid cysts were also detected in a cow killed in a Tasmanian abattoir.

NOVEMBER

The terms of reference for the independent review into the Tasmanian salmon industry were changed to include recommendations and findings, to the dismay of the state’s aquaculture industry.

Originally not included in the terms of reference, the change was made to keep the Greens and crossbench on side.

It came around the same time as the release of a report by the Environment Protection Authority examining a salmon mass mortality event in early 2025, in which an estimated 10 tonnes of fish died.

It found that the salmon industry did not have a plan in place to deal with the mass fish deaths and that there were delays in salmon companies providing information to authorities.

SFF Lyons MP Carlo Di Falco had a motion passed the lower house proposing changes to hunting regulations and deer management.

Not long after the government released its new draft deer management plan, which included bigger bag limits, more nighttime hunting and the taking of female deer during the fawning period.

The state government also released its interim budget, with its pledges and funding for the agricultural sector remaining virtually unchanged from the one that failed to pass parliament and triggered an early election.

Berry and leafy vegetable producers selling on the roadside, at the farm gate or at markets were worried after draft food safety regulations indicated they would have to spend more money and complete extra paperwork to obtain proper accreditation.

The commercial rock lobster season was paused in waters south of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel after government concerns that the use of florfenicol, an antibiotic used by aquaculture companies on fish in salmon pens in the area, would lead to crayfish export restrictions.

A small group of landowners who did not agree to strategic benefit payments for hosting power lines used in the North West Transmission Development decided to pursue legal action against TasNetworks.

Following Mr Di Falco’s backflip to support the proposed AFL stadium, SFF Tasmania party chair Adrian Pick and vice chair Michal Frydrych quit.

DECEMBER

The divisive proposed AFL stadium at Macquarie Point passed both houses of the Tasmanian parliament.

Border Disease, also known as hairy shaker disease, was detected for the first time in Tasmanian lambs.