What is in the 2026-27 State Budget for the agricultural sector
The 2026-27 state budget has $193 million allocated to agriculture.
Primary Industries Minister Gavin Pearce said the budget backs those who put food on the table.
“This Budget ensures our economy continues to be strong, resilient and well-positioned for the future,” Mr Pearce said.
“The Tasmanian Government is getting the balance right, while recognising the state’s agricultural land is a significant asset.”
The budget features $1.6 million allocated to the Strategic Industry Partnership Program, which Mr Pearce said supports industry projects and drives growth across the sector as the government works towards achieving its goal of Tasmania’s farmgate value reaching $10 billion by 2050.
The Agriculture Research and Development Fund received a $750,000 investment.
TasFarmers will receive $450,000 over three years to connect young people with careers in agriculture, along with an additional $125,000 to enhance on-farm biosecurity engagement.
The budget includes $630,000 for the Farm Business Resilience and Regional Drought Resilience Planning programs.
It also features a $134,000 investment in the Rural Financial Counselling Service, with the government also committing to funding for Rural Alive and Well.
An additional $90,000 will be added to the Weeds Action Fund program.
Natural Resource Management bodies will receive an additional $2.3 million investment from the government over the next four years.
Tasmanian Irrigation is investing $392.9 million to continue delivering its Tranche 3 irrigation program, including works associated with the Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme, the Sassafras Wesley Vale Irrigation Scheme Augmentation, and the Greater South East Irrigation Scheme.
The budget also includes funding for deer population management.
The government will invest $750,000 to deliver the Wild Fallow Deer Management Plan, bolstered by an additional $840,000 to tackle wild fallow deer numbers in peri-urban areas across the state.
The Abalone Industry Reinvestment Fund will receive an additional $1 million to control the invasive long-spined sea urchin and ensure industry sustainability.
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deer population management
Jermy Rockliff fails to understand that the reason that there is such a high number of feral deer in Tasmania is because the prices for shooters and farmers are skyrocketing. Ammunition and guns, permits and licenses are through the roof and in today's economy it is an expense most people cannot afford during a cost-of-living crisis. The biggest contradictive thing the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania is the way they conduct their culls. During the 2023-2024 cull they conducted a massive sparked a huge uproar from Tasmanian farmers and shooters.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania state in their policy that it is a fineable offence to shoot a animal and not remove the carcass and what did they do...
They broke their own policy as they left over 360 dead deer carcasses to rot.
Farmers and shooters have put forward the idea to have shooter\farmers go and retrieve the carcasses and take them as payment or get paid per head for every deer carcass they collect.
When signing up you should be a Tasmanian Firearms License holder and should receive a code to be able to claim the ammunition used on tax. When claiming on tax they submit\present that code given as it will be a way to prove who contributed to the cull.
This would solve the issue of the deer being left to rot it would cost the same or less to the government to pay for collection.