Feds to revamp fees

 National president William Rolleston says people owning multiple farms and corporate farming has reduced the lobby’s membership numbers. He says Feds is looking at finding a subscription structure that is fair and equitable to all.   

“If one person has a number of farms it doesn’t seem reasonable that they pay a single farm subscription when someone has, say, just one 400ha property and is paying the same,” he told Rural News. 

“We have to package it in a way that the members feel is equitable and they all feel they are getting value. If you own five farms you are getting five times the value from Federated Farmers as opposed to having one – the value is spread across all of those farms.” 

Rolleston says the Federation has some farmers now paying on a per farm basis and believes this could be way to go. He doesn’t believe the farmer lobby will go the same way as the dairy sector, which levies members on their production. He says a subscription based on a ‘per farm’ basis is likely, but adds there are anomalies with a person with 5000 stock units paying the same as someone with 30,000 SUs.

In the past, the Federation has focused on the number of members it has and Rolleston says such a concept in today’s farming environment is “a bit silly”. He says the Federation has been working with corporate farmers on an arrangement to reflect the benefits they receive from their membership.

The Feds board will consider a proposal for the national council in June. The council comprises all the provincial presidents and the board. They have the final say on policy issues.