At their second meeting, members of the Eurobodalla Shire Council’s Rural Producers Advisory Committee proposed a Local Food Production Policy and discussed issues to be addressed to support the shire’s growing food economy.

Shire mayor and committee chairwoman Liz Innes said the committee brought together experienced local producers.

“People who are fully aware of the issues on the land and have some great insights and ideas for how we can all work together to grow the rural economy,” she said.

Cr Innes said they would develop an action-list which provided information and practical assistance to local agriculture, and she hoped a draft  Local Food Production Policy would be ready for public display later in the year.

The policy would underpin the development of an internationally-recognised brand and a local food culture which reflected Eurobodalla’s clean and sustainable farming practices.

The Rural Producers Advisory Committee was established to help implement council’s Rural Lands Strategy recommendations for the growth, promotion, and support of agriculture and rural tourism in Eurobodalla. 

The committee includes six of the shire’s rural producers – Fraser Bayley, John Brierley, Keith Dance, Kate Raymond, Jenny Shepheard and Amanda Thompson – as well as Liz Innes (chair), councillor Phil Constable, council’s general manager Catherine Dale and director planning and sustainability services Lindsay Usher, and a NSW Department of Primary Industries representative.