LONGREACH: Australian farmers are facing a diesel price shock, and many believe the long-term answer isn’t just finding more fuel, it’s rethinking how farms operate.
From virtual fencing to solar-powered robots, growers are looking at ag-tech, automation and selective electrification to cut fuel dependence, boost productivity and weather future shocks.
That message ran through conversations at Cultivate, a CommBank event that brought together next-generation producers and experienced agribusiness owners to discuss the biggest issues facing Australian farmers.
Fuel is the immediate crisis
Australian agriculture runs on diesel. A NSW Department of Primary Industries report found farms used 2,225 megalitres of diesel in 2019 — more than 80% of the sector’s total energy use.
Whether you’re a cropping operation or a cattle operation, you need diesel for your business to survive.
Harvest comes first. Farmers got to have enough fuel to get through that. And then planting is the next step.
The fuel bill jumped 48% the first weekend after the conflict in Iran began and has since doubled.
Beef producers said diesel and fertiliser costs are “through the roof. Besides, recent heavy rainfall cut roads, making it harder to reach fuel depots.
Similar stories echo nationwide, including Western Australian farmers refueling contractors’ trucks because there was nowhere to fill up along the route.
Don’t wait for electric tractors
Heavy electric farm vehicles are likely years away. But the fuel squeeze is forcing a more immediate question: what equipment can move off diesel now?
Pumps, cooling systems and other stationary equipment are better candidates than tractors or harvesters.
Virtual fencing is part of that shift. The technology moves cattle without physical herding or permanent fences in every paddock.
“We need to ask how we can use tech to mitigate the amount of fuel that we are using,” a farmer said.
He said his operation uses Halter’s virtual fencing, plus remote water monitoring and drones across two farms 340 kilometers apart. Staff can track water, cattle and grazing without constantly driving between sites.
Innovation and AI are “absolutely critical” as farmers face climate pressure and a cost-price squeeze.
By using that data and addressing those issues quicker and earlier, we can actually produce more from the same land in the same rainfall.
Fertiliser is the next risk
While diesel is the most immediate pressure point, Voznesenski said fertiliser could become the bigger threat if disruption persists.
About 30% of global urea flows through the Strait of Hormuz, making nitrogen supply a critical concern for cropping businesses.
If suddenly a third of the world’s nitrogen isn’t available, what type of impact does that have on crops? It could be a really severe one on protein content of wheat and on yields.
Without nitrogen, our global population would probably be 4 billion people. With nitrogen, we can handle 8 billion. It’s as simple as that.
If the situation worsens, some farmers may switch from nitrogen-hungry wheat to feed barley.
Consumer impacts are limited for now, but the bigger question is, what happens six or 12 months down the line?
Farmers find a way
Despite the pressures, the agriculture sector is “a real problem-solving community” that sticks together.
For now, farmers are absorbing the diesel hit, watching the nitrogen market — and investing in technology that changes how farming works.