Australian Year of the Farmer celebrates the hard work of everyone involved in producing, processing, handling and selling products from 136,000 farms across the country. Australian farms and the industries that support them generate more than $405 billion each year, that's 27% of our GDP.

The celebration was conceived by Australian Year of the Farmer Directors, Geoff Bell and Philip Bruem. Geoff and Philip wanted more people to appreciate the fresh food and quality materials our farmers produce to keep us fed, clothed and sheltered. And so, the concept has grown into a national celebration, one which will reach every Australian – reminding us that our farmers sustain the Australian way of life and the economy.

Australian Year of the Farmer is about celebrating and enriching the connections between rural and urban Australia. We want you to take time out of your busy day to think about how farming affects your life, there's more to this agribusiness than meets the eye.

What are you going to do in 2012 to celebrate?

More than half of Australian farmers have hearing loss.  Researchers at the ANU have just produced a new resource to enable people like farmers, living with hearing loss, to more effectively manage the day-to-day challenges of living with impaired hearing.

Regional Development Australia (RDA) is an Australian Government initiative that brings together all levels of government to support the growth and development of regional Australia.  RDA is delivered through a national network of 55 committees who build partnerships between governments, regional development organisations, local businesses, community groups and key regional stakeholders to provide strategic and targeted responses to social, economic and environmental issues affecting regional Australia.

This site aims to provide a practical resource for those who work with communities (in the wider sense of the term) to help them identify and adopt more sustainable practices. This site was initiated in 1998 as part of my PhD studies (see my thesis Ch 10), and has developed over the past years as the NRM-changelinks site. Over the 2006/2007 period the NRM-changelinks name (and URL) was discontinued, and was superceded by the Learning for Sustainability name (and URL). The latest addition to the site is the sparksforchange blog which has been created as a way to educate myself, and hopefully others, about the many ideas and people out there that are making a positive difference for social change.