The revival of the backyard vegie patch and the boom in hobby farming shows there is urban interest in rural industries, but that interest is not being responded to adequately by industry leaders.
Judging by the reader comments that are posted daily on FarmOnline, most rural producers feel detached from urban food and fibre consumers. They feel unappreciated at the least and even insulted by the very public criticism the farm sector cops from urban groups, especially the often bizarre and inaccurate claims made by green groups.
Those feelings are fair enough, so it was good to see Meat and Livestock Australia fight back against the 'go veg and save the planet' mantra of some green groups.
As MLA argues, environmental protection is a core activity of every farmer if they are to survive in business on the land.
That is a battle of two big ideas - one responsible and mainstream, the other extreme - fighting over broad public perceptions of agriculture and the environment.
It strikes me that on the ground in the cities there is a large population torn between the two ideas as they embrace agriculture at there own level.
FarmOnline published a story from The Age on the weekend which detailed the revival of the backyard vegie patch. As the story points out, interest in home production stems from both a financial and food quality imperative.
As a self-confessed frustrated farmer who is making do in satisfying that interest by growing my a few vegies at home, I have found there are a few dollars to be saved, but mainly the appeal is in the satisfaction of getting my hands dirty and getting fresh air in my lungs.
But for others there is also a desire to produce one's own home-grown food because of what approaches a phobia about GM crops and farm pesticide contamination.
At the same time, on the fringes of our ever-expanding cities, once productive farmland is being turned into acreage and hobby farms to satisfy people wanting to live 'The Good Life'.
The question is: what is agricultural industry doing to communicate with these thousands of people who obviously have an interest in farming techniques, but often rely on the likes of 'Gardening Australia' and its heavy-handed message of organic-only production for their 'how-to' information?
The situation presents both a massive problem for industry leaders and a massive opportunity.
The good news is that there are thousands of people who don't have to be convinced to show an interest in rural production.
The bad news is that without good information about farming techniques, these hobby farmers could pose a threat in the event of a disease outbreak.
It's not enough for agriculture to just win the battle of the big ideas in public debate, but also to deliver on the details and win people over to best practice on the small scale.
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