Farmers may be forced to let crops rot and decrease the size of their next growth cycle if a shortfall of up to 26,000 workers is not remedied soon.

National Farmers Federation Media and Communications Manager Laureta Wallace told Jim Wilson worker shortages have long been an issue in agriculture, but the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly exacerbated the problem.

“Our members have been talking to state and federal governments for many years now about … how it’s seeing farmers left with no choice but to plough fantastic, ripe crops right back into the ground.

“Now we find ourselves … in a really, really perilous situation.”

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