NT Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Gerard Maley, NT Farmers president Simon Smith, NT Department of Agriculture and Fisheries CEO Amelia Vellar, Plant Health Australia CEO Sarah Corcoran and GPA CEO Duncan Bremner at the welcome reception held on the Speaker’s Green ahead of the 2026 Agronomy Australia conference in Darwin in August. Photo: Supplied

THE NORTHERN Territory Farmers Association has this week joined Grain Producers Australia as a financial member, strengthening national representation for NT growers on issues that will decide how far and how fast the northern grain industry can grow.

The move comes amid rapid expansion of northern Australian grain production as corporate and family operations invest in the Territory, and the NT Government commits to expanding area available to crop.

“Grain has been attempted in the Top End before, and early efforts struggled with yields that did not stack up,”  NT Farmers president Simon Smith said.

“Modern hybrids and varieties bred for tropical conditions, combined with better agronomy, have changed the odds.

“Developing a grain industry in the tropics takes time, research and investment.

“We’re seeing growing interest and real opportunities in the Territory, but there’s still work to do to establish the crops and production systems that will deliver consistent commercial results.

“Joining GPA gives our growers a stronger voice nationally on the research, biosecurity and policy decisions that will shape the industry’s future.”

Key issues identified by NT Farmers as needing representation at a Federal Government level are:

• Biosecurity: Australia’s Top End is its “front door” to exotic pests and diseases, so strong preparedness and a rapid response capability protect growers in every region;
• Workforce: Harvest and farm labour is hard to find in remote country, and Working Holiday Maker visa settings directly affect whether northern crops get planted, managed and harvested;
• Research and agronomy: Levy investment needs to reflect tropical cropping, including varieties, rotations and crop protection suited to wet-season production; and,
• Market access: Grain grown in northern Australia must meet the same residue and quality standards that protect export markets for the whole industry.

Aside from being a significant producer of horticultural crops and hay, the NT also has a developing cotton industry, and cottonseed removed from lint at the Northern Cotton gin which opened north of Katherine in 2024 and is used to plant the following crop, as well as supplying domestic and export customers.

Cottonseed is loaded into a container at the Northern Cotton gin, north of Katherine, last season. Photo: Northern Cotton

As with northern Queensland and the Ord region in Western Australia, the Top End is exploring potential for grain crops including sorghum and pulses.

In a statement, GPA and NT Farmers said they see themselves as “stronger together”, with NT Farmers bringing understanding about building a grain industry from scratch in the tropics, and GPA bringing national policy experience and a say in how grain levies are invested.

GPA chair and northern New South Wales grower Matthew Madden said the north is Australia’s next grain frontier, and growers on the ground have the most at stake in getting these settings right.

“NT Farmers brings first-hand experience of tropical cropping, and having them with us makes GPA’s advocacy on biosecurity, workforce and research stronger and better informed.”

GPA represents Australian broadacre grain, pulse and oilseed producers on national policy, research and biosecurity issues.

NT Farmers was formed in 2012 through the merger of the NT Agricultural Association and the NT Horticultural Association, and is the peak industry body for the Territory’s plant-based industries.

Source: GPA