Among a flurry of media releases from the Federal Government this week were details on a promised farm workforce study.

Key points: Farmers say a special agriculture visa is what is needed to solve workforce issues

Farmers say a special agriculture visa is what is needed to solve workforce issues They want the power to train and hold onto skilled staff, instead of losing them when current visas expire

They want the power to train and hold onto skilled staff, instead of losing them when current visas expire Farmers say letting unskilled backpackers drive expensive machinery is not a good idea for safety and farm management reasons

In May, the Coalition promised $1.9 million, over four years, to develop a National Agriculture Workforce Strategy.

On Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie announced an 11-member Agricultural Labour Advisory Committee had been appointed.

The committee will be chaired by John Azarias, who led a 2014 review into skilled migration visas, while former NSW Nationals senator John Williams will serve as one of two deputy chairs.

It has had a cool response from farm groups, who have lobbied hard for a specific agriculture visa to help them cope with seasonal staff shortages.

Peak horticulture body Ausveg welcomed the move but warned that the Government needed to act "to address the problems growers are facing … to attract a reliable and competent workforce".

Danish mechanic Jesper Dall came to Australia on a trainee visa and is now on a skilled visa. ( ABC Esperance: Emma Field )

At Mount Walker, around 400 kilometres east of Perth in Western Australia's central wheatbelt, the Cowan family have wrapped up harvest early after a dry year.

Normally the family employs about 10 casuals over harvest, but this year only three were needed to strip a below-average crop.

Felicity Cowan farms with her husband Peter and manages staff recruitment on their grain and sheep property, and that includes finding seasonal staff for the busy periods of seeding and harvest.

She said they relied on online sites such as Gumtree and word of mouth to attract New Zealanders or foreigners on working holiday visas for seasonal work.

Under the conditions of the visas, backpackers could usually only stay six months.

"Staffing is one of the biggest issues we are facing on the farm, particularly finding staff that suits our business and retaining them," she said.

Diane Cowan with permanent employee Jesper Dall from Denmark. ( ABC Esperance: Emma Field )

Foreigners, Gumtree and 'Dad's army' fill staff shortages

Ms Cowan said even casual staff needed to have specialist skills and be willing to work in an isolated location.

"Machinery these days is worth as much or more than a house in Perth," she said.

"So we have to be careful about who we put on those machines, because they are worth a lot and also from a safety point of view."

They have also struggled to find a permanent worker to help manage their livestock, which includes a stud sheep operation, but have recruited Danish mechanic Jesper Dall to work full time after he gained a skilled visa.

Felicity's mother-in-law Diane Cowan said she and her husband Bill were lucky they had a 'Dad's army' who often came to help them in busy times.

Many of Bill's brothers and sisters visit the farm and do some of the jobs they never get to, such as fencing.

Backpackers fill gaps, but not the solution

Meanwhile, near Esperance in WA's far south east, two backpackers from the Netherlands are getting ready for a holiday after six weeks working on a wheat and sheep farm at Cascade.

Jules Beckers and Hendrik Braam are both agricultural engineering graduates who saw working in Australia for six weeks as an incredible opportunity.

Hendrik Braam and Jules Beckers have been working on a grain farm near Esperance. ( ABC Esperance: Emma Field )

They are like thousands of foreigners who flock to Australia to work on farms and fill seasonal labour shortages.

"We were both on the harvesters and we learnt a lot but we also enjoyed our time. We visited the beaches and the national parks," Mr Beckers said.

Mr Braam is from a pig farm in the Netherlands and crops about 50 hectares, so working on a farm with 10 staff and harvesting about 10,000 hectares of crop was a vastly different experience for him.

"Every morning [when] I woke up, I was looking forward to stepping into the header again," he said.

The Dutchmen were on 417 working holiday visas, which are not part of an official labour scheme.

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According to the Department of Immigration website the backpacker visa program is for "young adults who want an extended holiday and to work here to fund it".

There have been changes to the working holiday scheme this year, which include allowing holiday makers from Thailand to access the scheme.

Australia is also in talks with another 13 countries, including India and Mexico, to expand the program.

'We need flexibility' says farmer

Cascade farmer Simeon Roberts, who employed the two Dutchmen over the summer, said although backpackers were essential for seasonal work there were limitations.

He said all the workers he employed needed a certain level of skill, given the approximately $9 million worth of farm machinery workers would be operating.

Cascade farmer Simeon Roberts oversees 14,000 ha in the WA wheatbelt with his brother Mark. ( ABC Esperance: Emma Field )

He said farmers wanted more flexibility with the current visa system, so backpackers could be used year after year for seasonal work, or enable them to transition into permanent employees.

"Quite often we come across people who want to stay longer — for maybe two or five years and then maybe go home or emigrate here, but we need flexibility," he said.

"We need people with a high level of skill and, if you want really good businesses, with good safety.

"[For us to be] compliant, we need [overseas staff] to stay longer."

Mr Roberts, who works with his brother Mark, said they had used the skilled visa system to employ foreigners, but it cost up to $7,000 to apply and was time consuming.

He said workers applying for skilled visas also needed to pass a strict English test plus have a tertiary degree, something that he said was not always necessary if they were willing to learn on the job.

Freedom to work outdoors a bonus

Vilmar Minski is originally from Brazil and first worked on the Roberts' farm in 2007 before later securing a skilled visa. He is now an Australian citizen.

He is a trained agronomist and takes on a range of roles on the farm, from sheep work to helping with the cropping program, plus fixing and driving large machinery.

He did not mind the isolation and loved working in agriculture.

"I enjoy working on the farm, you have the freedom to work outside in the open. I'm not made to work in an office," Mr Minski said.

"It's good to be a little way out of town. It's very quiet."

His employers, the Roberts brothers, spend a lot of time and money training their staff so when they find a good worker, they want to be able to retain them.

Their farm is 120km north-west of the nearest town, Esperance, or about 800km south-east of Perth, so the isolation made it hard to attract suitable workers.

"In rural and remote farming operations the social fabric and infrastructure will limit the pool of people we can employ on our farm," Mr Roberts said.

"The Government needs to get behind agriculture and contribute to the economy by giving us the people we need."

Grains industry feeling left out of conversation

There is also frustration in the grains industry, where exports are worth more than $3 billion according to new data from the official government forecaster ABARES.

They feel left out of the debate about farm labour, which is often dominated by the horticulture sector.

Peak growers' body Grain Growers Limited said the horticulture sector had dominated the debate on attracting overseas labour to fill gaps on farms.

Chief executive David McKeon said the Government needed to look at the visa system and assist with training future workers to help the grains industry thrive and reach its potential.

"Farm machinery is moving at a rapid rate, ag technology is moving, so we need to ensure we can fill those roles with the right skill set," he said.