HYDEN farmer Trevor Hinck admits there's plenty of problems being a food producer.
But it hasn't dulled his enthusiasm or his ability to look outside the square.
With wife Sharon and sons Craig, Kingsley and Jordan, Mr Hinck crops 4000 hectares and manages a 1300 head feedlot that has been operating for more than 10 years.
Last year the family launched its own beef brand, Kerrigan Valley beef, which is now being sold on a contract basis to two Perth butchers as part of an ongoing vision of diversification to remain farming.
There also is purpose in moving away from being a price taker to a price maker.
He describes his feedlot operation as a cow-calf production that is at the bottom of the price pole.
"I obviously operate on a cost-plus basis from the farmgate and that price changes upwards through the supply chain to the retailer," he said.
"Those margin changes from processor, to wholesaler to retailer also reflect the cost-plus basis so it's hard to identify if there is price equity through the chain.
"But if I deal direct with a major food chain, my margin may change to reflect the value of continuity of supply to that chain, which has a vested interest in my operation."
Is it a fair margin?
"I'm in the dark but all we know is that when we see the chain's half yearly profit report, it's a lot better than mine," Mr Hinck.
"What I want to concentrate on is quality to attract a better price.
"The problem I've got is that price is being eroded by retailers' ability to market a lesser quality product at a cheaper, or budget price.
"This creates the perception that meat is cheap and it's compounded by product price wars that construct shoppers' habits, leaving quality a poor second.
"And that's what hurts us.
"The other aspect is that our farmgate price is predicated on the Eastern States market.
"It's not comparing apples with apples but retailers would have us believe that it is.
"And all the Federal Government is concerned about is food basket for the consumer price index (CPI).
"The CPI drives interest rates and it has a lot of power over agriculture.
"It's a tool that should be more transparent in terms of what's in the shopping basket that affects interest rates."
In the short term, Mr Hinck is upbeat about agriculture's fortunes but he worries about the long term.
"You can see the changes coming as the urban population spreads with little thought about infrastructure to support agriculture," he said.
"Where will the abattoirs go? What about the feed merchants? What about feedlots?
"It's not just outer metropolitan areas because we've seen some ag industries go broke because they have been forced away from big country towns.
"Unfortunately I don't see any solutions, just millions of dollars spent on White Papers and draft proposals that go nowhere.
"There's no big picture for agriculture, which is amazing considering the nation relies on the industry for its very existence.
"The popular saying, that you can't eat iron ore, remains a very salient point."
According to Mr Hinck, governments need to work harder to bridge the city-country divide.
"Decentralisation of industries and government agencies to country areas would go a long way to building rural populations and it could be done with tax incentives and cheap land," he said.
"Just some clever thinking could see relocations of industry involved with agriculture or impinged by the urban sprawl, into country towns.
"The big benefit would be increased critical mass through population growth creating demand for a range of services that could operate in those towns, creating self-perpetuating business growth.
"It could even be an attractive proposition for farmer investment."
That's a vision that could be achievable within the next 10 to 15 years.
But it would have to be based on the premise that governments would be actively involved in promoting a food production industry.
That's a hard proposition for farmers to come to grips with when they have every day troubles their urban cousins would never contemplate - such as, regular power blackouts, mobile phone signal drop-outs, travelling to the city to see their children at boarding school or health specialists and dealing with bureaucrats who have no knowledge of agriculture.
It is an untold story of the food production industry and Mr Hinck admits, at times, he feels beaten down and frustrated by such experiences.
"But you can't let it get to you," he said.
"Farming is a good life and I believe it can get better.
"Farmers have to fight harder to maintain connection with the urban populations and to make them aware we need each other."
