Wagyu farmer David Blackmore wins reprieve in planning dispute

Top Australian wagyu producer, David Blackmore, has avoided the chop – for now.

Blackmore, whose wagyu beef is exported to 20 countries and prized by celebrity chefs including Neil Perry, faced being forced off his property in north-east Victoria after a local council refused to grant him a permit to continue his farming operation.

But Victoria's Planning Minister Richard Wynne told Fairfax Media he would review the Murrindindi Council decision, saying it is the "right thing to do" and "common sense".

The minister's intervention comes as an increasing number of farmers have ran into regulators after clashing with "tree-changers" over smells, noises, and other issues.

Wynne's action means Blackmore has avoided defending his livelihood at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

"This was a common sense decision," said Wynne about the Blackmore review.

"I'm not going to pre-empt the outcome of that process, but it was the right thing to do in the immediate term."

Wynne will establish the Animal Industries Advisory Committee on Thursday which will help overhaul farming zone laws.

The committee will report to Wynne and Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford, who say "local planning schemes have not kept pace" with modern farming methods.

"The Victorian government ... appreciates that an increasing number of farmers are seeking to expand their businesses through more intensive use of their land and water resources," Wynne said.

"As recent cases have highlighted, competing land use pressures and residential living in rural areas can raise issues for farmers who are conducting normal farming activities."

Wynne said the overhaul would aim to support farmers and the environment as well as balance community expectations.

"We want a planning system that promotes increases in production and allows producers the flexibility to make changes so they are competitive and able to respond to market changes."

Blackmore changed his farming methods about five years ago – moving his wagyu cattle from feedlots to pasture – after he watched the controversial US documentary Food, Inc. with Neil Perry.

As result he has been able to improve his yield – or cattle weight gain – by about 20 per cent because his cows can "lay down on the grass all day, chewing their cud" whereas in the feedlot "they'd only lie down if they were absolutely exhausted".

He estimates that his farm, which employs 10 people, injects $3 million into the the Murrindindi economy, and another $3 million to the Victorian economy, each year.

But the move to pasture, which is supplemented by mixed feed rations in troughs, raised the ire of about 14 people, included a retired couple on a neighbouring acreage, who complained about increased dust, noise, traffic, smells and birdlife.

In June, Murrindindi Council rejected its own advice – from its planning officers and agriculture consultant Professor Roger Wrigley, who recommended Blackmore's operation continue subject to a few conditions.

This prompted Neil Perry to launch an online petition at change.org, which has attracted more than 120,000 supporters.

"This absolutely should be held up as the benchmark of how supplement feed animals in Australia should be treated because it's ethical and sustainable," Perry told Fairfax Media last week.

"That's why I'm so pissed off about the whole thing. He is a pioneer and creative guy but he's one of the leading farmers in the country. Essentially they don't have a box to put him in so they put him in the intensive factory-farming box, and it's just not the case."

The Animal Industries Advisory Committee will submit its report to Wynne and Pulford on December 1, 2015.