Open dialogue a boon to industry

"It's just about saying 'G'day I'm a dairyfarmer, do you know anything about dairyfarming?'," he said.

Mr Jones spoke to SA dairyfarmers at regional meetings run by the SA Dairy Association last month, by invitation of the association's board.

A third-generation dairyfarmer at Gruyere, Vic, he held the position of United Victorian Dairyfarmer president for one year from February 2014, until a "number of factors" forced him to resign at the start of this year.

Mr Jones said the industry could be under threat from activists unless action was taken.

In the past, large sections of the population had some connection to farming.

This connection gave them a basic understanding about some of the realities of farm life.

"Everything is so politically correct now," he said.

"We've lost that relationship with our communities."

The best way to get that relationship back was to start having conversations about farming and its realities.

"We have a responsibility to get as many people as possible to understand what we do," he said.

"That way more people understand where their food comes from and that animals were harmed in the making of the t-bone on the plate."

Mr Jones said having these discussions and connection with the community could cushion the shock value of claims about the industry.

He said it was about gaining a social licence to farm.

"Social licence is the acceptance or approval granted to activities of an industry or organisation by the community," he said.

"This doesn't mean we bow down to activists.

"The reality is that activists don't want to approve - they want to shut us down and stop animal production.

"Some people take the approach that if we educate the activists everything will be okay.

"Instead they need to talk to communities because they need to understand realities."

Other industries, such as the pig or egg industry, have found themselves the focus of attention from animal welfare activists which had resulted in major changes to these industries.

"In situations where the industry hasn't taken charge of their relationships with the community and consumers, they are now being dictated to," he said.

"The perceptions are being developed by activists to influence how the community views it.

"We'll be in the same boat if we don't develop better relationships with the community."

He said there was a lot to be proud of within the dairy industry and that should be shared.

"We have some of the best-quality, cheapest, safest food but we take that for granted," he said.

"We need to tell the full story of how it is produced.

"If communities understood some of the issues, it is really easy to call out activists when they claim something outrageous."