Business as usual' is no longer an option for Victorian farming and food, as a rapidly changing climate, increasingly expensive oil, and declining land and river health threaten to undo the state's impressive productivity and prosperity.

A new report released this week by the Australian Conservation Foundation – Paddock to Plate: Food, Farming and Victoria’s Progress to Sustainability – finds we must re-think not just the way we produce food, but also the way it is hauled, stored, processed and consumed if we are to avoid a serious food crisis.

Key findings of the report include a warning that despite many landholders’ efforts through programs such as Landcare, Victoria’s landscapes and rivers are among the most stressed in the country.

The report also points out that farmers could be the key to restoring a healthy environment.