NFF announced yesterday that GrainCorp was joining as a new associate member, which limits its voting powers and prevents any potential control of the board.

NFF joins other corporate groups like Ridley Corporation and the Corporate Agricultural Group (an alliance of corporate farming companies headed up by Clyde Agriculture's John MacKillop) following a decision in late 2008 to change the lobby's constitution so agribusiness and other organisations affiliated with agriculture could also join.

The move was designed to help plug a fall in revenue and declining peak farm lobby involvement, and has clearly worked with 10 new members signing up since June last year.

However at the time of the change many farmers did express concern about potential conflicts of interests farm lobby groups may have with such agricultural giants sitting "inside the tent", particularly with regard to representation on issues like infrastructure, collective bargaining and competition policy, trade, foreign ownership and market power.

NFF president David Crombie said joining forces with major players in the agribusiness supply chain had been a key goal.

"The inclusion of GrainCorp as a full associate member can only strengthen our insight and involvement in the many issues that cut-across modern agriculture and, ultimately, affect all Australian farmers," Mr Crombie said.

GrainCorp operates at all points along the grain supply chain – from country storage sites, through to grain and bulk product export elevators and supplying grain to the export and domestic market.

It has a network with a total grain storage capacity of 20 million tonnes, seven bulk export elevators and manages more than four million tonnes of rail and road transport each year.

In a statement yesterday, GrainCorp chief executive officer Ian Wilton said joining NFF is an "opportunity and a responsibility".

"Issues that affect the business environment for farmers and agriculture as a whole affect our business," Mr Wilton said.

"Decisions made in Canberra do have a significant impact on our commercial operations.

"We hope that through the NFF’s new membership structure we can lend our voice, insight and experience to these policy debates, and we hope we can bring a new perspective to policy development on matters that affect regional Australia."