Jan Davis, from the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, says the farmers' problem is that they can’t pass on the cost.

"Farmers are price-takers, not price-makers," Ms Davis said.

"This is the last thing our farmers needed. Dairy farmers will be particularly hard hit. Electricity is a major cost of production for them.

"On the other side of the ledger, they are being pared to the bone by prices from milk processors."

Ms Davis said farm businesses could only absorb input cost increases for a limited time without any increase in returns.

"And it has been a long time since many farmers have seen better prices at farm gate. A lot of farms are on the edge," she said.

"Platitudes from political leaders about agriculture being a growth industry and part of the Food Bowl vision for the future while input costs rise and processors threaten to withdraw from the market, do not represent a realistic stance to be taking at this time."

She said a number of Tasmanian farmers were trying to adapt to power price pressures by adopting innovative sustainable technologies.

Some are installing wind turbines, or small hydro schemes or using biofuels to generate energy.