Farmers are being burdened by red tape, according to a new report that recommends sweeping changes to agriculture regulation.
The Productivity Commission's draft report on Thursday names bans on genetically modified crops in some states as regulation that is unsupported by evidence and should be scrapped.
Commissioner Paul Lindwall has also taken a swipe at controls on foreign investment in agriculture, insisting a recent tightening by the federal government "lacks a sound policy justification".
"These regulations are not in the public interest and should be unwound," he said.
"Farmers are straining under a heavy burden of regulation."
The report also calls for a rethink of farm animal welfare standards, insisting they need to be consistent and based on the evidence.
Commissioner Ken Baxter says a national independent body should be established to deal with the evidence and develop standards.
Nationals deputy leader Fiona Nash dismissed several of the report's recommendations, insisting it was only a draft that would now go out for consultation.
She defended the federal government's changes to put foreign investment in agricultural land under tighter scrutiny, after it lowered the threshold for screening of purchases by the Foreign Investment Review Board.
"What we saw before was virtually no scrutiny," Senator Nash told ABC radio on Thursday.
She also disagreed with the report's finding that the so-called "effects test" to protect small operators from big companies would do little to shield farmers.
"What we're trying to do is level the playing field to make it fair for the little guy."
Senator Nash also called for caution when it came to the recommendation of changing farm animal welfare standards, especially around live cattle exports.
