THE eight giant blue, green and red tractors crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge were forced to make that tough decision for a tractor all the way from Tasmania: which lane is best to get into the city?

It was not a hallucination. Tasmanian farmers — incensed that Coles, Woolworths and McDonald’s are importing vegetables — made their mark on the bridge as a precursor to a rally today at Circular Quay.

Sydney is the 10th leg of the Fair Dinkum Food Campaign, which has seen large rallies around the nation.

Hundreds of farmers are expected to travel for a rally outside Old Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday. Talkback host Alan Jones will address today’s rally.

Tasmanian farmer and rally co-ordinator Richard Bovill said the campaign began when McDonald’s took away a 43,000-tonne potato contract worth $10million to growers.

He said farmers discovered that other growers of cold-climate vegetables such as peas, beans, cauliflowers and broccoli were facing the same problems, with Coles and Woolworths sourcing many of their vegetables from overseas growers.

NSW Farmers Association vice-president Peter Comensoli said the state’s growers would join the fight to protect their businesses from the “greed and profiteering” of giant food chains and supermarkets.