FARMERS are anxious about water, climate change and drought, despite giving Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the Federal Government a good first-year report card.

National, state and industry leaders have also given Agriculture Minister Tony Burke the thumbs-up for his first year in the job.

But some are concerned about Water Minister Penny Wong's focus on water buy-backs under the $12.9 billion national water plan.

"We're increasingly uncomfortable with the focus on water buy-back and lack of attention to irrigation upgrades," VFF president Simon Ramsay said.

A spokeswoman for Senator Wong said Labor had committed $3.7 billion to water infrastructure projects and agreed with the states on a Murray Darling Basin restoration plan, including funding for infrastructure projects now being developed.

Mr Burke said Labor's first year had been about preparing farmers for the future.

"We've seen massive changes in input prices and the value of the dollar and increased demand for food in the middle of a credit squeeze," he said.

"For some of Australia's farmers, the change that they need most hasn't occurred - they continue to endure our longest and deepest drought."

But Nationals leader Warren Truss said Labor had waged "unofficial war" on the bush by cutting rural funding by $1 billion, closing research stations and focusing on water buy-backs.