THE nation's top farm group has lost patience with the Federal Government on key rural issues and says it must lift its game going into an election year.

The National Farmers' Federation is preparing a 2010 Budget submission, which is likely to call for a big boost in spending on rural research and development and quarantine and a major push to upgrade rural transport networks.

The submission will be delivered to the Government later this month.

NFF vice president Charles Burke told The Weekly Times farmers were getting frustrated at the slow pace of reform in areas crucial to their future competitiveness, especially rural R&D and infrastructure.

"The Government's had long enough to address these problems and we're frustrated that after two years there are no identifiable strategies in place," Mr Burke said.

The Government had acknowledged rural R&D as the key to higher productivity but had slashed spending significantly in last year's budget, he said.

"Any further cuts are unacceptable. Research is not 'just another line item' in the Budget, it represents the future. Spending must be increased, and there needs to be a clear, long-term commitment to invest in this area."

The Government had also failed to deliver on promises of a national freight network that linked improved regional road and rail systems to city and regional ports, Mr Burke said.

"Infrastructure Australia was set up to deliver this integrated approach, but we're disappointed that more has not been done," he said.

"We need a national freight strategy that's more than just dollars, and certainly much more than the typical ad hoc spending on an electorate basis."

The NFF was also concerned that the quarantine system had not kept pace with the growing demands for its services and would come under "even more pressure" in the future, Mr Burke said.

The Beale review completed in late 2008 had highlighted "glaring failures" in the system, "but we're concerned that significant elements of its recommendations, particularly those relating to Australia's import quarantine reforms, remain unfunded".