THE Federal Government's agriculture department has a new mission statement - but it doesn't mention "agriculture".

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's first listed aim is now: "We work to sustain the way of life and prosperity of all Australians."

This is a long way from DAFF previous mission statement of "increasing the profitability, competitiveness, and sustainability of Australia's agricultural, fisheries and forestry industries".

DAFF now also states it does "not promote the interests of any sector of our society or our economy over the broader community interest".

However it does pledge to advise "stakeholders how to improve the productivity, competitiveness and sustainability of our portfolio industries".

Shadow agriculture minister John Cobb said the new statement was "waffly".

Australia has an agriculture department which "doesn't even know what it stands for", he said.

"Where do the farmers' interests come into the equation?"

Victorian Farmers Federation president Andrew Broad said the statement was "a load of twaddle".

He called on DAFF to "employ people who have an understanding and empathy for the agricultural sector".

"DAFF has a long way to go to regain credibility with farmers," Mr Broad said.

DAFF said it would continue to support agriculture "as you can tell by our title".

The department said it had consulted its staff and executive about DAFF's role and direction but had also "considered research provided by an external company".

"As the full mission statement makes clear, the productivity, competitiveness and sustainability of our portfolio industries, including agriculture, fisheries and forestry, remains the key focus of the department," the statement said.

DAFF's mission "for our department" is for it to be "a smart place, with smart people".