For decades, the Greens have been seen as the sworn enemy of local farmers, hellbent on destroying the way they’ve run their family businesses for generations.

But no longer.

Today, the Greens seem more likely to find themselves fighting side-by-side with farmers on local issues than on opposite sides.

Two cases in point are the proposal to establish a nuclear waste dump at Sallys Flat and a request from Regis Resources to buy Bathurst’s treated effluent to run a new gold mine near Blayney.

In both cases it has been the Greens who have sided with local farmers to oppose the plans rather than members of the conservative parties.

Calare MP John Cobb has already come under fire for his tacit approval of a Sallys Flat waste dump, though he is now guaranteeing it won’t go ahead without the community’s support.

And last week Liberal Premier Mike Baird passed up the chance to speak in support of the people of Sallys Flat when asked where his government stood on the proposal, instead launching an unrelated attack on the Labor Opposition.

Now, with the potential water sale in the news, it is again the Greens who are speaking out against a deal that could only harm farmers downstream along the Macquarie River.

This will quickly become a case of farms versus mines, and while we know whose side the local environmentalists are taking, we aren’t so sure about the conservatives.

But in a battle between supporting businesses that have been around for generations or a business that expects to last only a decade or two, that decision should be an easy one.

Let’s hope it plays out that way.