Australian ag value grew by $3.1B last year
The Agricultural Census for 2015-16 is one of the largest statistical collections undertaken by the ABS. The five-yearly survey is a snapshot of who grew what, where, and with how much water.
Fruit, nuts, and grape production was valued at $5.6 billion and vegetables $3.6 billion. The minimum size for a farming business to be included in the survey was increased from $5000 to an average annual turnover of at least $40,000. This is a much more realistic figure, as a farm with turnover under $40,000 is unlikely to be a commercial operation. It does, however, mean that it will be difficult to undertake a time series comparison.
Australian farmers were also found to be getting older, with the survey finding the average farmer is 56 years old. That’s up from 54 less than a decade ago, and is 17 years older than average Australian worker who is 39 years old. The average farmer is likely to have been farming for 35 years and be a man.
source: themercury.com.au
