The Wire

Statistics released this week confirm what many in the Bush have been witnessing personally for years – more family farmers are walking off the land, never to return. A new Australian Bureau of Statistics report shows that the number of farmers in Australia has declined by 10% over the past decade. But the decline is not happening across the board. While family-type holdings – those farms with revenues under $200,000 a year ? have declined by 20%, over the past decade large corporate farms earning over $1million have almost doubled in number during this time. This comes at a time when Australia’s agricultural out put has increased by 61%. While the sector remains healthy, there are concerns that the trend of family farmers walking off the land is impacting more widely on the general living standards of everyone in rural areas. This report by Erica Vowles begins from Nigel Gibson, a manager with the ABS in Hobart.