This report examines some of the key trends in Australia's agriculture sector over the last 20 years or so. While continuing to grow in absolute terms, the size and importance of agriculture has declined relative to the rest of the economy. Within the sector, there have been marked changes in the number and size of...

The Australian dairy industry has recently experienced a policy reform that involved the over-night removal of all price support mechanisms. It was an unusual event because policy changes are usually phased-in or announced with several years warning. In this case farmers had limited time to prepare for the effects of the reform. Consequently the Government...

This is a report of a research project about retirement for people in transition in farming by drawing on the key issues emerging from the literature and fieldwork in two regions of NSW - this involved research and the development, pilot and evaluation of a retirement planning peer education program for farmers. The report discusses...

An effective work force can make or break a farming business, so it is vital for farmers to place particular emphasis on the employment process. This report provides a guide for farmers looking to employ staff, both family and non-family, and shows how adopting a professional approach can make the process of employing staff much...

1. The work that the OECD Rural Working Party has carried out in the last years has converged towards acceptance that sectoral approaches to rural areas have not given the expected results and that there is a need for more effective, place-based policies which can better capture the diverse challenges and potential of rural areas...