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Farming increasingly concentrated in the hands of the few
25 Feb 2005
National Australia Bank forecast that declining margins, poor incomes and the cost of getting into large-scale agriculture would leave Australia with less than 100,000 farmers within 15 years. NAB said the number of commercial farms in Australia had fallen by 50 per cent over the 40 years to 2001, while the average farm size had increased almost 50 per cent. NAB said this trend had implications for agriculture, families involved and their local rural communities, even for service providers such as banks. NAB said the strongest farms were characterised by producers' ambition to grow and reduce fixed costs, their open mindedness and their willingness to quickly take up new technology.
Sydney Morning Herald, 25/02/05
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