FARMERS IN THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN

Over the past decade, Australian farmers have responded to globalisation of markets, a continuing decline in their terms of trade, new technologies, changing consumer tastes and attitudes, and emerging environmental concerns. Changes in government policies, such as the rationalisation of statutory marketing arrangements, together with reforms in water and land use, have also influenced the context in which farmers operate (PC 2005). This section contains data from the ABS Census of Population and Housing relating to people who reported their occupation was a Farmer or farm manager.

As shown throughout this publication, the MDB was an important agricultural centre in Australia in 2005-06. It covered 20% of Australia's agricultural area, contained 65% of Australia's irrigated land and contributed 66% of Australian agricultural water consumption.

In 2006, almost 67,000 people aged 15 years and over in the MDB reported that their occupation was Farmer or farm manager in the Census, accounting for 38% of Australia's farmers (table 2.29). The majority of the MDB's farmers (59%) reported that they either owned or operated their farm business. About 27% were contributing family workers and almost 13% were employees. The proportion of farmers classified as contributing family workers in the MDB (27%) was higher than the national level (24%).

In 2006, most farmers in MDB were male (71%); a similar proportion to Australia. The 19,000 female farmers in the MDB accounted for 37% of all female farmers in Australia. The majority (76%) of these were spouses or partners to males who were also farmers.

2.29 Employment status(a), Farmers(b) - Murray-Darling Basin - 2006
	Murray-Darling Basin			Australia
	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
Owner/managers(c) (no.)	28 330	11 350	39 680	74 170	31 690	105 850
Contributing family workers (no.)	11 310	6 560	17 880	26 070	16 320	42 390
Employees (no.)	7 790	1 130	8 910	21 750	3 920	25 670
Total farmers and farm managers (no.)	47 740	19 140	66 880	122 860	52 270	175 130
Total employed persons(d) (no.)	496 810	424 490	921 300	4 911 130	4 193 050	9 089 750
Farmers as a proportion of total employed (%)	9.6	4.5	7.3	2.5	1.2	1.9
(a) Persons aged 15 years and over.
(b) Includes farm managers.
(c) Owner managers of incorporated and unincorporated enterprises.
(d) Includes status in employment not stated.
Source: ABS data available on request, ABS Census on Population and Housing, 2006

Between 1996 and 2006, the number of people identifying themselves as a Farmer or farm manager in the MDB declined by 10% (from 74,000 to 67,000 as reported in the Census), while the number of people employed in all other occupations increased by 18% (from 888,000 to 921,000). Over the same time period, the number of male farmers in the MDB decreased from 53,000 to 48,000 (9%) while female farmers decreased at a slightly higher rate (12%) (graph 2.30). Much of the decline in the number of farmers occurred between 2001 and 2006, and may be attributed to environmental reasons such as the drought. However, other causes could be the restructuring of the industry, changes in commodity prices, health of farmers or their age.

Age

Table 2.31 shows the age distribution of farmers in the MDB in 1996 and 2006. Over this period, the proportion of farmers in the 65 years and over range rose from 14% to 19% while the proportion of those aged 35 years or below declined from 18% to 13%. The proportion of farmers in the 50-64 year range also rose from 32% to 37% while the proportion of farmers in the 35-49 year range dropped from 36% to 31%. This change in population distribution was also reflected in the change in median age of farmers in the MDB, which increased from 48 years in 1996 to 52 years in 2006.

2.31 Age distribution, Farmers(a) - Murray-Darling Basin - 1996 and 2006
	1996		2006		Change
	Number	Proportion of total farmers	Number	Proportion of total farmers
	no.	%	no.	%	%
15-34 years	13 080	17.6	8 750	13.1	-33.1
35-49 years	27 060	36.4	20 680	30.9	-23.6
50-64 years	24 090	32.4	24 830	37.1	3.1
65 years and over	10 050	13.5	12 630	18.9	25.7
Total farmers(b)	74 270	100.0	66 880	100.0	-10.0
(a) Includes farm managers.
(b) Persons aged 15 years and over.
Source: ABS data available on request, ABS Census of Population and Housing, 1996 and 2006

Farmers also comprise a significant proportion of older workers. In 2006, nearly two-fifths (39%) of people employed and aged 65 years or over in the MDB were farmers. Farmers made up a smaller proportion of younger workers (only 3% of the 323,100 employed people aged 15-34 years) (table 2.32).

2.32 Age distribution, Farmers and all other occupations - Murray-Darling Basin - 2006
	15-34 years		35-49 years		50-64 years		65 and over		Total
	Number	Proportion of total employed	Number	Proportion of total employed	Number	Proportion of total employed	Number	Proportion of total employed	Number	Proportion of total employed
	no.	%	no.	%	no.	%	no.	%	no.	%
Farmers(a)	8 750	2.7	20 680	6.2	24 830	10.7	12 630	38.7	66 880	7.3
All other occupations	314 350	97.3	311 980	93.8	208 100	89.3	19 990	61.3	854 420	92.7
Total employed persons(b)	323 100	100.0	332 670	100.0	232 930	100.0	32 610	100.0	921 300	100.0
(a) Includes farm managers.
(b) Persons aged 15 years and over.
Source: ABS data available on request, ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2006

There are several factors that could have contributed to the skewed age profile of farmers compared to all other occupations. This includes fewer young people entering farming, possibly compounded by limited interest of young people in taking over the family farm, along with low exit rates at the traditional retirement age in response to reduced farm capital during poor seasons, or reduced market values during periods of low commodity prices (PC 2005).


Family

Family farming has been a traditional way of life in the MDB as in other parts of Australia. Farm succession from one generation to another reflects the confidence of younger generations to enter the industry and earn their livelihood from farming. There is evidence that young people are departing rural areas to seek further education and employment, particularly females (RIRDC, NWI and MDBC, 2007).

Farming is also characterised by an intimate connection between the farm as a place of work and career. The planning and management of succession by farming families is a concern for the whole agricultural industry (Barclay et. al. 2007).

Almost all farming families in the MDB are couple families (95%), a significantly higher proportion than non-farming families (82%). In 2006, over half (51%) of all farming families consisted of a couple with children living with them and a further 45% were couple families without children (table 2.33).

2.33 Family type, Farming and non-farming - Murray-Darling Basin - 2006
		Farming families(a)	Non-farming families	Total families
Couple families
	with children (%)	50.5	42.6	43.2
	without children (%)	44.6	39.7	40.1
	Total couple families (%)	95.1	82.3	83.3
One parent families (%)		4.0	16.2	15.3
Other families (%)		0.9	1.5	1.4
Total families (no.)		40 470	491 130	531 600
(a) Includes farm managers.
Source: ABS data available on request, ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2006

Level of highest educational attainment

Changing farm practices have resulted in changes in the educational skill set required by farmers. Technological advancements, larger farms and greater awareness of environmental issues, have all meant that farmers are increasingly required to have a diverse set of skills (PC 2005).

Almost one-third of farmers (30%) in the MDB held a non-school qualification in 2006. This proportion was lower than for non-farmers of whom 47% held a non-school qualification (table 2.34). Half of the farmers with a non-school qualification had a Certificate level qualification; a further quarter had an Advanced diploma or Diploma level qualification.

2.34 Level of highest educational attainment(a) - Murray-Darling Basin - 2006
		Farmers(b)		Other occupations
		Number	Proportion of total persons	Number	Proportion of total persons
		no.	%	no.	%
With non-school qualification
	Postgraduate degree	410	0.6	26 150	3.1
	Graduate diploma and Graduate certificate	440	0.7	20 800	2.4
	Bachelor degree	4 040	6.0	115 420	13.5
	Advanced diploma and Diploma	5 030	7.5	66 180	7.7
	Certificate	10 420	15.6	173 460	20.3
	Total	20 340	30.4	402 000	47.1
Without non-school qualification		42 190	63.1	402 870	47.2
Total persons(c)		66 880	100.0	854 420	100.0
(a) Persons aged 15 years and over.
(b) Includes farm managers.
(c) Includes qualification not stated or inadequately described.
Source: ABS data available on request, ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2006

The proportion of farmers holding a non-school qualification in the MDB was markedly higher in 2006 (30%) than in 1996 (24%). This increase is partially reflected in an increase in the proportion of farmers holding a Bachelor degree or higher level qualification (from 4% in 1996 to 7% in 2006). The proportion of farmers with a Certificate level qualification in the MDB increased by 2 percentage points between 1996 and 2006.


Work

In 2006, the majority of farming couples (82%) in the MDB had both the husband and wife working. Also, 39% of the farming couples in the MDB had both members of the couple engaged in farming. The proportion of couples where the husband was a farmer and the wife was not working, was about 18% (table 2.35).

2.35 Composition of farmer couple families(a) - Murray-Darling Basin - 2006
	Number	Proportion of total farmer couple families
	no.	%
Couple both farmers	14 540	39.3
Husband farmer - spouse other occupation	14 550	39.3
Wife farmer - spouse other occupation	1 270	3.4
Husband farmer - spouse not working	6 470	17.5
Wife farmer - spouse not working	190	0.5
Total farmer couple families	37 020	100.0
(a) Includes farm managers.
Source: ABS data available on request, ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2006

The once traditional role of the 'farmer's wife' has changed over time. The 'farmer's wife' is now more likely to be identified as a joint farm manager or having an occupation separate from the farm business. These changing roles were driven by several factors which include; changes in the demographic composition and economic situation of farm family households, the growth of part-time employment, as well as the changes in the returns of labour, both in farming and in off-farm work (PC 2005).

Table 2.36 below shows the five most common non-farming occupations engaged in by female partners of farmers in the MDB. The most common occupation were Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers (e.g. general clerk, receptionist, carer, hospitality worker or a sales representatives etc.) (22%); Educational professionals (e.g. teachers) (14%) and Health professionals (11%).

2.36 Non-farming occupations of female partners(a) - Murray-Darling Basin - 2006
	Number	Proportion of total families
Selected occupations	no.	%
Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers	3 160	21.7
Education professionals	2 100	14.4
Health professionals	1 640	11.3
Advanced clerical and service workers	1 400	9.6
Labourers and related workers	1 300	8.9
Total non-farming occupations(b)	14 550	100.0
(a) In farming couples.
(b) Includes other non-farming occupations not separately listed.
Source: ABS data available on request, ABS Census of Population and Housing 2006

Income

In 2006, the mean equivalised gross weekly household income of the 37,000 farming families (as reported in the Census) in the MDB was about $674 per week. This was similar to the mean equivalised gross weekly household income of all families in the MDB.

The income distribution of farming families was similar to non-farming families. About two-fifths of farming families (39%) earned between $250 and $599 per week, close to a one-third (29%) earned between $600 and $999, and nearly one-fifth (19%) earned $1,000 or more (graph 2.37). However, a greater proportion of farming households reported a negative or nil income (4%) compared with all families (1%).

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