New entrants to Australian agricultural industries: where are the young farmers?

This report explores the declining numbers of young farmers in Australian agriculture using [Australian Bureau of Statistics] ABS data from the 2011 and earlier Population and Agricultural Censuses. It aims to provide a definitive statement on the current demographic structure of the farming community, and in particular, the place of younger farmers within that structure.

The study has found that the number of farmers aged under 35 years of age has fallen by 75 per cent since 1976. The most important factor in this fall has been falling numbers of farms due to farm aggregation, leaving fewer opportunities for young persons to enter agriculture. This explains 68 per cent of the decline in young farmer population. A second reason for declining numbers of younger farmers is a fall in the recruitment of the youngest farmers (under 25 years) relative to the recruitment of other entrants. A large proportion of this relative decline in recruitment can be explained by factors that are common with the rest of the Australian labour market, including structural ageing of the Australian workforce and delayed entry to the workforce due to longer years spent in education. The third explanation of the declining proportion of young farmers in Australian farming is the lowering rate of exit from farming amongst farmers aged over 65. As a result, since 1991 the population of farmers aged over 65 has increased by 55 per cent. This decreases the proportional measure of farmers aged under 35. It is also an important contributor to the increasing median age of the farmer population. Finally, the increasing age of first marriage in Australia has reduced the number of younger female entrants to farming.

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