Time series data on farm profitability for Australia and South Australia from ABARE’s farm surveys, shows a minority of businesses consistently profitable and a majority not. The paper finds evidence of prevalent and persistent negative farm profit in both available long-run data (1990-2007)...

Dairy industry organizations, universities and government agencies are variously involved in embedding web-based, standardized farm business performance systems in the Australian and New Zealand industries. The spectrum of involvement prompts an exploration of demand drivers and expectations of...

After more than a decade in opposition, the win by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) at the 2007 Federal Election focuses attention on their pre-election policies. The paper summarises ALP pre-election policies for primary industries, including the resources and seafood sectors; indicates program...

South Australia’s Minister for Primary Industries, Natural Resources and Regional Development in 1996 delegated to an industry based Apiary Task Force the role to develop and implement a cost effective disease control strategy. Underlying this broad term of reference was the need to increase...

The quest to shape Australian agriculture for improved and sustainable profitability is leading Research and Development Corporations, agri-service consultants and government to devote substantial effort into development of new farm business analysis and benchmarking programs. ‘Biz Check’,...

The paper outlines the trading options that pertain to the Australian viticulture industry, some of the challenges for stakeholders that have surfaced in recent vintages and need to be managed differently in the changing market environment of intensifying competitiveness in the international...

The mutual interest of industry and government to improve the competitiveness of agri-food industries presents an information management challenge for leaders and policy makers. The paper examines the case for a template for benchmarking economic, environmental and social indicators along...

The collapse in Australian pig prices during 1997/98 to their lowest levels in three decades triggered the third industry economic crisis for the nineties, appeals for government assistance and relief from pigmeat import competition. Two national inquiries were instigated in 1998: a Rural...

Small size, dependence on domestic feed-grain and the generic nature of pork would suggest poor export prospects for Australia’s pig and pigmeat industries against leading export countries in North America and Europe. The federal government challenged the industry to do just that when it began...