Towards a profitable and sustainable future for grain growers

Many Australian grain growers need to change their management approach to ensure their continued viability, but do not have the required knowledge and skills. Uptake of relevant education and training is poor, despite the positive correlation between learning, change and farm viability. As men are generally occupied with the operational aspects of the farm, much of the management role has been taken on by their partners, despite their lack of relevant formal qualifications. Professional development of farm partners therefore has the potential to improve the viability of grain growers. A model combining learning circles and action learning projects is proposed. In the period 1998-2002, 25% of Australian grain farms returned an average cash income of $173,624. In marked contrast to this, the mid 50% of grain farms returned an average of $48,916 and the bottom 25% averaged a negative return of $35,947 (Clark & Harrop 2004). Once allowances are made for depreciation and imputed labour costs, 50% of grain farms in Australia are not making enough money to meet their farm succession and stewardship obligations (Clark & Harrop 2004). Australia’s relatively poorly educated farm workforce, compared to overseas competitors and other Australian industry sectors, limits productivity. It also has a compounding effect by inhibiting further training, which further limits farmers’ capacity to be flexible, adaptable and responsive to change (Kilpatrick 1996). Current public policy therefore focuses on achieving profitable and innovative agricultural industries, sustainable resource management and vibrant rural communities based on a culture of change (Bellamy et al. 2003). In fact, Australia’s grain growers are unlikely to remain globally competitive unless farmers can change their focus from yield and ‘paddock’ to a ‘whole farm’ approach (Clark & Harrop 2004). Read full article at IJEDICT.

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