Farm incomes surge as the good times roll

March 1, 2022 | 5 Min read
A combination of good seasonal conditions and prices have led to improved farm performance for broadacre and dairy farms.

ABARES Assistant Secretary Peter Gooday said the latest farm financial performance results painted a positive picture overall.

“At the national level, farm cash income for all broadacre farms is projected to increase by around 34 per cent to average $278,000 per farm in 2021–22,” Mr Gooday said.

“This would take average farm cash income for broadacre farms in 2021–22 to around 56 per cent above the longer-term average of $178,000 per farm in real terms for the 10 years to 2020–21.

“This will be tempered by higher prices for fertilisers and fuel, which are expected to be felt more fully in 2022–23.

“Incomes for dairy farms are also projected to increase by around 35 per cent to average $338,000 per farm in 2021–22.

“Higher milk prices, favourable seasonal conditions, increased milk production and lower feeding costs have all contributed to the increase in incomes from the drought affected lows of recent years.

“There are currently around 50,000 commercial scale broadacre farms and around 5,000 dairy farms in Australia, and while it’s not all smooth sailing, it’s good to see average incomes above the long-term average for the second year in a row.”

Read the report and interactive data dashboard.

ABARES has also released their new Farm Data Portal. This interactive data tool provides a 'one stop shop' access to ABARES farm survey data. The tool includes ABARES historical farm performance data for broadacre and dairy farms, productivity estimates, modelled outputs from the ABARES farmpredict model, and up-to-date forecasts of farm financial performance.

The Farm Data Portal is now available as a public beta.

ABARES has also released their latest agricultural productivity estimates.

Categories Rural Business