Search

Existing methods of quantifying agricultural employment mask the changing profile of agricultural employment occurring in response to the pressures of competitive productivism, general progress in scientific and technical knowledge, an increasingly complex value chain and changing consumer expectations. This article critically reviews the traditional sources of data used to inform the quantification of the agricultural labor force data and presents a method, the Professional Agricultural Services Sector (PASS) Trident, which measures employment in the agriculture sector more fully, by including employment in professional services and capturing key demographic characteristics. Applying the PASS Trident, our analysis of the industry and occupation level data indicates that the existing method of measuring agricultural employment under-counts the contribution of agribusiness professionals. Moreover, people employed in the professional agricultural services sector are highly educated, younger than the traditional on-farm workforce and reside in urban areas. The methodology proposed in this paper provides a framework for future studies for monitoring shifts in agricultural employment. • Agricultural producers are increasingly seeking professional services. • This is in response to economic pressures, scientific progress, value chain complexity, and changing consumer expectations. • Existing methods of measuring agricultural employment under-count the contribution ofagribusiness professionals. • Those employed in professional agricultural services sector are highly educated, young, and reside in urban areas. • The methodology proposed in this paper provides a framework formonitoring shifts in agricultural employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Droughts are significant catalysts of financial and emotional hardship for farming communities. However, does the extent of time an area has been in drought impact upon the rate at which agricultural land changes hands? Does it encourage more land to change ownership, as stressed farmers depart at faster rates, or does its negative impacts on farm production dampen demand for rural land? This study addresses this question through a unique, longitudinal (2004–2020) dataset of property transactions in 96 rural Local Government Areas (LGAs) in New South Wales, Australia. We measure the proportion of time each LGA has been in drought during the previous 1, 2, 5 and 10 years, and correlate this against the rate of agricultural land ownership change. Results indicate that in the short-term (<5 years), the proportion of time in drought is not a major influence on the extent of agricultural land ownership change. However, over a 10-year timespan, there is a statistically significant negative correlation between the two for non-irrigated agricultural land, grazing land and land owned by individuals (as opposed to companies). These findings suggest these agricultural land markets are sensitive to the long-term effects of drought. The take-home message seems to be that the persistence of drought saps the vitality of these agricultural land markets, leaving farmers with reduced prospects to capitalise on their land assets. This finding has resonance given that climate change models suggest an intensification of the frequency and severity of drought in much of rural NSW. • First study to correlate large-scale land registry data with historical Combined Drought Indicator data in Australia. • The correlation between time in drought and the rate at which agricultural land changes hands is not significant in the short-term (<5 years). • However, over a 10-year period, there is a statistically significant negative relationship between the proportion of time that a LGA has been in drought and the annual extent of agricultural land ownership change. • The paper concludes that drought has a modest, long-term inhibiting effect on the vitality of agricultural land markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is expected to seriously affect agricultural livelihoods and food security in all Pacific Island countries. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation contends that, to adapt, both 'modern' and Indigenous agricultural practices and knowledge are needed. A challenge lies in combining agricultural knowledge systems and enabling adaptive knowledge to be shared amongst Pacific Islanders. Opportunities to integrate different types of agricultural knowledge (including 'modern' and Indigenous) are needed. This paper argues that international labour mobility programmes provide an avenue for knowledge exchange that can support climate change adaptation in agriculture. It presents empirical evidence from research with 33 Pacific Islanders who grow crops in their home countries and were employed in Australia's Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP). We demonstrate how SWP participation opened new possibilities for climate change adaptation in agriculture in the Pacific Islands. Adaptive knowledge stems from SWP workers' exposure to different agricultural skills and ideas in Australia, combined with their knowledge and experience of crop production in their countries of origin. SWP participation created opportunities for workers to draw on different agricultural skills and knowledge on return to the Pacific Islands. The ability for SWP workers to then exchange adaptive knowledge with other Pacific Islanders is enabled by their social relationships, the likes of which an official agricultural extension officer might not have to the same degree. So far, such adaptive agricultural knowledge and skills exchanges are serendipitous. There is scope to explicitly build climate change knowledge exchange into agriculture-focused international labour mobility schemes. • International labour mobility schemes facilitate agricultural knowledge exchange. • Labour mobility migrants adapt acquired agricultural knowledge to their countries. • International labour mobility schemes can build adaptive capacity in agriculture. • Adaptive capacity from labour mobility can spread via agricultural extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural diversity can contribute to improving agriculture and food systems sustainability, but it is commonly associated with smallholdings and subsistence farming. The drivers and trade-offs around diversification strategies in high-income countries remain poorly understood. Tasmania, due to its diverse climate and geography, is among the most agro-diverse regions in Australia, which makes it an interesting case to study. This paper addresses three main research questions: (1) How do farmers define agricultural diversity and diversification? 2) How is diversification 'used' as a farming strategy? and 3) What incentives and barriers are currently structuring the adoption of these strategies? We conducted Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews with 95 farmers across Tasmania and analyse them qualitatively using thematic analysis. Our findings show that attitudes and motivations towards agricultural diversity vary among farmers depending on personal experiences, values and farming backgrounds and context. These motivations may influence the role that agricultural diversity plays within farms. We could identify a net distinction between farmers using diversification strategies: (1) as integral components of their business to respond to different needs and purposes, (2) purely as additional business opportunities or (3) for motivations that go beyond the financial value. Nevertheless, other farmers prefer specialisation as they find it more profitable or consider that investing in additional activities is too demanding or financially risky. As only 14 farms in our sample specialised in a single product, our results suggest that agricultural diversification strategies can also represent viable options also in a high-income country. However, the variety of responses and perspectives among the participants of this study indicates that future research and policy interventions promoting agricultural diversity should aim to identify and address the specific challenges encountered by the different approaches to diversification employed by farmers. • Qualitative analysis of a diverse sample of 95 farmers in Tasmania. • We identified a wide range of specific definitions, approaches, and uses of agricultural diversification strategies. • Farmers define diversity by the number of activities and enterprises adopted, or by values and outcomes associated with it. • Agricultural diversification can be a viable and sometimes necessary strategy also in high-income countries. • Funding opportunities, information, skills and labour availability emerged as major incentives for diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture policies in Australia have long encouraged productivist agriculture that aims to maximise yields through intensive production. Many have argued Australian farmers are trapped on the productivist treadmill as a result and there is evidence of an Australian farming culture where productivism is internalised as the standard of good farming. In this paper, I share the stories and experiences of commercial farmers in two regions of rural Australia who view good farming as production that moves them away from extractive productivism and towards a way of producing food that lets them and their non-human counterparts survive well. • Australian farmers have historically been impelled to productivist agriculture • In contrast to dominant notions of good farming as productivist agriculture, interviews with commercial farmers in Australia suggest that 'good farming' means suriving well. • Good farmers pay attention to the complexity of ecological systems and adopte a view of nature as integral to production. • More research is needed to determine how and to what extent notions of stewardship as anchored in control of nature are being untethered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]