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  5. Disaggregating farm performance statistics by size

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    • Disaggregating farm performance statistics by size
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Disaggregating farm performance statistics by size

This data dashboard contains farm performance statistics for farms of different sizes, by industry and region. These data have been collected through ABARES surveys of broadacre and dairy farms. The statistics displayed on this data dashboard complement other ABARES farm performance statistics, and highlight the significant differences in financial performance that exist across farms of different sizes.

February 2025 data update

Data in this dashboard was updated in February 2025 to include the latest estimates for 2022–23.

This PowerBI data dashboard may not meet accessibility requirements. For more information about the contents of this product contact ABARES.

Key points for 2020–21 to 2022–23

Sorting Australia's broadacre and dairy industries into 10 equally-sized groups (deciles), we can see a clear relationship between the size of a farm’s operations and its rate of return to investment:

  • the largest 10% of broadacre farms accounted for almost 55% of output, while the smallest 10% of farms accounted for 0.5% of broadacre output. Taking advantage of their scale of operations, broadacre farms enjoyed higher rates of return (15.7%) compared with 5.3% for the smallest 10% of broadacre farms.
  • the beef industry was the most concentrated of all broadacre industries, with the largest 10% of farms accounting for about 60% of beef output. This concentration was greater still in northern Australia. As with other broadacre industries, the rate of return for the largest 10% of farms in the beef industry was significantly higher (12.7%) than the smallest 10% of farms (7.1%).
  • the cropping industry was the least concentrated of all broadacre industries, with the largest 10% of farms accounting for less than 40% of output and a rate of return of 16.0%. The smallest 10% of farms accounted for 0.4% of output and a rate of return of 4.2%.

Outside of the broadacre sector, dairy farms were the least concentrated. The largest 10% of dairy farms accounted for almost 35% of all dairy output and earned them a rate of return of 14.5%, whereas the smallest 10% of farms accounted for only 1.2% of output and earned a rate of return of 7.7%.

Infographic showing distribution of broadacre farms

Overview

Size is an important determinant of farm business performance. Larger farms tend to be more profitable, invest more, and generate a higher rate of return on capital than smaller farms. Moreover, larger farms have more capacity to reduce their costs through scale, and a greater ability to invest in productivity-enhancing capital additions. These factors have driven a trend in recent decades towards fewer, but larger farm businesses. An important consequence of this trend is that industry level farm performance is increasingly driven by the performance of the largest farms.

Variables

The statistics presented in the dynamic tables include the following variables:

  • Share of total output produced
  • Total cash receipts
  • Total cash costs
  • Profit at full equity
  • Total capital as at the beginning of the financial year
  • Net capital additions
  • Rate of return on capital, including capital appreciation
  • Farm business equity ratio

Source data

This data dashboard provides statistics sourced from the following ABARES farm surveys:

  • Australian Agricultural and Grazing Industries Survey (AAGIS)
  • Australian Dairy Industry Survey (ADIS)

Farms in the broadacre and dairy industries are separated into size deciles based on farm total cash receipts—a measure of total revenue received by the business in a given financial year. Each category or ‘decile’ represents 10% of the farm population in each industry or region, ranked from smallest to largest based on revenue.

Farm performance varies significantly from year to year, reflecting volatility in seasonal conditions and commodity prices. Therefore, data are averaged over 2020–21 to 2022–23 to provide a more meaningful measure of farm performance than would be provided by a single year.

Industry and region coverage

Statistics for the broadacre industry are further split into the sub-industries of wheat and other crops, beef, sheep, grains, and mixed cropping–livestock. The grains industry is separated into the Grains Research and Development Corporation Western, Northern and Southern regions and the beef industry into the Meat & Livestock Australia Northern and Southern regions. Data are presented in dynamic tables according to classification by industry and region.

Historical Estimates for the Vegetables Industry

ABARES previously undertook a survey of Australian vegetable growing farms. The most recent vegetables industry survey was conducted for the 2018–19 financial year. Historical disaggregated farm performance statistics for the vegetables industry are available.

Further reading

Farm survey definitions and methods used to produce these statistics are available on the ABARES website. For further analysis and information about the design of these statistics see Boult and Jackson (2019).

Download report

Disaggregating farm performance statistics by size, 2022-23 - Report (PDF 580 KB)

Download data

Disaggregating farm performance statistics by size, 2022-23 - Data (XLSX 89 KB)

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Page last updated: 26 February 2025

We acknowledge the continuous connection of First Nations Traditional Owners and Custodians to the lands, seas and waters of Australia. We recognise their care for and cultivation of Country. We pay respect to Elders past and present, and recognise their knowledge and contribution to the productivity, innovation and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.

Artwork: Protecting our Country, Growing our Future
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