The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has compiled Farm Facts as a fast reference to top-of-mind national agriculture facts.
As the peak national body representing farmers, the NFF is dedicated to the advancement of Australian agriculture. Additional, commodity-specific data is available from NFF’s member organisations.
More than 95% of Australian farms are family owned [ABARES].
255,500 people are employed in agriculture in their main job, representing 1.8% of the Australian workforce and 5.6% of rural employment [ABARES].
The median age of farm owner-operators was 56 years of age in 2016. Agriculture is the oldest group of owner-operators of any of industry sector in Australia [ABARES].
32% of the Australian ag workforce is female [ABS].
There are approximately 87,800 agricultural businesses in Australia. Agricultural businesses are defined as having a value of operations of at least $40,000 [ABARES].
The make-up of our farms is: 62% classified as livestock farms, 30% cropping farms and 8% dairy farms [ABARES].
By volume, Australia exports 71% of its agriculture’s production [ABARES].
China is the biggest single export destination for Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry exports [ABARES]
The gross value of agricultural, fisheries and forestry production has increased by 45% in the past 20 years in real terms (expressed in 2024–25 dollars) from $69.3 billion in 2004–05 to $100.3 billion in 2024–25 [ABARES].
A $1 public investment in Research and Development leads to $12 in benefits generated by farmers in the long term. [ABARES]
87% of the nation’s agricultural land is Australian-owned [ATO].
Agricultural businesses account for 55% of Australian land-use. Ag businesses covered 426 million hectares in December 2023, excluding timber production [ABARES].
89% of all agricultural water entitlements are Australian-owned [ATO].
Changes in seasonal conditions between 2001 and 2020 (relative to 1950 to 2000) reduced annual average broadacre farm profits by 23%, or around $29,200 per farm [ABARES].
Australian agriculture has been a leading sector in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing its emissions by at least 12.5% since 1990 [DCCEEW].
Each Australian spends $11,109 a year on groceries, on average [Compare the Market].
On average, each Australian consumes approximately 22.4kg of beef a year. The global average is 6kg [MLA].
On average, each Australian consumes approximately 7kg of sheepmeat a year. The global average is 1.4kg [MLA].
