Publications

The Australian Farm Institute has a range of publications available for purchase. They include Farm Policy Journals, Research Reports, Newsletters, Conference Proceedings, Media Coverage and Occasional Papers.

A selection of our most recent publications is below!

Farm Policy Journal, Spring 2011, A private future for food and fibre quality

The Spring 2011 Farm Policy Journal is looking at food and fibre quality. Retailers and processors are employing more quality standards, what does that mean for farm businesses? International ag-economists share their analysis in the new Farm Policy Journal. Read the free editorial here or learn more here.

The Implications of the Australian Government's Carbon Farming Initiative for Beef Producers

The Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) has been proposed by the Australian Government as a legislated mechanism that will enable farmers to generate revenue from the sale of greenhouse gas sequestration and mitigation activities.

The introduction of a carbon offset market for farms will have significant long-term implications, and will entail both opportunities and risks for farm business managers. The research detailed in this report is an initial attempt to gain some understanding of the issues the farm sector and individual farmers will need to consider as this new farm enterprise emerges. Learn more here.

Farm Policy Journal, Autumn 2011, Can agriculture manage a genetically modified future?

The Autumn 2011 edition of the Farm Policy Journal addresses the challenge of GM. Current estimates are that globally, the area annually sown to GM crops exceeds 134 million hectares, and is growing by more than 8% per year. This means that the rate of adoption of GM crops by farmers is the fastest of any new technology introduced over recent decades. These statistics alone confirm two facts. Firstly, that farmers have assessed the benefits associated with GM technology and have reached a conclusion that the benefits available outweigh any potential downsides. Secondly, the scale of adoption of GM crops globally confirms that the technology will be a permanent part of the global agricultural landscape, so the discussion needs to turn to the management of the technology, not whether or not the technology will be adopted. In line with this conclusion, the papers that have been contributed to this edition of the Farm Policy Journal address a range of different aspects of the current and future management of GM crops.

See the articles in the Autumn edition of the Farm Policy Journal here!


Private Sector Investment in Agricultural R and D in Australia

There is wide recognition that for Australian agriculture to remain internationally competitive and to be able to take advantage of emerging international opportunities, sustained productivity growth will be required. While the  agriculture sector has one of the best records of any sector of the Australian economy in achieving productivity gains over the past three decades, all the evidence available at present indicates that the productivity surge that commenced in the 1970s appears to be tapering off, and increased efforts will be required to restore previous productivity growth rates.

More information on this Research Report is available here!

Growing Regional NSW- Policies to Revitalise the Non-Metropolitan Regions of NSW

In the past, regional development policies often consisted of measures to entice manufacturers and processors to establish facilities in non-metropolitan areas to provide the employment that would attract new residents. These policies had limited success, especially as manufacturing has declined in relative importance as a source of employment. However, the rise in prominence of the services economy and the development of modern transport and communication systems, have created new opportunities for economic growth and employment in non-metropolitan areas.

This report proposes a range of policy measures based on international best practice which, if adopted with serious long-term intent by a NSW Government, have the potential to reverse the population drift to metropolitan centres from inland NSW while at the same time enhancing the quality of life in major metropolitan centres.

More information is available here!