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In this section you will find detailed information, including national overviews and state and regional level assessments, from the 2000-2002 National Land and Water Resources Audit theme assessments.
Rangelands — tracking changes 2001
Australian Collaborative Rangeland Information System
National Land and Water Resources Audit, 2001
ISBN: 0 642 37114 8
Socioeconomic information
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In order to adopt sustainable resource management practices, managers need to:
Information products under this component are summarised in Table 5. Sources of socioeconomic data are the Census of Population and Housing by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Agricultural and Grazing Industry Survey (annual farm survey) by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics. |
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Recommended enhancements to socioeconomic data capture that provide economic and social information for informing rangeland management policy (Haberkorn et al. 2001) include:
- revision of collection of Australia's agricultural statistics so that data collection and information management systems provide information to better understand and support natural resource management practices;
- collection of data on land, property management, environmental management and demographic attributes;
- inclusion of regular data gathering of a sufficient sample size and with geographic coding to assess changes in a particular region of interest;
- expansion of data collection to include small-scale agricultural/rural landholders and other client groups such as Indigenous landholders rather than only focusing on operators of agricultural establishments; and
- inclusion of institutional indicators (e.g. expenditure relating to sustainable resource management practices) and links to systems that track changes in the biophysical environment.
Australia-wide interpretation and analysis must be treated with caution-there are as many exceptions as agreements in any proposed correlation. Local and issue-specific, community surveys are the best and most appropriate way to obtain information for detailed socioeconomic analysis.
Core attributes to be included in a comprehensive rangeland monitoring system have been specified (Table 5) and key findings from the Audit's collation of existing social and economic information are that:
- remote parts of rangelands have younger land managers than the national average;
- remote parts of rangelands have the lowest age dependency ratios (i.e. the population has few children or older people relative to people at working age);
- young people (15-24 years) are moving out of the south of Australia's rangelands to seek education or work; and
- young people are moving into the northern and western regions to find pastoral or casual work.
Table 5. Information products for socioeconomic information (Haberkorn et al. 2001).
| Key attributes | Description and current status | Rationale for inclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Product 13. Individual attributes | ||
| Median age of farmers and farm managers | The most basic socio-demographic indicator-median age-divides a population into halves. Data are collected as part of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Housing and Population Census. | Age statistics can help explain the likely desire of property owners/managers to remain on the property, their exposure to environmental concepts, their attitude towards stewardship, and their adoption of different resource management practices. |
| Product 14. Business attributes | ||
| Total farm family income Farms with property management plans |
Total income refers to family share of farm income; any wages paid to the owner manager, spouse and dependant children; and all off-farm income. Data are collected as part of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics Farm Survey. This attribute is defined as active use of property management plan in the last 12 months. Data are collected as part of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics Farm Survey. |
Level of income can explain potential opportunities to experiment with new sustainable management practices. Property management plans reflect motivation to manage more sustainably, skills in management, and access to and use of different information for management decisions. |
| Product 15. Community attributes | ||
| Net migration of young Australians. Population structure to age dependency ratio |
Net migration is defined as the difference between the number of persons moving into a particular area between the 1991 and 1996 censuses, and the number of people moving out. It is expressed as a proportion of the 1991 resident population of a given area. Data are collected as part of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Housing and Population Census. This measure refers to the proportion of children and elderly people that are economically dependent on the working age population. Data are collected as part of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Housing and Population Census. |
Net migration assists in understanding population changes, particularly in those beginning their careers, and those most able to be mobile and/or completing their education Provides a useful socio-demographic snapshot of the population structure/composition of a specific area, particularly in situations where detailed social and economic data are lacking. |
Figure 51. Locations of farmers and farm managers in Australia's rangelands (1996).
Product 13. Individual attributesMedian age of farmers and farm managersMedian age divides a population in half. These data are collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In 1996, the median age of Australia's total population was 34 (i.e. half of all Australians were younger than 34 years and half were 34 years or older). The median age of Australian farmers and farm managers was 48 years. Farm operators in rangelands are younger than colleagues on the east coast of Australia (in some areas along the east coast of Australia the median age was 58 years). Farmers and farm managers in rangelands of Western Australia and the Gulf region of the Northern Territory are older than in other areas (Figure 52). In other States, there appears to be an inverse relationship between remoteness and age, with the more remote rangelands having younger farmers and farm managers. The youngest median age of farmers and farm managers (40-45 years) occurs in South Australia. |
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Figure 52. Median age of farmers and farm managers across Australia's rangelands (1996).
Product 14. Business attributesMany business attributes currently collected are not suitable for a rangeland monitoring system because the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resources Economics farm survey data on which they are based have limitations when applied to bioregions across the rangelands. The sample of 1430 broadacre farms representing 71 600 farming operations across Australia is not sufficiently large to permit an analysis at the bioregion level. While most maps based on Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics farm survey data show regional variations, in most cases the standard errors are so high that regional differences are more a reflection of sample selection than true regional patterns. |
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The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics farm survey targets agricultural operations with an estimated value of $22 500 or more. Twenty-seven per cent of broadacre operations and 54% of beef cattle operations fall below this cut-off point at last time of survey (1996).
Two of the Australian Bureau of Statistics sourced attributes provide some insight into rangeland business activities-total farm family income and farms with property management plans.
Total farm family income
Total farm family income includes:
- any wages (that are included as farm costs for taxation assessment) paid to the owners/managers, spouse and dependant children; and
- all off-farm income of owners/managers and spouse (Figure 53).
The family share of farm income is the share of net farm business income of owner manager, spouse and dependant children.
Net farm business income is farm cash income plus change in trading stocks, less depreciation and wages (that are included as farm costs for taxation assessment) paid to the owners/managers' family or other family members.
Farm family income is thought to be directly related to adoption of sustainable resource management practices because of the financial constraints or opportunities it may provide (Gordon et al. 2001). A high level of income potentially provides greater opportunities to experiment with new and untried management practices, while lower incomes exert greater pressure on farm families, making experimentations and investment in improved practices, techniques and equipment difficult or impossible.
Farm family income is also considered to be indirectly related to adoption of sustainable management practices through farm profitability, the desire to remain on the property and a sense of security.
Figure 53. Total farm family income across Australia's rangelands (1996/1997 to 1998/1999) (3 year average).
Farms with property management plansFarms with property management plans are those that have actively used a property management plan in the last 12 months, whether or not the owner/manager has participated in property management plan workshops and activities (e.g. FarmBis) in the last three years (Figure 54). The establishment of a property management plan is an indicator of capacity to adopt sustainable resource management practices. It reflects skills in management, information available for management decisions and willingness to use such information (Gordon et al. 2001). Farmers and managers may also have been required by funding institutions to develop a property management plan as a condition of credit; they have also been encouraged to develop plans as participants in government programs. In this context, the presence of such a plan is indicative of general pressure to adopt sustainable management practices (Gordon et al. 2001). |
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Managers with a property management plan were more likely to:
- adopt measures to monitor pasture;
- match stock type to pasture;
- lower stocking rates (and consequently increase potential production);
- construct fences to assist conservation; and
- have changed their management toward more conservation-oriented practices.
This strong relationship with adoption suggests that having a property management plan also reflects motivation to manage more sustainably.
Figure 54. Farms across Australia's rangelands with property management plans (1998-1999).
Product 15. Community attributes
Net migration of young Australians
Net migration of young Australians is the difference between the number of young people (15-24 years) moving into a particular area and the number of young people moving out (based on the 1991 and 1996 censuses). It is expressed as a proportion of the 1991 resident population and assists in understanding population changes. Net migration applies particularly to people at the beginning of their careers (most able to be mobile) and/or completing their education.
Young Australians display a high level of mobility with 20% having changed their place of residence at least once between 1991 and 1996. Rural and regional Australia has long experienced a decline in youth populations as young people seek employment and other opportunities offered by major cities and regional centres. Population mobility of young Australians is prominent across rangelands. Twice as many bioregions show net migration out as those showing net migration into rangelands. There is a significant net migration into the northern and western parts of the rangelands (Figure 55).
- Remote rangeland areas offer young people employment and travel opportunities. Employment is often seasonal in the pastoral, mining and tourism industries.
- Rangelands have a high proportion of Indigenous Australians who show a high degree of mobility.
Figure 55. Net migration of 15-24 year olds across Australia's rangelands (1996).
Population structure to age dependency ratio
The ratio of people in the dependent ages (under 15 and over 65 years) to those in the economically productive ages (15 to 65) is a measure of population structure. A comparison between bioregions and statistical local areas was not attempted for this attribute because it cannot be assumed that all three population subgroups (children, labour force, elderly) are distributed equally across statistical local areas.
Many remote areas of rangelands show low dependency ratios-well below the average for non-metropolitan Australia-indicating a population with few children and older people relative to people of working age (Figure 56).
Figure 56. Population structure to age dependency ratio (1996).
