The attribution of self amongst Australian family farm operators : personal responsibility and control

Consistent with trends in most Western countries, Australian agriculture has undergone an overall decline in the number of establishments with agricultural activity, although the decline commenced in the late 1960s, which is later than most nations. Similarly, the direct economic significance of agriculture has declined, with its contribution to national gross product just under 3%. The majority of Australian farm establishments are involved in broadacre production of beef, grain, and sheep (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 1999). However, there are also significant, regionally concentrated, cotton, rice, sugar, and dairy industries.Horticultural industries operate at the periphery of most urban centres. In more recent decades, these so-called "sunset" industries have been joined by "sunrise" industries, such as olive, venison, and wine production, and organic agriculture more generally. There has also been a recent upsurge in "diversification" into farm tourism and on-farm value-adding activities. Australian agriculture has always been export orientated, and currently exports about 80% of its annual agricultural production. Over 40% of all exports by value are accounted for by wheat, beef, wool, and wine, with just over one-third of all exports by value exported to Japan, the United States, China, and the United Kingdom (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade [DFAT], 2003). There are currently around 140000 establishments with agricultural activity in Australia, 93% of which remain family owned and operated (Martin, 1996; Tonts et al., 2004).