The Australian Year of the Farmer, 2012, is shaping up to be a positive year for Australian farmers. With improved seasonal conditions across much of the country, favourable commodity prices and a forecast that the value of farm exports is expected to rise some six percent, this is a good time to be an Australian farmer. And the story of Australian agriculture refl ects this. The growth in the farm sector over the past 20 years has consistently outperformed other sectors, and was a key reason Australia avoided a recession during the global fi nancial crisis. Agriculture has an enormous uptake of.
