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🌾 Where Have All the Farmers Gone?

Farmer harvesting crops and weeding on farm in front of vast farmland

Not that long ago, almost every rural town in Australia was built around farming families. Multiple generations caring for the same land and feeding their local communities.

Fast forward to today, and many of those farms are gone.

Australia now has significantly fewer farmers than it did just a few decades ago, and the ones still hanging on are under more pressure than ever. While supermarket shelves stay full and shiny, life on the land has become tougher, riskier, and far less secure.

Let’s talk about why…

📉 Fewer Farmers, Bigger Farms

Australia’s agricultural landscape has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Between 1999–2000 and 2022–23, the number of broadacre and dairy farm businesses fell by around a third, even as some sectors remain productive.

This doesn’t mean food production has collapsed (it hasn’t), but it does mean that small and mid-sized family farms are being lost or absorbed into much larger operations. That’s part of why fewer farmers now manage more land, and why farming is becoming less of a family affair and more of a corporate-scaled business.


💸 Rising Costs and Tight Margins

One of the biggest pressures on farmers is economic stress; inflation, input costs, and industry pricing squeezing profits year after year. Surveys show that a majority of farmers rank economic conditions as their top challenge, above even weather and climate concerns.

These financial pressures make it harder for farming families to stay on the land, invest in the next generation, or innovate in ways that support long-term sustainability.


🌦️ Climate Change: Making Farming Tougher

If money pressures weren’t enough, the weather is changing in ways that make farming harder, unpredictable, and riskier and climate change is a big reason why.

Australian farmers are now facing more frequent and extreme weather events (unusual rain patterns, prolonged droughts, heatwaves, and floods) that make planning and growing crops much less predictable. In a major industry survey, 57% of farmers said climate change is the greatest threat to Australian agriculture.

More extreme and unpredictable seasons mean:

  • Growing seasons that start late or end early
  • More pests, diseases, and heat stress on crops and livestock
  • Infrastructure damage from floods or fires
  • More cost and risk with every planting decision

Climate shifts have even reduced average farm profits over recent decades, with some modelling finding impacts in the tens of thousands of dollars per farm each year, simply due to changing seasonal conditions.

When the climate stresses farms this much, it becomes harder for smaller operators to stay afloat and easier for them to sell or walk away.


👩🌾 Burnout, Succession, and the Human Side

Farming isn’t your average 9-to-5… It’s a way of life, a family legacy, and often everything a person has ever known. When low margins, weather volatility, and long hours collide, what was once a dream becomes a grind.

This human toll shows up in farm succession stories, with many young people choosing careers off the land because the financial risk and uncertainty simply feel too heavy. As older generations of farmers head into retirement, younger generations are choosing not to take over due to the high-stress associated with farming in Australia today. 


🚜 Why Regenerative Farming Is More Important Than Ever

Here’s where the story turns hopeful. 

Regenerative farming is about practical, proven approaches that help farms stay viable in an uncertain world.

Regenerative farmers focus on:

  • Rebuilding soil health, which boosts resilience to drought and heat.
  • Diversifying crops and livestock.
  • Building biodiversity, making ecosystems stronger.
  • Working with natural patterns, not against them.

These practices help farms stay alive and financially functional in the face of climate pressures and economic uncertainty. When you support regenerative farmers, whether by buying their produce or advocating for food system change, you’re voting for:

✅ More resilient farms
✅ Richer soils and healthier ecosystems
✅ Stronger rural communities
✅ A future food system that nurtures farmers and the land


🥚 Small Farms = Stability & Better Food Security

One thing we don’t talk about enough is how small family farms tend to be far more stable than large commercial operations. 

Nick from Belvedere Farm recently shared a really powerful example with their egg pricing: 

When there was an unprecedented egg shortage, big commercial egg producers used it as an opportunity to push prices way up. The extra profits were then poured into expanding their operations. Fast forward to not long after and suddenly there were too many eggs on the market. With oversupply and falling prices, factory farms were forced to cull hens early because they couldn’t sell the eggs, which lead straight back into another shortage.

It’s a vicious cycle… the rollercoaster of industrial farming.

Meanwhile, small local farms like Belvedere and Echo Valley Farm stayed steady the whole time. No massive spikes. No sudden crashes. Just consistent production and fair, stable pricing.

That stability isn’t an accident. Small farms aren’t chasing huge volumes or locked into corporate contracts. They grow to suit their land, their animals, and their community, which creates reliability for both farmers and customers.

It also plays a huge role in food security. When most of our food comes from a handful of massive factory farms, outbreaks of disease, extreme weather, or supply disruptions can have a huge ripple effect. If one big supplier goes down, it can impact shelves across the country.

But when food comes from lots of smaller farms, the system becomes far more resilient. If one struggles, others can still supply. That system is what keeps food flowing and gives us the chance to actually know the people growing it. And in a world where food prices and supply feel more unpredictable than ever, that kind of stability really matters.


🍎 What You Can Do (Without Becoming a Farmer Yourself)

You don’t have to grow crops or become a cow whisperer to make a difference. Here’s how you can help:

  • Choose local, organic and regenerative produce where you can
  • Learn about who grows your food and how
  • Support policies that value healthy farming systems
  • Talk about these issues with friends and the community

Small choices add up, and when we all lean into a food system that values care over convenience, we help keep farmers on the land and the land healthy for the next generation.


📚 References

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