October 11, 2006

Incomes of Australia's dairy farmers heading up

While Australian beef farmers are resigned to lower profits this year, dairy farmers are seeing rising incomes, a new report from the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE) indicated.

Average cash income for the dairy farm would be rising by 25 percent this year to US$102,000.

The annual survey also found that most farms have recovered from the 2002-2003 drought.

ABARE's spokesman Colin Mues noted that farmers have benefited from higher milk prices. Strong demand amidst steady milk production for the past five years has led to price increases, he added.