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The Australian agricultural industry

Any economy can be divided into three sectors:

Primary industry, which covers activities related to natural resources such as agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining
Secondary industry, which relates to goods production such as manufacturing, energy, construction
Tertiary industry, which relates to services such as banking, finance, insurance, retail, education, transport, information and communication services

The agricultural industry can be divided into three broad areas:

Production: the ‘growing’ side of the industry. The sectors include sheep and wool production, beef cattle, dairy cattle, grain production, fruit and vegetables etc.
Harvesting: the first stage of preparation for the market or consumer, eg shearing, wool handling and clip preparation.
Industry support: ie. support services such as rural merchandising, consultancy, financial planning, research and veterinary services

Agricultural production continues to play a major role in the Australian economy, with a gross value of $33.6 billion in 2001, with exports accounting for $8 billion.

Changes that are happening in agriculture include:

Developments in new ways of applying existing technologies
New production methods and technologies
Changes in consumer demands and expectations
Development of new market opportunities
Movement to ‘value adding’
Changes in world markets

The industry has responded to these changes by adapting to market and consumer demand and increasing production and efficiency through a greater use of mechanisation and new technologies.

As part of this process of change, farmer associations and industry training boards are seeking to raise the level of training of both on and off-farm workers.

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