First published in Farm Weekly
Australian farmers are on track to notch up a record haul for the 2025/26 financial year with output forecast to crack the $100 billion threshold for the first time.
In a statement in March, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) said the national farming sector could expect to book $101.4 billion of gross production value over the period, rising to $107.4 billion including fisheries and forestry.
The bumper result underscores “the strength of Australia’s primary industries”, the ABARES release says.
Hamish McIntyre, National Farmers Federation (NFF) President, was similarly bullish, describing the production milestone as a “landmark moment for Australian agriculture”.
The $100 billion milestone also comes four years ahead of an aspirational 2030 target date that the NFF first laid down in 2018: at the time Australian annual agricultural output was in the order of just $60 billion.
“But it’s important to remember, our target has never been just about chasing a headline number,” McIntyre said. “It is underpinned by a detailed roadmap that places farmer wellbeing, sustainability and natural capital alongside productivity and profitability.”
If focused planning played a large part in the Australian farming growth story over the last eight years, dedicated implementation was equally important.
According to McIntyre, success on his own farm, and agriculture in general, was built on the ability to take “risk, adapt, innovate and diversify”.
Those principles apply just as well to managing finances. As the recent ABARES data shows, Australian farmers have seen a rapid income rise over a relatively short time period in an undoubtedly positive trend but it comes with financial questions too.
What’s the best use of surplus income? Pump more money into the farm business? Retire loans? Take on more debt? Maximise superannuation contributions? Invest in off-farm assets for diversification and retirement planning purposes?
How do you take risk, adapt, innovate and diversify in an investment portfolio to build long-term wealth?
These are all good questions. We hear them every day. And the answers depend on a wide range of individualised and family factors that our professional financial advice process is designed to uncover.
Australian farmers can rightly celebrate reaching the $100 billion annual production mark; it’s a remarkable achievement even if the 2025/26 figure may represent a peak for the time-being.
Jared Greenville, ABARES executive director, said in the release that “we’re expecting production to ease in 2026-27” to $95 billion.
The forecast 6 per cent drop would leave Australian farm income high “relative to recent years”, according to ABARES, but it’s an outcome still worth planning for.
If you are interested in learning more about how financial advice and wealth management can protect your farm and family’s future, chat to your Integro adviser today. If you are not an existing client, get in touch via email at: [email protected].
You can also grab yourself a copy of Farm Weekly to read more insights from our Managing Partner, Justin Gilmour, every fortnight.
