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AgFutures brochure

Photograph of an orange farmer in the orchardProductive, competitive and sustainable farm businesses

AgFutures

AgFutures aims to assist farmers and farming communities make sense of the changes that will affect agriculture in the future and enable better long term decision making.

AgFutures will work with 12 agriculturally based communities per year until June 2012.

Number of Farmers

Graph showing the Number of farmers in 1976 compared with 2006. In 1976 there were nearly double the number of farmers in the age groups from age 15 to around 50. From the age 50 onwards, the number become closer.

Changes

Rural Victoria is undergoing profound change. Drought, climate change, increasing competition for natural resources and population change are shaping the future of farming and rural communities at a rapid rate.

Challenge

Robust and resilient farm communities are built on productive and competitive businesses and good social networks. There are real challenges ahead for rural communities in responding to and managing rapid change.

Opportunity

There is a need to ensure that farmers and their communities are supported to make the best possible decisions using the most up to date and relevant information when adjusting to change.

How?

AgFutures uses a variety of delivery methods such as information forums, interactive workshops, farm walks, bus tours, photo exhibitions and farmer stories. Each event is tailored to individual community needs and ensures that opportunities for discussion and ‘making sense’ of the information is provided.

Map of Victoria showing farm purchases and whether the buyer was local or non local

Information

Photo exhibition: “What climate change means to me

Photo exhibition: “What climate change mean to me.”

By providing information on the trends and drivers of change such as:

  • farm performance and outlook
  • rural population change
  • global markets
  • climate change
  • land use change
  • natural resource management
  • future farm technologies
  • energy

Results

Photograph of a Farm walk: building soil resilience in the face of climate change.

Farm walk: building soil resilience in the face of climate change.

By bringing farmers, service providers and government together to discuss information and change, there will be:

  • better informed decisions when responding to change
  • access to stronger and wider networks
  • better awareness of farm services available.

Further information

www.dpi.vic.gov.au/AgFutures

 

ISBN 978-1-74264-030-3 (print)

ISBN 978-1-74264-031-0 (online)