Two-thirds of farmers in NSW say they are ready if a two-year drought was to hit and many are preparing to inject capital into their business, according to a new survey.
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Agri Insights, commissioned for the first time by the Commonwealth Bank, surveyed 1400 Australian farmers about their intentions in for the coming year and their drought management planning.
In NSW, 68 per cent of farmers say they are either prepared or very prepared for a two-year drought, consistent with the national result where 69 per cent said they were either prepared or very prepared for a two-year drought.
"The results show that farmers have reflected on the impact of the millennium drought in the 2000s and have strategies in place to deal with hardship. They are taking a longterm view, and focusing on increasing production efficiencies and improving their financial position," Commonwealth Bank general manager regional and agribusiness banking for NSW, Tim Harvey, said.
A growing focus for farmers is technology and innovation that will help them to become more efficient, helping them to deal with rising costs and shrinking profits.
As many as 30 per cent of NSW farmers plan to increase investment in fixed infrastructure, while another 8 per cent say they will invest in plant and equipment. Financially, more than a third (41 per cent) intend to spend more on farm inputs while 12 per cent say they intend to invest more in technology and innovation. Education and training expenditure will also increase for 13 per cent.
"NSW farmers are looking to get more out of their farms by upgrading equipment, updating infrastructure and improving their own skills through further training," Mr Harvey said.
"As skilled labour becomes more expensive, farmers are turning to new technology and equipment to increase enterprise productivity. This includes larger capacity farm machinery, remote water monitoring, livestock identification systems and site specific crop management."
Across the state, 6 per cent of winter grain growers intend to increase production. Cotton and beef are likely to contract in the next 12 months, with 39 per cent of cotton growers saying they intend to decrease production, and 4 per cent of beef producers planning to scale back.