Country towns: impact of farmers' expenditure on employment and population in Australian towns

Information on the expenditure patterns of farmers was collected as part of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics' 1999 Australian agricultural and grazing industries survey. Farmers were asked to estimate the proportion of their expenditure on certain farm and household goods and services that was spent in their local town and their regional centre. This article summarises the findings, and analyses the linkages between farmers' expenditure in country towns and employment and population in regional areas. The author concludes that small towns that are highly reliant on broadacre farming for their economic survival are most likely to be in decline.