@article{Malcolm:125940,
      recid = {125940},
      author = {Malcolm, Bill and Ho, Christie K.M. and Armstrong, Dan P.  and Doyle, Peter T. and Tarrant, Katherine A. and Heard,  J.W. and Leddin, C.M. and Wales, W.J.},
      title = {Dairy Directions: a decade of whole farm analysis of dairy  systems},
      journal = {Australasian Agribusiness Review},
      address = {2012},
      number = {1673-2016-136827},
      series = {Volume 20},
      pages = {20},
      year = {2012},
      abstract = {Making farm decisions is difficult, especially making  decisions about selling and pricing wheat in deregulated  supply chains. This study, conducted prior to export  deregulation, sought to identify which factors were  important to northern New South Wales (NSW) wheat growers  when they were making decisions about wheat selling and  price risk, under production and market uncertainty. Key  questions were about how they make these decisions and the  implications, particularly for larger-sized farmers,  merchants, end-users, bankers, advisors and trainers. The  research aim was to test the behaviour of users and  non-users of five selling methods and six pricing-hedging  strategies against eighteen management and seventeen risk  attitude-adoption questions. The findings from this  research will assist understanding of farmer  decision-making. Information about growers’ decision  processes on wheat selling and pricing will be helpful to  supply chain intermediaries and service personnel in  improving the targeting and alignment of growers. 

More  research is required on the cross-usage of different  selling-pricing methods, the interdependence between  discretionary costs of production and selling-pricing  decisions, how speculative storage compares with on-farm  rental storage of pre-sold product that integrates the  farmer with the supply chain, and how speculative storage  affects cash flow and debt repayment. 

Volume 20, Paper 2,  (pp. 11-38) 

The Aggregate Economic Benefits to the  Australian Beef Industry from the Adoption of Meat  Standards Australia: updated to 2010/11 +

Garry Griffith  and John Thompson

Meat and Livestock Australia and the  Cooperative Research Centre for Cattle and Meat Quality  funded a major R&D program in the mid 1990s to investigate  the relationships between observable beef and cattle  characteristics, cooking methods and consumer appreciation  of beef palatability. Out of this R&D program grew the Meat  Standards Australia (MSA) voluntary meat grading system  which was aimed primarily at providing an accurate  prediction of beef eating quality for the domestic market.  The MSA system commenced operations in 1999/2000. The gross  benefits associated with using the MSA system were  quantified by using data on the number of carcases graded  and certified, a survey of retailers and wholesalers based  on prices for MSA graded beef (3 star or better) versus  ungraded beef, and market reports of prices paid for MSA  quality cattle versus non-MSA quality cattle. 

Over the  period 2004/05 to 2010/11, beef consumers across Australia  were prepared to pay on average $0.30/kg extra for MSA  branded beef on a carcass weight equivalent basis to  guarantee tenderness. This beef is primarily sold through  independent butcher shops, although one of the major  supermarket chains has now started selling MSA branded  beef. The retailers kept about $0.06/kg and paid their  wholesale suppliers the remaining $0.24/kg to source MSA  compliant cattle and MSA graded carcasses. About $0.13/kg  was passed back to cattle producers on average. The  cumulative retail-level economic benefit of the MSA system  to 2010/11 is estimated to be around $523 million, with a  current annual benefit of around $77 million over the past  three years. After accounting for all the costs of  development and implementation, net benefits are at least  $200 million. 

Volume 20, Paper 2 (pp.39-58)


Dairy  Directions: A decade of whole farm analysis of dairy  systems

B. Malcolm, C.K.M. Ho, D.P. Armstrong, P.T. Doyle,  K.A. Tarrant, J.W. Heard, C.M. Leddin, W.J. Wales


Dairy  farm systems are complex and diverse. A decade ago, a dairy  research and development project, Dairy Directions, was  developed. In this program, the whole farm approach of farm  management economics was used to investigate questions  about options dairy farmers had to maintain and improve  profitability, to achieve their goals. Commencing in one  region of Victoria, with an initial focus on farm  decisions, the scope of the work evolved to identifying  gaps in scientific knowledge, contributing information to  public policy formation, and expanded to other regions. A  steering committee of farmers, related industry  representatives, scientists and farm economists proved the  key to success in this research process. 

In this paper,  the whole farm economics approach to farm systems research  is described and explained; in particular the role of using  information about response functions, risk, time and case  studies in answering questions about alternative farm  futures. The application and results of the whole farm  approach to a range of research questions about dairy  farming in Victoria is presented. As well as confirming the  known, findings have also identified unrecognized  dimensions, and challenged theory.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/125940},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.125940},
}