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Environment and Farm Management
Program Overview
Objective: To foster agri-industry systems that have sufficient diversity, flexibility and robustness to be resilient and respond to challenges and opportunities Research Manager: Dr George Wilson, Phone: 02 6281 2160, Fax: 02 6285 1195, Email: georgewilson@awt.com.au Research Budget: $472,250	2005-06 Program Details 2006-07 Program Details Key Performance Indicators
Background	Key Long Term Strategies
The Environment and Farm Management Program (EFM) was formed in 2004 from the former Resilient Agricultural Systems Program (RAS). RAS historically sponsored research and development into ways that farm-based agribusiness systems can be made both sustainable and more profitable. The EFM also supports innovative commercial opportunities, particularly those involving the conversion of liabilities into assets. It focuses on issues that cross a number of sectors. More recently EFM has focussed on environmental management systems (EMS) and frontier technologies. A key cross sectoral issue for Australian agriculture is declining terms of trade. Global production is growing faster than global demand contributing to a continuing cost-price squeeze. Australian producers are forced to make further efficiency and productivity gains. Nevertheless there are limits to increasing output as a means of reducing costs. Australia is likely to remain a price taker in sales of bulk commodities. Producers need to differentiate their products and to the extent they can, become price setters rather than price takers. Agriculture is also a declining as proportion of the Australian economy. It is now only <3% of GDP, but still 20% of Australia’s total export value. GVP ranges from $40b in good seasons to $30b in drought years. 64 percent is exported. The Australian food and beverage industry including processing is growing at six percent per year and worth $109b.	Focus on practical solutions to environment and farm management problems that cross industry sectors Support innovative production and frontier technologies which can be incorporated into farm systems Improve the scope for multiple resource use and reductions in resource waste Identify and encourage environmental management that meets market demand
	Key Performance Indicators
	Adoption of practical solutions across industry sectors that address environment and farm management problems affecting sustainability Incorporation into farm systems of innovative and productive frontier technologies Multiple resource use across industry sectors and reduction in resource waste Market demand for the adoption of EMSs and subsequent implementation on farms as a management tool