There is evidence that productivity in Australia’s broadacre agriculture (extensive cropping and livestock industries) has been slowing in the past decade. A series of poor seasons has been partly responsible, but an econometric analysis of structural changes in the trend of total factor...

More research is needed before we know the implications of climate change for Australian farms. Nevertheless given the information at hand, an assessment can be made of some early indicators. First, the severity of the recent drought was compared with earlier droughts. Second, the trend in...