At the beginning of 2017, BCG members had the opportunity to have their say on the products and services produced by BCG by completing a membership survey. The information we collected from this survey will help BCG better understand our members and improve our products and services into the future. A big thank-you to those who took the time to complete the survey.
Here is a snapshot of the results.
The Technical Bulletin and Season Research Results Manual were deemed the most useful BCG resources, with Main Field Day and Trials Review Day the most useful events.
BCG is now in the process of using these results to review our membership offering to ensure that we’re delivering timely and relevant products and services in your preferred formats.
The average age of members is 54 years, with the oldest and youngest surveyed member being 89 and 21 years old. Members surveyed on average have been working on the farm for 33 years, but the spread is from 70 years to less than a year.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the average age of a farmer in north west Victoria is 56, with 37 years on farm.
On average BCG members manage 3,279 hectares per farm business, which means that together, all BCG members manage approximately 1.3 million hectares. According to the ABS, there are currently a total of 2.64 million hectares cropped (broadacre) in north west Victoria with 1.1 million hectares cropped to wheat.
Fifty six per cent of members lease a portion of land (averaged leased land is 928ha) while 23 per cent of members sharefarm land (average sharefarmed land is 573ha).
BCG members manage property in eighteen different council areas, which includes West Wimmera, Buloke, Swan Hill, Yarriambiack, Hindmarsh, Horsham, Gannawarra, Mildura, Loddon, Northern Grampians, Murray River (formally Wakool), Ararat, Tatiara, Moyne, Pinnaroo, Campaspe, Wangaratta and Balranald. Thank you to members in the West Wimmera shire for completely the survey at the highest percentage.
All BCG members crop a portion of their farmland, with the average area being cropped 2,039 hectares. Fifty two per cent of members also have a hay program (average 307ha) and 59 per cent include pasture (average 730ha) in their system.
Seventy per cent of BCG members have sheep.
An average BCG member farm business has:
- One part time employee (0.7)
- One paid family member (0.9)
- One casual employee at some stage in the season (1.2)
- One unpaid family member (1.2)
Just under half of BCG members employ one full time member.
If at any time you have any suggestions or feedback for future member services and events, please don’t hesitate to contact BCG.
