ABARES and ABS release outdated farm data

Data is everywhere but not when it comes to agriculture. Some statistics are years old before they are even released, prompting calls for reporting bodies to lift their game.

Outdated agricultural statistics are creating a data drought in Australian farming as industry leaders call for the nation’s reporting bodies to lift their game.

The two government agencies charged with keeping figures – ABARES and the Australian Bureau of Statistics – are releasing industry figures that are years old.

Some of the old data released includes:

AN ABARES Insights report out last month quoting land use figures from December 2023 and water consumption figures from 2021-22;

AN ABS broadacre crops report for 2023-24 published this Feburary, eight months out of date; and

AN ABS livestock report for 2022-23 released in July, 2024, 13 months out of date.

The reporting falls short of other countries such as the United States, where its Department of Agriculture released cattle inventory numbers on January 31, from data less than a year old, and its cropping summary for 2024 on January 10.

Agricultural data can be years old before being reported.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Brett Hosking questioned the relevance and usefulness of figures that were outdated.

“More up to date and accurate figures would be helpful to agriculture and help us to make decisions on our management,” Mr Hosking said.

“The technology is there for better information to be collected – data collection is in every aspect of our lives and farmers are not getting the benefit of that collection.”

Sheep Producers Australia chief executive Bonnie Skinner said ABS had not released an official flock number for the past two years and no longer sourced data directly from farmers.

“The ABS has moved away from direct data collection, ceasing the Agricultural Census and the Rural Environment and Agricultural Commodities Survey, citing declining response rates,” Ms Skinner said.

However the US continued to collect information directly from its producers, she said.

“For industry decision-makers, the lack of timely data is problematic as it hinders their ability to cross-check industry-generated forecasts and make informed strategic decisions,” she said.

There was also an impact for producers.

“While they (producers) may experience less digital fatigue from not being asked to provide frequent data updates, they also lose access to insights that could enhance their planning and operations,” she said.

Cattle Australia chief executive Chris Parker said any means of improving the accuracy and timeliness of agricultural statistics should be investigated.

“Accurate data is critical to the decision making of farmers, the supply chain and industry bodies,” Dr Parker said.

Cattle producers need up to date information according to Cattle Australia.

A spokeswoman for ABARES said it “takes time to produce high quality, official statistics”.

“Data cannot be collected until after the reference period, then it must be processed, quality assured, analysed to make sure that it reflects what happens in the real world, then published,” the spokeswoman said.

The spokesman said ABARES did release some statistics promptly, including its farmland price indicator, with the 2024 results expected to be released soon, as well as quarterly forecasts for agricultural production and value in the Agricultural Commodities Report and Australian Crop Report.

An ABS spokesman said his organisation and ABARES had been undergoing “significant modernisation” around the way agriculture statistics were produced.

“The benefits including more frequent regional data (annual rather than every five years) and hugely reduced reporting burden for farmers and agricultural businesses -97 per cent or 20,000 hours annually,” the spokesman said.

“As these new methods are refined and automated the release times of the publications will come forward.”

The spokesman cited the release of broadacre crop statistics in February this year, released nine months after the reference period, as an example of its quicker approach.