Spatial Analysis of Viable Farms

An economically viable farm is defined as having the capacity to remunerate family labour at the average agricultural wage, together with a return of 5 per cent on non-land assets. There is however significant spatial heterogeneity among farms. In this paper we examine farm viability using a classification concept (Frawley and Commins, 1996). A spatial microsimulation approach is used to add a spatial component to a farm micro dataset. This dataset is then linked to a spatial micro dataset of households which allows for farm and nonfarm analyses within the same analysis. This dataset enables us to analyse the characteristics of the areas within which viable farms exist in addition to the farms themselves