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. 2025 Jan 6;14:30555. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-81358-2

Table 1.

Demographic characteristics of the participants and some factors for transitioning away from dairy farming.

Variable Frequency Percent (%)
Gender Male 136 92.5
Female 11 7.5
Total 147 100.0
Age Under 25 years 1 0.7
25 to 34 years 7 4.8
35 to 44 years 17 11.6
45 to 54 years 37 25.2
55 to 64 years 50 34.0
65 years or more 35 23.8
Total 147 100.0
State New South Wales (NSW) 26 17.7
Victoria (VIC) 95 64.6
Queensland (QLD) 6 4.1
South Australia (SA) 9 6.1
Western Australia (WA) 1 0.7
Tasmania (TAS) 10 6.8
Total 147 100.0
Herd size* < 150 cows 18 12.2
151–300 cows 62 42.2
301–500 cows 39 26.5
501–700 cows 17 11.6
> 700 cows 11 7.5
Total 147 100.0
Openness to exploring any other agricultural alternatives to dairy farming No 67 45.6
Yes 80 54.4
Total 147 100.0
Any specific types of support or incentives from the Government to transition away from Dairy Farming No 103 70.1
Yes 32 21.8
Don’t know 12 8.2
Total 147 100.0
Financial and/or other support to remain in the industry No 61 41.5
Yes 86 58.5
Total 147 100.0
Financial and/or other support to transition into a different form of farming or business No 118 80.3
Yes 29 19.7
Total 147 100.0

* For herd size grouping, references on average herd size on Australian dairy farms were used43,49.