Ag Mag | the agriculture newsletter

2007-08 AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES


On 22 May 2009, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released final estimates of the commodity data collected in the 2007-08 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) and vegetable production information collected as part of the user funded Vegetable Survey. The publication 2007-08 Agricultural Commodities (cat. no. 7121.0) provides details at national and state levels as well as at the NRM regional level which were released in attached datacubes.

Although the production of most major crops increased in 2007-08, after the lows of the previous drought-affected year, production was generally lower than for the previous five years. Lack of water for irrigation saw significant falls in cotton production and a near complete suspension of rice production in 2007-08. Continuing effects of drought and industry adjustment led to a general decline in livestock numbers with sheep and lamb numbers at their lowest level since 1920.

These data were collected from a sample of approximately 33,000 agricultural businesses. A copy of the ARM survey questionnaire was included in the March 2008 edition of Ag Mag.

For more information please contact Nigel Gibson on (03) 6222 5940.