APPENDIX - AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production
Water Consumption and water source
Reuse Water and irrigated land
As mentioned in the agriculture section of this publication, there are two different views of agriculture: an industry view and an activity view. This appendix examines the consumption of water by agricultural activities in Australia, as opposed to the industry view presented in the main text.
MAIN FINDINGS
- The gross value of irrigated agricultural production was $11.5 billion in 2009–10, a slight decrease from $12.0 billion in 2008–09. (Note: Gross value is not a proxy for the highest value water use).
- Water consumption by all agricultural activities was 7,359 GL in 2009–10, a 3% decrease from 2008–09 when it was 7,589 GL.
- All agricultural activities accounted for 55% of total Australian water consumption in 2009–10, which is slightly more than 2008–09, when they accounted for 54%.
- Dairy cattle grazing (868 GL or 12%) and cotton growing (852 GL or 12%) were the agricultural activities with the highest water consumption in 2009–10, followed by sugar cane (756 GL or 10%), fruit and nuts (655 GL or 9%) and cereal crops for grain or seed growing (568 GL or 8%).
- The area of irrigated agricultural land in 2009–10 was 1.84 million hectares, a 5% increase from 2008–09 when it was 1.76 million.
Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production
Estimating the value of agricultural production resulting from irrigation is difficult. This is because water consumed by crops comes from a variety of sources. In particular, rainwater, which is not included in the
Water Account Australia, is usually a component of the water consumed by irrigated crops, and the timing and location of rainfalls affect the amount of irrigation water required. Other factors such as evaporation also affect irrigation water requirements. These factors contribute to regional and temporal variations in the consumption of water for irrigation.
In addition, water is not the only input to agricultural production from irrigated land. Land, fertiliser, labour, machinery and other inputs are also used. Separating the contribution these factors make to total production is practically impossible with current data. Therefore, the estimates of the Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production (GVIAP) presented below attribute all of the gross value of production from irrigated land to irrigated agricultural production. GVIAP should not be used as a proxy for determining the highest value water uses.
GVIAP estimates for 2009–10 were derived from the ABS Agricultural Resource Management Survey, which collected information including area and production of crops, livestock numbers and products, area of crops/pastures irrigated and volume of water applied. The ABS also collects and publishes data on the value of agricultural commodities produced (see
Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia, 2009–10 (ABS cat no. 7503.0). Further details on the methods used to derive the estimates are presented in the Explanatory Notes of the publication
Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production, 2009–10 (ABS cat. no. 4610.0.55.008) and in the information paper
Methods of estimating the Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production (ABS cat. no. 4610.0.55.006).
The total gross value of irrigated agricultural production in 2009–10 was $11.5 billion compared to $12.0 billion in 2008–09, a 4% decrease (see table below). Vegetables were the largest contributor to the value ($2,385 million or 21%), followed by fruit and nuts ($2,242 million or 20%) and dairy production ($1,826 million or 16%).
The greatest decreases in GVIAP from 2008–09 to 2009–10 occurred in South Australia, from $1,635 million to $1,360 million (a 17% decrease) and Western Australia, from $846 million to $758 million (a 10% decrease).
Between 2008–09 and 2009–10 there were significant reductions in the GVIAP of dairy production (from $2,274 million to $1,826 million), vegetables (from $2,625 million to $2,386 million) and cereals for grain and seed (from $317 million to $143 million). Over the same time period the largest increase in GVIAP was for sugar (from $537 million to $750 million), while rice had the largest percentage increase (161%), from $34 million to $90 million.
Note that estimates of GVIAP are given in current prices; that is, estimates are valued at the commodity prices of the period to which the observation relates.
WATER CONSUMPTION, Agriculture, by activity (a) —2008–09 and 2009–10
GROSS VALUE OF IRRIGATED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION (a)—2008–09 and 2009–10 |
|
| AUSTRALIA | STATE AND TERRITORY 2009–10 |
Commodity groups | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT |
| $m | $m | $m | $m | $m | $m | $m | $m | $m | $m |
|
Cereals for grain and seed | 317 | 143 | 98 | ^ 8 | 30 | ^ 3 | np | 4 | np | np |
Total hay production | 170 | 192 | ^ 56 | ^ 58 | ^ 54 | ^ 18 | ^ 1 | 5 | ^ 1 | - |
Cotton | 620 | 664 | 394 | - | 271 | - | - | - | - | - |
Rice | 34 | 90 | 89 | - | ^ 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
Sugar cane | 537 | 750 | np | - | np | - | - | - | - | - |
Other broadacre crops | 87 | 116 | np | * 2 | np | * 1 | np | 85 | np | - |
Fruit and nuts | 2 390 | 2 242 | 289 | 732 | 700 | 260 | 150 | 73 | 39 | - |
Grapes | 1 200 | 1 069 | 163 | ^ 367 | ^ 31 | 376 | * 109 | ^ 18 | np | np |
Vegetables for human consumption and seed | 2 625 | 2 386 | 286 | 511 | 721 | 393 | 253 | 202 | np | np |
Nurseries, cut flowers and cultivated turf | 983 | 1 037 | 241 | 324 | 261 | 49 | 133 | 21 | 6 | 2 |
Dairy production | 2 274 | 1 826 | ^ 341 | ^ 906 | ^ 178 | ^ 141 | ^ 65 | 195 | - | - |
Production from meat cattle | 455 | 608 | 108 | ^ 185 | 216 | ^ 49 | ^ 18 | 33 | - | - |
Production from sheep and other livestock | 201 | 362 | ^ 69 | ^ 159 | * 1 | ^ 71 | ^ 26 | 36 | - | - |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total GVIAP | 11 953 | 11 485 | 2 147 | 3 254 | 3 224 | 1 360 | 757 | 671 | 69 | 3 |
|
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
na not available
^ estimate has a relative standard error of 10% to less than 25% and should be used with caution
* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution |
(a) Gross value in current prices |
Note that there was a slight revision to the methodology used to estimate GVIAP for livestock (dairy, meat cattle, sheep and other livestock) in 2009–10, so the movements in these estimates between 2008–09 and 2009–10 should be treated with caution. See the Explanatory Notes in the ABS publication
Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production, 2009–10 (ABS cat. no. 4610.0.55.008) for more details.
For a full time series of GVIAP data from 2000–01 to 2008–09 (for all Sates and Territories), plus Murray–Darling Basin and Natural Resource Management (NRM) region data from 2005–06 to 2008–09, see the ABS publication
Experimental Estimates of the Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production, 2000–01 to 2008–09 (ABS cat. no. 4610.0.55.008). Note that the changes in the livestock methodology (described above) will be reflected in a revised GVIAP time series to be published in 2012.
Water Consumption
The agricultural activity with the highest water consumption in 2009–10 was dairy cattle grazing (868 GL or 12% of total consumption for Australia), followed by cotton growing (852 GL or 12%) and sugar cane growing (756 GL or 10%) (see table below). The activity with the largest increase in water consumption from 2008–09 to 2009–10 was rice growing (143%).
WATER CONSUMPTION, Agriculture, by activity—2008–09 and 2009–10 |
|
| AUSTRALIA | STATE AND TERRITORY 2009–10 |
Commodity groups | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT |
| ML | ML | ML | ML | ML | ML | ML | ML | ML | ML |
|
Cereals for grain/seed | 829 495 | 567 821 | 393 865 | 31 762 | 112 499 | 6 621 | 15 533 | np | np | np |
Hay production(a) | 547 790 | 551 170 | 183 232 | 136 997 | 116 184 | 86 581 | np | np | 3 263 | - |
Pastures for seed | 182 055 | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
Cotton | 880 003 | 851 950 | 468 843 | - | 383 107 | - | - | - | - | - |
Rice | 101 474 | 246 909 | np | np | np | - | - | - | - | - |
Sugar cane | 761 086 | 756 317 | np | - | np | - | - | - | - | - |
Other broadacre crops | 147 042 | 139 292 | 42 314 | np | 32 416 | 3 175 | 20 879 | 34 616 | np | - |
Fruit and nuts | 635 103 | 654 663 | 116 531 | 259 716 | 122 668 | 103 372 | 36 519 | 7 649 | 8 208 | - |
Grapes | 575 095 | 515 484 | 150 580 | 155 293 | 16 279 | 174 513 | 14 019 | np | np | 69 |
Vegetables for human consumption and seed | 457 348 | 419 229 | 68 528 | 93 797 | 87 576 | 73 272 | 50 315 | 44 322 | 1 395 | 25 |
Nurseries, cut flowers and cultivated turf | 69 377 | 63 483 | 18 488 | 11 247 | 18 438 | 2 880 | 10 783 | 896 | 610 | 142 |
Dairy cattle(b) | 773 545 | 868 294 | 109 942 | 500 519 | 53 625 | 84 202 | 28 856 | 91 120 | 29 | - |
Meat cattle(b) | 455 937 | 498 506 | 85 154 | 208 876 | 93 538 | 39 419 | 40 117 | 31 324 | 78 | - |
Sheep/other livestock(b) | 289 041 | 354 803 | 104 804 | 88 364 | 7 555 | 90 695 | 20 506 | 42 846 | 32 | - |
Other agricultural water use(c) | 824 909 | 762 716 | 201 820 | 139 366 | 213 380 | 60 291 | 88 207 | 23 413 | np | 232 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total(d) | 7 588 682 | 7 358 756 | 2 204 243 | 1 644 108 | 2 037 251 | 772 283 | 340 265 | 305 366 | 54 634 | 607 |
|
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells) |
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated. |
(a) Includes pasture for silage. |
(b) Irrigated land used for grazing. |
(c) Includes livestock drinking water and dairy and piggeries cleaning. |
(d) Total includes pastures or crops not classified elsewhere. |
na not available |
Water Source
The agricultural activities with the highest self-extracted water consumption in 2009–10 were dairy cattle grazing (433 GL), 'other' agricultural water use (which includes livestock drinking water and dairy and piggeries cleaning) (382 GL), sugar cane growing (323 GL) and cotton growing (310 GL) (see graph and table below). The activity with the highest distributed water consumption was cotton growing (530 GL), which was one of the few activities that consumed more distributed water than self-extracted, the others being fruit and nut growing, grape growing, rice, other broadacre crops, and nurseries, cut flowers and cultivated turf growing.
WATER CONSUMPTION, Agriculture, by activity and water type(a)
— 2009–10
WATER CONSUMPTION, Agriculture, by activity and water type— 2009–10 |
|
| Self-extracted | Distributed | Reuse | Total |
Commodity groups | ML | ML | ML | ML |
|
Cereals for grain/seed | 309 955 | 248 031 | 9 835 | 567 821 |
Hay production(a) | 307 155 | 219 808 | 24 207 | 551 170 |
Pastures for seed | - | - | - | - |
Cotton | 309 627 | 530 126 | 12 197 | 851 950 |
Rice | 99 981 | 144 214 | 2 713 | 246 909 |
Sugar cane | 322 520 | 420 544 | 13 253 | 756 317 |
Other broadacre crops | 47 361 | 89 904 | 2 026 | 139 292 |
Fruit and nuts | 207 740 | 442 666 | 4 257 | 654 663 |
Grapes | 151 418 | 361 985 | 2 082 | 515 484 |
Vegetables for human consumption and seed | 233 630 | 173 685 | 11 915 | 419 229 |
Nurseries, cut flowers and cultivated turf | 26 014 | 34 081 | 3 387 | 63 483 |
Dairy cattle(b) | 432 866 | 413 762 | 21 666 | 868 294 |
Meat cattle(b) | 248 518 | 237 550 | 12 439 | 498 506 |
Sheep/other livestock(b) | 176 878 | 169 072 | 8 853 | 354 803 |
Other crops | 76 827 | 30 559 | 734 | 108 119 |
Other agricultural water use(c) | 381 837 | 377 250 | 3 629 | 762 716 |
| | | | |
Total volume applied(d) | 3 332 327 | 3 893 236 | 133 194 | 7 358 756 |
|
(a) Includes pasture for silage. |
(b) Irrigated land used for grazing. |
(c) Includes livestock drinking water and dairy and piggeries cleaning. |
(d) Total includes pastures or crops not classified elsewhere. |
Reuse Water
Reuse water consumption for all agricultural activities in 2009–10 was 133 GL (see table above) which was 25% higher than in 2008–09, when reuse water consumption was 106 GL. The agricultural activities consuming the most reuse water were hay production (24 GL), dairy cattle grazing (22 GL) and sugar cane growing (13 GL). There were large decreases in the consumption of reuse water for cotton growing (11 GL), and grape growing (5 GL) between 2008–09 and 2009–10 (graph below).
REUSE WATER CONSUMPTION, Agriculture, by activity—2008–09 and 2009–10
Irrigated Land
The area of irrigated agricultural land increased from 1.76 million hectares in 2008–09 to 1.84 million hectares in 2009–10 (see table below), a 5% increase. There were increases in all irrigated commodity groups except for grapes, cereals for grain/seed and vegetables for human consumption and seed. The largest absolute increase in the area of irrigated land was in sheep/other livestock from 88,700 hectares in 2008–09 to 141,300 hectares in 2009–10. The largest absolute decrease in the area of land irrigated was for cereals for grain/seed, from 292,700 hectares in 2008–09 to 217,600 hectares in 2009–10.
AREA IRRIGATED CROPS AND PASTURES, by activity—2008–09 and 2009–10 |
|
| AUSTRALIA | 2009–10 |
Commodity groups | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas. | NT | ACT |
| '000 ha | '000 ha | '000 ha | '000 ha | '000 ha | '000 ha | '000 ha | '000 ha | '000 ha | '000 ha |
|
Cereals for grain/seed | 292.7 | 217.6 | 151.5 | 18.7 | 37.1 | 5.1 | np | 3.8 | np | - |
Hay production | 156.5 | 192.2 | 58.2 | 62.5 | 38.4 | 24.4 | np | np | 0.3 | - |
Pastures for seed | 39.7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Cotton | 141.9 | 153.2 | 80.1 | - | 73.1 | - | - | - | - | - |
Rice | 7.2 | 18.9 | np | np | np | - | - | - | - | - |
Sugar cane | 191.9 | 212.6 | np | - | np | - | - | - | - | - |
Other broadacre crops | 51.8 | 59.1 | 21.1 | np | np | 1.4 | 3.0 | 17.1 | np | |
Fruit and nuts | 128.0 | 134.2 | 26.5 | 45.6 | 33.6 | 14.9 | 7.5 | 3.1 | 3.2 | - |
Grapes | 172.3 | 162.6 | 37.2 | 38.1 | np | 71.9 | 11.2 | 1.3 | np | 0.1 |
Vegetables for human consumption and seed | 104.6 | 104.3 | 14.8 | 25.2 | 29.4 | 11.8 | 8.0 | 14.6 | 0.7 | - |
Nurseries, cut flowers and cultivated turf | 12.9 | 13.1 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 1.2 | np | np | - |
Dairy cattle(a) | 221.7 | 229.5 | 37.0 | 131.7 | 15.9 | 13.3 | 5.7 | 25.9 | - | - |
Meat cattle(a) | 133.0 | 171.4 | 40.4 | 70.1 | 30.5 | 10.1 | 6.8 | 13.5 | - | - |
Sheep/other livestock(a) | 88.7 | 141.3 | 55.6 | 39.1 | 4.3 | 22.2 | 3.4 | 16.6 | - | - |
Total irrigated land(b) | 1 760.8 | 1 840.6 | 550.0 | 440.7 | 502.6 | 186.5 | 50.8 | 104.8 | 5.0 | 0.2 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total agricultural land(c) | 409 028.7 | 398 580.2 | 58 548.0 | 12 851.5 | 129 667.6 | 45 747.0 | 94 391.5 | 1 647.4 | 55 686.8 | 40.5 |
|
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
np not available for publication bit included in totals where applicable unless otherwise indicated. |
(a) Irrigated land used for grazing. |
(b) Total includes pastures or crops not classified elsewhere. |
(c) Total area of all agricultural holdings. Note that not all land on agricultural holdings is used for agricultural purposes. |
The following graph shows the increases in area irrigated in Australia from 1920 to 2010. There are some gaps in the data series, however it can be seen that the area irrigated increased steadily from 1955 to 2006. There is a noticeable decrease from 2007 due to the effects of the drought leading to reduced water availability.
AREA IRRIGATED, Australia—1920-2010