1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2003
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/01/2003
Page tools:
 Print Page
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cattle, sheep and pigs are the main livestock grown in Australia and have been present since the earliest days of white settlement. Table 16.42 provides an insight into the change in livestock numbers from 1861.
Cattle Cattle farming occurs in all states and territories. While dairy cattle are restricted mainly to southern and coastal districts, beef cattle are concentrated in Queensland and New South Wales. Table 16.43 shows the number of cattle by age, sex and purpose. Cattle numbers in Australia increased slowly during the 1960s and 1970s, despite seasonal changes and heavy slaughtering, to a peak of 33.4 million in 1976. Beef cattle production is often combined with cropping, dairying and sheep. In the northern half of Australia, cattle properties and herd sizes are very large, pastures are generally unimproved, fodder crops are rare and beef is usually the only product. The industry is more intensive in the south, with higher stocking rates per hectare, because the more favourable environment allows the development of improved pastures (see map 16.44). Drought conditions in the early 1980s led to a decline in the beef herd until 1984. For the next five years the size of the herd remained relatively stable. Between 1989 and 1998 cattle numbers increased gradually, despite unfavourable weather conditions continuing in many parts of Australia. After a slight decline in 1999, cattle numbers increased to 27.6 million in 2000. Table 16.45 shows the number of cattle by state and territory.
16.44 CATTLE FOR ALL PURPOSES, Excluding house cows - 31 March 1997(a) (a) This map has been generated using small area Agricultural Census data for 1996-97. Source: AgStats on Floppy Disk (7117.0).
Dairying Dairying is a major Australian agricultural industry. The estimate of gross value of dairy production at farm gate prices in 2000-01 was $3.1b (table 16.46). This represented 9% of the gross value of agricultural production in Australia and placed dairy production third behind beef and wheat. Table 16.43 shows that the number of milk cattle in 2000, at 3.1 million, was 2% less than in 1999. The entry of the United Kingdom, Australia's then largest market, into the European Union in 1973 forced the Australian dairy industry to develop new export trade links and become more internationally competitive. Dairy production Most dairy production occurs in high rainfall coastal fringe areas where climate and natural resources allow production to be based on year-round pasture grazing. This enables efficient, low-cost milk production. With the exception of several inland river schemes, pasture growth generally depends on natural rainfall. Feedlot-based dairying is expanding, although it remains uncommon in Australia. However, the use of supplementary feed, such as grains, has become more common throughout the industry in recent years. While Australian milk production had risen steadily up until 1999-2000, less favourable seasonal conditions and farm exits associated with deregulation of the milk industry saw production decrease by 3% to 10.5 billion litres in 2000-01 (table 16.46).
Domestic dairy market Average annual per capita milk consumption by Australians has stabilised at around 100 litres since the mid 1980s. However, there have been substantial changes in the types of fresh milk consumed, with fat-reduced and modified milks taking an increasing share of overall market milk sales. In 1998-99, Australians consumed 10.7 kg of cheese per person, the same as in 1997-98. Per capita milk consumption showed a slight decrease from 103.0 litres in 1997-98 to 102.4 litres in 1998-99 (see table 16.59). Sheep Sheep numbers reached a peak of 180 million in Australia in 1970. In general, numbers have fallen since then. Poor market prospects for wool after 1990 had a marked impact on the flock size with sheep numbers falling rapidly until 1995, after which there was a gradual decline until 1999 (tables 16.47 and 16.48). Preliminary data show that at 30 June 2001 Australia had approximately 111 million sheep and lambs. Map 16.49 shows the distribution of sheep and lambs in Australia at 31 March 1997.
16.49 SHEEP AND LAMBS, Distribution - 31 March 1997(a) (a) This map has been generated using small area Agricultural Census data for 1996-97. Source: AgStats on Floppy Disk (7117.0). Pigs Pig farming is a highly intensive industry. The majority of pigs are grown in specially designed sheds which provide a controlled environment conducive to the efficient production of large numbers of animals. The number of pigs decreased by 4% to 2.5 million in 1999-2000, while the number of establishments classified to pig farming fell slightly to 3,400. Recent changes in the Australian pig industry have seen many smaller producers leave the industry and existing producers increase their size of operations in an attempt to remain viable. As table 16.50 shows, New South Wales is the largest producer of pigs, followed by Queensland and Victoria.
Poultry Poultry farming is a highly intensive industry, with the majority of poultry raised in large sheds which provide the birds with a stable environment protected from the elements. The poultry farming industry consists of two streams, meat production and egg production, both being major users of feed grains. Although the industry has grown over recent years, there was a decline in 2000 with poultry numbers falling by 7% to 87.0 million birds (table 16.51).
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
