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KEY FIGURES
LAND USE ON FARMS, Australia, year ended 30 June 2017 |
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 | 2016-17 | Change since |
 |  | 2015-16 |
 |  | % |
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AGRICULTURAL BUSINESSES AND LAND AREA |
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Agricultural businesses (no.) | 88 073 | 2.8% |
Area of agricultural holdings ('000 ha) | 393 797 | 6.1% |
Total land area ('000 ha) (a) | 769 202 |  |
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LAND USE FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ('000 ha) |
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Land use for agricultural production | 372 721 | 8.5% |
Crops | 31 074 | 2.3% |
Grazing | 340 763 | 9.1% |
- Improved pasture | 35 567 | -4.5% |
- Other grazing land | 305 196 | 11.0% |
Forestry (b) | 774 | -12.5% |
- Plantation forest | 193 | -19.5% |
- Native forests | 581 | -9.9% |
Other agricultural purposes | 110 | -23.1% |
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Land not used for agricultural purposes | 15 447 | 6.2% |
- Land set aside for conservation/protection purposes | 7 420 | 7.3% |
- Other land not used for agricultural production | 8 027 | 5.2% |
(a) Total land area supplied by Geoscience Australia |
(b) Total area of Land used for forestry now includes the area of both Plantation and Native forests. |
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KEY POINTS
- Agricultural businesses operated across just over half (51%) of Australia's total land area during 2016-17.
- At 30 June 2017 there were 394 million hectares of agricultural land in Australia, a 6% increase on the previous year. Coinciding with this increase in agricultural land, there were 2,400 more agricultural businesses at 30 June 2017, a 3% increase on 2015-16 estimates.
- Favourable weather conditions across much of the country saw the area of land used for crops in Australia increase to 31 million hectares in 2016-17. The increase was driven by South Australia and Western Australia, up 8% and 4% respectively on last year's estimate. South Australia, in particular, saw a resurgence in agriculture production after a poor year in 2015-16 with record high yields for many crops and farmers taking advantage of the conditions by planting additional areas of crops.
- Of the 394 million hectares of land operated by agricultural businesses in Australia, 341 million hectares (or 87%) was used for grazing, a 9% increase when compared to 2015-16. An estimated 65,000 agricultural businesses (or 74%) of all agricultural businesses, reported grazing land, a 6% increase from the previous year.
- Queensland continues to be the largest contributor to the area of grazing land, with an estimated 129 million hectares of land used for grazing in 2016-17.
Grazing land area, hectares (millions), 2016-17
by National Resource Management Regions

Area set aside for Conservation or Protection purposes, hectares ('000), 2016-17
by National Resource Management Regions

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