1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2004
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/02/2004
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Cattle, sheep and pigs are the main livestock grown in Australia and have been present since the earliest days of European settlement. Table 14.32 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 14.33 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 14.34). 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, and have increased only marginally since then, largely due to very dry conditions over much of Australia in 2002. Table 14.35 shows the number of cattle by state and territory.
14.34 CATTLE FOR ALL PURPOSES(a) - 30 June 2001(b)
(b) This map has been generated using Agricultural Census data at the Statistical Local Area level for 2000-01. Source: AgStats on GSP (7117.0.30.001) CD-ROM product 1996-97 to 2000-01.
Dairying Dairying is a major Australian agricultural industry. The preliminary estimate of gross value of dairy production at farm gate prices in 2001-02 was $3.7b (table 14.36). This represented 9% of the gross value of agricultural production in Australia and placed dairy production third behind beef and wheat. Table 14.33 shows that the number of milk cattle in 2002, at 3.1 million, was 3% less than in 2001. The article at the end of Agriculture - The Australian dairy industry traces the development of the industry and examines its recent performance. 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. Australian milk production rose steadily 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, before recovering to 11.3 billion litres in 2001-02 (table 14.36).
Domestic dairy market Average annual per capita milk consumption by Australians has stabilised at around 100 litres since the mid-1980s. According to Australian Dairy Corporation data, for the year ending December 2002, Australians consumed 97 litres of milk, 11.6 kilograms (kg) of cheese and 5.5 kg of yoghurt per person. Dairy exports In 2001-02, Australia exported 856,000 tonnes (net) of dairy products. This produce was valued at $3.2b (f.o.b.) which was 2.6% of total merchandise exports. 'Milk and cream and milk products (excluding butter and cheese)' contributed $1.82b while 'Cheese and curd' and 'Butter and other fats and oils derived from milk' brought in $1.03b and $0.3b respectively. 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 14.37 and 14.38). At 30 June 2002, Australia had approximately 106 million sheep and lambs. Map 14.39 shows the distribution of sheep and lambs in Australia at 30 June 2001.
14.39 SHEEP AND LAMBS, Distribution - 30 June 2001(a)
Source: AgStats on GSP (7117.0.30.001) CD-ROM product 1996-97 to 2000-01. 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 increased by 7% to 2.9 million in 2002, while the number of establishments classified to pig farming fell 7% to 3,200. 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 14.40 shows, New South Wales is the largest producer of pigs, followed by Victoria and Queensland.
Poultry Poultry farming is also 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 2002 with poultry numbers falling by 7% to 86.3 million birds (table 14.41).
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