4627.0 - Land Management and Farming in Australia, 2012-13 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/06/2014   
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SOIL MANAGEMENT



In 2012-13:

  • In Australia, approximately 22,300 agricultural businesses (or 17% of all agricultural businesses) reported using some type of soil enhancer on their agricultural land, covering an area of 3.8 million hectares.
  • The most common type of soil enhancer used was lime and/or dolomite, with around 58% of agricultural businesses using soil enhancer applying those types. This was followed by gypsum and compost, with 28% and 18% of agricultural businesses using soil enhancers applying these types respectively.
  • Lime and/or dolomite were applied to 1.8 million hectares of agricultural land, which was 47% of the total area to which soil enhancers were applied. Around 981,000 hectares of this was in Western Australia, representing approximately 55% of the area to which lime and/or dolomite were applied.
  • The use of biochar as a soil enhancer was not reported as a common activity, with application to only 12,400 hectares across Australia, accounting for less than 1% of the total area of soil enhancer use.


SOIL ENHANCER USE, Australia, year ended 30 June 2013

2012-13
Movement since
2011-12 (a)
ha
%
Compost
369 061
31
Green manure
122 777
66
Mulch
59 935
108
Lime and/or dolomite
1 783 155
3
Gypsum
898 967
0
Biochar
12 394
23
Other soil enhancers
529 387
-22
(a) 2011-12 figures for calculating percentage changes are sourced from Agricultural Resource Management Practices, Australia, 2011-12 (cat.no. 4630.0)