BROAD FINDINGS FROM THE 2011 AGRICULTURAL CENSUS

Of Australia's 2.1 million active or trading businesses (source: Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, Jun 2007 to Jun 2011, cat. no. 8165.0), 135,000 (or 6%) of these recorded agricultural activity at 30 June 2011.

Farming businesses accounted for 53% of land use in Australia, with agricultural activity being undertaken on 410 million hectares of Australia's total land mass of 769 million hectares.

In 2010-11 Australia consumed 13,000 gigalitres of water (source: Water Account, Australia, 2010-11, cat. no. 4610.0) with farming businesses using 57% (or 7,600 gigalitres) of this.


COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS AGRICULTURAL CENSUS IN 2006......

There were 19,000 fewer farm businesses in 2010-11 than in 2005-06, a fall of 12% from the estimated 154,000 businesses with agricultural activity at 30 June 2006.

The area of farm holdings fell by 25 million hectares, or 6%, from 435 million hectares at 30 June 2006.


COMPARED TO 2005......

In the year of the last agricultural census, 2005-06, total national water use data was not recorded. In 2004-05 however, Australia consumed 18,000 gigalitres of water (source: Water Account, Australia, 2004-05, cat. no. 4610.0) and farms used 65% (or 12,200 gigalitres) of this.

Agricultural water use in 2010-11 was 38% less than in 2004-05.


FARM BUSINESSES IN 2011

• 74,000 had meat cattle
• 44,000 had sheep
• 35,000 made hay
• 25,000 grew wheat
• 8,900 had dairy cattle
• 5,800 grew vegetables for human consumption

HOW MANY IN 2011?

• 78 million meat chickens
• 73 million sheep and lambs
• 26 million meat cattle
• 27 million tonnes of wheat
• 25 million tonnes of sugar cane cut for crushing
• 8 million tonnes of barley
• 1 million tonnes of potatoes for human consumption
• 331,000 tonnes of onions
• 300,000 tonnes of apples
• 291,000 tonnes of oranges

OR IN OTHER WORDS......

• enough cattle nose to tail to go around the equator once
• enough sheep and lambs nose to tail to go around the equator twice
• enough wheat to make 39 billion loaves of bread, or 5.5 loaves for every person on the globe, or nearly 2,000 loaves for every person in Australia.