4610.0.55.007 - Water and the Murray-Darling Basin - A Statistical Profile, 2000-01 to 2005-06

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/08/2008 First Issue

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Contents >> Agriculture in the Murray-Darling Basin >> Introduction

INTRODUCTION

The previous chapter provided details of water use by various industries, with a strong focus on agricultural water use. This chapter discusses other aspects of agricultural activity in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB).

The chapter covers the following topics:

the importance of agriculture in the MDB for Australia's food production;
changes in Exceptional Circumstances declared areas over time;
production of selected crops, and changes over time;
irrigated and non-irrigated agriculture in the MDB;
the location of irrigated production in the MDB; and
the economic contribution of irrigated and total agricultural production.

Most of the data in this chapter are from the ABS Agricultural Censuses for 2000-01 and 2005-06 which collected information from Australian farmers on the areas and production of agricultural commodities. Additional information for this chapter is drawn from the ABS Apples and Pears Surveys of 2000-01 and 2005-06, and the ABS Vineyards Surveys of 2000-01 and 2005-06. Information for Exceptional Circumstances declared areas has been provided by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), and from the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS).