Turf QLD Industry Alert |ABS Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary, 2016-17

ABS Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary, 2016-17 

PRELIMINARY KEY POINTS

• 2016-17 was an exceptional year with above average yields and record production reported for many broadacre crops including barley, canola, oats and wheat.
• Wheat production rose by a third nationally to 30 million tonnes, while the area planted increased by 4%. Spring rainfall was above average in most states with cooler conditions contributing to higher yields.
• Similarly, above average rainfalls combined with the cooler conditions in grain growing regions of NSW and Victoria led to record high yields of barley of 2.8 tonnes per hectare.
• Despite increases in the majority of principle crops, sorghum production almost halved in 2016-17, down to 990,000 tonnes .The decline was driven by a reduction in the area planted in Queensland (Australia’s largest sorghum producing state) where a low sorghum price at the commencement of the season caused many farmers to choose to plant other broadacre crops.
• The meat cattle herd increased by 5% (1 million head) to 23 million head influenced by favourable seasonal conditions leading to readily available pasture and the continuation of the restocking of the beef herd seen in 2015-16.
• The number of dairy cattle declined again in 2016-17 with declines in herd numbers in Victoria (down 2% to 1.6 million head) and NSW (down 8% to 299,000 head).