4. Agricultural Crops

The total area devoted to agricultural crops in the MDB is 11 million hectares. This is 53 per cent of the Australian crop area of 20.6 million hectares and 12 per cent of the total farm area in the MDB. Major agricultural crops considered here are Cereals, Coarse Grains, Rice, Cotton, Hay, Legumes, Oilseeds, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, and the horticultural crops of Fruit, Grapes, and Vegetables.

The total gross value of production of agricultural crops in the Murray-Darling Basin in 2000-01 is $8.1 billion, which is nearly 60 per cent of the total gross value of agricultural production in the Basin. It is 51 per cent of the Australian gross value of agricultural crops of $15.9 billion (ABS 2001). For Australia as a whole, the gross value of production of agricultural crops is 51 per cent of the total gross value of agricultural production.

A large part of Australia ’s major arable farming area, long known as the wheat-sheep belt, is located within the Murray-Darling Basin . It extends from southern Queensland through New South Wales and Victoria (to the west and north of the Great Dividing Range) into South Australia (see figure 3). Much of the area has a mean annual rainfall of under 600 mm, its unreliable nature being a major determinant of crop yield. A large number of crops are grown in the MDB and it is possible to give detailed consideration here of only a few of them, namely wheat, barley, rice, oilseeds, cotton, and a number of horticultural commodities. Among the other crops grown are other cereals and pulses (such as lupins, field peas, chickpeas, lentils, mung beans, faba beans, navy beans, and vetch). Some of these crops are grown mainly for livestock feed, though others supply niche markets for human consumption, especially in the health foods sector.

Given that the livestock industries now consume almost one-third of all grain produced in Australia , feed grains to meet market requirements merit much more direct attention by local growers. Without such attention, the feed grain demand will be increasingly met by imports, as was the case during the recent drought.

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4.1 Cereals

Cereals are the major food crops of barley, oats, cereal rye, buckwheat, triticale, and wheat and are the major crops of the Basin. Cereals cover 7.8 million hectares (Figure 4) which is 8.5 per cent of the Basin’s agricultural land and some 7.5 per cent of the whole MDB. 47% of Australian cereal farms were within the MDB in 2001. Revenue from cereal crops in 2001 was $3.3 billion which is 24 per cent of the Basin’s agricultural production.

Figure 4. Cereals production in the MDB (Source: Bryan and Marvanek 2004)

Cereals are grown primarily for milling and human consumption, but also for stockfeed. For most growers, the sale of cereals for stockfeed is a fall-back position for grain that does not meet milling and human consumption standards.

A number of types of wheat are grown, depending upon soil and climatic conditions. On the Darling Downs of southern Queensland and adjoining areas in northern New South Wales , Prime Hard and Hard wheats are produced and used for flour, bread and noodles. Also grown in northern New South Wales is hard grained Durum wheat used for the making of pasta products. To the south, in the central-west of New South Wales and extending to the southern parts of the state, Hard and Australian Standard White (ASW) wheats are produced for flour and bread.

Barley is an important grain crop with others being maize, oats, rye, sorghum, and triticale in Australia . These are grown mainly for livestock feed, though some supply niche markets for human consumption. Barley is used for stock feed (often with other cereals) and malting for the production of alcoholic drinks. For feed, barley must have high protein and starch content (for intensive livestock production); for malting, it requires a lower protein range, but also a low moisture content at harvest and a 95 per cent or more germination capacity. Barley for malting is an important export commodity, especially from South Australia , due in part to the fact that barley can be grown on the lighter and more alkaline soils.

Associated with the on-farm production of cereals is an extensive collection, storage and transport network (road and rail) that is responsible for moving grain from the farms to markets within Australia and to storage terminals at ports for export overseas.

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4.2 Coarse Grains

Coarse grains consist of the grains and cereals such as grain sorghum, maize, millet and popcorn. The area devoted to coarse grains is about a half million hectares which is 0.6 per cent of the agricultural areas of the Basin (figure 5). Revenue from coarse grain is $2.3 billion which is nearly 2 per cent of the gross agricultural revenue of the MDB.

Figure 5. Production of Coarse Grains in the MDB (Source: Bryan & Marvanek 2004)

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4.3 Rice

The total Australian rice crop is grown in the Murray-Darling Basin . In the MDB, rice is grown across a total area of 176,000 hectares, producing 1.6 million tonnes and the crop was valued at $348.9 million in 2001. The majority of Australian rice (58 per cent in the years 2000 to 2003) is exported from Australia (ABS 2003).

Rice is the major irrigated cereal crop and, is grown in the New South Wales Riverina regions, such as Murrumbidgee and Coleambally Irrigation Areas and the Murray Valleys . A small amount of rice has recently been established in Victoria . 2,000 farming enterprises are growing rice in the Murray Darling Basin with an average farm size of 400 hectares (Ricegrower’s Association of Australia website, 2005).

The industry is regulated within NSW by having limitations on:

water use	no more than one third of each farm can grow rice in the Murrumbidgee Valley and a total hydraulic load limit of 4 megalitres per hectare in the Murray Valley. Industry targets also apply which when may lead to restrictions of future use.
soil type	rice can only be grown on approved 'heavy clay' soils that minimise seepage into water tables. More than three metres of heavy, continuous clay is required for unrestricted rice growing.
proximity to watercourses	rice crops cannot be grown within 150 metres of watercourse.
drainage quality	drainage schemes must meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards

*source: Ricegrower's Association of Australia website 2005

Commercial rice growing started in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area in 1924, but the industry’s rapid expansion occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, largely through the increase in the area sown and through improved yields (Humphreys et al. 1994; Lewis 1994). Once the rice has been grown, its storage, processing and marketing is almost entirely in the hands of the Ricegrowers Co-operative Ltd., which operates numerous facilities throughout the irrigation areas in the Murrumbidgee and Murray valleys (Figure 1).

The future expansion of the industry is affected by two factors. Firstly, as 85% of the crop is exported to more than 75 countries, access to overseas markets is crucial (Phillips et al. 1994). Secondly, there are resource constraints, mainly in terms of the availability of irrigation water, especially during the recent drought. There are also environmental consequences associated with rice growing. In particular, flood irrigation methods use large quantities of water, and the impacts of that need to be managed carefully.

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4.4 Cotton

The area under cotton in the MDB (in 2001) is 490,00 hectares, 93 per cent of the total Australian area of 527,000 hectares. Australian production of raw cotton is 806,000 tonnes, and it raised $1.2 billion revenue for the Basin. The major growing areas are along the Darling and especially its tributaries in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland (Figure 1).

Cotton is mostly (82.5 per cent) grown under irrigation. Limitations on the availability of irrigation water are contributing to an increase in the production of dryland cotton and also to the spread of irrigated cotton production to other parts of the MDB, such as along the lower Darling and Murrumbidgee rivers.

From the growth of the first crop in 1961-62 near Wee Waa in the Namoi Valley , cotton production has expanded rapidly to become one of Australia ’s major agricultural industries. It now makes a major contribution to the economies of the growing areas and to the Australian economy as a whole.

The area of cotton harvested varies from season to season depending upon rainfall and other factors. In 1997 there were 378,000 hectares harvested. This number had increased to 527,000 hectares in 2001 but had reduced to only 203,000 hectares in 2003 (ABS 1999, ABS 2003). In 2001, Australia accounted for about 6 per cent of world cotton production and our exports being valued at some $1.9 billion. By international standards, Australian cotton is of high quality.

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4.5 Hay

Hay production consists of cereals cut for hay or silage. The area devoted to coarse grains is 184,000 hectares which is 0.2 per cent of the agricultural areas of the Basin. Revenue from hay in the MDB is $80.5 million which is 0.6 per cent of the gross agricultural revenue of the MDB.

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4.6 Legumes

Legume production consists of chick peas, faba beans, field peas, lentils, lupins, mung beans, soybeans and vetches. The area devoted to legumes is 785,000 hectares which is 0.9 per cent of the agricultural areas of the Basin. Revenue from legumes in the MDB is $273.8 million which is 2 per cent of the gross agricultural revenue of the MDB.

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4.7 Oilseeds

A great variety of oilseed crops are grown, but the major ones, canola, cotton seed (a by-product of cotton fibre production), soybean, safflower and sunflower account for the vast majority of total production. Oilseeds cover 776,000 hectares which is 0.9 per cent of the agricultural land of the Basin. Oilseeds account for $357.7 million or 2.6 per cent of the agricultural revenue of the Basin. Oilseeds are grown mainly in parts of New South Wales , the Darling Downs in Queensland , and the Wimmera district in Victoria (Figure 4).

Canola is a particularly important crop and provides a dependable and valued rotation with wheat. The production of canola has increased rapidly over recent years and it is now the major oilseed crop, especially in the grain belt of Queensland and New South Wales . Production of oilseeds other than canola and cotton seed is highly variable, due to seasonal conditions and fluctuations in prices between years. New varieties of sunflowers and soybeans will result in some expansion, but there is still room for more, both for exports and to replace imports.

Oilseeds are crushed for their oil and meal. The meal is important for livestock feed, with soybean meal being more valuable than others. The unsaturated oils are used for human consumption. Total oilseed production for Australia exceeded 3 million tonnes in 2000/01, with major facilities located within the MDB at Narrabri, Moree, and Numurkah. However, the production in 2002/03 was 1.4 million tonnes, about half of the production two years earlier (ABS 2001 & 2003).

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4.8 Peanuts

Peanuts are a specific legume crop grown for human consumption and oil production. The area devoted to peanuts in the Basin is less than 1,900 hectares and the revenue gained from peanuts in the MDB is $2.5 million.

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4.9 Tree Nuts

Tree nut production consists of almonds, chestnuts, pecans, and pistachios. The area devoted to tree nuts is 6,400 hectares and the revenue gained from tree nuts in the MDB is $41.9 million.

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