Australian Natural Resources Atlas

Natural Resource Topics

Agriculture - Sheep/Wool Industry - High Rainfall Zone

High Rainfall Zone

Benchmarking Rural Industries' Practices and Productivity Performance and Review of Industries' Capacity to Change

Where are sheep and wool produced in the High Rainfall Zone?

The sheep and wool industry's High Rainfall zone stretches from about Cairns, around the east coastal areas of Australia to south east South Australia. Sheep graze over 4 690 982hectares in this zone. Pastures used in this zone are both improved and native, depending on location. Localised areas throughout the zone Australia irrigate their pastures. The following map represents the distribution of sheep within this zone.

Map of region

How many sheep and how much wool does the High Rainfall Zone produce?

In 1997, the statistics on sheep and wool production in this zone were:

Between 1987 and 1994, sheep and wool production in this region has decreased by 2 million head and 12 659 tonnes as shown in the graph below.

Sheep and wool production

What land and water resources are used for sheep and wool production in the High Rainfall Zone?

The High Rainfall Zone lies across a number of climatic zones. Predominantly, production areas are within the dry subtropical and temperate climatic zone, which has a moderate degree of variability in temperature extremes with high variability in the cooler regions to the south of the continent. For more information on the climate of this region, see the Bureau of Meteorology web site.

As at 1999, the pasture composition within the sheep and beef High Rainfall Zones comprised of the following:

The sheep and wool industry in this zone utilises near 4.7 million hectares or 5.5% of the total area utilised by the industry for sheep and wool production.

What are the key characteristics of sheep and wool producers and farms in the High Rainfall Zone and how do they compare with industry averages?

Key characteristics of sheep and wool producers and farms in this region include:

Region

Key characteristics

 Industry Average High rainfall
Age of owner/manager 54 years 52 years

Owner/manager education and skill

  • Completed university/tertiary or trade
  • Completed 5-6 years high school
  • Completed 1-4 years high school
  • Primary or no schooling
31%
23%
38%
8%
33%
21%
37%
9%
Family members working on farm 63 hr/wk 61 hr/wk
Owner manager work on farm 42 hr/wk 43 hr/wk
Number of dependent children 1.0 0.9
Farm cash income ($) 12 446 10 402
Total farm debt - June 30 ($) 134 698 158 062
Farm business profit ($) - 31 183 - 25 761
Total off farm income ($) 19 667 14 960
Owner work off farm 5 hr/wk 5 hr/wk
Area operated - June 30 7 561 ha 899 ha

Farm ownership/tenure

  • Freehold
  • Long term crown lease
19%
79%
73%
11%
Employment of non-family labour 19 hr/wk 19 hr/wk
Landcare membership 47% 57%
Length of group involvement 6 years 6 years

Producers in this zone have education levels and work hours on farm equal to industry average. Their farm debt levels are higher than the industry average, they have negative business profit and lower than industry average off-farm income. Their holdings are much smaller than industry average and on generally freehold land. Landcare group membership levels are higher than industry average. These combination of attributes suggest that the industry in this region has some capacity to implement change, but financial considerations and holding size will need to be taken into account due to high debt levels and economies of size constraints.

What environmental challenges face the sheep and wool industry in the High Rainfall Zone?

The proportion of sheep and wool farms with significant degradation problems is shown in the chart below. Weeds have been identified as the most significant of the nine ABARE (2000) surveyed degradation forms. On average, there are 301 ha of each sheep farm in this region affected by some form of land degradation. The main environmental challenges facing the sheep and wool industry in this zone include:

This is shown in the graph below.

Proportion of farms with a significant degradation problem

What is the sheep and wool industry doing to meet these environmental challenges in the High Rainfall Zone and across Australia?

The industry is implementing management practices to meet these regional challenges. The regional adoption and the industry's assessment of the applicability of the various management practices being implemented by the sheep and wool industry are illustrated in the chart below. Numbers indicate national averages.

Management practice adoption and applicability

The main management practices adopted of those surveyed in this region are:

In addition these practices, it is recognised that the industry is undertaking other measures, but these were not included in the ABARE survey.

Codes of practice

A specific sheep/wool industry Code of Practice is not in effect. The industry primarily relies on the adoption of best management practice as promoted by research and development initiatives and identified in various strategic plans.

Research and development

The main research and development (R & D) bodies associated with the sheep and wool industry are:

Woolwise (1993 - 2000)

Woolwise has undertaken works in the areas of genetic engineering and wool quality improvement.

Australian Wool Research and Promotion Organisation (AWRAP) (1993 - 2000)

The six major AWRAP programs involve over 2 500 wool growers and seek to deliver improved on-farm practices. These programs include:

Meat and Livestock Australia

MLA initiated the Producer Initiated Research and Development scheme (PIRD) in 1993 to involve producers in the research and development process. Under the scheme, producers with an initiative aimed at improving the efficiency and profitability of their farm business through on farm research and development can apply to the MLA for funds of up to $10 000 per project.

For more information on these research and development programs, see the national sheep and wool industry page or the web page of the relevant organisation through the links provided in the further information section below.

How is the Australian sheep and wool industry working with other agricultural industries to overcome some of the challenges faced by this region

Sheep and wool produced in the zone typically forms part of mixed farming systems and/or mixed farming regions. This zone stretches around the east coast of Australia from Cairns to south eastern South Australia, Tasmania and into south western Western Australia. Sheep and wool are produced alongside areas mainly sugar, horticulture and dairying land uses. Sheep and wool are usually produced in localised areas within this zone. Historic natural resource management issues that have potential to impact on regional environmental values and sheep and wool production include:

The resolution of these issues requires ongoing research, consultation and development. The sheep and wool industry in this region has involved itself in the planning processes presently proceeding on the resolution of these and other natural resource management issues such as:

How do these factors affect the future prospects of the industry?

There is no available information on future prospects of the industry for this region

Further information

Link to Map maker to make a map using this information.

Link to data available for download on "A spatially consistent sub-set of agricultural statistics (AgStats) data 1982/93 to 1996/97"

"Benchmarking environmental challenges and agricultural practice - an overview" report

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