Australian Natural Resources Atlas

Natural Resource Topics

Agriculture - Sheep/Wool Industry - Pastoral Zone

Pastoral Zone

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

Where are sheep and wool produced in the Pastoral Zone?

The sheep and wool industry's Pastoral Zone stretches throughout inland Australia across all states and territories. Sheep are grazed over 69 045 822 hectares in this zone. Pastures used in this zone are predominantly native, with localised improved areas spread throughout. The following map represents the distribution of sheep within this zone.

Map of region

How many sheep and how much wool does the Pastoral 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 3 million head and 8 171 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 Pastoral Zone?

The Pastoral Zone lies predominantly within the dry grasslands, deserts and northern Australia savanna climatic zone, and has a high variability in temperature extremes throughout this region. For more information on the climate of this zone, see the Bureau of Meteorology web site.

In 1999, the pasture composition within the Pastoral Zone comprised of the following:

The sheep and wool industry in this zone utilises over 69 million hectares or 80% of the total area utilised for sheep and wool production.

What are the key characteristics of sheep and wool producers and farms in the Pastoral 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 Pastoral
Age of owner/manager
 54 years 56 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%
21%
39%
35%
5%
Family members working on farm
 63 hr/wk 78 hr/wk
Owner manager work on farm
 42 hr/wk 50 hr/wk
Number of dependent children 1 0.6
Farm cash income ($)
 12 446 10 809
Total farm debt - June 30 ($)
 134 698 144 011
Farm business profit ($) - 31 183 - 55 218
Total off farm income ($)
 19 667 10 998
Owner work off farm
 5 hr/wk 1 hr/wk
Area operated - June 30
 7 561 ha 49 389 ha

Farm ownership/tenure

  • Freehold
  • Long term crown lease
19%
79%		 7%
91%
Employment of non-family labour
 19 hr/wk 30 hr/wk
Landcare membership
 47% 34%
Length of group involvement 6 years 7 years

Producers in this zone have high school education levels equal to industry average. They work longer hours, have farm debt levels higher than the industry average, have negative business profit and lower than industry average off-farm income. Their holdings are much larger than industry average and on generally leasehold land. Landcare group membership levels are lower than industry average. These combination of attributes suggest that the industry in this region has constraints to implement change including financial considerations, holding size and tenure constraints. These constraints will need to be taken into account when considering implementation of management practices.

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

On average, there are 5 467 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 region include:

This is shown 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 Pastoral Zone and across Australia?

Management practices being adopted to face these challenges and the level of adoption of these practices are illustrated in the graph below.

Management practice adoption and applicability
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. The majority of the zone falls in the inland areas of Australia in all states. Sheep and wool is the predominant land use in this zone, however production occurs alongside the beef industry and localised grains areas. 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?

The sheep and wool industry in this region is geographically spread through inland areas of Australia. The pastoral nature of agriculture of the zone results in natural resource management issues such as woody weeds infestation, erosion, pasture decline and habitat loss.

Research will need continual development, particularly in the areas of woody weeds, total grazing pressure and water erosion. Cross industry environmental effects such as:

occur in these areas. The characteristics of producers in the region suggests that capacity building for the region's sheep and wool producers will be needed to progressively implement

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 Summary

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