Agriculture - Statistics - Central West (SD) (QLD)
Central West (SD) (QLD)
Introduction
Central-West Statistical Division is situated at the junction of the Queensland, Northern Territory, and South Australian borders . This is the driest part of the State, and the western part of the Division is flat plains filled with saltpans and desert sands. In the wet season the summer rains transform the Diamantina, Georgina, Bourke and other rivers and streams from strings of water holes into wide channels and the flat plains into an inland sea. The eastern part of the Division is sheep and cattle country.
The Division is rich in Australian history. Birdsville, on the edge of the Simpson Desert, is best known for The Birdsville Track. It is also known for its annual race meeting, when people drive for long distances for one of the State's most colourful sporting events.
Winton, 173 km north-west of Longreach, is the home of Waltzing Matilda. The song was written by Banjo Patterson on nearby Dagworth Station in 1895. Winton is also the birthplace of Qantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service), Australia's national airline. The first meeting of the directors took place in the Winton Club in 1920. It is also a major sheep area, and a large trucking centre for the giant road-trains bringing cattle to the rail head.
Longreach is the largest town in the Division and is surrounded by sheep and cattle country. It is situated on the Thompson River approximately 700 km west of Rockhampton. Longreach was the site of Quantas' first office and hangar. The same hangar then became Australia's first aircraft factory when the first of six DH-50 biplanes was assembled there in 1926. The world's first Flying Surgeon Service started in Longreach in 1959. The Stockman's Hall of Fame and Heritage Centre has been developed here to celebrate Australia's pioneers.
Barcaldine was the headquarters of the 1891 shearers' strike which played a large part in the foundation of the Australian Labor Party.
The figures reported here are a subset of the Agricultural Census data from 1982/1983 to 1996/1997 published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, AgStats). The data has been analysed by the Bureau of Rural Sciences using a consistent geographic base. Further information about the data is available from the Australian Spatial Data Directory
The figures and text are reproduced with permission of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, © Commonwealth of Australia, 2000.
Statistics
Area of region (ha): 37,008,430.85
Area
Cattle and Calves
- Number of Milk Cows (in Milk and Dry) at 31 March (Value in 1996/1997 = 196 )
- Number of Meat Cattle at 31 March (Value in 1996/1997 = 716,851 )
Cereals excluding Rice
- Area of Wheat produced for grain (ha) (Value in 1996/1997 = 400 )
- Tonnes of Wheat produced for grain (Value in 1996/1997 = 400 )
- Area of Oats produced for grain (Value in 1996/1997 = 11 )
- Tonnes of Oats produced for grain (Value in 1996/1997 = 3.3 )
- Area of Grain Sorghum produced for grain (ha) (Value in 1996/1997 = 340 )
- Tonnes of Grain Sorghum produced for grain (Value in 1996/1997 = 670 )
- Area of Cereal crops cut for hay (ha) (Value in 1996/1997 = 30 )
- Tonnes of Cereal crops cut for hay (Value in 1996/1997 = 203 )
Citrus
- Number of Orange Trees 6 years and over (Value in 1996/1997 = 46 )
- Kilograms of Oranges produced (Value in 1996/1997 = 1,850 )
- Number of Lemons and Limes Trees 6 years and over (Value in 1996/1997 = 10 )
- Kilograms of Lemons and Limes produced (Value in 1996/1997 = 400 )
- Number of Mandarin Trees 6 years and over (Value in 1996/1997 = 51 )
- Kilograms of Mandarins produced (Value in 1996/1997 = 2,050 )
Other Livestock
- Number of Horses Stud (Value in 1996/1997 = 1,064 )
- Number of Livestock not elsewhere considered (short form) (Value in 1996/1997 = 2,322 )
Pastures
- Area of Lucerne (pure), year ending 31 March (ha) (Value in 1996/1997 = 1,095 )
- Area of Sown Grasses, year ending 31 March (ha) (Value in 1996/1997 = 98,805 )
- Area of Native or Naturalised Pasture, year ending 31 March (ha) (Value in 1996/1997 = 5,508,454 )
- Area of Mixed Perennial Grasses and Legumes, year ending 31 March (ha) (Value in 1996/1997 = 4,635 )
- Area of Sown Pasture (excluding Pure Lucerne) , year ending 31 March (ha) (Value in 1996/1997 = 5,611,893 )
- Area of Pastures (excluding Lucerne) cut for hay (ha) (Value in 1996/1997 = 1,393 )
- Tonnes of Pasture (excluding Lucerne) cut for hay (Value in 1996/1997 = 743 )
Pigs
Poultry
- Number of Meat Chickens grown on own account at 31 March (Value in 1996/1997 = 148 )
- Eggs (dozens) produced for human consumption (Value in 1996/1997 = 3,280 )
Sales of Livestock
- Number of Sales of Sheep (Value in 1996/1997 = 865,851 )
- Number of Sales of Lambs (Value in 1996/1997 = 98,018 )
- Number of Sales of Cattle and Calves (except Bulls sold for breeding) (Value in 1996/1997 = 258,398 )
- Number of Sales of Pigs (Value in 1996/1997 = 12 )
- Number of Sales of Other Livestock not elsewhere considered (short form) (Value in 1996/1997 = 356 )
Sheep and Lambs
- Number of Breeding Ewes 1 year and over at 31 March (Value in 1996/1997 = 1,816,690 )
- Number of Lambs and Hoggets under 1 year at 31 March (Value in 1996/1997 = 597,794 )
- Number of Sheep and Lambs at 31 March (Value in 1996/1997 = 3,748,174 )
- Number of All Other Sheep (excluding Breeding Ewes) (Value in 1996/1997 = 1,333,690 )
Further information
Please Note: Not all the selected data items are available for every year or for every statistical region.
The figures reported here are a subset of the Agricultural Census data from 1982/1983 to 1996/1997 published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, AgStats). The data have been analysed by Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Australia to report them using a consistent geographic base. Further information about the data is available through the Australian Spatial Data Directory.
The subset includes 436 data items for plant production and 40 data items for livestock which were commonly available in the AgStats database over the 15 year period and each year for respondents having an Estimated Value of Agricultural Operations (EVAO) above the cut-off of $22,500.
The data have been concorded by bringing data collected using different geographies to a consistent geographic base, being Version 2.6 Statistical Local Area (SLA) boundaries (ABS, 1996) and using the non-agricultural lands mask from the National Land and Water Resources Audit's National Landuse Map (1996/1997).
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