Irrigation - South Australia
South Australia
What type and area of culture is supported by irrigation in South Australia?
The predominant types of irrigated production in South Australia by area are pasture (44%), grapevines (26%), and horticulture (19%). Cereals account for 2% and other crops about 9%.
| AWRC Basin | Pasture (ha) | Cereal (ha) | Other Crops (ha) | Vegetables (ha) | Sugar (ha) | Fruit (ha) | Grapes (ha) | Cotton (ha) | Rice (ha) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Australia | 50,124 | 2,856 | 8,040 | 13,793 | 30,433 | 10,235 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broughton River | 114 | 5 | 47 | 3 | no data | 15 | 718 | 0 | no data |
| Cooper Creek (SA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Diamantina River (SA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Eyre Peninsula | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | no data | 0 | 8 | 0 | no data |
| Finke River (SA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Fleurieu Peninsula | 1,367 | 13 | 24 | 64 | no data | 15 | 49 | 0 | no data |
| Gairdner | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | no data | 105 | 3 | 0 | no data |
| Gawler River | 271 | 4 | 259 | 1,630 | no data | 589 | 5,583 | 0 | no data |
| Georgina River (SA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Glenelg River (SA) | 571 | 7 | 14 | 54 | no data | 2 | 1 | 0 | no data |
| Hay River (SA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Kangaroo Island | 27 | 0 | 14 | 0 | no data | 0 | 11 | 0 | no data |
| Lake Frome (SA) | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Lake Torrens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Lower Murray River (SA) | 9,543 | 452 | 1,212 | 1,775 | no data | 4,592 | 8,871 | 0 | no data |
| Mackay (SA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Mallee (SA) | 2,947 | 453 | 535 | 1,795 | no data | 6,636 | 5,298 | 0 | no data |
| Mambray Coast | 10 | 5 | 0 | 2 | no data | 13 | 6 | 0 | no data |
| Millicent Coast (SA) | 33,346 | 1,854 | 7,778 | 2,211 | no data | 105 | 6,426 | 0 | no data |
| Myponga River | 184 | 3 | 10 | 12 | no data | 43 | 182 | 0 | no data |
| Nullarbor (SA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Onkaparinga River | 1,279 | 30 | 196 | 213 | no data | 1,134 | 2,279 | 0 | no data |
| Spencer Gulf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | no data | 1 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Torrens River | 263 | 1 | 96 | 208 | no data | 497 | 404 | 0 | no data |
| Wakefield River | 27 | 14 | 17 | 44 | no data | 11 | 534 | 0 | no data |
| Warburton (SA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data | 0 | 0 | 0 | no data |
| Willochra Creek | 18 | 10 | 0 | 3 | no data | 25 | 11 | 0 | no data |
Source: ABS AgStats 1997
What is the trend in area under irrigated production in South Australia?
The change in area under irrigated production for the period 1982/83 to 1996/97 is shown in the following chart and table.
There are significant changes observed in the reported irrigated areas for cereals and pasture in both Western Australia and South Australia, and the Other Crop category in Queensland. These changes are likely to be the result of inconsistencies in data collection questionnaires in different years, or data errors.
| State / Territory | 83/84 (ha) | 86/87 (ha) | 89/90 (ha) | 90/91 (ha) | 91/92 (ha) | 92/93 (ha) | 93/94 (ha) | 96/97 (ha) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Australia | 86,943 | 91,746 | 98,878 | 110,161 | 104,037 | 117,104 | 224,261 | 115,479 |
| Pasture | 46,560 | 51,551 | 53,163 | 57,771 | 52,682 | 61,862 | 109,090 | 115,479 |
| Cereal | 2,502 | 1,965 | 2,501 | 3,342 | 3,458 | 6,971 | 60,691 | 2,856 |
| Other Crops | 2,141 | 3,699 | 4,256 | 2,712 | 2,683 | 2,935 | 5,788 | 10,234 |
| Vegetables | 6,411 | 6,242 | 7,392 | 9,396 | 9,651 | 9,161 | 8,958 | 8,040 |
| Sugar | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | 0 |
| Fruit | 29,328 | 28,289 | 31,568 | 15,822 | 15,032 | 15,611 | 16,016 | 13,793 |
| Grapes | no data | no data | no data | 21,117 | 20,531 | 20,564 | 23,718 | 30,432 |
| Cotton | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | 0 |
| Rice | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | no data | 0 |
ABS AgStats 97, 93 & 84 (concorded to 1996/97 SLA boundaries by BRS)
ABS AgStats 97, 93 & 84 (concorded to 1996/97 SLA boundaries by BRS)
Source: ABS AgStats 1997
Further information
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