The agricultural census, released on July 26, reported drought-breaking rainfall and improved seasonal conditions helped the production and value of irrigated crops recover from previous lows.
Across the Murray-Darling Basin the volume of water stored increased following above average rainfall during the first quarter of 2021.
Improved water availability in 2020-21 resulted in:
- A 79 per cent increase in the volume of water applied to crops and pastures.
- A 67 per cent increase in the number of hectares irrigated for crops and pastures.
- A 15 per cent increase in the number of businesses irrigating.
Irrigated agricultural land
In 2020-21, the Murray-Darling Basin accounted for 60 per cent of all irrigated land in Australia, with 1.2 million hectares:
- 284,300 ha of pastures and cereal crops used for grazing (up 40 per cent).
- 276,000 ha of cereal crops (excluding rice) (up 125 per cent).
- 182,700 ha of cotton (up 315 per cent).
Irrigation water applied
The Murray-Darling Basin accounted for 62 per cent of Australia’s total water use for irrigation with 4.9 million megalitres applied in 2020-21.
Cotton, fruit and nut trees and pastures for grazing used 57 per cent of all the water applied in this region:
- 1.2 million Ml for cotton (up 328 per cent).
- 798,800 Ml for fruit and nuts (up six per cent).
- 740,600 Ml for pastures and cereal crops used for grazing (up 40 per cent).