Hay production faces regional variations due to looming dry
02 November 2023
Key points:
- A dry season will impact states differently due to variations in rainfall.
- Demand for hay is likely to rise over the coming months as weather patterns change.
- The Darling Downs and the Wheatbelt are the largest producers in their respective states.
As Australia prepares for a forthcoming dry season, the demand for hay is expected to increase due to changing weather patterns with variations in rainfall impacting states differently. The Agricultural Commodities 2021-22 dataset from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) can provide valuable insights into hay production by state, region or LGA.
New South Wales
Hay production is highest across southern and western NSW, with production being highest in the central west, Riverina and Murray. Combined, they produce about 60% of hay in NSW – 2,815,834 tonnes. At the other end, Illawarra, Central Coast and Newcastle, and Lake Macquarie have the lowest production with a combined production of 18,587 tonnes.
|
Region |
Production(t) |
|
Central west |
566,490.25 |
|
Riverina |
431,872.85 |
|
Murray |
409,553.94 |
|
Far west and Orana |
309,676.24 |
|
New England and north west |
307,442.39 |
|
Capital Region |
203,949.55 |
|
Hunter Valley excluding Newcastle |
86,656.96 |
|
Mid North Coast |
48,208.39 |
|
Sydney |
41,287.89 |
|
Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven |
29,868.16 |
|
Richmond – Tweed |
19,800.27 |
|
Coffs Harbour – Grafton |
11,483.31 |
|
Illawarra |
8,654.74 |
|
Central Coast |
420.66 |
|
Newcastle and Lake Macquarie |
218.12 |
Victoria
Hay production was concentrated in the west of the state, with the highest production in the Warrnambool and south west and north west regions. This is still relatively spread out, with Shepparton and Gippsland both producing over one million tonnes of hay per year.
|
Region |
Production(t) |
|
Warrnambool and south west |
1,004,730.61 |
|
North west |
900,395.23 |
|
Shepparton |
735,040.78 |
|
Latrobe – Gippsland |
532,583.14 |
|
Hume |
288,043.18 |
|
Bendigo |
256,148.89 |
|
Ballarat |
163,612.55 |
|
Melbourne |
72,718.13 |
|
Geelong |
53,404.65 |
|
Mornington Peninsula |
6,664.30 |
Queensland
48% of hay produced in Queensland originated on the Darling Downs. Remaining production is somewhat spread out, with substantial volumes produces in Wide Bay, Central Queensland and Ipswich, and a very small amount in the wider Gold Coast and Brisbane regions.
|
Region |
Production(t) |
|
Darling Downs – Maranoa |
532,369.04 |
|
Wide Bay |
144,565.48 |
|
Central Queensland |
111,902.90 |
|
Ipswich |
79,047.06 |
|
Outback |
52,656.17 |
|
Mackay – Isaac – Whitsunday |
45,223.27 |
|
Cairns |
33,442.87 |
|
Logan – Beaudesert |
29,791.66 |
|
Townsville |
28,058.61 |
|
Toowoomba |
27,725.49 |
|
Sunshine Coast |
11,449.68 |
|
Moreton Bay |
8,691.57 |
|
Gold Coast |
1,686.05 |
|
Brisbane |
348.11 |
Western Australia
The Wheat Belt is the largest producer of hay in Australia, covering 42 local government areas and producing 66% of all hay production in WA. Outside of the Wheat Belt, 615,000 tonnes of hay were produced in Bunbury and some was produced in the outback.
|
Region |
Production(t) |
|
Wheat Belt |
1,054,942.44 |
|
Bunbury |
307,287.09 |
|
South outback |
126,340.77 |
|
North outback |
69,595.14 |
|
Mandurah |
14,891.24 |
|
Perth |
8,276.35 |
South Australia
The best performing regions for hay production are the south east, making up 51% of South Australian hay production.
|
Region |
Production(t) |
|
South east |
640,715.63 |
|
Barossa – Yorke – Mid North |
541,050.25 |
|
Outback |
51,115.29 |
|
Adelaide |
34,038.99 |
Tasmania
In recent weeks, Tasmania has had a positive outlook for fodder production due to higher rainfall of around 5mm to 25mm according to the Bureau of Meteorology. For Tasmania, hay production in Launceston and the north east may even be improving compared to the rest of the country, and concerns are often centred around too much rain.
|
Region |
Production(t) |
|
Launceston and north east |
235,647.03 |
|
West and north west |
163,036.15 |
|
South east |
47,304.69 |
|
Hobart |
6,834.50 |
