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.
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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).
