Don Burnside, ARS Finance and Audit Officer. Email: don.burnside@iinet.net.au
While browsing on the internet, I discovered that the Meat & Livestock Corporation (MLA) regularly produce a very useful source of information about the number of livestock, presented at the Regional NRM scale. The most recent data for sheep and cattle numbers at June 2015 and June 2016 are shown in the tables below and are presented here for the interest of ARS members.
Sheep numbers
Although it is little value considering just two years, the decline in numbers between 2015 and 2016 in all regions except Western NSW seems quite dramatic. Presumably, the reduction in numbers in SA and Queensland reflects increasing challenges associated with running sheep in those areas, although ‘cluster fencing’ cells for predator control are being developed in Queensland. Sheep numbers are holding their own in western NSW, and there are increasing numbers of non-merino breeds. In WA, sheep are now confined to a few large flocks on the Nullarbor Plain, and some properties in the West Gascoyne.
|
NRM Region |
Number of sheep |
|
|
30 June 2015* |
30 June 2016** |
|
| Rangelands WA |
211,089 |
181,423 |
| SA Arid Lands |
1,138,963 |
934,384 |
| Western NSW (incorporating Lower Murray Darling) |
2,563,792 |
2,475,058 |
| South West Queensland |
669,055 |
436,098 |
| Desert Channels |
661,473 |
485,203 |
| Southern Gulf |
7,546 |
38 |
| Northern Gulf |
5,212 |
162 |
|
|
|
|
| Total for these regions |
5,257,130 |
4,512,366 |
* Source: MLA (2016a) – https://www.mla.com.au/globalassets/mla-corporate/prices–markets/documents/trends–analysis/fast-facts–maps/sheep-map/sheep-numbers-map-2015-16.pdf
** Source: MLA (2017a) – https://www.mla.com.au/globalassets/mla-corporate/prices–markets/documents/trends–analysis/fast-facts–maps/sheep-map/sheep-numbers-map-2016-17.pdf
Cattle numbers
Cattle are by far the dominant livestock now grazed in the rangelands. Queensland dominates, with 4.9 million cattle grazed in the state’s rangelands in 2016, followed by the Northern Territory with 2.1 million. Cattle numbers have increased over recent years in WA, as they have replaced sheep in much of the southern rangelands. Cattle are less important that sheep in SA and Western NSW, although in SA, animal type grazed is to a large extent demarcated by the Dog Proof Fence.
|
NRM Region |
Number of cattle |
|
|
30 June 2015* |
30 June 2016** |
|
| Rangelands WA |
1,282,568 |
1,110,570 |
| SA Arid Lands |
176,995 |
167,948 |
| Western NSW (incorporating Lower Murray Darling) |
132,959 |
168,975 |
| South West Queensland |
551,758 |
495,936 |
| Desert Channels |
1,402,449 |
1,111,362 |
| Southern Gulf |
1,190,908 |
1,068,859 |
| Northern Gulf |
780,927 |
883,925 |
| Burdekin |
1,140,127 |
1,300,370 |
| Cape York |
90,737 |
68,272 |
| Northern Territory |
2,114,568 |
2,238,375 |
| Total for these regions |
8,863,996 |
8,614,592 |
* Source: MLA (2016b) – https://www.mla.com.au/globalassets/mla-corporate/prices–markets/documents/trends–analysis/fast-facts–maps/sheep-map/cattle-numbers-map-2015-16.pdf
** Source: MLA (2017b) – https://www.mla.com.au/globalassets/mla-corporate/prices–markets/documents/trends–analysis/fast-facts–maps/sheep-map/ cattle-numbers-map-2016-17.pdf