5.2.3. The Lower Catchment

The chief agricultural product of the Coleambally and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Areas is rice, but maize, soybeans, wheat, and barley are also grown. Vegetables and fruit (including grapes, citrus, and peaches) are also widely grown. In 2003, the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area supplied 90% of the total citrus crop of New South Wales. Extensive grazing occurs in the two Irrigation Areas and in the Lowbidgee Flood Control and Irrigation District, where sheep and cattle are common. Cattle are raised for beef, while sheep are raised for wool and for prime lambs. Cropping in the Lowbidgee district consists principally of wheat, but barely, safflower, and oats are also grown. In addition to irrigated agriculture, some dryland cropping (wheat, barley, and oats) occurs, as does a great deal of dryland grazing. In 1998, an estimated 503,000 cattle were grazed on non-irrigated properties.

Between 2003 and 2004, the agricultural produce of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area was valued at $404 million, including $24 million from vegetables, $150 million from horticulture, and $230 million from broadacre agriculture. The main vegetable crops during this period were onions ($8.3 million), melons ($5.4 million), gherkins ($3.5 million), and tomatoes ($2.6 million). Smaller contributions were made by carrots, pumpkins, potatoes, sweet corn, and lettuce. Rice production fluctuates according to rainfall. Between 1990 and 2001, the area under rice in the MIA increased from 32,607 hectares to 66,000 hectares, but declined sharply in the following years. In 2004, only 24,000 hectares of rice were grown.