AgricultureID

State · AU-NSW

New South Wales

Ranges from humid subtropical on the north coast and warm-temperate on the tablelands to semi-arid across the western slopes and plains; rainfall is summer-dominant in the north and more uniform in the south.

Major crop systems

  • Wheat
  • Barley and canola (oilseed rape)
  • Cotton (Namoi / Gwydir, irrigated)
  • Rice (Murrumbidgee, irrigated)
  • Sorghum (northern summer cropping)

Major livestock systems

  • Sheep (wool and meat / prime lambs)
  • Beef cattle

Agricultural land: The western slopes and plains form a large wheat-sheep belt of dryland cropping and grazing, with irrigated cotton and rice along the Murrumbidgee, Namoi, and Gwydir valleys of the Murray-Darling Basin. Irrigation: Murray-Darling Basin irrigation from the Murrumbidgee and northern river valleys underpins cotton and rice, while the wheat-sheep zone is predominantly rainfed.

Agroecological zones: Cfa (Humid subtropical), Cfb (Oceanic (marine west coast)), BSk (Cold semi-arid (steppe))

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) — National agricultural research and statistics agency.
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) — National statistical agency (agricultural census and surveys).
  • NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development — State primary industries department.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics are published by ABARES and the Australian Bureau of Statistics and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Boundaries and administrative classification follow the official ISO 3166-2 system (AU-NSW).
  • Any statistics from official bodies are dated and source-specific; none are reproduced here.
  • Canola is the commercial oilseed-rape crop.
  • Irrigated cotton and rice areas depend on highly variable Murray-Darling water allocations.

Agricultural authority

Verified against official government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with these bodies.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Crop and livestock system context

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]FAOSTAT — FAO statistical database (opens in a new tab)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: National agricultural production context

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12