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.

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