AgricultureID

State · AU-QLD

Queensland

Tropical to subtropical climate with wet summers and dry winters in the north, humid subtropical conditions on the southeast coast, and semi-arid interior rangelands.

Major crop systems

  • Sugarcane (coastal wet tropics and central coast)
  • Cotton and grain sorghum (Darling Downs)
  • Wheat (winter cropping)
  • Tropical / subtropical horticulture — bananas, mangoes, tropical fruit, vegetables

Major livestock systems

  • Beef cattle — Australia’s largest herd on extensive rangelands

Agricultural land: A coastal sugarcane belt runs from the wet tropics to the central coast, vast inland rangelands carry Australia’s largest beef herd, and the Darling Downs concentrates cotton and grain on fertile basalt soils. Irrigation: Coastal sugarcane and Darling Downs cotton rely heavily on irrigation, while much of the inland beef-cattle rangeland is unirrigated grazing.

Agroecological zones: Aw (Tropical savanna (dry winter)), Cfa (Humid subtropical), BSh (Hot 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).
  • Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries — State agriculture and fisheries 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-QLD).
  • Any statistics from official bodies are dated and source-specific; none are reproduced here.
  • Systems differ sharply by zone: coastal cane, inland rangeland beef, and Darling Downs cropping.
  • Rangeland grazing productivity is strongly influenced by drought and monsoon variability.

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