Long the most important crop of Australia, wheat is produced in the Wheat Belt, a crescent of land just west of the Eastern Highlands, or Great Dividing Range, which extends from central Queensland through New South Wales to Victoria, as well as in the south of South Australia and southwest Western Australia. More than 120,000 farms in Australia grow grains, and wheat is the principal crop on some 25,000 farms. The average Australian wheat farm is family-owned and has an area of 3,700 acres (1,500 hectares). Crops are rotated, usually because of low soil fertility.
Australian wheat is planted during the winter, which is much milder than winter on the prairies of North America. Harvesting begins in September in the warm state of Queensland and moves south to Victoria and Western Australia by January. Australian wheat is high in quality and low in moisture, so it is easy to mill. Wheat crops are frequently affected by drought; another problem is Australia's markets, because the nation competes with the United States in wheat export.
When the British first came to Australia, convicts planted wheat on a government farm in what is now inner Sydney. They had difficulty growing wheat because of poor soils, unfamiliar climate, and inexperience, causing fear of widespread hunger. As settlement spread beyond the coastal plain and into the interior, wheat production rose dramatically. The rapid increase in population after the gold discoveries of the 1850's also led to increased demand for wheat. Australia began exporting wheat in 1845 and is now the world's fourth-largest exporter of wheat.
See also: Agricultural Products
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