Australian crop report: February 2016 No.177

The report is a quarterly report with a consistent and regular assessment of crop prospects for major field crops, forecasts of area, yield and production and a summary of seasonal conditions on a state by state basis.

2015-16 summer crop production • Widespread rainfall across cropping regions in Queensland and northern New South Wales in late January improved the outlook for dryland summer crops. • Total area planted to summer crops is forecast to increase by 5 per cent in 2015-16 to around 1.2 million hectares. • Total summer crop production is forecast to fall by 6 per cent to 3.9 million tonnes, largely as a result of a forecast fall in rice production. • Grain sorghum production is forecast to rise by 3 per cent in 2015-16 to 2.2 million tonnes. • Australian cotton production is forecast to increase by 6 per cent in 2015-16 to 546 000 tonnes of cotton lint and around 772 000 tonnes of cottonseed. • Rice production is forecast to fall by 58 per cent in 2015-16 to 305 000 tonnes. 2015-16 winter crop production • Australian winter crop production is estimated to have increased by 4 per cent in 2015-16 to 39.5 million tonnes. • Winter crop production is estimated to have increased in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. However, production is estimated to have fallen in Victoria because of poor seasonal conditions. • For the major winter crops, wheat production is estimated to have risen by 5 per cent in 2015-16 to 24.2 million tonnes and barley production by 4 per cent to 8.5 million tonnes. In contrast, canola production is estimated to have fallen by 15 per cent to 2.9 million tonnes. • Chickpea production is estimated to have increased significantly in 2015-16, reflecting a 56 per cent increase in planted area.