The production of wheat during the period covered by the preceding table was as follows: New South Wales South Australia Western Australia bushels. bushels. bushels. bushels. bushels. 1,606,034 2,229,642 3,405,966 3,963,668 14,808,705 3,607,727 4,500,795 8,714,377 13,629,370 12,127,382 5,880 36,288 39,612 3,410,756 3,967,079 8,087,032 160,155 345,368 153,657 1,380,913 392,309 1,692,222 6,436,488 8,012,762 288,810 933,101 847,962 977,365 930,841 963,667 Commonwealth...... 10,171,465 11,927,134 21,378,009 25,641,486 38,537,834 New Zealand........ 772,531 2,448,203 8,297,890 10,257,738 4,046,589 10,943,996 14,375,337 29,675,899 35,899,224 42,584,423 The severe drought which prevailed over the greater part of Australasia caused the wheat crop of 1901 to fall far below expectations, and it is estimated that the harvest was affected to the extent of over seventeen million bushels. In New Zealand the dry weather was succeeded by heavy rains, which lasted in some districts right through the harvest, and rendered the grain unfit for milling. The greatest increase in production is shown by New South Wales, which in 1901 produced nearly eleven million bushels more than in 1891, and from the following statement, which gives the proportion of the total crop produced by each State in 1881, 1891, and 1901, the progress made by New South Wales will be evident, for whereas in 1881 and 1891 it only produced 11 per cent. of the total crop, in 1901 it produced nearly 35 per cent. Victoria and New Zealand show the largest declines, the proportions falling from 38 per cent. and 28.6 per cent. in 1891 to 28.5 per cent. and 9.5 per cent. respectively in 1901 : As producers of wheat, these States are of little account when viewed in comparison with the great wheat-producing countries of the world, Australasian grown wheat forming only 2.2 per cent. of the world's wheat crop. According to the estimate published by the United States Department of Agriculture, the production of wheat in Europe, America, Asia, and Africa in 1900 was 2,477,688,000 bushels, which, with the 54,879,000 bushels yielded by Australasia, gives the world's production as 2,532,567,000 bushels. The figures for each country are appended, the production being represented in Imperial bushels : The yield of wheat per acre during the season 1901-2 ranged from 4.6 bushels in South Australia to 24.8 bushels in New Zealand, and, with the exception of Victoria, Western Australia, and New Zealand, was above the average for the last ten years. The average yield per acre for each State for 1901 and during the ten years 1892-1901 are shown A yield of 8.5 bushels per acre is a very small one when compared with the following results obtained in some of the principal wheatgrowing countries of the world. The averages shown are mostly based on the yields during the six years 1894-99: A bare statement of averages, however, is somewhat misleading. In South Australia, for example, it is found that owing to favourable conditions of culture a yield of 7 bushels is financially as satisfactory a crop as one of 15 bushels in New South Wales or of 20 bushels in New Zealand. In these States the yield could be greatly increased if cultivation of a more scientific character were adopted. Progress in this direction is being made yearly, however; but not to the extent which should prevail, although the tendency in former years simply to put the seed in the ground and await results has been outgrown. The total value of the wheat crop for 1901-2 and the value of the return per acre in each State and in New Zealand are shown below: The very high value returned in New Zealand is due to the heavy yield of grain, the area under cultivation being small and specially selected; the values in Tasmania and Queensland also appear high for similar reasons, while in Western Australia the value of production was increased by the high prices obtained for wheat during portion of the year. A detailed table of the value of the yield per acre during each of the last twelve years is shown below for the three principal wheat-growing states-New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. The values are estimated on the basis of the market rates ruling in February and March of each year. It will be seen that a considerable decline took place between 1891 and 1895, due for the most part to the fall in prices rather than to any decrease of production. The effect of the rise in prices is seen in the more satisfactory results in New South Wales during the seasons ending March, 1896, 1897, and 1898; for Victoria and South Australia the drought is largely responsible for the low values in those years : The rates just given, as well as elsewhere in this chapter, represent farm prices, and not values at the place of consumption. The average consumption of wheat per head of population in each of the six States and in New Zealand for the last decade was as stated below. The large proportion of adult male population in Western Australia accounts for the high figures for that province : For the whole of Australasia, the average consumption was 6-2 bushels per head, which is larger than the quantity consumed in any other part of the world for which records are available, with the exception of France and Canada. The following table shows the net imports or exports of wheat and flour of each of the States during the year 1901, 1 ton of flour being taken as equal to 50 bushels of grain. The exporting States are New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. Since 1896, New South Wales has almost been able to supply the wheat required for the food of its inhabitants, and in 1901 exported over 7,700,000 bushels. During the last few years Tasmania also produced enough wheat for home consumption, and had a small surplus, available for export: |