With winter crops, the proportion of the area sown to pulses and oilseeds increased relatively
steadily from around 2% to 15% in the period from the mid-1980s to 2002 (Figure 1). Until
the early 1990s, pulses were more important than oilseeds as alternatives to cereals, but since
that time oilseeds (in this case, canola) have become more important than pulse crops. Pulses
reached a peak of 7% of the total area sown to winter crops in the early 1990s, while canola
reached a peak of 11% in 1999. Both have declined in relative importance since those peaks.
The decline in the area sown to pulses and oilseeds since 2002 is evident, although it is
difficult to determine at this stage whether this is a change in trend or merely one of the
consequences of the severe drought in NSW in 2002 to 2004. Winter crop production in NSW
in 2002 was only 32% of the average of the previous three years, and in 2003 production was
still only 77% of the recent average. These severe reductions in both area and yield mean that
trends are difficult to discern until further data are obtained in future years. The area and yield
of winter crops in 2004 was closer to the recent averages, but the relative importance of
broadleaf crops remained at a lower level (approximately 9%), reinforcing concerns that the
impact may be a more permanent one.
Figure 1: Relative Importance of Broadleaf Winter Crops, NSW, 1984 to 2004
% Area Sown to Cereal, Pulse and Oilseed Crops,
The area sown to broadleaf crops in 2002 and particularly 2003 are influenced by the severe
drought in those years. In particular, the decline in the relative importance of broadleaf crops
in 2003 reflects the perception (and perhaps the reality) among farmers that those crops are
less robust in difficult production conditions than the more reliable cereal crops. It can also
reflect the time horizon of farmers in times of financial difficulties, where the focus is on
immediate cash returns rather than crops that provide a lower immediate financial return but
can lead to improved crops later in the rotation. Both of these factors help to explain the sharp
decline in the relative importance of broadleaf crops, particularly oilseeds, in 2003.