An Agricultural Profile of the Meander Valley Region, Tasmania Prepared by the Tasmanian Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts with contribution from Macquarie Franklin Pty Ltd. February 2012 A snapshot of the Meander Valley Region in northern Tasmania – an irrigation‐prepared local area – including demographic, climatic, irrigation and infrastructure information, along with commentary on potential returns from farming activities. Wealth from Water: providing farmers and agribusiness with the information they need to confidently invest in irrigated agriculture in Tasmania Location The municipality of Meander Valley is opportunely located in the central north of Tasmania and covers an area of approximately 3 821 square kilometres, stretching east to west from the outskirts of Launceston to the centre of Lake St Clair National Park. The Meander Valley Demographic and agricultural profile Growth in population within the municipality over the five years to 2010 compares favourably with the state average. Over this period annual population growth averaged 0.94 per cent per year, compared with a state average of 0.88 per cent. In 2010 the estimated population of the municipality was 19 649, which equates to 3.9 per cent of the state total. During this period the median age of residents increased from 38 years to 42 years. Unemployment within the municipality was running at 4.6 per cent in the September quarter of 2011. This compares favourably with 5.4 per cent for Tasmania and 5.1 per cent for Australia as a whole1. The last population census in 2006 indicated agriculture was one of the main employers in the municipality, employing some 667 people. In addition to its direct on‐farm employment, agriculture 1 Small Area Labour Market data, DEEWR September 2011. Regional Profile – Meander Valley, Tasmania 1 also contributes to employment in the manufacturing sector with Tasmanian Alkaloids and Ashgrove Cheese being major employers. The Meander Valley municipality is home to around 435 rural businesses farming an area of over 105 000 hectares in total. The predominant form of agriculture within the municipality is livestock (dairy, beef and sheep). This accounts for almost 75 per cent of the total farmed area and contributes 60 per cent of the gross value of agricultural production. The remaining 40 per cent of the gross value of agricultural production comes from cropping with vegetables being the major crop, followed by potatoes, poppies, pasture seed and cereals. This is outlined in the figure below: Agricultural enterprises in Meander Valley by share of value Source:ABS 7503.0, Macquarie Franklin Estimate 2011 Perennial horticulture in the region is limited and consists of berries (mainly raspberries), grapes, some orchard fruit (apples and cherries) and nuts (hazelnuts)2. Climate The Meander Valley climate is reasonably diverse and varies from high rainfall and relatively cool areas in the south and west to warmer and drier areas in the east towards Launceston. As has been experienced throughout much of south‐east Australia, there has been a reduction in rainfall over the past 30 to 40 years which has, in part, contributed to an increase in the demand for irrigation. With an average of 1 100 mm in the upper (south and west) part of the valley falling to around 600‐ 700 mm in the areas in the east towards Launceston – the rainfall gradient, along with soil types, 2 Reported in the chart above as part of other crops. Regional Profile – Meander Valley, Tasmania 2 largely accounts for the prevalence of dairying to the south‐west of Deloraine and cropping to the east. Rainfall 1971 ‐ 20103 Source: Bureau of Meteorology Deloraine and Cressy, 39 years from 1971 Maximum and minimum temperatures and the incidence of frost have significant implications for current and proposed agricultural pursuits in the area. In general terms, the eastern end of the municipality has higher maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the year, which also tends to favour cropping towards that part of the municipality. The work being carried out under the Tasmanian Government’s ‘Wealth from Water’ initiative should provide some increasingly useful micro‐climatic data. Modelling results from the ‘Climate Futures for Tasmania’ project indicate that both temperature and rainfall in the Meander Valley area are expected to increase over the coming century. Mean annual temperatures are expected to increase from 10.7 C to 11.7 C mid‐century, and further increase to a mean of 13.5 C by the end of the century. Mean annual rainfall in the Meander Valley is expected to increase 5.4 per cent by the end of the century, mostly due to an increase in winter rainfall. Temperature3 Source: DairyTas into Dairy – Bureau of Meteorology data 3 Cressy Research Station lies outside the eastern end of the municipality. Climate data for Cressy is included in this profile as a proxy for the areas around Carrick, Hadspen & Westbury in the east. Regional Profile – Meander Valley, Tasmania 3 Land classification and soil types in the region4 As with Tasmania generally, the geological structure of the Meander Valley largely determines the pattern of soils because of the strong influence of the rock type on soil formation. The escarpment of the Great Western Tiers dominates the landscape in this area. It divides the central plateau to the south from the Launceston Tertiary Basin and associated country of low relief to the north. The Meander River and its tributaries drain about 88 per cent of the area. The soils are built on rock foundations of dolerite, mudstone, sandstone, tillite and shale. The table below describes the private land in the rural zone of Meander Valley municipality (ie. excluding industrial, residential, recreational and community zones) which is available for agricultural use; is a parcel of more than one hectare in size; and is currently utilised for agriculture or has no restrictions for conversion to agriculture use. An area of approximately 100 000 hectare has been defined spatially as primary (Class 1‐3) and non‐primary (class 4‐6) land. Capability of Land Available for Agricultural Use in the Meander Valley Description Area (ha) Percentage Class 2 242 <1% Class 3, 3+4 15 876 16% Class 4, 4+3, 4+5 60 041 60% Class 5, 5+4, 5+6 19 206 19% Class 6, 6+4, 6+5 3,711 4% TOTAL 99 076 100% Source: Agricultural Profile – Meander Valley municipality 2010, prepared by AK Consultants Note: The classification of the land is based on characteristics of soil type, drainage/soil erosion, slope, stoniness and the climatic limitations (for instance frost) in the region. Meander Valley has significant areas of prime land: largely a strip from Kimberly in the north‐west through Dunloran, Deloraine, Westbury, Westwood and south east through Whitemore and Oaks Road towards Bracknell. Meander Valley has no Class 1 land and small areas of Class 2 land to the north of Deloraine. This land is on basalt, the soils are deep, well‐structured free draining and suitable for intensive cropping. Slopes are gentle (<5 per cent) and relatively free of stone. The vast majority of prime land is Class 3 which occurs on basalt and tertiary sediment. These soils are similar to those of Class 2 with some variability in the range of slope angles, stone content, depth and type. These soils are suitable for intensive cropping and grazing. There are moderate levels of limitation restricting the choice of crops or reducing the level of productivity compared to Class 1 or Class 2 land. Soil conservation practices and sound management is needed to overcome these moderate limitations to cropping use. To prevent risk of damage to the soil resource, cropping 4 DPIPWE, Land Capability Survey of Tasmania 1993, Meander Report; and Grose C, Land Capability in Tasmania 1990. Regional Profile – Meander Valley, Tasmania 4 should be confined to three to five years out of ten in a rotation with pasture or equivalent during normal years. Productive agriculture in Meander Valley is not confined to prime land. Significant grazing and dairy occurs on land in Classes 4 and 5. The Class 4 land occurs on a wide range of parent material including Tertiary basalt, Tertiary sediments of the Launceston Basin, Permian and Triassic sandstones and mudstones, slates and quartzites, windblown sand and alluvium and gravels. This is land primarily suitable for grazing but may be used for occasional cropping. Severe limitations restrict the length of cropping phase and/or the range of crops that could be grown. Major conservation treatments and/or careful management are required to minimise degradation. Cropping rotations should be restricted to one to two years out of ten in a rotation with pasture or equivalent, during ‘normal’ years to avoid damage to the soil resource. Class 5 land occurs on dolerite and dolerite talus, tertiary sediment, alluvium and gravels. This land is unsuitable for cropping, although some areas on easier slopes may be cultivated for pasture establishment or renewal and occasional fodder crops may be possible. The land may have slight to moderate limitations for pastoral use. The effects of limitations on the grazing potential may be reduced by applying appropriate soil conservation measures and land management practices. Class 6 land occurs on dolerite, sandstone, mudstone, slates and quartzite, alluvium and basalt. Slopes are generally steep (30 per cent plus), shallow, stony and of low fertility making the land marginally suitable for grazing. Generally, this land should be retained under natural vegetation. In addition, there is small area of land mapped as Class 7, this occur on dolerite and Permian and Triassic sandstone and these areas are not suitable for agriculture and therefore are not included in the table above. Localities include Great Western Tiers, Cluan Tiers and Central Plateau.