Committee Members Jim Maynard (Chair) James Morris (Snr Vice Chair) Ben Mannix (Vice Chair) Rosemary Barnes Ian Edson Ted Davies Gerard Glover Ray Scott Alastair McRobert Graham Morphett Mal Robinson John Vagg Lyn Howard
NSW Farmers' Association Staff E nswfarmers@ nswfarmers.org.au
P 02 8251 1700 F 02 8251 1750
Member Service Centre 1300 794 000
Western Division
The Western Division of NSW is an economic powerhouse which generates in excess of $1 billion in earnings each year. It comprises some 32.5 million hectares, representing 42% of the land area in NSW, and is populated by only 52,830 people.
The Western Division of NSW stretches from the Murray River at Balranald in the south, to the Barwon River at Mungindi in the north, and west to the South Australian Border. With an average annual rainfall of 200 mm in the west and 400 mm in the east, the Western Division is ideal pastoral country.
The Division is largely Crown Land held under perpetual leasehold, and administered by the Western Lands Commission, a division of the NSW Department of Natural Resources.
The major agricultural product is wool, however, improved production and land management practices have permitted the diversification of enterprises on properties, allowing pastoralists more flexibility. As a result the Western Division's 1,700 perpetual leaseholdings produce a surprising array of agricultural products including premium quality prime hard wheat, wool, cereals, oilseeds, cotton, lamb, mutton, beef, citrus, dairy products, rice, grapes, vegetables, goat and kangaroo meat and exotic breeds of sheep.