Agriculture in Australia has had a lively history. The first European settlers in 1788 brought agricultural technologies with them from their homelands, influencing early practices in Australia. Wool production dominated the 19th century, while dairying grew rapidly during the first half of the 20th century.
Despite having one of the driest landscapes in the world, Australia has been successful in adapting agricultural practices to the land, and these innovations in farming are explained in this well-researched volume.
Focusing on the technologies that the farmers and graziers actually used, this book follows the history of each of the major commodities or groups of commodities to the end of the 20th century: grain crops, sheep and wool, beef and dairy, working bullocks and horses, sugar, cotton, fruit and vegetables, and grapes and wine. Major issues facing the various agricultural enterprises as they enter the 21st century are also discussed.
Written in a readable style to suit students of history, social sciences and agriculture, Australian Agriculture will also appeal to professionals in the industry and those with a general interest in Australian sociology and history.
The treatment of the colonial period in Australia also covers contemporaneous policy and agricultural practice in Britain and Ireland
Provides an assessment of the issues facing each agricultural industry and comments on likely outcomes
Extremely well referenced, making it an ideal book for anyone wishing to study the issues in greater depth
CSIRO PUBLISHING would like to thank the Crawford Fund whose generous financial support made the publication of this work possible.
Intoduction
Chapter 1 – Grain Crops
Chapter 2 – Sheep and Wool
Chapter 3 – Beef and Dairy Products
Chapter 4 – Working Bullocks and Horses
Chapter 5 – Sugar Cane
Chapter 6 – Cotton
Chapter 7 – Fruit and Vegetables
Chapter 8 – Grapes and Wine
Acknowledgements
References
Index
University students of history, social sciences and agriculture, professional readers, libraries including: public, secondary school, university and TAFE.
Ted Henzell joined CSIRO in 1956 on return from a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford. His 36 years with the national research organisation were divided about equally between research on tropical pastures and other responsibilities, including terms as Chief of its Division of Tropical Crops and Pastures and as a senior executive in Canberra. He maintained his interest in agriculture after leaving CSIRO, as an honorary professor at the University of Qld, as chairman of the Sugar R&D Corporation, as board chair of the Centre for Tropical Plant Pathology and internationally, as a member of the technical advisory committee for the international agricultural research centres.