Land use

Western Australia is the largest Australian State, spanning 2 400 kilometres from north to south, and experiencing a variety of climatic conditions, soil and land properties, and water availability. Accordingly, the state is suited to a variety of agricultural industries ranging from open range grazing and broadacre cereal cropping through to irrigated pastures and horticulture, orchards and vineyards.

The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia provides the advice, support and tools needed to ensure the State’s land has the capability to sustain agricultural use, without degrading the soil and water resources on which it relies, and to ensure our most valuable agricultural land is protected from non-agricultural development. 

Articles

  • The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) identifies high quality agricultural land (HQAL) using a methodology that combines land and water resource information, to high

  • Four years of research by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) has laid the foundation for growth of new irrigated industries and development in the La Grange area, sou

  • The La Grange project was established in 2012 to investigate the opportunities for Irrigated Agricultural development in the La Grange region, south of Broome, Western Australia.

  • The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is planning for the future of irrigated agriculture development in the Pilbara

  • The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development provides advice and information to land-use planners to help them consider the needs of agriculture and food sectors in their decisions

  • Land capability assessment is used to identify the potential for agricultural and non-agricultural land uses. It considers specific requirements of the land use and also identifies potenti