Industries

This page provides information on industries within the Limestone Coast Region. For further information on a specific industry please visit the Industries and Markets section.

Wine industry

The Limestone Coast incorporates a number of wine regions, Padthaway to the north, Robe and Cape Jaffa and Mount Benson on the north west coast and Wrattonbully and Coonawarra in the centre. Bordertown and Mount Gambier, while not recognised as separate wine regions by the Geographic Indication (GI) Committee of the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation, also form part of the Limestone Coast.

In 2007 the Limestone Coast zone had 300 winegrape growers with a total of around 15,000 hectares of winegrapes under cultivation which accounts for 21% of South Australia’s plantings. Of the different regions the largest by area planted are Coonawarra (5860ha), Padthaway (4010ha) and Wrattonbully (2550ha). The region produces 20.5% of Australia’s premium wine.

The Limestone Coast’s wine industry has a farm gate value of approximately $250 million – and value added around $1.5 billion. This supports 1,200 full time jobs. Water availability is a major issue for parts of the Limestone Coast, in particular Padthaway and Coonawarra.

Future opportunities for vineyard planting and wine production in the Limestone Coast region are likely to be towards the lower parts, particularly in light of water allocations. Primary Industry and Resources SA’s (PIRSA) Designated Primary Production Areas suggests that south of Mount Gambier is well suited to viticulture, while areas around Mt Benson / Robe may also be suitable for expansion.

The Limestone Coast Wine Industry Council Inc. has three main purposes:

  1. To be a body that represents the interests of the Limestone Coast wine community in government and other industry bodies. 
  2. Provide the body corporate to run a regional wineshow and attract and funnel sponsorship and funding into bonafide research projects.
  3. To be a conduit for correspondence and information flow between training, research and networking.

Horticulture 

With its reliable rainfall and supply of underground water, the Limestone Coast is one of South Australia's most productive and diverse agricultural regions with an abundance of vegetables, wine grapes, cereal grain, softwood timber, pastures and livestock.

In commercial horticulture, the region grows potatoes, herbs, oil seeds, peas and sweet corn, apples, lemons, walnuts, cherries and olives.
Fishing is also a major contributor to the regional economy while aquaculture is an emerging industry.

Dairy

The South East is a very important part of the South Australian dairy industry.  Presently it produced ~280 million litres of milk, which represents 42% of the states production. There are approximately 40,000 milking cows in this region, mostly in a year round production system, resulting in per cow average of just over 7000litres.

Lower South East

The Lower South East comprises dunes with the low-lying land between the dunes often subjected to surface flooding and water logging. The tendency for the area to be waterlogged has led to extensive drainage schemes.

The Lower South East includes most of the 136 dairy farms in the South East region.   The mild climate and excellent pastures account for the higher production levels and excellent quality milk seen in this region.  The average farm size is just under 300 cows.

Rainfall ranges from around 750 mm per year in the south to around 600mm in the north. Evaporation is low (< 1600 mm/year) throughout the region. This equates to approximately a 7 to 8 month growing season (where transpiration is greater than evaporation).  There are extensive high productivity groundwater aquifers in the region with high quality groundwater (<1500 mg/Land >5l/sec). Groundwater is licensed and is currently being converted to volumetric licenses.

Although there is unused capacity in the confined aquifer groundwater reserves of the Lower South East, Government policy aims to ensure that any further development is sustainable and that present irrigation practices are improved to increase the efficiency of water use.

Upper South East

The Upper South East extends north from about Naracoorte and includes a small number of dairies around Bordertown and Mundulla.

The groundwater resources of the region are highly valued and used primarily for irrigation of horticultural crops and some pastures. Water from unconfined (or watertable) aquifers is easily accessible (< 10 m in most low-lying areas) and used extensively. These aquifers are recharged by local rainfall. Water from the confined aquifer originates in Victoria and is deeper (>50 m) but generally of low salinity (600 - 3000 mg/L). In most areas it is sub-artesian but between Lucindale and the coast it is artesian and thus easily accessible and used to irrigate pastures. Water from the confined aquifer is not recharged by rainfall but in part from the watertable and mainly through specific recharge areas.

In the Upper South East the water used for irrigation comes from unconfined aquifers which tend to be more saline. Irrigation inevitably increases the salinity of the groundwater and in some areas increased use of this resource has led to significant increases in salinity.

References:  Dairy SA Regional Action Plan 2000

Forestry

Plantation forestry has been an established in the south east of South Australia for over 100 years. Together with south west Victoria it makes up the internationally recognised Green Triangle Plantation Region.

As at March 2010 the South Australian component of the region included 107,800 ha of Pinus radiata (Radiata Pine) and 42,100 ha Eucalyptus globulus (Tasmanian blue gum). Forest ownership is a combination of public and private. A number of local farmers have integrated forestry into their farming operations with over 6,000 ha of farm forestry contributing to the regions plantation estate.

PIRSA Forestry supports development opportunities that enhance the contribution of South Australia's forest and forest products sector through innovation, value adding, barrier reduction and providing information.

PIRSA Forestry has facilitated the development of the Guidelines for Plantation Forestry in South Australia 2009. These provide a framework for the establishment and management of plantation forests, including mandatory requirements and additional forest industry practices.

The South Australian Parliament has amended the Forest Property Act 2000 to provide new business opportunities for plantation owners and farm foresters. The amended act enables separate ownership of land, forest vegetation and the carbon rights in that vegetation. The act provides for two forms of Forest Property Agreement (for vegetation and carbon rights) that can be registered on the Lands Title register. Both forms of agreement bind the future owners of the land. Once agreements are established, private landowners will be able to sell their forests and/or carbon rights to provide additional income without selling their land.

PIRSA Forestry produces a range of fact sheets and information specific to landholders in South Australia. Please check the Forestry publications for this information. Alternatively contact PIRSA Forestry directly for further information.

Key external links for further information

Link icon Limestone Coast Wine - Wine region information

Link icon Limestone Coast Horticulture Investment - Horticulture development assisstance

Link icon Dairy Industry Australia - Dairy industry information

Link icon PIRSA Forestry - Plantation forestry information