Livestock and animal industries in Queensland

Queensland's animal industries include livestock (such as cattle, sheep, poultry and pigs) and livestock products (such as wool, dairy products and eggs).

Animal industries contribute significantly to Queensland's economy.

Queensland has a well-deserved reputation for clean, safe and ethically-produced food. This reputation is supported by Australia's stringent biosecurity measures and traceability systems.

Beef

Queensland is Australia's main producer and exporter of beef.

World-class research, development, biosecurity measures and production practices have kept Queensland's beef industry free from many of the world's most serious bovine diseases—such as foot-and-mouth disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy—making our beef products among the world's safest.

Sheep

Sheep farming has been a staple of Queensland's primary industries since the 1840s, producing both wool and meat.

Queensland's current sheep belt covers an area of about 55 million hectares.

Goats

Queensland's rangeland goat industry has increased significantly in recent years, with strong demand from overseas markets. Producers are working to improve genetics, nutrition and husbandry practices to increase the production of their enterprises.

Pigs

Pig production and other sectors of the pork supply chain contribute significantly to regional communities and the Queensland economy.

Managing a commercial pig herd is a capital and labour-intensive business. Success requires a sound combination of business management and pig husbandry knowledge and skills.

Poultry and egg production

Queensland's largest poultry industries are chicken meat and eggs.

There are also niche industries such as squab and quail. Increased consumption of chicken meat and eggs, combined with genetic improvements and production and processing efficiencies, have contributed to the growth of Queensland's poultry industries.

Kangaroos

Queensland's commercial kangaroo industry makes a valuable contribution to many regional communities.

Employment opportunities exist in the harvesting, transporting and processing sectors and also for service providers. The industry operates within tight legislative guidelines to maintain food safety and integrity and ensure animal welfare and sustainability objectives are achieved.

Dairy

Queensland's dairy industry produced 299 million litres of milk in 2021–22. Queensland has about 150,000 milking cows, with farms spanning from the Far North to south-east Queensland and the Darling Downs.

Bees

There are more than 111,500 commercial bee hives in Queensland. As well as producing honey, bees play a vital role in the balance of nature—especially the pollination of agricultural crops, horticultural crops and the household garden.