In Australian agriculture, rough and intensive coexist, and labor productivity is high. Agriculture is greatly influenced by international markets and natural conditions. The mode of operation to family farms, but presents to the development trend of large farms, such as dairy farming farms since the 1980s more than 20,000 reduced to the current 9,250, the number of reduced, but the scale increases; and, agricultural operations by mixed to the development of specialization, the regional professional production zone is obvious; agriculture from the livestock industry to the main animal husbandry, planting and the development of the livestock industry. Australia's field crops mainly include wheat, barley, sorghum, oats and rice, sugarcane, cotton and other crops, belonging to the rain-fed agriculture, less irrigation facilities, crop yields are more variable. The average size of farms is about 4000hm2 but varies greatly. Generally cattle farms and sheep farms are larger in area, wheat and sheep farms are the next largest, grain farms and vegetable farms are smaller. 94% or more are family farms, and the rest are owned by public or private companies. Australia's agricultural mechanization is high.
Australia's agricultural resource conditions in each state, climate conditions and other differences, in the large geomorphological pattern and the role of natural geographic differentiation under the constraints of Australia according to different temperatures, rainfall, soil and other conditions of the rational allocation of agricultural resources, agriculture has gradually formed a regional characteristics and specialization of production and management. For example, the sugarcane belt along the Queensland coast, the apple area in Tasmania, the wheat belt in the southeast, and the emergence of sheep southward and beef cattle northward, forming a distinctive agriculture with the advantages of each state. The rational layout of agricultural and livestock production not only protects the ecological environment, but also maximizes the return on resources.
From the point of view of the geographical type of agriculture, the north is the production base of beef cattle, fruits, cotton, sugar cane and vegetables. For example, in Queensland, the sugarcane area accounts for 90% of the whole of Australia, cotton accounts for 50%, fruit accounts for 39%, and beef cattle farming accounts for 33%. The southeastern coast, with relatively high rainfall and a mild climate, is the main producer of grain, vegetables, dairy cattle, sheep, and beef cattle; for example, dairy farming accounts for 63.8% in Victoria, 12.6% in New South Wales, 7% in each of Queensland and South Australia, and only less than 10% in the other states. The central interior is an arid and semi-arid region, dominated by low-density rough grazing in the prairies.