More Land Clearing

Land clearing for wheat, sheep and dairy production continued through the Depression years of the 1930s, in spite of poor world crop prices. The mechanisation of the means of clearing land began prior to the Second World War with the use of tractors and balls and chains. This method was refined and expanded as technology improved. The amount of land able to be cultivated had increased thanks to improved farming techniques, such as the use of superphosphates, and improved grain varieties.
In the second half of the twentieth century agricultural production extended into areas which had been considered marginal at best. Between 1950 and 1980 the total area of land cleared for farming rose from 6.8 million hectares to just under 15 million. By the end of the twentieth century land clearing in Western Australia had provided vast areas of land for cultivation, chiefly wheat growing.  Associated land management problems, such as increased salinity in some areas, resulted.