As a province, Cachapoal is a second-level administrative division of Chile, governed by a provincial delegate who is appointed by the president.

[1] Forty five percent of the population of the province live in rural areas, as compared with 33% in the Maule Region and 13% in Chile as a whole.

The winters (late May to mid September) tend to be rather humid and rainy, with typical maximum daily temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius, and minimum just above freezing.

The rainfall is more abundant in the eastern as well as the southern part of the province (Parral), and the effects of this are seen in the good conditions for rice cultivation in the latter area.

The province's major and more profitable crops include cereals (rice, wheat, and maize among them), vegetables (tomatoes, cauliflower, lettuce, onions, and artichokes), legumes (lentils and beans), fruit (especially kiwi fruit, pears, apples, berries, table grapes, melons, watermelons, peaches, and nectarines), and sugar beets.