Growing for Queensland
Reply and Vote on Ideas
Mareeba workshop ideas.
QDAF
- Combining carbon and intensive farming for a sustainable region.
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- Enterprise planning for workforce and farm business skills.
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- Food trails from the reef to the rainforest to the outback.
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- De-risking investment—priority areas and planning for what can happen where.
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- “New” business models uniting grower businesses (associations, cooperatives).
Peak Industry group ideas.
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- Telling the good ag stories.
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- Zero waste from organics and nutrient stream.
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- Skilled for business; today and tomorrow.
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- Coordinate widespread effort to grow exports under brand Australia.
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- Boutique brands—connect growers with product development.
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- Repurposing waste water for high value irrigation.
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- Drought preparation for horticulture sector.
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- Reduce barriers for industry / aquaculture.
Toowoomba workshop ideas.
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- Integrated water solutions to do more with less in horticulture hub.
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- Connectivity between tech, end users and platform developers to revolutionise farming.
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- Transforming industry to best practice in workplace safety.
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- Fostering change by starting where growers are—not where we want them to be.
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- Matching migrants to regional employment needs.
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- Innovate through different models for investment attraction.
Emerald workshop ideas.
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- Research, development and extension models – look at system based, local, cross-industry levy management of RD&E funding to address gaps for local producers.
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- Supply chain efficiencies – map supply chains for regions to increase visibility and identify opportunities for value-adding.
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- Unlocking potential in CQ water – policy mechanism to allow temporary transfer of industrial reserves to productive use; increase transparency and show trading and availability of temporary as well as permanent water.
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- Cross-regional collaboration to grow domestic and export markets, e.g. Tropical Pines.
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- Agriculture Centre of Excellence – for the next generation workforce. A range of organisations delivering training components, flexible training, collaboration with future-focused regional businesses.
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- Market development – develop regional hubs that source products from smaller providers to supply and negotiate market access.
Bundaberg workshop ideas.
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- Coordinating agritourism events and opportunities with other tourism events in the region.
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- Regional workforce strategy – currently have both high unemployment and high demand for workers.
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- Regional hub for research and development for market access protocols.
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- Improved collaboration of fresh food exports – between export service providers and across industry.
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- Collective regional action plan for agriculture – identifying an agreed, coordinated strategic direction and opportunities for the region.
Longreach workshop ideas.
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- Diversifying businesses to add income streams.
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- Paddock to Plate for central western Queensland – linking local produce with tourism through partnerships between producers, processors and tourism.
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- Become producers and exporters of cheap energy as a commodity.
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- ‘Save our Grasslands’ social media to achieve biodiversity outcomes – build on strength of local community and increase understanding of loss of natural grasslands.
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- ‘Save our Grasslands’ social media to achieve biodiversity outcomes – build on strength of local community and increase understanding of loss of natural grasslands.
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- Central West to become a leader for rangeland livestock production training – optimising Longreach Pastoral College facilities.
Brisbane inter-agency working group and independent panel workshop.
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- Climate change resilience – improving understanding of impacts on water, health, crops, to enable management of risks across a range of scales.
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- A biosecurity movement to reduce biosecurity risks (similar to Landcare).
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- Connecting agriculture into opportunities in emerging industries – linking with research, hubs and networks – eg plant based packaging, alternative proteins, synthetic biology.
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- Digitising extension activities and coordinating access.
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- Linking producers and processing at regional scale to reduce transport costs and add value. Need to understand where the capability and infrastructure is in Queensland, and make the connections.
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- Linking education and agriculture, including links with financial literacy, STEM.
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- Connecting people, businesses and ideas through digital clusters to drive growth and change.
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- Broadening our idea of “regional” in the delivery of regional infrastructure – work across regions and across state boundaries to optimise food processing and supply system.
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- Integrated planning and sharing data to better anticipate infrastructure needs – e.g. transitions between crops may place more demand on resources and infrastructure.
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- Use technology to gather data for Safe Food Queensland without having to go out and collect data on farm.
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- Use fresh Queensland produce and the social influence of Queensland’s food industry to drive improved nutrition and health for Queenslanders.
Nambour workshop ideas.
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- Case management approach to assist with navigating regulation for use of wastewater on cropping.
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- Support for new food and agribusiness clusters.
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- New models for collaborative research – industry-led research and development with SMEs and government.
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- Linking people and businesses across industries to more effectively use wastewater (e.g. how do you find a business to set up protected cropping adjacent to an aquaculture facility?).
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- Reducing costs to deliver edible waste to other businesses that can value add. Levy funding could be directed to research and development for manufacturing opportunities.
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- Incentivise construction of waste facility to convert food waste to compost, fertiliser, energy, other value added products (e.g. RichGrow in WA).
Proserpine workshop ideas.
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- Market access protocols to open up access to international markets – changed approach to negotiating protocols to enable multiple products to be negotiated at one time.
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- Exploring alternative income streams for small scale producers – including new products, agritourism and brand development.
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- Developing higher value products from food waste and biomass.
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- a coordinated approach to align farmers and seasonal workers – e.g. similar to the Work America program.
Charters Towers workshop ideas.
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- Demand driven industry – practical support and coordination for businesses to break into the market– for example, coordination of market access; linkages between farm gate and market; representation of Australian products to international markets.
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- Succession planning – working with family farm businesses to plan for change of ownership.
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- Agribusiness-led identification of problems and opportunities to connect to research and development organisations or solutions, to deliver profitable and sustainable farming solutions / agribusinesses.
QDAF
- Social licence to operate – selling the message.Develop sustainably, tell the good news stories, focus on regional communities, across sectors and across Qld agriculture
QDAF
- Attracting and retaining young people in agribusinesses – increasing links between schools and industry, with a focus on STEM, skills, and pathways to industry, including down the supply chain. Existing example is the Agribusiness Gateway to Industry Schools Program.
What do you want to see in the future of the agribusiness and food sector?
Ana
- I'd like to see more farming for nutrient density in our foods. We need to put people back in touch with the facts that what they eat makes a difference to their health. Clean, sustainable, regenerative farming practices that support nutrient density in the product.
Stuart
- A standard code of environmental footprint (perhaps based around carbon intensity/costing) per unit of food, fibre or fuel on products to assist consumers to differentiate on product selection based on cost and environmental impact whether that be to the GBR or to overall climate change. Thus assisting in driving more ethical and environmental agricultural produce.
Ross
- Big picture data used to be bale to look at drought management and forecasting but including local information on the health and well being of communities at a Social, Physical, Emotional, Economic , Environmental, levels as well
Suegoodrick
- A census of all food growing - where and what is being grown, amounts produced, water used classification of techniques used, soil type, prevalence of composting, vermiculture capabilities etc. To establish baseline, identify gaps in local production, understand the context in which foodis grown. For food security under changed climate conditions with the aim of preserving and improving sustainable food growing capacity.
Suegoodrick
- Make it easier for people to grow and sell produce from home. Eg rates reductions for % of block under food production; allow street side stalls without council red tape; facilitate growing on vacant land blocks; allow (promote!) - make itharderfor councis to block - verge vege gardens to promote fresh local foodbut also community.
Suegoodrick
- Limit development (for housing etc) on food growing land. Food should be grown as close as possible to where people liveto reduce food miles and carbon emissions.
LS
- Key areas for focus include biosecurity, starter cultures, food safety over quality and traceability. Better biosecurity support for and implementation by farmers as well as education for visitors to farms including service providers. This is vitally important for the security and future of food grown in Queensland. One of the barriers to cheese and yoghurt makers producing a 100% Australian product is that there are no starter cultures made in Australia. Whilst starter cultures were once made in Australia they have not been for some time and are sourced from overseas. Investment in affordable Australian made starter cultures would enable 100% Australian made cheese and yoghurts. This would also support the promotion and purchase of products grown and made in Queensland i.e. provenance. More of a focus on and promotion of food safety rather than ‘quality’ food products. With an increasing number of food recalls and foodborne illness outbreaks if there is more information about the individual food producers’ practices starting on-farm and going throughout the supply chain that ensure the safety of food grown and made in Queensland there will be more transparency, trust and an enthusiasm to buy food grown and made here. Investment in affordable technology that enables better food traceability. This includes on the product and/or packaging as well as the use of technology. It would support provenance and would be a value-added service that informs consumers both in Australia and overseas.
Ann Ross
- My aspiration for agribusiness is ‘conservation’ of the food chain. We currently utilise approximately 1% of edible plant species to fuel our diets. In the long term this will put the future of our food system at risk. I would love to see the support of innovation in the farming sector around the development of high nutritional value food sources. Throughout Queensland, we have the opportunity to explore drought resistant food crops that have evolved as part of our unique Australian eco-system. It would be great to see further development of native, nutritionally rich plant species in rural and regional areas that can be grown on a commercial scale.
MMO
- Statewide co-ordinated treated effluent irrigation schemes redirecting treated sewerage effluent away from receiving waters/ marine environment to high value irrigated agriculture/ water intensive industries.
John J
- The ag industry needs an affordable insurance option to cover business and crops to enable financial stability so we are confident to invest in the future.
AnimalLibQld
- There needs to be greater support and investment in plant-based proteins (meat alternatives). This is a rapidly growing sector, which some projections predict may even overtake global sales of animal-based meat by 2040. Currently Australia has some great companies leading the way and jumping onboard this trend, but most companies are still having to produce these products offshore and import for selling on Australian supermarket shelves. Government support and initiatives that help Australian farmers and manufacturers to take advantage of this growing opportunity is needed.
StephanieS
- Greater support and resourcing for the native food sectors. There is great potential for commercial farming industries to take up cultivating food such as Finger Limes, quandongs, Wattleseed or Lemon Myrtle, but the reports and information are being gathered by independent research and lobbyist groups, not government.
Mike
- An Agriculture Industry Adjudication System similar to that which is in the Building Industry in Qld. Independent industry adjudicators who can be engaged when there are issues between Producers and Processors for example. Beef and Grazing and Agricultural Producers generally have no independent Government provided service for when issues arise or mistakes and misunderstandings occur in this sector and incorrect payments or wrongful processes take place. It would be user pays and have a independent Panel of industry specific Adjudicators not linked to Donor Companies or Processors etc. This is and an urgent need in this important sector. Integrity of Product and Transparency through processing and fair dispute outcomes are sorely needed without the Producers being forced to go it alone with civil litigation or arbitration. It must be Agriculture / Grazing Industry specific and facilitated independently by the State and Federal Governments. The world respects and watches Australia and its Integrity of products. This is Adjudication issue is an area currently that does not exist and if instigated would reduce discrimination toward Producers small and Large and give better consumer confidence. Just as the Adjudication in the Queensland Building Industry is a good model as it assists and ensures timely fair outcomes, proper payment of services and products, and a method of ensuring quality and specifications are met subsequently in the supply to the consumer. It is clear and transparent. It would have timely and swiftly enforceable outcomes. Dispute resolution and any form of Arbitration is currently flawed as it is in the main done by Donor Company conflicted persons and or Processor conflicted persons. All Farmers and the Consumers need urgently a clear and trusting adjudication of matters that Grass roots Producers can be seen to have fairness in the production of their consumable agricultural products and protein.
Nick
- Definition of profitable "Reef Safe" agriculture - identifying the fertiliser, pesticide and grazing practices by commodity, variety, crop year, season, micro-climate, soil type that are fully consistent with Ag's contribution to safely meeting the reef's water quality targets.. And then designing practical, scaled up, joined up extension, incentive, R&D and compliance systems which secure the adoption rate needed. This should include Government led promotion of the brand into national and international markets and supply chains
Feedback loop
Zara
- Agribusiness and food sources are climate dependent (as discussed on pages 22-24 of the discussion paper). I would like to see environmental sustainability be the paramount concern of the sector. This would mean a shift away from animal agriculture to plant based alternatives which are more sustainable on resources. Greater incentives need to be given to industries that have a lesser impact on climate change and those industries that are harmful to the environment need to be discouraged. This promotion of environmentally sustainable food sources also needs to be extended to the greater consumer/citizen community.
Beth Woods
- After receiving feedback from the Nursery & Garden Industry Queensland on the Growing for Queensland discussion paper, I would like to acknowledge that the agribusiness and food industry development strategy will include our food, fibre and foliage industries. The amenity horticulture industry, which includes production and retail nurseries and allied trades; parks, gardens, arboriculture, landscaping and speciality sectors; turf and floriculture, is an important and growing industry for Queensland, with a forecast gross value of production of $1409 million for 2018-19. I look forward to continuing the conversation and working with the Nursery & Garden Industry Queensland and their members during the engagement period and in the development of the strategy.