26 Dec 2024
In less than a week we’ll be ringing in the New Year and looking ahead to the opportunities and challenges in store for Queensland agriculture. That makes now a good time to reflect on the significant accomplishments of QFF, our peak body members and industry partners.
QFF played a leading role in advocating for the Queensland Government to ban carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the Queensland component of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB), following a year-long campaign alongside our members, stakeholders and other leading Queensland peak bodies including the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ), and Queensland Conservation Council (QCC).
We were pleased to bring the sector together at key events during the year including our annual National Ag Day breakfast as well as an insightful event with demographer, Bernard Salt and his colleagues from The Demographics Group.
2024 saw a range of inquiries and media attention regarding supermarket pricing and the conduct of the supermarkets towards their suppliers. QFF’s peak body for horticulture, Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG) did an excellent job of humanising these complex issues through their We Give A Fork campaign.
QFVG was also instrumental in reversing changes to the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme that would have significantly impacted growers, and also joined QFF, Canegrowers, Cotton Australia and the National Farmers’ Federation in advocating against the removal of the 88 days of regional work required as part of the Working Holiday Maker visa program which provides a critical labour force for the Australian agriculture sector.
Canegrowers advocated strongly on behalf of their industry, particularly in the case of the Mossman Mill in which they called upon the State Government to guarantee the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons following the mill’s entry into voluntary administration.
Canegrowers are working closely with Premier Crisafulli on this important issue and other pressing election commitments including the $50 million committed to biosecurity. Throughout 2024 Canegrowers have advocated for stronger biosecurity action, especially with regards to feral pigs and fire ants, and are the leading voice for agriculture in relation to opportunities in the renewable aviation fuel space.
Cotton Australia held its biennial Cotton Conference on the Gold Coast, an excellent event which brought together nearly 3000 delegates including new and experienced growers, agronomists and researchers, brands and marketers, students, supply chain partners and industry groups to celebrate and advance the industry. Cotton Australia are to be congratulated for holding a conference that all of agriculture can be proud of.
Cotton Australia were also active in supporting the industry’s digitisation including the initiation of new traceability research in support of Australian cotton’s premium sustainability credentials. Its work has also seen the creation of a world first data dashboard that transparently reports Australian cotton information across a range of metrics including production, yield, quality, and social and environmental sustainability.
These cotton marketing efforts were bolstered by Cotton Australia’s work with the Australian Government to support market access by unlocking opportunities for Australian cotton through a Free Trade Agreement with India.
QFF is proud of the great work our peak body members are doing on behalf of their growers and for the role we play in supporting their efforts and building a strong unified voice for Queensland agriculture. On behalf of QFF, I wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy New Years and I look forward to working closely with our members, government and industry in 2025 to advance Queensland agriculture.
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