Today’s land use planning decisions will have significant impacts on future generations of Queensland agricultural production. These impacts will flow on to our state’s economy, our national diet, food affordability and the composition of our regional communities.
A range of factors have put the land use planning conversation front of mind for many farmers, including our growing regional populations, the roll out of renewable energy and infrastructure developments, and an increase in environmental and biodiversity projects.
Each of these factors represents an opportunity and a risk for our state’s agriculture sector, particularly in cases where these developments impinge on prime agricultural land.
Another consequence of our growing regions is a rise in complaints over routine farm practices from people unfamiliar with the requirements of agricultural production. Farms that have been operating for generations are receiving nuisance complaints over dust, noise, odour, machinery movements and irrigation scheduling that they have never received in the past.
Not only are these complaints unnecessary in cases where farmers are doing nothing wrong, they are an unwelcome additional stressor, impacting the mental health of farmers and broader community trust.
QFF and our peak body members endorse the move to legislate ‘Right to Farm’ protections, to ensure the rights and responsibilities of farmers are reinforced at a local government level.
While there has been an increase in competition for agricultural land, it is also worth remembering that for all of these pressures there are also numerous emerging opportunities for farmers to add value to their land while maintaining their core primary production business.
QFF has recently partnered with CarbonLink, the market leader in end-to-end soil carbon services. Soil carbon projects represent an opportunity to improve agricultural land quality and productivity while offering an additional income stream, with CarbonLink clients having generated 92% of all Australian Carbon Credit Units issued to date for soil carbon farming.
The agritourism opportunity is also one of growing importance for farmers considering a means of diversification. By 2030 the sector is expected to be worth $5.5 billion and is expected to generate nearly $20 billion indirectly across adjacent sectors.
QFF, our members and Agritourism Queensland, the peak body for the sector, are promoting what a thriving agritourism sector will look like to the Queensland Government as the broader tourism opportunity surrounding the 2032 Olympic Games and its legacy comes into firmer view.
QFF and our members also continue to meet with the Queensland Government to advance discussions on regional planning and the need for greater protection of existing use agricultural land, while also promoting emerging opportunities that compliment primary production.