A $4.5 million project designed to build resilient mixed-farming enterprises will be launched at Community Cabinet in Roma next weekend.
Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland Tim Mulherin will meet with project partners next week to discuss the Grain & Graze II project designed to help farmers address some significant challenges over the next four years.
"Grain & Graze II is a significant financial investment in developing mixed farm businesses that can adapt quickly to changing climatic, market and policy conditions," Mr Mulherin said.
"It will achieve its goals with a mix of advice provided through field days, publications, on-farm activities, on-line decision support tools and packages, and on-farm research.
The program will address declining soil fertility/health, improving the diversification of crops, pastures and forages, and improving water use efficiency and ground cover.
"This will significantly improve on-farm risk management and whole farm profitability for Queensland's mixed farming systems and collectively these are exciting and new directions for our agricultural industries and delivery agents," Mr Mulherin said.
He said Grain & Graze II would build on the success of the first project by using already established networks and experiences while also opening the door to new partners and networks.
"There is great potential in the project region to adjust the enterprise mix on-farm between crop type and grazing in response to commodity prices and/or climate and land capability," Mr Mulherin said.
"In some parts of Australia, it's been shown that achieving a better balance between crop type, and crop and pasture growth according to season, has led to an increase in farm profitability of 22 per cent.
"We're only beginning to explore the potential here but what we do know is that where there is greater diversity of on-farm income sources, as well as greater reliance on off-farm income, we will see more resilient total farm incomes."
Project funding has come from the Queensland Government ($2.3 million), the Grains Research and Development Corporation and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry's Caring for our Country Sustainable Agriculture Initiative ($2 million collectively). Funding from other project partners brings the project budget to $4.5 million in total.
Queensland Grain & Graze project leader from the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation Nick Christodoulou said all project partners were keen to see the project kick off.
"It's taken two years of negotiations and development nationally as well as the success of Grain & Graze I to ensure a new and better program for phase two.
"This project will be implemented collectively by some of the region's leaders in extension, research and development.
"We are proud to partner with the Condamine Alliance, Queensland Murray-Darling Committee, Border Rivers-Gwydir Catchment Management Authority, CSIRO and the University of New England.
"All organisations already have a strong presence in the northern region and have significant networks with land holders through their extension officers and researchers."
The project's region extends from the Border Rivers/Gwydir catchment in NSW and the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin.
The project specifically aims to:
- build the human capacity for adaptive management,
- support better matching of land use to land capability by modifying the on-farm mix
- improve the use of pasture in crop rotations
- support better managed crop rotations that include fodder crops and pulses.
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