Wide Bay, Burnett farms receive government agritourism grant

Two Wide Bay and Burnett farms are the government’s latest Agritourism Business Grant recipients, a scheme supporting businesses growth for rural farmers.

Two farms in the Wide Bay and Burnett regions are the latest recipients of the government’s Agritourism Business Grant, a scheme supporting businesses growth for rural farms.

The Firebreak Farm in South Burnett and The Petersen’s Farm in Gympie are the latest recipients of the Agritourism Business Grants in partnership with the Queensland Farmers’ Federation.

The grant supports the resilience of farming sectors while growing agritourism in Queensland.

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Minister for Rural Communities Mark Furner said providing co-funding allowed operators to establish or expand agritourism enterprises to meet growing demand for unique Queensland experiences.

“Twelve farming businesses have secured between $8,000 to $25,000 in matched funding to engage specialist services, and construct or modify on-farm infrastructure,” Mr Furner said.

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“These farming businesses want to be more resilient and have the capacity to diversify or expand into successful agritourism businesses,” he said.

The Firebreak Farm focuses on producing nutrient dense food in order to build and foster a well-fed community.

A Firebreak Farm spokesman said they focus on producing delicious nutrient dense food in order to build and foster a well-fed community.

“Our regenerative farming practices ensure that our produce is not only good for you, but the environment too,” he said.

QFF CEO Jo Sheppard said agritourism helped to connect city communities to regional communities, builds a bridge between country and city, grows an understanding of food production and an understanding of the agricultural sector more broadly.

“Congratulations to the successful grant recipients. I commend these farmers on the work they are doing to develop their own enterprises and to contribute to Queensland’s agritourism industry,” Ms Sheppard said.

The Petersen’s Farm crew pride themselves on growing specialised crops such as Rosella, Cape gooseberry, Red Bora beans, chillies, gourmet tomatoes and Asian vegetables.

The crew at Petersen’s Farm in Gympie prides themselves on growing specialised crops such as Rosella, Cape gooseberry, Red Bora beans, chillies, gourmet tomatoes and Asian vegetables.

“Farming is what we do, because we care and love what we do! We believe in sustainable farming and looking after our community and our people,” the Petersen Farm said in a statement.

Mr Furner said a series of agritourism development workshops had also been conducted under this initiative, making a real difference to farmers on how they approached the tourism part of their agritourism business, and to understand what resources are available to them.

“In 2020 the Palaszczuk Government established a $2 million agribusiness diversification project as part of the Unite and Recover: Economic Recovery Plan, to build capability and explore potential diversification opportunities in agricultural businesses,” Mr Furner said.

“QFF identified agritourism as a key diversification mechanism for agribusinesses and with DAF’s assistance, partnered with agritourism specialists Regionality Pty Ltd to develop the Queensland Agritourism Roadmap that identified barriers to and opportunities for agritourism growth across the state,” he said.