$2.8m boost to SEQ horticultural best management practice program announced

Horticulture farmers will be able to tap into a $2.8m boost to a program aimed at improve practices for at least 60 Queensland farms. HAVE YOUR SAY.

Andrew Powell, Sam Pike and Tony Perrett discuss a boost to a horticulture program.

A multimillion-dollar boost has been announced for a horticulture program targeting some key Queensland catchments.

The Queensland government announced its $2.8m boost to the South East Queensland Horticultural Best Management Practice Incentive program, which provides grants up to $30,000 to farmers in order to reduce chemical use, improve water quality and protect waterways, minimise erosion and increase productivity.

It is intended for the boost to reach at least 60 additional farmers in the next four years, with the program already proving to be successful for pineapple farmers in the Pumicestone Passage catchment.

Catchments in the Lockyer and Bremer River regions will also be targeted.

Horticulturalists will collaborate with industry extension officers to identify what changes can benefit their farming properties to access the grants.

Environment Minister Andrew Powell and Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett announced the funding boost at a pineapple farm in Beerwah on Thursday.

Views of a pineapple farm on Stokes Rd at Beerwah, with pineapple farmers gathering below to share tips and ideas.

Mr Powell said the program would help farmers do what they do best — tend to their land, provide produce to put onto Queensland tables, and get “top dollar” for it.

Mr Perrett labelled the program a “critical component” in getting leading technology and best practices on to farms in order to meet environmental expectations and grow the best produce.

Mr Powell also announced a boost to emergency disaster assistance recovery grant funding for primary producers to allow farmers to recover from Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Grants will increase from $25,000 to up to $75,000.

Australian Pineapples chairman Sam Pike and manager of Sandy Creek Pineapple Company, said the funding boost was huge for south-east Queensland farms.

He noted the boost was not a large amount of money for each farm unless it was used correctly, and stressed the importance for growers and the government to come together to “get things done”.

Mr Pike said the last thing farmers wanted was to do harm to waterways, and becoming more educated and implementing new strategies was important.

“We’ve done a lot stuff on the farms in the past few years and it’s only just a step, a tiny little bit of what we can do,” he said.