Grow Your Field recipients named
Setting goals and charting the course of an entire sector for the next decade sounds like a daunting task, but Queensland horticulture hasn’t hesitated in beginning to execute its Future Fields strategy.
Future Fields-the Queensland fresh produce sector’s vision for 2022 to 2032-was co-designed with hundreds of industry stakeholders. In its first stage, the sector prioritised the strategic work areas of coordinated compliance, to be bio-strong, innovation to access markets, and working smarter together.
In this next implementation phase, the recent call for seed projects unearthed a wonderful diversity of ideas from across the state and each successful application shows a high level of commitment to the sector and our 10-year vision.
The quality and range of applications received demonstrates that growers, their agribusinesses, and social enterprise across the state are doing some brilliant work that will better our sector and have meaningful impact.
Streamlining on-farm compliance, an innovative AgTech solution for Australia’s pineapple industry, and drone technology solutions in organic bananas are just some of the amazing projects soon to commence.
The Future Fields ‘Grow Your Field’ seed funding recipients are:
Jah Farming Pty Ltd (Future Proofing Organic Farming in Tropical North QLD): $19,000 to support investment in drone technology for precision protectant spraying and placement of beneficials.
Wide Bay Pineapples (Pick & Leave Pineapple Technology): $19,000 to further develop an AgTech solution to automate pineapple picking based on sugar level in a controlled traffic system.
FNQ Food Incubator (First Nations Foods): $19,000 to investigate, document, and publish a list of FNQ native food ingredients, suppliers, buyers, and farming best practices.
Jenn McKee & Taylor Family Produce (Coordinated Compliance for Queensland Growers): $13,000 for review of the compliance landscape and practical recommendations for streamlining requirements to assist hort growers in Queensland.
Granite Belt Growers Association (Granite Gate to the World): $19,000 to investigate and document value-adding opportunities and markets for surplus produce from the Granite Belt region.
These projects demonstrated clear links to one or more of the Future Fields priority areas, and will lead to tangible, practical outcomes to benefit their agribusinesses and the sector more broadly.
We will be following these projects as they come to life over the next 12 months, sharing their progress with optimism and anticipation.
