Broolooparkfarmstay in Sunshine Coast, Queensland | Country/region

Broolooparkfarmstay

Locality: Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Phone: +61 403 062 540

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24.01.2022 Do you want to UNDERSTAND the QLD VEG MANAGEMENT DEBATE?? Here is my down-to-earth explanation, from our Qld farm. *bring beverage of choice, it ain't short!* ...The issue IS complex but at its heart is this fact: farmers are effectively (large scale) GARDENERS. We need to ‘weed’ our patches to allow our products to grow and flourish. Imagine if you had to get a permit every time you wanted to weed or mow your lawn? Imagine if your veggie patch, that had produced amazing veggies for your neighbours for years, was deemed 'untouchable' and you were forced to watch it just become an overgrown mess? Imagine if you wanted to build a new and sustainable veggie patch, but was threatened with huge fines. That’s basically what Qld farmers are facing with these new laws I do think there are some MASSIVE misunderstandings about tree clearing/vegetation management, including: 1) That veg management/tree clearing means ALL trees are knocked over, or wiped out. This is NOT true. The vast majority of veg management is a careful 'weeding' process that seeks to maintain a balance between native trees, grasslands, flora and fauna. 2) That once areas are cleared/thinned, trees will never grow back they can and do, and with a vengeance! Some existing tree types, like mulga (grown much further west than here) are actually a complete pest and choke everything else out, unless they are regularly ‘harvested’ or knocked over for use as cattle or sheep fodder. 3) That trees are better at preventing erosion than grass. In our experience (and according to experts, see link in comments) grass cover can actually be FAR more effective in this role. Currently, strong measures are ALREADY in place to prevent over-clearing. Landholders across the state have spent lord knows how many hours (weeks, months) working with government bodies to get PMAVs in place (special maps that show us areas the government considers we CAN clear - shown on the map in white - and what is ‘protected’, generally ‘remnant’ or never-been-cleared areas). These white areas have been ‘locked in’ (allowing farmers the certainty they need to plan good management of their property, and are an essential tool if you are considering buying a property). PMAVs contribute to the actual value placed on a property (e.g. where there are few or no 'white' zones where farmers are allowed to thin or clear, production is much more limited). It looks possible that even this hard-fought and expensive mapping system, on which farmers (and their banks) have planned their futures, may be thrown over by the current government. Back to the proposed changes we face now... Areas ALREADY previously managed (either by current or previous landholders) and which, under existing laws farmers do NOT need to have additional approvals to MAINTAIN, will INSTEAD require new applications EVERY SINGLE TIME the owner need to re-work that area (that weeding I was referring to). This maintenance is a very normal practice - and I suspect this misunderstanding is the root cause of the public confusion about what vegetation management really is ... as I said, I liken it to gardening... doesn't matter how often you weed, in a few weeks time, you will need to come back and do it again. Same with tree management - the suckers (baby trees) can grow back in the cleared areas REALLY thick in subsequent months and years - often WAY more thickly than they were originally. It's part of what we expect when we maintain a property like ours... it's a constant and very necessary expense, which we do as we can afford it before it overtakes our grasslands. The window of time in which farmers can act to get sucker/regrowth under control (or conduct ‘vegetation management’) is sometimes quite narrow - dictated by financial means (which is often in turn dictated by weather and markets), and how much notice is required to book in the ‘management tool of choice’ - choppers (gangs who tordon individual suckers - our chosen method as we can be really selective about what we leave and what goes) dozers, or planes that apply aerial vegetation control. The longer you leave it, the more expensive an exercise it becomes. If we have to re-apply to government to deal with this regrowth EVERY time it becomes necessary, for EACH and EVERY area we need to manage, it not only creates (at best) many additional office hours workload for farmers (who are already too tied-up in red tape instead out doing what they do best: grow Australia's food and fibre), it will generate long delays taking on this work while waiting for the go-ahead to act, and potentially cause them to miss that window of best-opportunity. And that’s IF they get the 'okay' which will be at the whim of the Department. The government also want to alter what is considered 'non-remnant' regrowth, which further confuses the issue an area may have been cleared more than 15 years ago (this time lag may have to do with previous owners, lack of funds to maintain the clearing, succession planning issues etc) and the farmer may need to re-clear it to turn it BACK into more productive land again (a sensible business move which is not impacting heavily on ecosystems) but they CANNOT - because it will now fall into the ‘remnant’ category! It has become an area farmers won't be allowed to manage at all So producers who graze cattle and sheep (etc) who are currently looking to regain previously established grasslands, to 'improve' existing pastures, or invest in new ones, are suddenly in limbo or completely stymied. Available grass will decrease, land values will undoubtedly dive (as that land is suddenly less able to achieve the grass growth needed to run a viable business). Young people will hesitate to get involved in less viable operations. Communities will suffer. And here's the bit that affects everyone: LESS FOOD will be produced. The other massive change is that those wanting to clear new areas of land more fully (to plant crops) will simply be unable to. Perhaps big companies might be able to afford legal challenges to try and gain the right to clear the land needed to crop, but family operations simply won’t be able to bear the costs or the gamble. Bear in mind that cities are busily building themselves across arable land, along river systems and their nearby rich alluvial soils, so more areas NEED to be cultivated (and generally cleared more heavily) to replace this lost agricultural food-producing land ... to feed an ever-increasing number of mouths. It doesn't add up, does it? For us, our property is very heavily treed and will ALWAYS re-grow trees various factors mean our place is more suited to grazing and less to growing crops. That said, to help ‘drought proof’ ourselves, we’d love to cultivate small areas for fodder crops for our cattle so we are more sustainable and less likely to need assistance when a drought or tough season hits. That will be almost impossible under these new laws. Some areas and tree types and soil types (such as alluvial flats near water courses, that also provide the water for irrigation) will lend themselves better to more extensive cultivated farming, where food items that environmentalists so love eating like chickpeas, mung beans, avocados, nuts and vegetables are grown. But these new laws (to appease 'capital G' Green votes) will severely hamper the development of new areas to grow these crops ... How ironic is that??? These are just a COUPLE of illustrations of how these new laws will ill-affect Queensland farmers... there is much more, but I will let those affected in other ways tell their own stories. There is no doubt that balance needs to be maintained, as we farm land to produce food and fibre for our nation... we would argue that these new laws are NOT the way to achieve that balance. We ALREADY meet so many demands, we ALREADY care about our ecosystems and work towards long-term outcomes. Our futures, the future of our kids, depend on it. All we ask is that the government lets us do what we do best: keep on producing amazing, clean, traceable, sustainable food (and fibre) for Queensland, the nation and the world. #YourFoodOurFuture #Fight4QldFood #FairLawsforQldFood #LetFarmersFarm #Theoriginialgreenies