Download Productive and resilient agricultural landscapes in the Condamine

Depa rtment of Natural Resources and Mines
Productive and resilient agricultural landscapes in the Condamine region
Project summary
Proponent: Condamine Alliance
Value: $990,000
Project duration: 1 October 2013 – 30 June 2016
Project description
This project will address a range of priority issues that impact on productivity and resilience in
agricultural landscapes of the Condamine River catchment. 195 farmers and advisors will
participate in the project. They will develop targeted knowledge and engage with skills
development initiatives to adopt innovative practices and solutions. Engagement and capacity
building activities will support 75 cropping and grazing land managers in priority areas to improve
practices across 16,800 hectares of land. The proven relationships between resource condition,
productivity and long term sustainability will be utilised in relation to practice change.
The project targets the Darling Downs as the majority of Queensland’s strategic cropping land is
located in this region. Therefore, the priority areas include some of the most valuable agricultural
land in Australia. It is essential to improve the capacity of farmers and farm advisors to manage
land and farming enterprises as their management skills directly impact on productivity, resource
condition and risk. Ensuring the productivity and sustainability of this farming landscape provides
security for the essential ecosystem services that deliver a broad range of economic, social and
environmental outcomes to the local and wider community.
This project draws on a range of groups and individuals undertaking various roles to ensure the
delivery of targeted outcomes, including:
 six local Landcare groups across target areas who will support access to landholder networks
and the delivery of project activities and events
 ten agri-business service providers and technical specialists in a range of disciplines–soil
science, crop and pasture agronomy, soil and plant nutrition, soil conservation, precision
agriculture, livestock management, spatial information systems, and remote and proximal
sensing technologies
 six key farmers who will be involved in benchmarking of production and sustainability indicators
to inform the assessment of practice change options and evaluation of project impact.
A range of activities will be implemented to achieve the respective outcomes in targeted areas,
including:
 confirming priority target areas and formalising key project partnerships with six Landcare groups, ten technical specialists and six benchmark farms
Queensland
Government
 developing and delivering tailored messages, products and activities to 195 farmers and
advisors to effectively communicate key issues and solutions (e.g. the relevance of better
ground cover and soil health/nutrition management)
 designing and delivering engagement and capacity building activities to meet target audience
needs and fill knowledge gaps (e.g. on-farm activities with technical specialists to support 75
cropping and grazing land managers in the priority areas to improve practices over 16,800
hectares for management of soils, crops and pastures)
 implementing relevant data collection and collation for project monitoring and impact
evaluation. Production and sustainability indicators will be benchmarked on six farms to inform
practice change options and evaluate the impact of the project.
Project outcomes
Long-term outcomes (5-10 years)




Improved productive and resilient landscapes, including resilience to extreme climatic events.
Improved agricultural resource base.
Land use and management matches land capability.
Involved and engaged community.
Intermediate outcomes (3-5 years)
 Reduced erosion risk from adoption of improved practices.
 Improved soil health and fertility.
 Improved management practices across 16,800 hectares of priority cropping and grazing land that will contribute to improved productivity and resource condition (e.g. soil fertility and health,
maintain minimum groundcover levels, nutrient management, improved grazing management,
matching land use to capability, and zero tillage).
 Innovative and improved practices applied by land managers, advisors and key stakeholders.
 195 land managers, advisors and key stakeholders with improved management capacity,
knowledge and skills.
Further information
For further information on the ‘Productive and resilient agricultural landscapes in the Condamine
region’ project, please contact Condamine Alliance.
Productive and resilient agricultural landscapes in the Condamine region
© State of Queensland, Department of Natural Resources and Mines, 2014.