More farming businesses score agritourism diversification grants
Published Tuesday, 17 January, 2023 at 03:15 PM
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities
The Honourable Mark Furner
The Queensland Government is supporting the resilience of our farming sector while growing the agritourism sector through another round of Agritourism Business Grants in partnership with the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF).
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and 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,” the Minister said.
“These farming businesses want to be more resilient and have the capacity to diversify or expand into successful agritourism businesses.”
Farm |
Agritourism Venture |
LGA |
Daintree Saltwater Barramundi Farm |
Hook-A-Barra on the Daintree Saltwater Barramundi Farm New Tour |
Douglas |
Emdale, cropping and cattle farmers |
Emdale Farmstay |
Toowoomba |
High Valley Dawn Permaculture Farm |
Regenerative Agriculture Ecotourism Project |
Livingstone |
Petersen's Farm, horticulture farmers |
Connecting People, produce and place through Big Rosella events |
Gympie |
Mustard Seed Services, dairy farmers and beef cattle graziers |
Country Living Workshops |
Scenic Rim |
Stratford Station, beef cattle grazing |
Ecoultura Project |
Blackall-Tambo |
The Creek Whitsundays, Brahman cows and stud Brahmans |
The Creek Whitsundays |
Whitsunday |
Canefields, sugar cane farmers |
Canefields Distillery - Sugar cane crusher commissioning |
Sunshine Coast |
WaterPark Farm, Tea Tree plantation farmers |
Waterpark Farm Tea Tree plantation retail outlet |
Livingstone |
Ogg & co., wool Marino sheep and beef cattle breeders |
Ayrshire Downs Caravan and Camping |
Winton |
Firebreak Farm, lamb, pig and cattle farmers |
The Firebreak |
South Burnett |
Rising Sun Alpacas, Dorper sheep, Large Black (English Heritage) Pigs, and Alpaca farmers |
Regenerate@RisingSun |
Southern Downs |
QFF CEO Ms 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.
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 approach 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,” he 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.”
For more information visit www.daf.qld.gov.au or www.qff.org.au
ENDS
Media contact: Ron Goodman 0427 781 920