Land & Water

The Growcom Land and Water team has experienced staff located throughout the state to help horticultural producers to manage their land and water assets in order to ensure profitable operations and environmentally sustainable practices while operating within a legislative framework.

The outcomes Growcom aim to achieve for industry include:

• To assist growers to achieve high standards of natural resource and environmental management and business profitability.
• To strengthen government support for an industry self-management approach to issues of environmental sustainability in horticulture.
• To build a positive public image of horticultural industries regarding natural resource management.
• To broker public and private investment in initiatives that assist horticultural industries to achieve environmental sustainability.

There are four major components of the land and water program

• The Water for Profit program.  Focusing on improving water efficiency for growers throughout the state, the water for profit team also has experience in soil health and nutrient management.
• The Natural Resources Network project. This project builds partnerships between growers and regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) bodies to optimise the involvement of the fruit and vegetable industry in regional NRM planning process and programs.
• Farm Management Systems program.  This program assists growers to holistically manage their properties within a risk based framework.  The components currently being developed include water and nutrient modules.
• The Growcom land and water policy program.  This program focuses on providing a reasoned contribution from the fruit and vegetable growing sector about natural resource management issues such as the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan.

Growcom frequently holds Farm Management Systems and Water for Profit Workshops.  This podcast is from a successful Farm Management Systems (FMS) workshop held in Gayndah by Growcom FMS Project Officer Robert Doyle.

Read the full story on the Burnett Catchment Care Association’s Better Burnett web site.

Growcom Land and Water is pleased to acknowledge and thank our funding and project partners

• Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL)
• The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management
• The Australian Government
• The Federal Department of Environment and Water Resources
• The Natural Heritage Trust
• The National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAP)
• Regional Groups Collective and regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups
• Condamine Alliance
• Burnett Mary Regional Group
• SEQ Catchments
• Reef Catchments
• NQ Dry Tropics
• Terrain
• Northern Gulf
• Fitzroy Basin Association
• Queensland Murray Darling Committee.

The Land and Water team

Scott Wallace Land & Water Manager Toowoomba	Peter Reed Land & Water Field Officer Tully	Anna Geddes Land & Water Field Officer Townsville
Robert Doyle Land & Water Field Officer Bundaberg	Rowena Beveridge Land & Water Field Officer Toowoomba	Justin Clarke Land & Water Field Officer Toowoomba