Protected cropping offers a controlled environment to nurture some of our most delicate and valuable horticulture crops, but it takes infrastructure, technical expertise, and can present challenges around pollination as well as input costs and intensity.

From fresh-picked strawberries to high-tech tractors, the journey from paddock to plate relies on an incredible mix of skills, smarts, and dedication. But ask most young people what it means to “work on a farm,” and chances are they’ll say, “picking and packing.”

Everything Ag is flipping that script.

Across Southeast Queensland, a quiet but powerful shift is underway. From Kalbar to Mount Sylvia, local farmers are making smart, sustainable changes that go beyond increasing yields - they’re actively protecting the waterways that run through their communities and into Moreton Bay.

As a grower, you are your business.

You know it all – from the soil, to the lay of your land, who to call when that tractor plays up, even everyone’s wages.

But what happens if you’re suddenly off-farm? Whether it’s due to illness, injury, a natural disaster, or simply on a long-overdue holiday. How would your business carry on without you?

Far North Queensland growers are no strangers to nature’s challenges. But when Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper swept through in late 2023, it left damage and disruption that would rattle even the most experienced farmer.

Growers recently came together in Goomboorian with a shared goal: building healthier soil for stronger, more resilient crops.

Queensland’s horticulture industry is taking a big step forward with data-driven insights that promise smarter, more resilient farming. A new report from Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers highlights how growers are improving productivity, sustainability, and profitability thanks to the Farm Business Resilience Program. 

Grower conversations with Queensland Agriculture Workforce Network (QAWN) Officers across the state have a common theme: training matters. Not just the box-ticking or compliance stuff — but practical, on-farm training that helps keep workers longer and lifts productivity.

“We had to beat the rain,” said grape grower Walter Campbell. He was helping a neighbour with their harvest the previous afternoon, after neighbours had helped him some weeks earlier.

Nestled at the foot of one of the Glasshouse Mountains’ most distinctive peaks—Mount Coonowrin— the Jackson family are following their dreams to be farmers in this picture-perfect part of Southeast Queensland.

Over the last year, Hort360 GBR Officers Paula Ibell and Michelle Haase have been collaborating with growers in Far North Queensland and the Wide Bay-Burnett regions, respectively, to deliver events that respond to grower-reported needs for further knowledge and assistance.

When you think about the origin of your morning coffee, countries like Brazil, Ethiopia, Colombia, or Peru come to mind. But what about the beans grown in our own backyard?

Having worked for Kalfresh managing their incoming supply for 10 years, Angus Stainlay knows how important it is for growers to keep to their planting schedules, maximise their yields, and grow the highest quality crop they can.

A new Carbon Outreach project, delivered by the Department of Primary Industries, has been established to provide independent information about what is happening in this space.

When you’re the largest privately owned and operated commercial grower and supplier of strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries throughout Australia, that means you’re responsible for more than five million plants and 500 staff who grow, pick, and pack these delicious morsels.

Australia produces around 5,000 tonnes of passionfruit annually from major growing regions in the Tweed Valley in northern New South Wales, and along the Queensland cost including the Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay, Daintree, Cooktown and Mareeba.

With a growing focus on sustainable strategies and regenerative farming practices, more and more growers are looking to improve the health of their soils as a base foundation for horticultural health.

When you think about what soldiers and farmers have in common, a few things come to mind: determination, selflessness, strategic thinking, and working together towards a better future.

Liz Ford and Amy Nash, our QFVG-hosted Queensland Agricultural Workforce Network Officers (QAWN) for Southern and Southeast Queensland, have been busy fostering connections between agribusinesses looking to connect with new employees, as well as inspiring the next generation of our all-important agricultural workforce.

Growcom’s Hort360 GBR facilitators have coordinated a series of grower-led learning opportunities across Far North Queensland and the Wide Bay-Burnett in recent months, tailored to the needs of each growing region.