Different roads, shared destination: Cleaner waterways through smart farming
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.
While each farm is different, these growers share a common goal: to reduce runoff and improve soil health.
Protecting water quality and building soil health doesn’t just make environmental sense - it makes business sense. Healthier soils and cleaner water lead to stronger crop performance, lower input costs, improved long-term productivity, and a stronger reputation for farming among the public and regulators.
Supporting this shift is Growcom’s South East Queensland Water Quality Program’s (SEQ WQ) Best Management Practice Incentive Scheme. The program has played a key role in helping growers across the Bremer, Lockyer, and Pumicestone catchments adopt or enhance practices that reduce sediment, nutrient, and pesticide runoff into nearby waterways.
“It’s been great to see the different ideas participating growers have implemented across their properties,” said SEQ WQ Officer Tanya Luck.
“What’s really encouraging is how practical and grower-led these solutions are. Whether it’s precision spraying, improved nutrient management, or better erosion control, each action adds up—both on-farm and beyond the farm gate.”
Tanya said the program has shown how small changes, when backed by the right support and local knowledge, can lead to meaningful improvements in water quality across entire catchments.
“This isn’t just about compliance or ticking boxes - it’s about building more resilient farming systems and protecting the natural resources we all depend on,” Tanya said.
“The positive flow-on effects to waterways like the Bremer, Lockyer, and ultimately Moreton Bay, are significant. It proves that when growers are empowered to take the lead, the results speak for themselves.”
Precision spraying at Kengoon Farming
Ed Windley of Kengoon Farming @ Kalbar
At Kengoon Farming near Kalbar, Ed Windley walks the rows with his Jack Russell, Poppy, pulling fresh carrotsfrom the soil. With a good water allocation and fertile ground, his family farm grows everything from onions to sweetcorn.
While the Kalbar property is well-suited to growing vegetables, Ed is always looking at how to do things better.
Optimising his spraying practices have been his latest priority and with the assistance of the BMP Incentive Scheme, he has been able to purchase an automatic spray rate controller with section control for his boom sprayer.
Having closer control over application rates will reduce the volume of pesticides applied. It will reduce overspray towards the ends of blocks as the tractor approaches the end of rows, and where boom sprayer operations overlap with centre pivot sprayers on the edges of blocks.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and the Incentive Scheme has helped make it a reality for us,” Ed said.
Smart inputs and silt traps at Riverside Farming
Wayne Keller of Riverside Farming @ Lowood.
Downstream at Riverside Farming, Wayne Keller’s family has been farming the same 200 hectares for more than half a century. Lockyer Creek and the Brisbane Rive snake up and around their farm, with the land gently sloping from west to east.
“Our land slopes, and during heavy rain, runoff from neighbours flows across our paddocks,” Wayne explained.
To minimise the impact to his property and flow-on (pun intended) effects of this to the surrounding waterways, Wayne has renovated an existing silt trap and intends to reduce input application on his plants – a win for his crops, the environment and his bottom line.
In terms of reducing input application, Wayne is trialling two low-impact nitrogen products on his onion crop.
The goal? Less fertiliser, less runoff, and better results for his land and the environment. He’s eyeing a full rollout on his spring corn crop.
Collaborative conservation at Crust Farms
Matt Crust of Crust Farming @ Mount Sylvia at the stabilised entrance to his farm’s renovated silt trap.
At Crust Farms in Mount Sylvia, third-generation grower Matt Crust is turning collaboration into conservation. Matt is a member of the third generation of Crusts to assume the farming mantle, with ginger and turmeric currently their primary crops.
Important maintenance work was needed to renovate and stabilise a silt trap that was operating beyond its intended capacity as work in the nearby wash shed had increased.
This was leading to erosion and undercutting the banks of paddocks as well as impacting roadways leading onto the farm.
Rocks were laid to stabilise the silt trap’s entrance, and the trap was dug out to increase its capacity. Tidying and stabilising this area was important for land management and biosecurity.
The Crust family had also collaborated with the local council to stabilise the banks of the creek at the front of their property, meaning what was dug out of the silt trap was put along the creek edge, along with compost and plants from the council who could not use the compost on parks or other community recreation areas.
“It was a win-win. We didn’t waste any soil, council didn’t waste any compost, and we’ve done some good for that creek bank,” Matt said.
Growcom’s SEQ Water Quality Program is funded by the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation.
