Seed funding rolling out in the Pumicestone

Growcom’s SEQ Water Quality project is working with growers and the Department of Environment and Science (DES) to allocate the first round of ‘seed funding’ to pineapple farms located in South East Queensland.

The seed funding program is an opportunity for growers to trial new sustainable practices developed through various research programs and evaluated by the pineapple environmental team (PET).

The funds were contributed by DES to support farmers on-ground drive a sustainable future for horticulture.

Through the seed funding program, we will soon see new bioreactors near key waterways in the Pumicestone Passage and other new BMP practices such as droppers on booms for the precise application of chemicals and nutrients.

The seed funding for pineapple growers will initially be rolled out in the Beerwah and Glasshouse Mountains areas in the first year of the project.

Glasshouse Mountains farmers Trudy and Keith Morgan from Morgan and Co and Adam Pike from GO Pike and Sons are the first to benefit from the seed funding.

Both the Morgan and Pike families have been growing pineapple in the region for more than 80 and 100 years respectively. Both operations plant over one million pineapples each year for the fresh market and have been strong advocates for sustainable farming practices in the industry.

The Morgans and Pikes were one of the first farming families involved in the initial research for adapting bioreactors into the pineapple industry and many other sustainable practices for example soil stabilisers such as Stonewall to help mitigate soil erosion.

Today, they continue to support the sustainability cause with over one kilometre of wall and bed bioreactors and precision boomsprayers planned for implementation throughout Autumn 2023 season.

Trudy and Keith said there were many pressures in the industry such rising cost and extreme weather events impacting yield and profitability of the farm. However, as farmers they needed to do their best to ensure the longevity of the industry and individual farming operations into the future. Addressing sustainability is an important part of that future.

Adam said, as a grower sustainability is important as you need to try and work with the environment to create a sustainable future for industry.

The seed funding program will continue across the Pumicestone reaching into the Six Mile and Lagoon Creek sub catchments for growers looking to trial and support sustainable production practices in the region.

DES and Growcom will continue to partner farmers with funding support on-ground to help drive a sustainable future for horticulture in South East Queensland.