Catchment information

Catchment name
Condamine

Map of catchment area

Overview of region

• The Condamine Catchment (also referred to as The Darling Downs), is located in South East Queensland where the head waters of the Murray-Darling Basin commence and eventually merge into the Darling River.
• The estimated size of the catchment is 2,750,000 hectares. Soils range from rich alluvial black soils to granite hills and slopes.

Horticulture industry in region

• The main use of the land is high intensive farming in the form of dryland cropping for both broadacre and cotton, irrigation and grazing pasture.
• The Darling Downs also has a high concentration of feedlots, piggeries, poultry operations and horse studs. Mining has also had a major impact in the area in recent years.
• The horticulture sector is spread thinly over the area consisting mainly of melons, potatoes, avocados, broccoli, onions and a small amount of stone fruit.
• Further industry information can be found on the following diagram, split into three sub-catchments within the Condamine region.
  

Incentives for region
None identified in region

Case study of horticulture in the Condamine Catchment

Project title / summary

• Horticulture Natural Resource Management Initiative – Water Use Efficiency and Water Quality for Fruit and Vegetable Growers in the Condamine Catchment

Project author/s

Objectives of project

• Gain a better understanding of the natural resource management (NRM) issues facing horticulture.
• Assist growers meet their own industry NRM targets and those of the NRM plan of the Condamine Catchment.
• Address sediment loss on red soil slopes in the headwaters of the Condamine River.
• Improve on-farm water use efficiency.
• Identify the new growers operating in the region (i.e. lease growers from the Lockyer)
  

Methodology

• Two surveys were conducted in the initial stages of this project.
• The first was specifically aimed at looking at each grower’s unique NRM issues and questions were aimed at extracting information regarding soil health, water issues, chemical waste and future management plans for longevity and sustainability.
• The survey was conducted over a large cross section of horticultural growers in the south east corner of the catchment to the far northwest corner.
• The second survey was conducted as part of Queensland Farmers Federations Farm Management System (FMS) initiative.
• FMS is best described as a whole farm approach to business management, whilst meeting supply chain and regulatory requirements. It has been established to recognize the ongoing improvement and profitability of our rural industries whilst managing their land in a responsible manner.
• Questions in the FMS survey looked at environmental management, property planning, water access and quality, native vegetation and pest animal management.
  

Key findings

• Compromise is needed between the local Killarney community and growers. There appears to be a lack of understanding and education about farming practices by the residents of Killarney. The growers are doing a lot of good work on their farm however there is more room for improvement.
• Recommendations from the Pineapple Growers Handbook “Management of Erosion and Sedimentation” could be applied to the red soil at Killarney. This booklet goes into techniques that reduce erosion and sedimentation by looking at channels, drains, grass coverage, contours, cover crops, mulch and filter strips.
• With the neighbouring valley, the Lockyer, being pushed out by Brisbane’s rapid growth, high water prices and land value, there is talk that the Darling Downs could well become the next ‘Salad Bowl’. This issue is one that needs to be monitored closely with the main implications here being that Growers moving up from the Lockyer will only exacerbate the water shortage issue until long term solutions are found.
• Most horticultural crops in the Condamine Catchment are part of a mixed enterprise. These other enterprises mainly include grazing and cropping (irrigated and dryland). One of the reasons for this is that horticulture in the Condamine Catchment tends to fit in around the production times of the Lockyer/Fassifern districts.
• The recycled water vote in Toowoomba was of huge concern to some larger business in the region, especially those that were meeting export requirements. Toowoomba may have voted no on that occasion, but with the nation looking for water efficiency solutions, recycled water is high on the list and one that has a high chance of being implemented.
• There appears to be a language gap when looking at scientific data and speaking to soil doctors and academics. Their knowledge and experience is essential however we need to bridge the gap so that this can be then put into ‘practical speak’ that growers value and more importantly see the relevance to their farming operation. There needs to be greater partnerships built for working alongside scientists to interpret the data into practical on farm solutions.
• Even though south east Queensland is facing its biggest water crisis in history, amongst the different crops and sub catchments the difference in water issues and needs are huge. Moving forward it is intended that Growcom will continue to work with horticulturists to maintain their NRM efficiencies as well as keep a close eye on the ever changing dynamics of the region which inevitability will impact on horticulture.

Recommendations

• Guidelines need to be clearly defined as to which groups and organisations should be doing what to achieve industry and natural resource outcomes.
• A large percentage of growers don’t know what their catchments priorities are. Whose role it is to inform growers of their regional NRM responsibilities needs to be made clear.
• Field staff positions should continue to be funded.
• Regional NRM groups such as the Condamine Alliance need to educate urban communities about farming practices as there are a lot of misunderstandings on the importance of farms and their significance to the food chain.
• Perceptions are often not backed by data, so findings from projects should be more widely publicised. 
• The language barrier needs to be broken down between scientists and field staff. At present progress is slowed due to landowners and field staff having to interpret and decipher scientific language.
• There appears to be useful data tied up in different government departments. The availability of this data needs to be freed up so that projects have more validation.
• Regional NRM targets need to be simplified and summarised into a ‘one pager’ so that growers can use it as a quick reference.
• Targets need to be clear, practical and achievable. When targets are set that are too specific, they are sometimes uneconomical to achieve or the timeframes are impractical, especially when dealing with climate variation from season to season.
• More training and education in climate change needs to be completed so growers can make informed management decisions and change their way of farming to suit the changing needs of the environment and weather patterns.
• Growers need the tools to assess their natural resource management system and recognise and address their own risk. This could be built into wider industry programs such as FMS programs.
• Building trust, relationships and communication with growers is the key to achieving positive outcomes. Without these relationships real results are hard to accomplish.
• There needs to be a reliable feedback loop from local information and data collection back to industry groups for action.
• Farmers are keen to implement an adaptable and integrated system, however do not want additional or repetitive paperwork.
• Resources such as staff need to be made available for one on one involvement, as only having bulk workshops and field days doesn’t always work.