Changing moods, changing focus : perception of farm chemical use in the Central Queensland region

For producers in Central Queensland, the last decade has been a time of increasing stress. The pressure of a multiplicity of new legislation, environmental expectations placed on them by the wider community, the economic drivers of globalisation and free trade and the impact of climatic conditions that have been far from kind to most of them. The pain of staying where they were has become greater than the discomfort of moving forward. Changes in focus and mood related to farm management are occurring at the grass roots level and are reflected in a variety of attitudes to the use of on farm chemicals. During the Decade of Landcare, the necessary shifts in thinking, greater amounts of information and data available to landholders, the increasing incorporation of monitoring and evaluation into farming processes and some financial incentives, created and supported new insights for many primary producers about the relationship between their properties and landscape and catchment issues. A more holistic approach to land management, factoring in the “cliché” triple bottom line is now becoming increasingly evident across a broad range of agricultural practices. Drawing on 14 years rural industry experience, this paper focuses on three distinct trends in chemical use practice, (zero till, organics and integrated approaches) within Central Qld. Additionally it examines a catalytic fourth trend, the move towards holistic management. It calls for grower driven research substantiating the local sustainability of the methodologies; support for “learning” producer organizations and information sharing across industries, agencies and techniques, to underpin a secure future for agriculture.