Protecting Australia’s $75.8 billion Ag industry is worth a seminar. So is protecting $20 billion in agritourism.
Last week, 80 representatives from government, councils and agricultural industries gathered in Toowoomba to brainstorm how to protect both from pernicious diseases and pests.
SDRC Mayor Melissa Hamilton emceed the South Region Biosecurity Forum which explored how movement between farms, towns, projects and landscapes are an economic opportunity and a dismal risk.
Attendees included Somerset Mayor Jason Wendt, Goondiwindi Regional Council Cr Susie Kelly, a South Queensland Biosecurity Ambassador, council staff, Queensland Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Allison Crook and representatives from state agencies and agricultural industry groups.
Mayor Hamilton said biosecurity means landholders, councils, industry, government and communities must have a plan together.
“Our regions depend on connection: people travelling between towns, livestock and produce reaching markets, businesses accessing properties, and visitors discovering regional Queensland,” she said, adding that connections also begs the question of “what moves with us”.
Mayor Hamilton also moderated an afternoon panel, “From Farm Gate to Front Gate”, examining the relationship between agritourism and biosecurity.
Panellists included representatives from Tinaberries, Activate Events, Wildlife Queensland, the Queensland Farmers Federation and AussieHelpers.
The discussion explored how farm visits, field days, farm-gate sales and other rural tourism experiences could grow while protecting agricultural operations, landscapes and communities.
“Opening the gate also creates responsibilities,” Mayor Hamilton said.
She said agriculture and tourism were the Southern Downs’ two leading industries, making biosecurity critical to the region’s future.
“We have a remarkable mix of production systems, communities, landscapes and businesses, and the connections between them support our region,” she said.
“It also means the decisions we make in one place can affect people and assets somewhere else.”
