Interviews
Queensland farmers' boss hails responsible farming
22 Jan '16
2 min read
Queensland Farmers' Federation (QFF) President Stuart Armitage has hailed the news that GrainGrowers and QFF industry member Cotton Australia had been working together constructively to address the issue of spray drift. He said it can only bring a better result for their members and the community.
Armitage wrote on the QFF website that the news of continued positive actions around responsible farming practices was once again reassuring and is a continued step in the right direction.
Recent damage caused to the national cotton crop by the drift of Phenoxy resulted in tens of millions of dollars is losses. The 'perfect storm' of weather conditions and poor operational practices brought the issue to a head over the summer months. “In this particular example we saw farmers, often growing both cotton and grain, affecting other farmers many with similar cropping programs. GrainGrowers and Cotton Australia should be commended for their willingness to work together on this shared issue that was born out of agricultural diversity,” he wrote.
According to Armitage, “Diversity in agriculture is often equally its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. Through diversity we are able to provide an array of products and cater to varied markets. Sometimes however this diversity can result in splintering and fracturing at production level mainly though misunderstanding of other industries processes and practices.”
“Often the most effective and simple way of overcoming differences is through talking to your neighbours and taking the time to understand the implications of your actions on their business. As technology improves so does our ability to properly and effectively communicate,” he added.
A couple of practical examples of empowering communication between producers and farmers are the 'BeeConnect' phone app, which allows coordination of bee hives and the cottonmap.com.au site which allows you to identify the location of neighboring cotton crops. These are two simple examples of how communication is being improved though technology.
Cotton Australia and GrainGrowers should be commended for their commitment to communication and responsible farming, he wrote in the article. (SH)
Armitage wrote on the QFF website that the news of continued positive actions around responsible farming practices was once again reassuring and is a continued step in the right direction.
Recent damage caused to the national cotton crop by the drift of Phenoxy resulted in tens of millions of dollars is losses. The 'perfect storm' of weather conditions and poor operational practices brought the issue to a head over the summer months. “In this particular example we saw farmers, often growing both cotton and grain, affecting other farmers many with similar cropping programs. GrainGrowers and Cotton Australia should be commended for their willingness to work together on this shared issue that was born out of agricultural diversity,” he wrote.
According to Armitage, “Diversity in agriculture is often equally its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. Through diversity we are able to provide an array of products and cater to varied markets. Sometimes however this diversity can result in splintering and fracturing at production level mainly though misunderstanding of other industries processes and practices.”
“Often the most effective and simple way of overcoming differences is through talking to your neighbours and taking the time to understand the implications of your actions on their business. As technology improves so does our ability to properly and effectively communicate,” he added.
A couple of practical examples of empowering communication between producers and farmers are the 'BeeConnect' phone app, which allows coordination of bee hives and the cottonmap.com.au site which allows you to identify the location of neighboring cotton crops. These are two simple examples of how communication is being improved though technology.
Cotton Australia and GrainGrowers should be commended for their commitment to communication and responsible farming, he wrote in the article. (SH)
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