2016-06-07 - P&E Agenda - Item 5, Attachment 1 - Agriculture and Agricultural Land Study

As part of the Agriculture & Agricultural Land in Noosa Shire study of December 1995 Department
of Primary Industry officers and professional consultants were able to build on the findings of both
the newly completed Geology & Soils project and the Topography and Slope project to identify
areas of good quality agricultural land in the Shire. A comprehensive classification of Agricultural
Land Classes was established as follows:

AGRICULTURAL       DESCRIPTION
LAND CLASS
                   Crop Land
Class A            Land suitable for all crops (small crops, tree and vine crops and sugar cane)
                   with limitations to production which range from none to moderate levels.
Class AT&V         Land suitable for tree and vine crops on sloping land with moderate limitations.
                   Limited Crop Land
Class B            Land which is either:-
                   •   A complex combination of variable land types which may contain all classes
                       of land, but including significant areas of Classes A and AT&V; or
                   •   Land which may be suitable for a limited range of crops, but may also have
                       moderate to severe limitations

Class Bs           Land which may be suitable for sugar cane, though further testing would be
                   required due to moderate to severe limitations.
                   Pasture Land
Class C1           Land suitable for improved pastures due to a range of limitations which
                   preclude continuous cultivation for crop production.
Class C2           Land suitable for only natural pastures due to a range of limitations which
                   preclude cultivation.
                   Non-Agricultural Land
Class D            Land not suitable for agricultural uses due to extreme limitations.

The map of these Agricultural Land Classes is reproduced as Figure 2. The assessment indicated
that minor areas of the Shire could be considered to be Class A land, but more extensive areas
were considered to be Class AT&V land on steeper slopes up to 25%. Additional areas of the
Shire were considered to be Class B land and Class BS land, ie. land potentially suitable for sugar-
cane production. Classes A, AT&V, B and BS were collectively considered to be good quality
agricultural land and these, shown in Figure 3 were then recommended as the basis of the
Agricultural Land Conservation Area adopted within the 1997 Strategic Plan and which carried
onward to the 2006 Noosa Plan.

It should be noted that a considerable amount of this was made up of Bs being land potentially
suitable for sugar cane. Since the closure of the Moreton Mill the argument for protecting this land,
focussed around Cootharaba and Como as well as pockets at Doonan, is significantly weakened.




                                                                                                   25