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MCU14/0028 Vision Statement
Melsted Park Vision Statement Pastured Produce: healthy soil, healthy animals, healthy humans.
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Primary Producer: Melsted Park Pty Ltd ATF The Henbury Family Trust
Address: 317 Lawnville Rd, Black Mountain, Q, 4563
Date: February 2014
1. Vision
To create a sustainable and economically viable rural enterprise that contributes to the local food chain, through the creation of
a diversified, balanced farm ecosystem that generates health and fertility as much as possible from within the farm.
2. Property
Lot 2 on RP83801 – 60 hectares
317 Lawnville Rd, BLACK MOUNTAIN, Q, 4563
Zone – Rural
3. Site Description
The land is gently undulating with steep areas in parts, the creeks form the head waters of 6 Mile Creek Left Branch. There are
several dams on the property and it has two 3 mega litre water harvesting licences. There is currently one house, a shed and
various farm structures on the property.
4. History
The farm was purchased by Anna and Michael Henbury in April 2011 and is currently leased to Melsted Park P/L ATF The
Henbury Family Trust. The Henbury Family Trust has continued to run beef cattle as Brian Stanford, the previous owner, did
before them. Brian had run beef cattle (Type1 Animal Husbandry) at a rate of up to 2 cattle per hectare and had also grown
beans on the north facing slopes (Type 2 Cultivation). Prior to Brian’s ownership the property had been run as a Dairy Farm
(Type 1 Animal Husbandry) and a Banana Farm (Type 2 Cultivation).
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5. Concept
In an effort to ensure the future sustainability and economic viability of our small primary production business located at Black
Mountain, Queensland, we need to diversify and alter the way that our 60 hectares is currently farmed. With the changing face
of consumer needs and their desire to consume local food that is free from chemicals, grown humanely and ethically, while
actively caring for the environment and future generations, the traditional farming methods are no longer financially viable.
Melsted Park needs to evolve into a property that meets all of these demands.
Local food: One of our philosophies is to keep it local, so our aim is to sell as much of our produce either directly to
consumers, at the proposed Cooroy farmers market, or wholesale to local businesses. Currently the closest farmers market
is in Noosaville and this is already well supported, by both vendors and consumers. We plan to apply this philosophy to the
farms needs too, by us sourcing as many of our supplies and manufacturers locally, where possible, and where this is not
possible to purchase Australian made products.
Chemical free: By utilising a number of existing farming principles and practices including bio-dynamics, permaculture, and
biological agriculture we will be focusing on a “living soil”, achieving a more productive balance, ensuring sustainability and
profitability. “Poor soil nutrition is poor animal and poor human nutrition.” (World Health Organisation report) What is best
for us is best for the environment.
Put simply both Permaculture and Biodynamics seek to create sustainable patterns of living and growing food
based on systems or ethics that deal with how humans treat the earth and each other. Both are a sound
choice for good clean food from happy farmers and animals, healthy soil, and the natural environment. It’s no
wonder that so many young farmers these days are opting to produce food in this way and so many
consumers are seeking this out at the local farmers market.
Cory Whitney “The Ecologist”
Part of our motivation for this is –a recent US study, based on 1400 school children, found that every child (both city and
country children) had unacceptable levels of all 13 commonly used farm chemicals. Also our eldest child was diagnosed with
Burkitts Lymphoma in 2012 and we plan on providing our children with the best chance possible to have a healthy
productive life and we believe by providing them with chemical free food is part of this. Being able to provide this
opportunity to the greater community is a privilege and exciting opportunity to be part of improving all round well-being.
Grown humanely and ethically: We plan is to utilise animals to build soil fertility and wellness, reducing the need for
machinery. In doing so we can allow plants and animals their individuality by providing them with a habitat that allows them
to express their physiological distinctiveness - cows graze on fresh pasture, chickens can forage, pigs can wallow and
burrow, mimicking their natural patterns.
Actively caring for environment and future generations: Melsted Park has begun Stage 1 of it’s environmental plan, which is
the fencing off of the creeks, to protect local flora and fauna. Stage 2 of this plan is to provide off creek watering for all of
the animals to reduce erosion and contamination of the water. Stage 3 will be working with Landcare to regenerate the
vegetation within the creek fencing and reducing introduced species. Stage 4 is to replant areas around the fence
line/footpath with native species, removing any introduced species. Stage 5 (pipe dream) is to have a botanical walk
through this area for educational purposes.
Alongside of this our farm practices will support the environment with the use of appropriate biological solutions and
meeting the needs of our soil specifically, capitalising on the most advanced soil testing technology. The monitoring of soil
life has found a decline in the key creatures in the soil, including earthworms, protozoa, and many organisms responsible for
nutrient delivery. At Melsted Park our goal is to regenerate the soil so that earth worms return. Traditional agriculture is the
single biggest contributor to greenhouse gases, this can be reduced by building humus in the soil. Humus is the key to
Melsted Park being a productive and sustainable enterprise, it improves mineral retention, promotes plant growth, and
improves drought resistance as it holds 80% of it’s weight in water.
Diversification: Meeting market demands ensures that income continues to come in. Diversification reduces financial risk,
for example in current drought times the price of heifer calves is 30c/kg, compared to $1.40 in average times. By improving
soil and pasture Melsted Park will be able to retain these cattle for an extended period to ensure that they are not sold at a
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loss. Selling eggs introduces a more regular cash flow (generally cattle are only sold a few times a year), as does broiler
chickens. Pigs will offer another stream of income, eventually.
Sustainability: Most agriculture is based on oil based (fungicides, pesticides, fertilisers and diesel) farming system has a
definite use-by date and oil prices continue to rise. It is important to Melsted Park to reduce the reliance on all oil based
products, including not introducing them, aiding in reduced production costs. It is very important to us that we keep the 60
hectares active ensuring there is something for our children and grand children, we are mere guardians of the land, here to
nurture it.
It is our intention to develop Melsted Park to be an industry leader and educator in not just sustainable but regenerative
farming, producing nutritional pastured local food, and supporting and promoting our community.
6. Production
Cattle will be managed using ‘Techno Grazing’, which involves moving them to fresh pasture regularly, mimicking their natural
behaviour. The farm is divided into small cells with temporary and permanent fences. Advantages of this system include: closer
monitoring of herd health, reduced pasture loss due to trampling, more accessible water, allows the grass to keep enough
foliage to generate growth after the cattle have moved onto new pasture, less stress-prone animals, fresh pasture stimulates
animal appetite, reduces weeds and pests, greater utilisation of pasture, increased stocking rate and more even distribution of
manure. (see Appendix 1 Techno grazing ) The calves will be weaned and kept in the pasture next to their mothers, reducing
stress and noise. Depending on the season calves may be sold as weaners or kept to fatten.
Below you can see how pastures are managed with electric fencing and the amount of growth in a grazed paddock (the one on
the right) after a one week’s rest.
Broiler chickens will be kept in mobile tractors that are moved daily, providing intense fertilisation to pasture and weed control.
These tractors provide protection from predators. Chickens will be transported to Moy Valley Poultry fortnightly in our
commercial van and once slaughtered and packaged stored in our cold room before being delivered to customers or sold at local
markets.
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A mobile broiler tractor, in fresh pasture.
Point of lay Laying hens will be purchased for free range egg production, weed and pest control. The chickens ideally will be free
ranging; however we may employ the use of electric fence netting during the day as a form of protection from the wild dogs in
the area. They will be locked in at night for their protection from the wild dogs. The ‘chicken caravan’ will be their home, it has a
mesh floor, rollaway laying boxes and roosts. Side flaps will open to allow the chickens access through the day and provide extra
shade through the heat of the day. It will be moved daily to ensure that their manure does not ‘burn’ the pasture and the
netting will also be moved regularly following the rotation of the cattle for greatest impact. This allows for manure to be
distributed straight onto the pasture, reducing odour and environmental harm from run-off. Foraging chickens will reduce
weeds (they eat up to 200 weed seeds per day), break up and spread the manure from cattle there by reducing parasites and
aiding in the breaking of the tick cycle and improving biodiversity. Water will come from the ‘caravan’s own collection and the
numerous dams that are on the property. Eventually the chicken waterers will be joined into the cattle watering system. Grain
will initially be brought in by a ute and stored in sealed containers. As chicken numbers increase it will be brought in by a rigid
body truck and stored in silos. Long term it would be ideal to get the pasture balance right so that no grain needs to be brought
onto Melsted Park. The collection, grading, stamping and packing of egg will happen on the farm, in existing buildings and then
these eggs will be delivered to customers (including farmers markets and local shops and businesses). There will be no increase
in traffic for the distribution of eggs as due to the small scale of production they can be transported in a van or car. Discarded
eggs and any dead poultry will be composted or disposed of offsite according to S10 below(page7 ) .
An example of a ‘chicken caravan’ (chickencaravan.com.au) and the surrounding electric netting -
Pigs are great rooters, so their skills will be utilised in the ploughing of areas, especially where weeds with rhizome root systems
(like bracken fern) occur. Their manure will also assist with reduction of bracken fern particularly as it tends to grow in areas that
are depleted in nutrients. Pigs will be free ranging within electric fenced paddocks. Their housing will be mobile so that they can
be moved to areas that their skills are required. When there is no specific ploughing job for the pigs they will be rotated through
the pasture with the other animals, taking into consideration appropriate setbacks stated in The Noosa Plan.
Crops will be cared for by measuring and predicting their needs, ensuring correct applications of microbes and minerals
primarily through foliar spray or fertigation. There may be times when compost will be added to the soil or cover crops grown.
They will be watered with one of the two water licences on the property. This is an area that will be developed further in the
future, currently we are concentrating on feeding our own family.
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7. Research
There are many examples of farms in Australia that operate successfully with similar concepts and production procedures. These
include Taranki Farm, Woodend, VIC, which were on gardening Australia a few years ago. You can see the article at:
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s3515996.htm
Many of our concepts have come from Joel Salatin, who gained an international reputation for the way he transformed
his once-degraded farm in Virginia, USA into a profitable organic enterprise. He was recently interviewed on
Landline: http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2014/s3955003.htm
We have recently attended a ‘Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture’, conducted by Nutri-Tech, a Nutrition Farming
company that supports biological management. Conducted by Greame Sait, ‘Nutrition Rules!’. www.nutri-
tech.com.au
Allan Savory has been mentioned by a number of people on our journey. 6 months ago he was interviewed on
Landline, http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2013/s3822642.htm He is our next port of call.
Melsted Park Concept Map
House yard,
including sheds Cattle yards
Lawnville Rd
External boundary
Cooroy Belli Creek Rd
Green line shows
creek fencing
The red line shows approximately
where the chicken tractors will run
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8. The Noosa Plan
2.11.1 Agricultural Uses & Use Classes
Cultivation means the growing of any plant for produce for commercial purposes, but does not include trees to be harvested for
timber or roadside stall. The term includes the following types:
Type 1 Traditional The growing of more than 20 fruit trees or more than 100m2 of any
other crop on a commercial basis.
Type 2 Intensive The growing of any crop on a commercial basis requiring multiple The property has previously
applications of fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides or herbicides each been a Cultivation Type 2
season. The use includes wholesale plant supply, sugar cane farming, Intensive farm.
turf farming. The term does not include Forestry Type 2 Plantation as
separately defined.
Animal husbandry means the keeping, depasturing or, stabling of any animal, including birds, fish, crustaceans, insects or
reptiles. The term includes the following types:
Type 1 Traditional The use of premises for dairying, cattle grazing, animal breeding The property is an existing
establishments, holding yards or hatcheries. The term includes Animal Husbandry Type 1
aquaculture with a combined surface area of all ponds or tanks or Traditional farm.
200m2 or less but does not include uses defined as Animal husbandry
We currently carry cattle at a
Type 2 Intensive. The term includes keeping animals at or above the
rate of 1 per hectare and are
following rate:
planning on increasing this to a
Bee Hives 4
rate of 2 per hectare.
Caged birds (excluding poultry) 19
Cats 4 The total number of pigs to be
Cattle, camels, goats, sheep and the like 2 carried will not exceed 20, the
Dogs 4 plan is for 2 sows and their
Horses 4 progeny.
Pigs 1 Free range chickens will be
Poultry (excluding roosters) 10 carried at a rate less than 20 per
Roosters 1 hectare.* Up to a maximum of
1000 birds. #
Type 2 Intensive The use of premises for the keeping of animals at a density which Currently exceeding 20 poultry
ordinarily requires supplementary feeding or containment in feed lots, requires Melsted Park to be
sheds, pens or the like. The use includes the use of premises for Animal Husbandry Type 2
aquaculture where the combined surface area of all ponds or tanks Intensive in the existing Noosa
exceeds 200m2; pigs (exceeding 20 of at a density of more than 2 per Plan.
hectare); poultry, emu r ostrich farming (exceeding 20 birds), boarding
kennels cattery, dog pound.
*Stocking rates: “The reference unit used for the calculation of livestock units (=1LSU) is the grazing equivalent of one adult
dairy cow producing 3000kg of milk annually, without additional concentrated foodstuffs.” 0.014 laying hens = 1LSU, therefore
1000 laying hens = 14 dairy cows. 0.007 broilers = 1LSU, therefore 1000 broilers = 7 dairy cows. At a stocking rate of a maximum
of 999 poultry at the most it is equivalent to 14 dairy cows. Cows 2 years and over are 0.8 LSU. (Eurostat, Glossary: Livestock
Unit – 2 EnvProtAct 1994)
# PLEASE NOTE: The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry state - “Poultry farming consists of farming a total of
more than 1000 birds for: producing eggs; rearing hatchlings, starter pullets or layers; rearing birds for meat, including: chickens,
ducks, geese, guineafowl and turkeys.” When Melsted Park has more than 1000 birds it will then come within the definition of
Environmentally Relevant Activity (ERA)4 (Poultry farming) under the Environmental Protection Regulation 2008 (EP
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Regulation), and be required to apply for the relevant development permits. (Queensland Guidelines Meat Chicken Farms, page
10 – Appendix 3 chicken-meat-guidelines )
Division 2 – Agricultural Uses Code
14.2 Agricultural Uses Code
The provision in this division comprise the Agricultural Uses code. They are –
Compliance with the Agricultural Uses Code (section 14.3);
Overall outcomes for the Agricultural Uses Code (section 14.4);
Specific outcomes, acceptable solutions and probable solutions for the Agricultural Uses Code (sections 14.5-14.8)
14.3 Compliance with the Agricultural Uses Code
Development that is consistent with the specific outcomes in sections 14.5 – 14.12 complies with the Agricultural Uses Code.
14.4 Overall outcomes for the Agricultural Uses Code
14.4.1 The overall outcomes are the purpose of the Agricultural Uses Code
14.4.2 The overall outcomes sought by the Agricultural Uses Code are the following –
a) The ongoing productive use and sustainable management of the Shire’s agricultural resources and other natural
resources is provided for;
b) Uses and works are located, designed and managed to –
i. Avoid significant adverse impacts on the amenity enjoyed by users of other premises, including visual and
acoustic privacy;
ii. Maintain the safety of people and works;
iii. Avoid adverse impacts on the surrounding or downstream environments or natural environmental processes;
and
iv. Avoid adverse impacts on the Shire’s natural resources of biodiversity, water, air and soil;
c) Uses and works do not have a significant adverse impact on the road network; and
d) Good quality agricultural land and other agricultural lands are conserved and not alienated or encroached upon by
incompatible land uses.
14.5 Specific outcomes, acceptable solutions and probable solutions for the Agricultural Uses Code
The specific outcomes sought for the Agricultural Uses Code are included in column 1 of Table 14-1 to Table 14-3. Acceptable
solutions for self-assessable development and probable solutions for code assessable development are included in column 2 of
Table 14-1 to Table 14-3.
Table 14-2 Animal Husbandry
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
Specific Outcomes Acceptable solutions (if self-assessable) Melsted Park solutions
Probable solutions (if code-assessable)
14.6 Effects of Use
Separation distances S6.1 For piggeries, the minimum S1.1 All adjoining properties are zoned Rural
O6 Sufficient separation separation distance between use areas (seeAppendix 4 3.0_Zone_CooroyLakeMac)
distance and noise mitigation and sensitive receptors is the greater of See Table 14-4 below.
measures are provided the following distances – (other than
between Animal Husbandry land disposal areas such as irrigated
uses and sensitive receptors on areas, on-site residential, administrative
other premises. or staff facilities)
a) That identified in Table 6 in the
DPI Separation Guidelines for
Queensland Piggeries; or
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b) That calculated using Section 2
of the DPI Separation
Guidelines for Queensland
Piggeries;
OR
S6.2 For piggeries the minimum
separation distance between land
disposal areas and sensitive receptors is
not less than the distances shown in
Table 7 of the DPI Separation Guidelines
for Queensland Piggeries;
AND
S6.4 For other Animal husbandry uses –
the minimum separation distances
between use areas and boundaries or
other premises and watercourses are
not less than those identified in Table
14-4 below;
Traffic and road network S7.1 For Animal Husbandry Type 2 – The There will be limited impact on the road network.
O7 The use does not have use does not compromise the road Broiler chickens will be transported to and from
adverse impacts on the safety, functional characteristics identified in Moy Valley Poultry, in Imbil, fortnightly in a
efficiency and functioning of Section 2.1 and 2.2 of PSP5 Engineering commercial van. Eggs will also be transported in a
the road network, including – Design Standards – Roads, Drainage and commercial van. Cattle will remain to be
a) Traffic generation; and Earthworks; transported by a rigid body truck on a needs basis.
b) Location of access OR Chicken feed will be brought into the property on
points. S7.2 For other Animal Husbandry uses a tray back ute initially. When production has
– no solution provided. increased sufficiently to warrant a silo bulk grain
will be delivered on a rigid body truck. Access
points are existing driveway and cattle loading
ramps on Lawnville Rd.
Transport estimations when in full production:
Week Chickens Cattle
1 1 truck – grain 1 truck – cattle
1 van – eggs out out
2 1 van – eggs out
1 van – meat
chickens out/in
3 1 van – eggs out 1 ute out
4 1 van – eggs out
1 van – meat
chickens out/in
5 1 truck - grain 1 ute out
1 van – eggs out
6 1 van – eggs out
1 van – meat
chickens out/in
7 1 van – eggs out 1 ute out
8 1 van – eggs out
1 van – meat
chickens out/in
9 1 truck - grain 1 ute out
1 van – eggs out
Protection of good quality S8.1 If the use requires animals to be No permanent ranges, pens or sheds will be built
agricultural land contained within pens, sheds, ponds or for any animals on the farm, all requirements will
O8 Good quality agricultural similar – the use is not located on land be mobile to ensure animals are free range.
land is not alienated or within Agricultural Land Conservation OM3.1 - there is some environmental protection
encroached upon by the Areas shown on Overlay maps OM1.5 to area encompassing the creek in the south east
development. OM9.5. corner of the property, this has been fenced for
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preservation as part of our Environmental Plan
Stage 1.
OM3.3 - shows some land slip areas.
OM3.4 - medium bushfire hazard
OM3.5 – none of the above (agricultural
Conservation Area) see Appendix 5
3.3_NatHaz_FloodSlide_CooroyLakeMac
Lot Size
O9 The lot is of sufficient area S9.1 the minimum area of the lot is – The lot area is 60ha.
to enable establishment of the c) For poultry farms, piggeries or
use and associated uses. stockyards – 20ha
Environmental best practice No solution provided S10 ^5.2.1 Odour and dust – will be equivalent to
O10 The use is conducted in a the current grazing and cultivation practices as
manner that minimises risk of 0.014 hens is equivalent to one cow. eg 1000
environmental harm. * chickens has the same impact as 14 cows. See
note on page 6.
5.2.2 Acoustic management – noise emissions will
be equivalent to the current agricultural grazing
and cultivation practices. Setbacks from
surrounding residences will be adhered to.
5.2.3 Chemical storage and use – chickens are
vaccinated before they arrive on site. There will be
no use of chemicals on Melsted Park in relation to
the chickens.
5.2.4 Community liaison and complaint
management – neighbours have been given a
copy of our Vision Statement with all of our
contact details and have been invited for an initial
site visit. The opportunity for ongoing site visits
will be on a bi-annual basis. A complaint register
will be kept and all complaints will be investigated
and responded to.
5.2.5 Shed management – there will be no fixed
structures for any of the chickens. Water supply
will come from collection on the ‘chicken
caravans’, dams and our water licence.
5.2.6 Waste management - There will be no solid
waste to be disposed of. There will be no effluent
to be disposed of. Carcasses, collected daily, will
either be disposed of on accordance with
composting guidelines or stored in a closed
container below 4C and taken to the Noosa
Refuse Station (with 24hrs notice at a cost of $74).
Where composting by aerobic decomposition is
undertaken:
(i) a balanced mix of Nitrogen (carcass) and
Carbon
source (sawdust, cereal, straw, etc.) is maintained;
(ii) the carcass is sufficiently covered with at least
300
millimetres bulking agent (i.e. a Carbon source);
and
(iii) for a period of 6 months if the carcass is not
turned or 3 months if the carcass is turned.
5.2.7 Farm biosecurity - flocks will be move on an
all in and all out basis reducing the chance of cross
contamination. Separation distances will be
adhered to. See Table 14-4
*This Specific Outcome may be satisfied by complying with any relevant Code of Practice prepared under s.548 of the
Environmental Protection Act 1994 including—
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Environmental Code of Practice for Agriculture (Queensland Farmers Federation);
Environmental Code of Practice for Australian Prawn Farmers (Australian Prawn Farmers Association);
Environmental Code of Practice for Queensland Piggeries (Queensland Pork Producers and Department of Primary
Industries); and
Queensland Dairy Farming Environmental Code of Practice (Queensland Dairy Farmers Organisation and Department of
Primary Industries).
Environmental Code of Practice for Agriculture (Queensland Farmers Federation); I have contacted The Queensland Farmers Federation
and they advised that their code of practice is not current, it expired in 2008.
^Queensland Guidelines Meat Chicken Farms (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) is what I have used as a
guideline here, starting on page 24. (see 3 chicken-meat-guidelines)
Table 14-4 Minimum Separation Distance for Animal Husbandry
Minimum separation from - Column 3 Melsted Park
Poultry Farms
Frontage 100m See map on Page 5
Side and rear boundary 100m See map on Page 5
Land included in residential zone other 1000m No residential zone, rural settlement
than the Rural Settlement Zone, zone, commercial zone or open space
commercial zones or Open Space recreation zone – see Appendix 4
Recreation zone 3.0_Zone_CooroyLakeMac
Land included in the Rural Settlement 500m No rural settlement zone – see Appendix
Zone 4 3.0_Zone_CooroyLakeMac
Any Dwelling unit on other premises 60m See map on Page 5
Watercourses 60m See map on Page 5
Map 3.5 shows that we are not
considered to be water catchment – see
Appendix 6
3.5_NaturalResources_CooroyLakeMac
Part 3 – DESIRED ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES (page3-1)
3.1 Desired environmental outcomes
3.1.3 The desired environmental outcomes for Noosa are as follows –
a) AGRICULTURAL USES
Agricultural industry is maintained by –
i. Conserving land for economically viable and environmentally sustainable agricultural purposes;
ii. Preventing the fragmentation of good quality agricultural land;
iii. Facilitating the growth of non-traditional, though high value crops which have minimal impact on the
natural environment or adjacent crops;
iv. Facilitating the growth of non-traditional animal husbandry practices such as aquaculture where it
does not alienate good quality agricultural land or have a detrimental impact upon the environment;
v. Protecting agricultural pursuits from incompatible uses;
vi. Facilitating the growth of farm forestry practices;
vii. Value adding to farm produce to enhance economic viability; and
viii. Adopting water and energy efficient practices.
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Community implications of Agriculture Uses:
Agriculture is an important part of Noosa’s rural heritage and an integral contributor to Noosa’s hinterland character.
The retention of agricultural activities in those areas where farming has been the traditional use and where
environmental impacts may be successfully managed will assist agriculture’s contribution to the character of Noosa.
Factors such as poor land management, poor management of fertiliser applications and inappropriate land clearing
cause environmental harm through erosion, los of significant habitat, visual scarring of significant landscapes and
unacceptable impacts on downstream land and surface and ground water. The potential impacts of rural activities
should be significant factors in determining land’s suitability for sustainable agricultural use.
Agriculture is also a significant lifestyle contributor, with part time, small-scale though often high value operations,
serving as an attraction to the rural areas.
Agriculture is an important contributor to Noosa’s economy. The maintenance of an economically viable and
environmentally sustainable agricultural sector will require recognition of and response to changes to traditional
markets and the emergence of new markets. Growth areas within the industry are expected to be in the areas of farm
forestry, macadamias, small scale specialised crops and agricultural tourism. Providing opportunities for value adding to
occur, before agricultural produce leaves from the farm gate, can also enhance economic performance.
Careful consideration and farm management processes are required for the planting and raising of genetically modified
crops, so that they do not adversely impact on adjacent crops or those downwind or downstream.
Melsted Park’s vision incorporates many of these desired environmental outcomes, however feel that they are not supported by
the current Noosa Plan or the development fee structure. Both of these documents are currently restricting our progress,
limiting our income capacity and more than doubling our initial set up costs. Under these conditions it would make Melsted
Park’s vision financially unviable, making it harder to justify our investment in agriculture in The Noosa Shire
.
9. Noosa Biosphere
3. Sustainable Development (Original source: UNECO submission document 2006, page 8)
3. ECONOMIC AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
‘New rural industries’ and ‘green industries’ are identified as key areas of emerging industry opportunity, offering value-adding
alternatives and a means of establishing competitive and economically sustainable business activity in traditional industry areas.
Through the submission document it talks about:
Adopts an innovative approach to conservation and sustainability
Promotes a balanced relationship between humans and the reserve.
Promote a green approach to the way people in the area live and do business.
Develop a strong understanding within the community of the term sustainability
Encourage sustainable behaviour changes
Melsted Park fit within and supports these parameters.
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10. Conclusion
Wouldn’t it be great if more of the local ‘Farmers Markets’ produce could come from our very own area supporting our very
own locals? Unfortunately slowly the rural culture of our area is being lost. Rural land is being subdivided into smaller lots, for
example Noosa Hills Estate only a few years ago was an operating beef property. The abattoir in Eumundi has been closed
making Gympie our closest beef abattoir, fortunately we have a local poultry abattoir in Imbi. This ismaking it increasingly
difficult for people in Noosa support their local growers and for Noosa Council to meet their Environmental Outcomes (as stated
in The Noosa Plan). The price of land on the Sunshine Coast is continuing to increase impacting on sustainability therefore
diversification is the key. The Noosa Farmers Markets are well supported by both the vendors and community, however much of
the produce sold does not come from local farmers.
We believe that part of sustainability is education, community, sharing of knowledge, good nutrition, supporting local suppliers
and manufacturers. Melsted Park aims to do all of these things and encourage our community to do the same.
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11. Appendix
Appendix 1 Techno grazing
Appendix 2 Eurostat, Glossary: Livestock Unit
Appendix 3 Guidelines Meat Chicken Farms, page 10, and pages 24-34
Appendix 4 Map 3.0_Zone_CooroyLakeMac
Appendix 5 Map 3.3_NatHaz_FloodSlide_CooroyLakeMac
Appendix 6 Map 3.5_NaturalResources_CooroyLakeMac
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