2016-07-12 - Item 12 - Att 1 - Agriculture and Agricultural Land in Noosa Shire

Smaller properties dominate close to the towns of Cooroy, Pomona, Cooran and Kin Kin as well as
around Black Mountain, Cooroibah, Doonan, Lake Macdonald and Tinbeerwah. However,
because of a history of family transfers there are small rural lots scattered throughout the Shire.

Excluding State Forests at West Cooroy, Yurol, Ringtail Creek and Toolara, remaining large lots
are generally around Ridgewood, Cootharaba, Kin Kin and Como. Some of these larger lots
comprise bushland and have not been farmed for many years, if ever.

For sustainable horticultural pursuits a site needs certain physical criteria:
•      Sufficient space for physical infrastructure such as equipment sheds, packing or loading
       facilities, greenhouses, water storage, worker facilities, access and manoeuvring etc
•      Space for optimum operation (for instance if mechanical harvesting is relied upon space for
       the machinery between crops)
•      Effective waste and stormwater management which may require diversion banks and
       holding ponds to capture, store, treat and reuse run off
•      Allow for rotation of crops to protect soil resources, control weeds and minimise pest and/or
       disease risks
•      Provide effective buffers to protect biodiversity and catchment values
•      Provide effective buffers to minimise amenity impacts on neighbours or any nearby
       sensitive receptors

While it is well evidenced that with the right factors and enough enterprise small lots can
accommodate successful agricultural pursuits, there are already well over 2,000 lots of between 2
hectares and 20 hectares in area and creating more is unlikely to increase agricultural productivity.
The Queensland Farmers Federation caution that special care must be taken in setting lot sizes
based on intensive horticulture enterprises because whilst high-value enterprises such as
strawberries, amenity horticulture and hydroponic vegetable production are profitable on small lots,
these small lots will be attractive to the residential market and lead to conversion to residential use
and conflict over land use practices12 .




12
     QFF 2013, Planning for Healthy Agriculture, Page 18
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