26 September 2023

Real-time farming tool goes live

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A new interactive online tool designed to enhance the marketing and expansion of Queensland’s agricultural sector has been launched.

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries, Mark Furner said the AgTrends Spatial mapping platform, hosted by Business Queensland, would provide an important economic snapshot of the State’s primary industries.

“Whether it’s how many bananas are grown on the Cassowary Coast or how many sheep producers are in the Balonne Shire, everything you ever wanted to know is now available online,” Mr Furner said.

“This type of data will underpin our ability to grow agricultural industries across Queensland and create jobs.”

He said having up-to-date information available on demand served many purposes.

“It can help potential investors see where major commodity production areas are located, assist existing agribusiness to climate proof by diversifying in other areas, and help potential export markets understand where, and what seasons, they can source produce from,” Mr Furner said.

He said the online tool also included information about the number of people employed in agricultural industries in every local government area in Queensland.

“This type of information shows how important agriculture is to rural and regional economies and can provide a baseline for future investment in rural skilling and training, for example,” Mr Furner said.

“Another user-friendly feature is the ability to generate an economic profile report for agriculture anywhere in Queensland to calculate the estimated gross value of agricultural production.”

He said AgTrends Spatial used information from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries’ biannual Queensland AgTrends report and agricultural census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The mapping platform can be accessed at this PS News link.

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