bioaccumulation or retardation of plant growth. In jurisdictions where food safety
and/or environmental harm has arisen as a result of the application of unsuitable
(organic) materials to land, some of the outcomes have ultimately been decided
through the judicial process. For example, early applications of stabilised waste/
mixed waste composts to UK farmland in the early noughties (primarily to avoid
disposal costs, in particularly the landfill tax) were dealt with in court. This was as a
result of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs seeking to recover significant sums of
outstanding tax or contractual breaches, and, as a result, detailed scientific analysis
and assessment as to environmental benefit versus harm were undertaken. The
volume of organic wastes collected in Queensland is set to continue to increase as
more councils seek to implement organic (green/garden and, in some cases, kitchen)
waste collections from householders and as disposal costs for commercial and
industrial organic waste generators increase. This, in turn, will result in new technologies to process the collected organic and mixed waste streams, a greater volume
of organic product seeking market opportunities and a greater range of organic
product types. Land is valuable with viable farmland being the most precious.
There is also a growing quality expectation and requirement for transparency
surrounding the food chain. The large supermarkets globally have more power and
are using it to specify rigorous purchase chain conditions for their food producers
and growers, and export markets are sensitive to (perceived) quality. This rigour is
being exercised by a growing number of countries, who look to import the best
quality food available and which meets minimum safety requirements. Queensland
is a significant exporter of quality produce, and, as such, it is imperative that
Queensland maintains the quality of its farmland and food chain production standards. Any ‘food incident’ linked (not necessarily proven) to contaminated farmland
would damage the reputation and demand for Queensland’s produce. The pressure to
grow more food, fibre, foliage and now fuel requires increased input and output
intensity, particularly as the footprint of the available agricultural land is constrained
due to regulatory and financial factors as well as access to water. As such, the need to
return nutrients to soils to maintain productivity and protect soils from erosion
through cropping and land management practices is critical. Yet, at the same time,
there is increasing competition for organic nutrients from the bioeconomy and a
recognition and public awareness of the contaminants in the organic nutrient streams
we want to return to land.
8.13 Conclusions
Queensland’s agricultural sector is vulnerable to global climate change impacts due
to its geographical location and geological attributes through its reliance on climatesensitive receptors. There are already signs of productivity fatigue and environmental stress throughout Queensland’s agricultural sector. There are both continuing
(growing populations, export markets) and new pressures (biofuels and bioproducts)
on Queensland’s agriculture to produce more whilst safeguarding the natural
8 Sustaining Queensland’s Agricultural Sector: Challenges and. . .
139
and/or environmental harm has arisen as a result of the application of unsuitable
(organic) materials to land, some of the outcomes have ultimately been decided
through the judicial process. For example, early applications of stabilised waste/
mixed waste composts to UK farmland in the early noughties (primarily to avoid
disposal costs, in particularly the landfill tax) were dealt with in court. This was as a
result of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs seeking to recover significant sums of
outstanding tax or contractual breaches, and, as a result, detailed scientific analysis
and assessment as to environmental benefit versus harm were undertaken. The
volume of organic wastes collected in Queensland is set to continue to increase as
more councils seek to implement organic (green/garden and, in some cases, kitchen)
waste collections from householders and as disposal costs for commercial and
industrial organic waste generators increase. This, in turn, will result in new technologies to process the collected organic and mixed waste streams, a greater volume
of organic product seeking market opportunities and a greater range of organic
product types. Land is valuable with viable farmland being the most precious.
There is also a growing quality expectation and requirement for transparency
surrounding the food chain. The large supermarkets globally have more power and
are using it to specify rigorous purchase chain conditions for their food producers
and growers, and export markets are sensitive to (perceived) quality. This rigour is
being exercised by a growing number of countries, who look to import the best
quality food available and which meets minimum safety requirements. Queensland
is a significant exporter of quality produce, and, as such, it is imperative that
Queensland maintains the quality of its farmland and food chain production standards. Any ‘food incident’ linked (not necessarily proven) to contaminated farmland
would damage the reputation and demand for Queensland’s produce. The pressure to
grow more food, fibre, foliage and now fuel requires increased input and output
intensity, particularly as the footprint of the available agricultural land is constrained
due to regulatory and financial factors as well as access to water. As such, the need to
return nutrients to soils to maintain productivity and protect soils from erosion
through cropping and land management practices is critical. Yet, at the same time,
there is increasing competition for organic nutrients from the bioeconomy and a
recognition and public awareness of the contaminants in the organic nutrient streams
we want to return to land.
8.13 Conclusions
Queensland’s agricultural sector is vulnerable to global climate change impacts due
to its geographical location and geological attributes through its reliance on climatesensitive receptors. There are already signs of productivity fatigue and environmental stress throughout Queensland’s agricultural sector. There are both continuing
(growing populations, export markets) and new pressures (biofuels and bioproducts)
on Queensland’s agriculture to produce more whilst safeguarding the natural
8 Sustaining Queensland’s Agricultural Sector: Challenges and. . .
139