Prime Focus newsletter
Water secured for future droughts with QRIDA grant
After producing hay and chaff for almost 40 years in the Lockyer Valley, Steve Neuendorf knows the importance of securing water for his enterprise now and for the future.
So when he found out QRIDA was administering drought support grants and loans to help prepare producers for future droughts, he applied straight away.
“I used the Drought Preparedness Grant for purchasing a boom irrigator and also putting down another bore so if there were any droughts, I’d have plenty of water,” he said.
Read Steve's story to find out more.
RAD Grant helps Southern Downs producers build sheep reproductive facility
Works are underway on a sheep reproductive facility in the Southern Downs designed to fast-track Queensland’s supply of genetically superior lambs while creating four direct jobs and 11 indirect jobs for Queenslanders as a result of the project.
Arolla Pastoral Company, a fifth generation family farm business located in Allora and run by James and Carla Pidgeon, is behind the project which aims to improve sheep fertility and the productivity of offspring.
“Instead of it taking us 10 years to get rid of sheep defects by natural birth, it will only take us a couple years through the use of artificial intelligence employed by the sheep reproductive facility,” James said.
Read what other benefits this project will bring to the Southern Downs community.
QRIDA on the ground following Northern & Central QLD flooding
Representatives from QRIDA have been on the ground in affected areas to provide information and assistance about the disaster support available following the Northern and Central Queensland Monsoon Flooding event which impacted the North, Central and Gulf regions of Queensland from December 2022 to April 2023.
In April QRIDA Chief Executive Officer, Cameron MacMillan, and Regional Area Manager for the North West and Gulf, Bill Fletcher, spent time in Burketown where they met with Burke Shire council Mayor, Ernie Camp, made on-farm visits to producers and held a pop-up office for small businesses.
To help the recovery, QRIDA is administering financial assistance to directly affected primary producers, small businesses and non-profit organisations in the Burke, Boulia, Carpentaria, Cloncurry, and Mornington Shire Councils, the Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council and Mount Isa City Council.
Sustainable fisher boosts business with new vessel and modern upgrades
Chris Bolton Fishing is feeding the growing appetite for their premium quality coral trout and bait with the purchase of bigger and better equipment funded by a Sustainability Loan from QRIDA.
“Our new boat is built for speed, and it allows us to get the fish and return home fast, so the produce is as fresh as possible,” Chris said.
“Having another two tender vessels means we can supply twice as much fish as we were previously which is such a game-changer.”
The upgrades were not only a win for the commercial fishing business, but also for the local economy. Watch or read Chris's story.
Our team in regional Queensland, helping yours
QRIDA has a network of Regional Area Managers (RAMs) based throughout Queensland who can provide you with the latest local knowledge and expertise on our programs and services.
With offices based in Brisbane, Bundaberg, Cloncurry, Emerald (with regular visits to Longreach), Innisfail, Kingaroy, Mackay, Rockhampton, Roma, Toowoomba and Townsville, we’ve got Queensland covered.
In each newsletter we feature an update from three of our RAMs. To find details of your local RAM, contact us on 1800 623 946 or visit the ‘your region’ page on our website where you can search by region or postcode.
Brian Coe, South East & Lockyer Valley
QRIDA’s Sustainability Loans have long been helping Queenslanders create a viable future for their primary production businesses, and the financial assistance continues to evolve to create new opportunities for the agricultural industry.
In addition to primary production upgrades, diversifications and expansions including biosecurity measures and infrastructure purchases, producers can now use a Sustainability Loan to construct small-scale rural worker accommodation on-farm. With many labor intensive farms in my region, coupled with the current high demand of workers, rural worker accommodation could be particularly beneficial for local primary producers to attract workers to the region.
In coming weeks I’ll be attending some exciting events in the South East, especially
the Somerset region, so keep an eye on your emails and QRIDA’s social media for details. It would be great to see you at these events to chat about how QRIDA could help you achieve your farm business goals. If you can’t make the events, give me a call and we can arrange to meet on-farm at a time that suits you.
Terry Pulsford, Maranoa & South West
Currently the goat industry in South West Queensland is being impacted by several factors including lower demand internationally, resulting in reduced livestock prices and labour shortages affecting processing capacities.
These issues are not only straining producers’ cashflow but also carrying capacities through the unintended retention of livestock.
If you’re experiencing problems with the management of your business QRIDA may be able to provide options through the Farm Debt Restructure Office. This program is at arm’s length to your existing financier and may provide proactive solutions to moving forward.
I encourage producers to keep future seasons in mind and explore how QRIDA’s drought support could help them prepare and mitigate future impacts of drought on their enterprise.
Please get in touch with me if you want to find out more about any of QRIDA’s programs.
Glenn Henricksen, North
I
’m excited to have started in April as the Regional Area Manager for the North Queensland region whilst Elizabeth Bajcetic is on maternity leave. I come to QRIDA with more than 20 years experience in banking, finance and agribusiness, mainly in the Bundaberg region. During this time I have held managerial positions with a number of different banks and have developed an extensive knowledge of the sugar, cattle, small crop and other horticulture industries.
I’m really looking forward to getting out and about in my region to meet with producers on farm and discuss the QRIDA assistance that is available to help achieve their agribusiness goals.
If you’re looking into plans to start your first primary production business, develop and upgrade your existing business or to prepare, manage, recover or mitigate the impacts of
drought please give me a call – I’d love to help you find the right QRIDA assistance available for your situation.
Missed out on a previous copy of Prime Focus? Read past editions here:
2023
Summer 2023 (PDF, 654KB)
2022
Spring 2022 (PDF, 618KB) | Winter 2022 (PDF, 708 KB) | Autumn 2022 (PDF, 577 KB) | Summer 2022 (PDF, 537 KB)
2021
Spring 2021 (PDF. 655 KB) | Winter 2021 (PDF, 626KB) | Autumn 2021 (PDF, 602KB) |
2020
November 2020 (PDF, 665KB) | May 2020 (PDF, 561KB)
2019
December 2019 (PDF, 602KB) | July 2019 (PDF, 623KB) | March 2019 (PDF, 619KB)
