Broadacre crops

Queensland's broadacre industries produce a wide range of high-quality commodities, including grain, oil, fibre and sugar, contributing around $5 billion annually to the Queensland economy.

Field crops grown in Queensland include:

• winter cereals (wheat and barley)
• summer cereals (sorghum and maize)
• winter pulses (chickpea and faba bean)
• summer pulses (soybean and mungbean)
• cotton
• peanuts
• sunflower
• canola
• specialty crops (triticale, navy beans, lentils, hemp, etc).

Nearly 95% of Australia's sugarcane is grown in Queensland, and various forage crops, particularly sorghum, maize and oats, are also common.

Industry and research resources

• Contact your industry association to stay up-to-date with the latest research and best practices.
• View Smartcane Best Management Practices (BMP) for the sugarcane industry.
• Read the best practices for cotton production on MyBMP.
• Visit CottonInfo for grower resources and research supported by the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC).
• Access GrowNotes agronomic and technical manuals produced by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).
• Read the Department of Primary Industries' Queensland Grains Research summaries from 2016–2023.
• The Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) is a partnership between the Queensland Government and the University of Queensland and conducts research on a range of broadacre crops.
• The Broadacre Cropping Initiative (BACI) is a partnership between the Queensland Government and the University of Southern Queensland.

Land management

Good land management is an essential part of a sustainable farming system.

Climate forecasting, careful subsoil moisture management and risk management are important features of broadacre cropping in Queensland. Apart from highly profitable crops such as cotton and some sugarcane regions, most broadacre crops are not irrigated and rely on rainfall, which is highly variable.

These tools can help:

• Agricultural Risk Management (ARM online) tools
• Climate analysis for decision making (CliMate)
• Principles of soil nitrogen fertility management
• Land use and mapping tools.

Pests and weeds

• The Beatsheet provides advice on pest management in grains.
• Weedsmart
• Insect pests in field crops
• Beneficial insects in broadacre crops
• Stored grain management
• Pesticide registrations database (APVMA)

Biosecurity requirements

• Create your own on-farm biosecurity plan to reduce the risk of introducing or spreading an infectious disease, pest or weed.
• Encourage visitors to use the Farm Check-In tool when entering your agricultural property to minimise the spread of pests and diseases.
• Find out if you need to be registered as a biosecurity entity.

Finance and business management

• AgTech can improve on-farm practices, leading to more profitable and sustainable crop production.
• Agriculture production area statistics (ABARES)
• Managing your agricultural business
• Economic forecasts and trends in agriculture

Stay informed

• Speak to your extension officer to find out about upcoming events and training.
• Sign up for agricultural newsletters.
• Follow Queensland Agriculture on Facebook for the latest news.