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, rice, field peas, hemp etc).

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

Best practice and research

• Contact your industry association to stay up-to-date with the latest research and best practice.
• Access agronomic and technical manuals produced by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).
• Visit CottonInfo for grower resources and research supported by the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC).
• Our grain economics publications can help you assess the costs and benefits of different management practices.
• Read Queensland Grains Research trial summaries about various crops and locations.
• The Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) is a partnership between the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) and the University of Queensland and conducts research on a range of broadacre crops.
• Best practice for sugarcane growers.

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, 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 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

• Our extension officers can work with you to build a sustainable, profitable business.
• Use the Agbiz tools to calculate profit, construct budgets and cashflows, and improve decision-making.
• AgTech can help you better understand your crops and soil, improving on-farm practices and more profitable and sustainable crop growing.
• The AgMargins gross margin calculator helps assess production costs and farm management decisions.
• Agriculture production area statistics (ABARES)
• Managing your agriculture business
• Economic forecasts and trends in agriculture

Stay informed

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