Grains best management practices: Delivering productivity and sustainability outcomes for the central Queensland grains industry

Abstract

The Grains Best Management Practices (BMP) program was designed to assist grain growers in identifying and implementing improved management practices that lead to long term productivity and sustainability for their business. Facilitated self-assessment workshops, field days, targeted one-on-one and group based training events and ongoing follow up reassessment workshops are part of the intensive delivery model and are fundamental in fostering informed decision making and enabling enduring practice change. Since commencement of the program in June 2008, 295 businesses within the Fitzroy catchment have completed the program, 60 per cent of which have completed the program more than once allowing a real measure of change in on-farm practices over time. Long term delivery of the program has highlighted the importance of delivering technical productivity based content, promoting readily adoptable practices and providing multiple avenues in which to implement change as a means in which to effectively re-engage growers overtime and drive practice change adoption.