There is a new organisation in town and they are out to promote what the region has on offer from the paddock to the plate.
The Greater Whitsunday Food Network is a newly established not for profit community organisation driven by a group of passionate individuals who are instigating change within the regional food system.
The region covers the local council areas, of Mackay, Isaac and the Whitsundays.
The Vision of the GWFN is to be Community connected to the regions food and to be recognised as a fresh taste destination grown out of authentic seasonal experiences. The network represent the production to consumption value chain and to oversee the implementation of the Mackay Isaac Whitsunday regions Farm to Plate Strategy.
Some of the key objectives within the Farm to Plate Strategy include:
- Fostering the growth of a local food culture amongst communities of the region,
- Develop the regions food brand values and story.
- Foster leadership and advocacy within the business communities and public sector agencies of the region, and
- Facilitate the development of food and Agritourism experiences within the region
President Deb McLucas said the team had made progress since forming a committee four months ago and had identified its main priorities, long and short-term. "The main focus for us [at the moment] is about trying to connect with all of those people who are interested in what we are doing, and to be honest, that is not difficult," Ms McLucas said. "Everybody we talk to is very supportive and they want to know what we are doing, so we are madly working on ways to keep people informed. "The other [priority] is about building our brand and that's going to be a long-term project," she said. "If we are successful, in five years time we would love to see this region recognised as a food destination, not just for visitors but for locals to enjoy experiences of our local food.
The project has been gaining momentum since beginning at the start of 2015.
The Whitsunday region has a well-established and strong horticulture industry that is notably the largest
winter growing vegetable region in Australia.
It is estimated that the region contributes more than $450 million to the $9.2 billion Australian horticulture
sector, which is the fastest growing sector in the agriculture industry. Horticulture is also the second largest
primary industry in Queensland.
The Whitsunday region produces a wide range of fruits including mangoes, lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit,
mandarins, pineapples, bananas and passionfruit.
The region also produces macadamia nuts, with an estimated 1,275 trees in the region. It is estimated that 670
hectares of land in the region hold 128,407 orchard fruit trees and nut trees and is valued at approximately
$7.8 million (gross) per annum.
Horticultural growers across the Whitsunday region that send produce to national and international markets
adhere to strict regulatory standards ensuring quality fresh produce to consumers. These standards enable
consumer’s access to fresh produce of the highest food standards in the world.
The Whitsundays also has an existing aquaculture industry primarily in the fin fish sector with a 3,500 square metre
world class hatchery, a 1 million litre nursery and a 24 raceway grow out facility in the region’s north. The
region has also previously been home to prawn farms with projects planned to develop new farms as market
demand increases. According to the State Land Audit, the Mackay, Isaac, Whitsunday region is only using 4% of
its potential horticultural land and further identified the Gulthalungra- Bowen area as the most favourable area
to increase aquaculture.
The Whitsunday Regional Council area is estimated to have 324,000 beef cattle or 3.1 percent of the
Queensland herd which annually exports over $3.4 billion dollars in high-quality beef products. The
region has expansive cattle grazing land with high quality beef production for the domestic and international
export market and re-stocking market. More than 2.6 million hectares of the region is devoted to producing
beef cattle, mostly Brahman and Brahman-cross breeds.
Beef cattle graze on an estimated 394 holdings. The majority of cattle are run on large, extensive properties
well known for supplying growing cattle to central and southern Queensland finishing operations. Sixty nine
percent of holdings run less than 100 head, being predominantly lifestyle operations close to the population
centres of Airlie Beach, Bowen and Proserpine or on spare land on sugar and horticultural operations. Beef
production throughout the region is in some cases integrated with other production systems such as cane.
World-class research, development and production practices have kept Queensland’s beef free from many
of the world’s most serious bovine diseases, including foot-and-mouth disease and bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE), making Whitsunday beef products among the world’s safest.
Over 3,200 people gain employment from the region’s agricultural sector. This workforce boasts a range of skill levels and includes
permanent, seasonal, casual, contractors positions and is popular with backpacker workers.
The Greater Whitsunday Food Network is focusing on some main priorities, including opportunities for more farm tours. It was launched with the goal of turning the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday region into a famous food area, similar to the successful branding of the Barossa Valley in South Australia.
Advocates say all the ingredients are there, with high quality fruit and vegetables, quality in the Bowen area, beef, seafood and other products.
The committee has established two sub-committees: one for events and another to focus on a new farmers market so that regional produce is more widely recognised and available to locals and visitors to our region that is planned to be commencing on a Wednesday, with the exact location to still be confirmed at the time of this going to press. The GWFN are currently looking at employing a Farmers Market Coordinator to establish and manage an authentic weekly farmers market
• Industry worth over $450 million a year
• Largest winter growing region in Australia
• Employs around 3200 skilled and unskilled workers a year
• Horticulture is the second largest economic driver in the Whitsunday region
• Vegetable Production is from April/May through to November
• Mango production is November and December
• The Don River is one of the fastest running rivers in Australia
• Both the Kensington Pride (Bowen Special) and the R2E2 were developed in the Whitsundays
• Currently the region produces on an estimated 10,000 hectares of land
• There are an estimated 60 growers across Bowen and Gumlu
• Production value equates to more than 43% of value of Queensland’s horticulture industry
• The Whitsundays boasts some of the largest Tomato, Capsicum, Corn and Bean growers in Australia
• The Whitsundays has the largest producer of tomatoes in Australia who won the 2012 Rural Australian Horticulture Grower of the Year
• The two largest Bean and Corn growers in the region have won national awards for Environmental Farm of the Year 2011 and Grower of the Year 2013
• Mulgowie also won the Industry Impact Award in 2014
» Water users in this region are considered to be the most water use efficient in Australia
» Water is sourced from the Aquifer (Don River and Euri Creek), town water supply, and farm dams
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