The CRCNA is investigating the viability of five different spice crops – black sesame, fennel, kalonji, carroway and cumin – to determine their potential for large-scale production in northern broadacre environments. Video provided by CQ University.
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00:04 (Dr. David Morgan) Developing agricultural industries in the north
00:08 requires crops which can give a good return
00:11 or potential return to growers in pretty harsh climates.
00:15 (Dr. Andrew Gould) We see involvement in the spice industry,
00:17 virtually it's a new industry.
00:19 It's an industry where it mightn't be the crop that you grow on all of your farm
00:22 but it might be the crop you grow on five percent of your farm
00:25 that lists your overall farm gross margin.
00:28 Central Queensland seems to be a climate where something like kalonji
00:32 is a lot more easier to grow.
00:34 I don't say you'll grow it organically
00:36 but certainly you'll grow it in a conventional farming system
00:40 where it's low cost.
00:43 So there's a lot more profit margin there for the grower who decides to grow it.
00:47 The quality of our kalonji is better
00:53 at these early stages than some of the imported product.
00:56 It's about now trying to grow that out in the field on a bigger scale
01:00 with growers that have the capability to grow it.
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01:05 Some of these non-shattering varieties now are quicker.
01:09 So when I say quick I mean around a hundred day maturity
01:13 from planting to harvest date.
01:15 So that has a big part to play in establishing an industry here in Australia.
01:19 (Dr. Sarah Hicks) In this day and age of farming it's not,
01:22 you know, we don't have very many people that do single commodity anymore.
01:25 Part of our drought resistance and succession planning
01:29 and future farming options really do involve sort of multi-faceted options.
01:34 One of our key policy priorities within AgForce
01:38 was our development in the north
01:40 and this is a great opportunity for us to be able to be at the forefront
01:43 of those developments and really help growers,
01:46 you know, come up with solutions, real world solutions
01:49 that can work on their place.
01:50 We don't have to rely on the $500 million worth of imports a year
01:54 and by building that industry here the money stays here in Australia.
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