Push to give city residents taste of farm life

The move comes as the Queensland Farmers' Federation also focuses on agritourism, launching the Queensland Agritourism Roadmap last year.

QFF has also partnered with Airbnb this year to deliver webinars aimed at helping more primary producers launch their own farm stays.

The state government campaign aims to attract visitors to farms and help farmers diversify their income.

Agriculture Minister Mark Furner said the Taste Farm Life agritourism campaign would encourage tourists to get off the beaten track or take a day out of their usual beach holiday destination to discover new experiences in rural and regional Queensland.

"Queensland's handling of the COVID threat means there are opportunities for tourists to explore more of our great state and experience innovative and unique offerings from agricultural businesses that have diversified into agritourism," Mr Furner said.

"Many agribusinesses offer a variety of food and farm experiences including farm gate sales, food and wine sampling, farmer's markets, pick-your-own fruit and veggie experiences, farm stays, and food and farm festivals and events.

"These exciting and memorable holiday adventures are often within easy driving distance of coastal communities and the time has never been better for people to get a real taste of where their food comes from."

Ryan and Annika Anderson are fifth-generation owners of Henderson Park, 30 minutes from Rockhampton.

Mrs Anderson said her parents branched out into agritourism in the 1990s when drought impacted income to their cattle business.

"The drought was the impetus for our family-owned commercial beef cattle property to add a secluded accommodation and function venue," Mrs Anderson said.

"Instead of my mother working off property, this allowed them to diversify and have that second income.

"Agritourism has been a gift that allows us to share our stories with our guests that we would otherwise have not had the opportunity to get to know and that we now call friends."

After successfully running Henderson Park Farm Retreat alongside their 1821 hectare cattle property and Mr Anderson's environmental consulting business, the time has come for the family to downsize again, putting the agritourism venture on the market.

"We just had to make a choice and it was a choice made around our family because we didn't have any down time," Mrs Anderson said.

Mr Furner said the two-year initiative was part of Queensland's Economic Recovery Plan, with the first phase designed to entice visitors to the state's coastal cities to extend their stays and venture inland as well.

QFF chief executive officer Georgina Davis said agritourism had an important role in creating a more direct connection between primary producers and the end consumer.

"Critically, QFF estimates that agritourism could be worth around $5 billion to the Queensland economy by 2030," Dr Davis said.

"Industry and government must work together to create an environment that will support agri-innovation, such as on-farm value-adding to unlock the potential for agritourism in the state and add value beyond the farm gate."