An initiative to get youth involved in agriculture was launched today.

It comes as Premier Campbell Newman announced plans to develop farming in Queensland.

Sarah Orr reports.

TRANSCRIPT

Premier Newman wasn’t at all sheepish today as he spoke of his ambitions for agriculture in Queensland.

Campbell Newman, Premier: “We’ve set the target to double food production, that’s tones not value, tones.”

He revealed his plans at the launch of the new AgForce initiative Moo Baa Munch.

Campbell Newman, Premier: “One of the big things is to encourage young people to go into careers in agriculture.”

But meeting his target will take time, adverse weather conditions and drought have taken their toll.

Greg Dennis, Dairy Farmer: “We’ve seen a lot of loss of production from our cows and we’ve also seen health issues for our cows in milk qualities and cow health so it’s cost farmers a substantial amount of money there’s no question.”

Agforce believe every family needs a farmer to understand, exactly how their food came to be at the dinner table.

The Premier is optimistic and wants to recommence trading with Indonesia after the mistreatment of animals closed the market.

Campbell Newman, Premier: “No one wants to see animals mistreated but this is a vital market.”

He’ll outline how he aims to achieve his goals at a summit in Mackay tomorrow.

Sarah Orr, QUT News.