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Issue 6: Supporting emerging industries
Councils recently adopted Local Strategic Planning Statement 2020 and the earlier Clarence Valley Regional Economic Development Strategy 2018 – 2022 set out directions to grow the agricultural sector, being identified as an “engine of growth” across the region. Key to this growth is to support not only the existing industries that are the present, but to identify emerging and growing industries to ensure that they are able to continue to meet sustainable market needs.
With the LGA being relatively contained with natural breaks provided by National Parks / Conservation areas to the north south and west, this may mean building on those agricultural industries which have already sprouted, such as berries or nuts. Similarly, there may be opportunities through diversification through existing industries, such as sugarcane, apiary, or forestry.
However, emerging industries within the rural lands context also extend beyond agriculture. There are trends within tourism, recreation and environmental fields that may also warrant further consideration as emerging industries over the life of the Strategy.
This section identifies a number of these emerging industries including:
o Intensive plant agriculture including existing and emerging opportunities o Opportunities to tap into diversification and support for existing industries o Diversified use of rural lands in areas such as recreation and tourism o Working with smaller land holdings to create productive outcomes. Considerations are also identified relating to how to support and grow these opportunities into the future.
6.1 Intensive plant agriculture
The North Coast Regional Strategy 2036 identifies through Direction 6 the opportunity to develop successful centres of employment –including potential for food production and agribusiness. This precinct or hub style approach can assist to facilitate industry development, creating a critical mass for infrastructure, supply chains and the like. Whilst this has arguably been the case for industries such as sugarcane for many years, there is increasing pressure to drive greater efficiencies from existing rural lands through more intensive forms of production.
Most predominantly, this is being pushed through the increase in protected cropping, with low to high levels of climate control being developed. In the Clarence Valley, this is already seen within the berry industry, moving from open farms to nets and now increasingly to more sophisticated above ground systems including ‘tunnels’ and basic levels of climate controlled farming.
The 2017 Regional Development Australia Northern Rivers NSW Blueberry Industry Business Barriers Review: NSW Northern Rivers highlights Clarence Valley as one of the production areas between the main hub of Woolgoolga and the smaller farms in the Richmond Valley. The report identified several large farms (e.g. Golden Eagle) being newly established or planned on “under-utilised grazing properties” .
Protected cropping is identified as the fastest growing food-producing sector in Australia, with annual growth rates averaging more than 60%
over the past five years67 . During consultation for this project, DPI identified that within NSW, 40% of intensive cropping projects are occurring on the North Coast, with further increases expected in the near foreseeable future. With opportunities likely to exist for growth in protected cropping generally, and acknowledging that protected cropping does not require high quality soils (i.e. not requiring land zones as RU1 Primary Production), there may be potential to establish a protected cropping precinct that, in conjunction with supportive policies and advocacy, addresses:
o Planning controls to minimise land use conflict, visual amenity and environmental impacts o Access to water and supply chain infrastructure o Access to labour markets.
This form of precinct development has a chequered past in the Clarence Valley, with the failure of the “Johnson Farm Management” scheme / stonefruit horticultural development near Lanitza in the 1980’s. Nonetheless, with changing technologies and more sophisticated planning and land management controls, combined with the existing supply chains and directions of the berry industry (particularly should export opportunities be realised), there may be future potential in this form of dedicated precinct subject to further and detailed investigations.
6.2 Other emerging & diversifying industries
Consultation with various industry groups has also identified other emerging industry sectors, particularly in relation to the diversification and growth of existing participants. Examples of these include the
67 Protected Cropping Australia - Growing Protected Cropping in Australia to 2030 (January 2020) sugarcane and forestry industries that continue to be major employers in the region and who are regularly exploring new and improved opportunities for diversification. The macadamia industry is another that is rapidly growing from the north-eastern part of the LGA and the apiary industry has significant potential given the symbiotic relationship it has with horticulture.
Within forestry, there are already a number of major employers in the local area, including:
o Harvest & haulage contractors - Greensill Bros o Customers/processing - Big River Timbers - Koppers - J Notarus & Sons - Boral / Allied Natural Wood Enterprises - Hensons
The recent sale the Boral processing facility to Allied Natural Wood Enterprises and the current market / increasing technology within forestry products has highlighted the potential for growth. This was a position that was identified by Forestry NSW during consultation who are seeing increasing innovation and value of their timber-based bioproducts “from engineered laminated wood, to bio-based products used in materials such as batteries and concrete”68 .
68 Pers Comm Peter Walters | Protection Supervisor – Far North Coast, Forestry Corporation of NSW (August 2021)
Within the Clarence Valley, Forestry NSW manage almost 200,000ha of State Forest (~10% of the state-wide estate), comprised of:
o Native Forest – 96% o Hardwood plantation – 3% o Softwood plantation – 1%
Direct employment estimates suggest around 350 people are employed in the industry in the Clarence Valley.
Over the longer-term, Forestry NSW further identify the opportunity to increase the extent of hardwood plantations, subject to improved haulage access to and from plantation nodes (existing hardwood plantation nodes are generally highlighted in dark green in Figure 20 overleaf). These areas, by hectare, provide a far higher yield than native forests, creating a more sustainable / renewable resource by having a lower footprint whilst still providing opportunity for growth and diversification of timber products.
In terms of private native forestry (PNF), the DPI NSW planning and regulatory instruments that interact with private native forestry 2018 report published in June 2018 indicates that the Clarence Valley has the most private native forest on the North Coast (more than 340,000 hectares). On average, the Clarence Valley also had the largest areas of PNF approvals on the North Coast and account for approximately half of all North Coast PNF approvals in terms of area (between 2009 and 2015 when records were made available from LLS)69 .
69 North Coast Region State of the Environment Report Working Group. Regional State of the
Environment Report Summary 2020 – (October 2021) Figure 20: Forestry Corporation estate map (plantation nodes circled)
Under the Clarence Valley LEP 2011, forestry is permitted without consent in the RU1, RU2 and RU3 zone, requires consent in the C3 zone
and is prohibited in C2 zone. Harvesting timber for the purposes of PNF does however require approval through a PNF Plan, which aims to ensure that ecologically sustainable forest management is implemented and measures are put in place to mitigate impacts on plants, animals, soil and water70 .
A PNF Plan is an agreement between a landholder and LLS and activities must then occur in accordance with the Plan and the minimum operating standards set out in the PNF Codes of Practice. The Environment Protection Authority is responsible for monitoring and compliance with the PNF Plan and relevant PNF Code of Practice.
Given the scale of forestry land in the area, there is a significant support industry that has established within Grafton and surrounds that has been a major economic driver over a number of decades. Council can play an important role in facilitation and education regarding sustainable forestry operations on over the longer term in conjunction with Forestry Corp and LLS.
Within the sugarcane sector, consultation with the industry has indicated that they have a strong history in developing diversified uses and by-products to minimise waste and maximise economic sustainability. However, this process is also recognised as being ongoing with expansion and development of new product offerings through emerging technologies and continual improvement. This has been ongoing for a number of years and further opportunities are being investigated.
70 See https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/native-forestry/about-private-native-forestry accessed 24.11.21 Trends within macadamia nuts (and potentially other nuts, such as pecans) have seen extensive growth in the northern part of the LGA with estimates from DPI suggesting that there are now around 2,000ha of trees (compared to around 10,000ha of sugarcane, around half of which is cultivated each year). This is particularly impacting on traditional sugarcane growing areas given that they are generally able to utilise the same land, with current markets suggesting macadamia farms can earn significantly higher revenue from smaller footprints71 . This is the converse of sugarcane trends, with larger farms being progressively needed to sustain historic returns.
That said, the long-term value and returns of macadamia growth is not entirely clear within the Clarence, with crops not possible for 4 - 5 years and tree maturity not being reached for more than 10. As a predominantly export industry, growth potential remains high, albeit with some risks.
In terms of apiary activities, industry has indicated that there are already close to 50,000 bees already pollinating across public and private rural lands in the Clarence Valley. In conjunction with forecast horticultural growth, industry expects this proportionally grow to maintain demand for pollination services. The symbiotic relationship between bees and food production is continued to be recognised by the horticulture industry. However, consultation with the apiary industry for this project has highlighted that a key challenge for beekeeping stems from the ability to host hive sites and that the removal of apiary site tenure undermines the stability of local
71 Pers comm - Jeremy Bright, Macadamia Development Officer - NSW DPI, July 2021
beekeeping businesses.72 Limited apiary sites on public rural land, changing site ownership and lack of cross-agency communication have been identified as major challenges that impact the ability to host hives.
In the Clarence Valley, the majority of beehives are hosted on private land, National Park or Forestry estate and industry has indicated that licenced sites in these areas are already being utilised at or near capacity. There may therefore be potential for Council, in conjunction with other agencies, to play a role in collaboratively identifying ways to enhance licenced site opportunities within Council and other public land locations.
It is also acknowledged that over the life of the Strategy the renewable energy sector has potential for substantial growth within the Clarence Valley. For example, large-scale solar farm proposals have recently been investigated by the private sector and at least one development proposal has been submitted to the State Government.
These large-scale proposals are defined as “electricity generating works” and are not permitted within the RU1 or RU2 zones under Council’s LEP. However, Clause 20 of Schedule 1 of the State and Regional Development SEPP states that such development (more than $30 million) are classified as State Significant Development and may be approved by the State.
Such development should be discouraged from RU1 land given that they are not agricultural uses. Where located on RU2 land, such development may be supported where they do not impact on
72 NSW Apiarists’ Association Position Paper – Apiary Sites on Public Land, (Revised edition February 2020) agricultural productivity, the environment or existing or future communities, consistent with Council’s adopted LSPS.
6.3 Recreation and other rural land activities
Much of the rural land in the Clarence Valley contains, or is located adjacent to, nationally recognised recreation activities including white water rafting, mountain biking, bushwalking and pristine beaches. Camping and bush walking are popular pastimes with many of these activities occurring on both public and private rural land.
The provision of camping grounds, caravan parks, bed and breakfast accommodations, eco-tourist facilities and farm stay accommodation that often provide a hub for non-agricultural and recreational pursuits is permitted in the majority of private rural land in the Clarence Valley (albeit some of these are more restricted on RU1 and C2 zoned land).
Further, public land zoned RU3 Forestry managed by the Forestry Corporation is often utilised for recreation purposes such as camping, bushwalking and mountain biking in a number of areas in the Clarence Valley. This land covers an approximately 20% or around 200,000 hectares of the Clarence Valley.
The ability of those living on appropriately zoned rural lands to provide infrastructure that supports recreation and other complimentary activities in the Clarence Valley is generally accepted. Allowing recreation areas is a significant source of income for some rural land holders providing tourism and event opportunities. This is evidenced by the outcomes of the initial Rural Lands Strategy project survey, where a range of recreation, adventure and wellness activities were
well supported (see details at Question 17 at Appendix B). Accommodating people on rural lands was also highly supported and is discussed in the next section.
It should also be noted that many formalised public recreation areas (e.g. parks and sportsgrounds) are zoned RE1 Public Recreation and private recreation areas (e.g. golf courses) are zoned RE2 Private Recreation, and these zones are not applicable to Rural Lands Strategy project.
6.4 Rural tourism
Clarence Valley’s rural tourism offerings are underpinned by the LGA’s natural assets such as the variety of National Parks and waterbodies including:
o Washpool National Park o Chaelundi National Park o Nymbodia National Park o Yuraygir National Park o Bundjalung National Park o Boyd River o Mann River o Clarence River o Orara River
The Clarence Valley Regional Economic Development Strategy 2018 – 2022 outlines tourism as a key ‘engine of growth’ and to develop the region’s key tourism attractions and precincts. The Strategy highlights leveraging the Clarence Valley’s nature-based tourism experience on the river and hinterland. This is further reinforced by the recently “renewed” The Clarence - Riverway Master Plan II (July 2021) which establishes key directions to reinforce and continue the work of the original documents.
Council’s Economic Development team are already heavily involved within this space, with a current focus on creating a “Hinterland Cluster” of tourism operators through upskilling opportunities, networking and workshop events. These include workshops on:
o Experience development - turning products into experiences o What makes a memorable experience? Identifying and communicating standout experiences o Commissionable product development and becoming internationally ready o Customer journey mapping & customer touch points
The program is targeted to river tourism operators, accommodation providers, tour guides, adventure tourism and small tourism business operators.
These can build on established tourism markets, or assist in establishing emerging opportunities, to broaden the tourism market in areas such as nature-based events and activities. These types of activities are typically well supported in the outcomes of initial project surveys – provided that they are well planned and avoid land use conflicts. In particular, with attractive rural areas and small towns there are opportunities to explore:
o increasing the number and scale of nature-based experiences/attractions o agri-tourism such as farm stays and farm gate sales that emphasise local produce and boutique enterprises
o rural accommodation including bed and breakfasts and glamping to cater for broader tourism markets.
The Destination North Coast’s North Coast Destination Management Plan identifies in Strategic Priority 4: Tourism Product and Experience Development the link between rural land and agriculture to tourism opportunities through key actions including:
o Action 4.3 - Develop a five-year North Coast Nature-based Tourism Development Strategy to identify opportunities and strategies to coordinate and encourage nature-based tourism product and experience development across the North Coast in collaboration with NPWS & Forestry o Action 4.4 - Work with local food groups and the DNSW Food and Wine Specialist, and the private sector to identify, create and promote new and existing food/beverage/produce trails to connect visitors to North Coast food, beverage and agritourism experiences and advocate on policy issues that are constraining the sector
Council’s current programs and promotion of nature-based tourism activities, such as on myclarencevalley.com, can tie in and leverage key actions from Destination North Coast’s Destination Management Plan to fully realise nature-based tourism opportunities. Consultation with Transport for NSW highlighted that road access and safety considerations, particularly on State roads, but all Council, was an issue that may need to be carefully considered in this type of environment.
Over time, there is also likely to be an increase in short-stay or camping style accommodation on a range of rural lands. As shown in Figure 21, the current (October 2021) extent of Airbnb short stay accommodation in rural areas (urban listings have been removed) are more limited away from the main centres of Grafton and Yamba / Iluka. It does however highlight the distribution of listings along the route to the west of Grafton and often in association with the Clarence River. Enabling these types of accommodation opportunities in areas and situations that do not conflict with core primary production land is important to the diversification of farm use.
Supporting and encouraging investment in a range of tourism activities adds value to farming activities in providing alternative sand supplementary incomes, diversifying the tourism offering of the LGA, and increasing the returns attributable to the land. It is important however that the competing demands of tourism development, ensuring the productivity of agricultural land and implications for infrastructure needs (e.g. access roads) are balanced appropriately through the planning system.
It is also noted that the DPIE - Planning is undertaking reforms related to agri-tourism. New definitions for farm stay accommodation, farm experience premises and farm gate premises are proposed within a draft Standard Instrument Amendment Order (November 2021) to broaden the extent of uses within rural areas that have a relationship to agricultural activities. Monitoring and maintaining consistency with these rural tourism related changes will therefore be imperative.
Figure 21: Short Stay Accommodation Heat Map Figure 21: Indicative intensity of existing Airbnb accommodation
6.5 Small farm productivity
As discussed in earlier sections relating to land use conflicts and loss of agricultural land, there is recognition that the rural lands of the Clarence Valley have a broad range of landholder types and property sizes. Many landholdings are smaller in size and have more limited productive capacity compared with larger farms, with many of these often being used for rural living rather than productive uses. The number of scale of landholdings within the Clarence Valley are highlighted in Table 2.
Table 2: Landholdings by size and zone
Zone
RU1 Primary Production
Land holdings (#)
1,667
RU2 Rural Landscape 3,567
RU3 Rural Forestry 58
C2 Environmental Conservation 146
C3 Environmental Management 385
Ave. Size (ha) Median Size (ha)
59 17
96 37
739
19
108 387
4.8
5.9
These outcomes again highlight the relative size of each zone, including the large scale of forestry holdings. The median size of holdings in both the RU1 and RU2 zones are relatively low, with many lots (noting that a number of lots will typically comprise a rural land holding) being well below the applicable minimum lots size (MLS) as outlined in Table 3.
Table 3: Lots below the minimum lot size
Zone
RU1 Primary Production
Min Lot
Size (MLS) Total lots
Under
MLS (#)
Under
MLS (%)
40ha 3,014 2,858 95%
100ha 951 729 76%
RU2 Rural Landscape 200 ha 12 12 100%
9 ha 224 120 53%
35 ha 56 27 48%
40 ha 6,543 4,603 70%
100 ha 1,292 960 74%
200 ha 77 75 97%
RU3 Forestry 40 ha 115 50 43%
100 ha 409 209 51%
C2 Environmental Conservation
C3 Environmental Management 40 ha 344 328 95%
100 ha 12 12 100%
40 ha 300 225 75%
100 ha 273 271 99%
150 ha 399 324 81%
200 ha 16 15 93%
Note: Only showing MLS areas with at least 10 lots to remove anomalies. Some ‘lots’ are actually part of a lot where more than one zoning and/or MLS is prescribed.
Whilst the proportion of lots below the MLS is high in many areas, the current restriction imposed by Clause 4.2B - Erection of dwelling houses and dual occupancies on land in certain rural, residential and environmental protection zones – means that there may be more limited dwelling entitlements on these lands in the future. Should future entitlements be required, lot consolidation would be required.
As shown in Figure 22 and Figure 23 (see pages 84 and 85) for zones RU1 and RU 2 respectively, the distribution of holding sizes predominantly highlights the larger and more extensive farming areas to the west of the LGA (typically associated with grazing), with smaller holdings typically being located in the eastern portion of the LGA where cropping is undertaken. This is also generally consistent with the distribution of MLS requirements.
In any event, whilst smaller farms on rural lands are unlikely to have a viable standalone business, it is important that small landholdings are able to participate in and where possible generate returns (monetary, agricultural or environmental) from the land. This assists in ensuring active land management, reduces environmental impacts or biosecurity issues associated with weeds and ultimately can provide economic gains for both the landholder and the broader Clarence Valley economy.
There is a broad range of organisations, both government and not-forprofit, that work within this space, engaging with landholders to actively manage their land. Within the context of the Clarence Valley, a number of organisations engaged in the initial stages of the strategy development indicate an interest and willingness to be more involved in the Sector in the Clarence Valley. However, this involvement is often related to establishing localised and ongoing co-ordination, as well as in some instances, the availability of funding.
Examples of these organisations including Clarence Valley Food Inc, Young Farmers, various programs operated by Southern Cross University, as well as programs previously run by LLS. The Local Land Services – North Coast Local Strategic Plan 2016-2021 is currently under review and renewal, and along with the Local Land Services State Strategic Plan 2020-2030, provides opportunities to re-establish programs that may assist in establishing new opportunities for the Clarence Valley.
RELATED RURAL LANDS STRATEGY RECOMMENDATIONS
Note: the recommendation numbers relate to those presented in the Rural Land Strategy document for ease of reference.
Elevate the importance of rural lands within Council and the community
Recommendation 14: Develop ‘Emerging Industry Strategies’ to further develop and lead Council’s proactive involvement in key growth sectors A number of sectors in the Clarence Valley are emerging or have potential for further development, including forestry (and associated flow-on industries), macadamias, protected cropping and apiary activities. Planning for these industries can facilitate their long-term prosperity and increase benefits to the broader economy.
Engage with government and industry to leverage support
Recommendation 17: Provide a range of programs, training and education opportunities for rural landowners and the broader public A number of programs would apply to this issue, including the promotion of the benefits of productively utilising rural land to ensure maximum productivity from recognised farmland areas. Education around rural tourism and diversification opportunities would also be applicable.
Recommendation 18: Strengthen opportunities for rural tourism and recreation
Rural land in the Clarence Valley has some of the most diverse tourism opportunities in the region. Leveraging these through collaborating with tourism agencies with can result in a stronger engagement with rural lands more generally with added economic benefits to these communities.
Public land in rural area in the Clarence Valley also accommodates a wide range of recreation opportunities. Increasing the availability of these by working with other public land managers can create local lifestyle benefits through regular engagement with rural lands.
Develop supporting infrastructure that enables opportunities
Recommendation 23: Establish a basis for industry specific and shared infrastructure opportunities
Depending on the outcome of any future ‘Emerging Industry Strategies’ as part of Recommendation 11 , there may be opportunities to collaboratively coordinate shared infrastructure that can assist industry specific productivity.
