QRIDA’s Cindy on a mission to help Burnett farmers succeed

Cindy Godden describes her childhood as the perfect mix of city and country living. 

“I grew up on the Sunshine Coast, and my grandparents had a farm on the Darling Downs where I enjoyed my school holidays, so I lived in a busy coastal town yet always had a connection back to the land,” Cindy said. 

But ultimately her passion for sustainable agriculture led her to build a life in rural Queensland.

“My motivation was to empower primary producers to succeed in the agricultural industry and to help leave our natural resources in a better state than we found them,” Cindy said.

For the past six years, Cindy has been helping Queensland primary producers to improve the resilience, sustainability, and profitability of their operations as the Regional Area Manager for Burnett at the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA).

“It is so rewarding to be able to help primary producers from diverse industries achieve their individual goals with QRIDA’s concessional First Start and Sustainability Loans,” Cindy said. 

“Over the years I’ve helped fruit and vegetable growers build a commercial kitchen to diversify into food production, and beef and pecan farmers to invest in innovative irrigation technologies to mitigate the impacts of drought.” 

Cindy said her favourite part of Burnett’s agricultural industry was its diversity.

“There is so much you can grow and graze here in the Burnett which makes it the perfect region for primary producers to expand their operations into new industries,” she said.

“The region is well-renowned for pork and nuts, but we produce a much wider range of food and fibre here including cotton, capers, and honey.”

Often amazed by the innovative on-farm activities her clients implement, Cindy is proud to help them access the QRIDA financial assistance they need to bring their vision to life. 

“I’ve found that recently a lot of primary producers are using our Sustainability Loans to invest in renewable energy, improve reef catchments and pastures, and prepare for drought, while many up-and-coming producers are accessing our First Start Loans to carry out family succession plans and build viable farm businesses,” she said. 

“It’s also incredible to see producers harnessing new technologies to improve productivity, such as monitoring water troughs and tanks from a far and tracking cattle movement with solar ear tags.

“I’m happy to meet with producers in the South Burnett, Gympie and Sunshine Coast areas on-farm to chat to them about their individual operation and how QRIDA’s financial assistance could help them achieve their goals.”

To find out how Cindy Godden could help you improve your primary production enterprise, contact your Regional Area Manager for Burnett on 0417 778 317.