Queensland 'Jason Rae Memorial' Grain Grower of the Year Lyndon Pfeffer, from Pampas near Millmerran. (Cassie Hough)
Grain growers from central and southern Queensland came together to kick up their heels and recognise fellow grain growers' success.
The Queensland Grain Industry Awards were held in Toowoomba on Friday night and it's the second year the event has been held in some time.
A year makes quite a bit of difference in the grain industry with grain prices much higher but rainfall tallies don't come close to last year.
Dealing with these fluctuations takes innovation and this year Clermont grower Dave Daniels won the grain innovation award.
He says he's tried to use different techniques to address nutrition problems in his soil.
"I must admit a few years ago when we were in a cycle of doing the same thing using the same fertilisers and nothing was changing and every time you got a soil test there just seemed to be more fertilisers."
"A few years ago we decided to change the whole program around to look at changing the rotations to see if we could get away from different chemicals and different inputs and then look at the nutrition and so far it's worked."
Bongeen grower Peter Bach won the grain industry emerging leader award.
He says the lack of young people coming through in the grain industry is very worrying.
"There are some really good people out there but they're getting older and I'm having to look overseas to find good staff and it's getting harder and harder."
The major award of the night, the Jason Rae Memorial Grain Grower of the Year award went to Millmerran farmer Lyndon Pfeffer who said it was a year to be positive about the grain industry.
"There's good prices out there for next season so if people are game enough to forward sell, the grains industry is buoyant at the moment and with the achievements that growers are doing on their own farms, some of the advancements it's just tremendous and a way for the future."
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