The Cream of the Crop Competition invites students in NSW secondary and tertiary education institutions to create a PowerPoint or a video which can be published on the web and win $500. The competition invites NSW secondary and tertiary students to promote the importance of agriculture to their peers, to encourage a better understanding of agriculture as well as promote agricultural careers and rural life.

1. http://v2.singlemindedwomen.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/crowd-of-people.jpg
By Jordan Kerr

2.  As Australia’s population grows so too will
the demand on the Agricultural Industry. The
current population is around 23 million
people but, with the future predictions of
population growth showing our population
could hit 35 million by 2050 the issue needs
to be addressed.
How do you feed, clothe and shelter a vast
number of people?

3. Source - Australian Government Bureau of Statistics

4. Source - Australian Government Bureau of Statistics

5.  We eat food everyday but we think very little
about where it comes from. Farms around the
Sydney Basin supply Sydney with tremendous
amounts of food. With our expanding
population the land available for faming is
diminishing and so to is our food supply. If
we continue on our current course we will
dramatically reduce the production of food in
the Sydney Basin.

6. In the past 30 years land that
is used for agricultural
production has dropped
dramatically.
Land located in areas such as
the Sydney Basin is being sold.
Large housing developments
are taking the place of the
once lush green crops.
In the past 30 years more than
4 million square kilometres of
farming land has been lost.
http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/land
use/nsw/index.html

7. Google Earth
 Sydney 2004

8. Google Earth
 Sydney 2006

9. Google Earth
 Sydney 2007

10. Google Earth
 Sydney 2009

11. Agricultural Land is being
turned into housing estates
to accommodate for the high
demand of houses due to the
rising population.
Images
source -
Google Earth

12. Google Earth Camden 2002

13. Google Earth Camden 2010

14.  With the forever expanding population the
number of Sydney’s farms are diminishing. The
population of Sydney is expected to rise by at
least 1 million people in the next 10 years and
this means that agricultural land such as the
farms at Camden in Sydney's South West will
continue to be developed into housing estates.
The diminishing agricultural land in Sydney is
expected to increase over the next few years.
This is why policies need to be developed to
protect quality agricultural land.

15.  To fix the problems the growing population will
place on Sydney the state government and local
councils need to develop plans for sustainable
population growth. This would entail councils
zoning areas of agricultural production as non-
residential. This would allow farmers to freely
produce their crops without developers trying to
buy them out. The state government also needs
to play a part in the zoning of land to ensure the
balance of agriculture and residential homes is
achieved.

16. From this
Google Earth
To this
In just 6 years
Spot the difference?

17. Sydney
http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/nsw/index.html

18. Sydney
http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/nsw/index.html

19. Sydney
http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/nsw/index.html

20. Images source -
Google Earth
 From this,
To this 

21.  While the issue of land loss is an important
one so too is feeding our expanding
population. Decreasing farms and increasing
population growth doesn’t make much sense.
As food consumption increases so too must
the productivity of the Agricultural Sector.
Farmers will have to produce more and do so
with less space and decreasing soil quality.
Areas of nutrient rich agricultural soils in the
Sydney basin are declining and this trend
shows no signs of easing any time soon.

22.  As our population expands the quality and price
of food will change dramatically. 10 years ago a
litre of petrol cost around 65 cents and today
petrol costs $1.50 per litre. So what does this
mean for the price of milk? Will it rise in the next
ten years?
 The short answer is yes, as too will the price of
almost every other food product in the country.
With higher living costs, a growing population
and less arable land for production of agricultural
goods we should expect the price of food to
increase gradually over the next few years.
Quality may also be affected if issues such as soil
degradation impact upon the quality of the
product produced .

23.  Food price rises expected in the next few
decades can be seen as a result of the decline
in available high quality agricultural land and
the rises in living costs nation wide.
 These rises though can be reduced if action is
taken now to protect agricultural land from
both residential development and mining.
 If more high quality agricultural land is set
aside for food production there will be less
impact on food prices.

24.  One of the major problems
with a rising population is
transport. Transport time
of both food products and http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/01/19/1225991/22955
commuters will 5-a-woolworths-truck.jpg
undoubtedly rise if there is
an increase in the
population. This can lead to price
increases across the
agricultural industry as
costs to transport
products will increase
so too will the time
taken to transport
goods.
http://members.iinet.com.au/
~scottmitchell/Bus%20pics/aC
ityRail_H2_Banksia_(25_8_09_
B).jpg

25.  The issue of global population expansion is
also an area that needs to be considered.
Australia produces a large amount of food
consumed not only here in Australia but all
over the world. Australia is a large exporter of
beef and wheat and as our population rises
and global demand increases, so too must
production. If production is to increase the
land available for farming must be preserved
too.

26.  Currently the NSW government is
investigating the way land is used within
NSW. The government is drafting plans on
land use and how land should be used
accordingly. It plans to develop a strategic
land use policy to ensure the protection of
agricultural land in NSW into the future.
 This will greatly benefit the people of NSW,
knowing that land in NSW is protected into
the future.

28. WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SPONSORS OF THE
2011 CREAM OF THE CROP COMPETITION
PLATINUM GOLD SILVER
BRONZE