Queensland farmers are calling for a major rethink of climate change mitigation and adaptation polices for agriculture.

This follows the release of the interim Garnaut Report on Friday and the CSIRO report on Sunday.

Both show that farmers face the biggest climate change challenge of any industry sector.

The QFF's Mr Cherry says the Garnaut Report has revealed that the climate change impact on Queensland agriculture is greater than for any other industry in any other state.

He says, “Agriculture is prepared to play its part in reducing emissions.

"Indeed, many of the practices that reduce emissions are also ‘best practice’ for adaptation and sustainability, more broadly.

“Unfortunately, many of the practices that achieve reduced emissions on farms, such as managing soil carbon and nitrous fertiliser applications, are not recognised under Kyoto’s ETS accounting rules.

“The combination of reduced rainfall, higher temperatures, and worse droughts, storms and biosecurity threats will substantially reduce farm productivity and add to the cost of producing food in Queensland,” he said.

“Farmers are used to dealing with climate variability and have the capacity to adapt to these changes.

“A recent study of the impact of an ETS on farming in New Zealand found that large parts of agriculture would cease to be viable with a carbon price of $30-$40/tonne.

“What we need are Government policies that provide the appropriate incentives for improved farming practices without the enormous costs involved with the ETS.

“Queensland’s future as the powerhouse of Australia’s food exports depends on getting that policy mix right,” he said.