Incoming AgForce vice president Ian Burnett said it was a concern to the rural sector that maps indicate the majority of prime agricultural land in Queensland is subject to coal, petroleum and gas, or mineral exploration permits and leases.

Mr Burnett said there was little information or readily available support for landholders about what their rights were in relation to mining exploration permits.

This often leaves landholders ill-equipped and uninformed when mining companies arrive on their doorstep, he said.

"There appears to be little protection or security offered by regulators from various government agencies for landholders who are facing negative impacts," Mr Burnett said.

At Rolleston in Central Queensland, the Smith family's agricultural enterprise has been dealing with potential exploration activity for the past 18 months.

Gail Godwin-Smith has found mining companies have little understanding of their impact on farming and grazing operations.

"Because many mining companies don't understand the technical aspects of farming, they are not immediately aware of the short, medium and long-term impact they have on farm productivity," Ms Godwin-Smith said.

"There is also a strong sense that land being explored for coal and other resources is devalued and not as saleable, and this is even more so if resources are discovered."

Ms Godwin-Smith said mining companies should be required to pay the 'true cost' of their impact, especially with the potential loss of productivity due to soil compaction and economies of scale.

"In our situation, if coal is found and a mine becomes feasible, it would be an underground operation," she said.

"We envisage enormous environmental impacts such as subsidence, and being adjacent to a major watercourse – the Comet River – there is potential for subsidence to change the watercourse and it certainly could not be continued to be used as an area to grow crops."

AgForce is accelerating its efforts to ensure further government involvement in helping resolve issues at the mining/farming interface, with the first step being the creation of a new position for a solicitor based within the Legal Aid Queensland's Farm and Rural Legal Service, to assist primary producers with advice on legal issues relating to the resources sector.