Agriculture’s role as the lifeblood of the Mary Valley will be put under the microscope when a new USC documentary screens at the Dagun Choo Choo Bar on Saturday 28 March at 6.30pm.

‘The Changing Face of Mary’ is a 35-minute documentary produced by USC with funding from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal. It features Mary Valley food producers discussing changes to agriculture and their concerns about the area’s future.

The film’s director is Dr Lila Singh-Peterson, a Research Fellow from USC’s Sustainability Research Centre, who explains that the Mary Valley has been an important food producing area for almost 150 years but was now under threat from both local and global economic pressures.

“The Mary Valley is an excellent case study of the challenges faced by agriculture and the strategies that can be put in place to address these challenges,” Dr Singh-Peterson said.

“Other national governments are restricting imports to ensure their nation’s food security and protecting their community’s cultural heritage and aesthetic values.

“This film is designed to provoke consideration of these issues and to identify ways in which governments at all levels can help ensure the future viability of agriculture.”

The screening of ‘The Changing Face of Mary’ will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Dagun resident and recent finalist in the Queensland Rural Women’s Award Elaine Bradley and prominent rural sociologist Emeritus Professor Geoff Lawrence from the University of Queensland.

Free popcorn will be available to all guests, with wine and food available for purchase. The Choo Choo Bar is located in the historical Dagun Railway Station.

Pictured are beef cattle on the property of Mary Valley grazier Glenda Pickersgill.

— Brent Hampstead