Each spring, blooming canola fields draw tourists searching for the perfect photo in a sea of yellow flowers. Golden paddocks shine on Instagram and TikTok, but for communities in the canola towns of Harden, Cowra and Temora, creating content could come at the cost of the crop.
Winter Warden, a canola farmer in Woodstock, near Cowra, has watched the tourism boom from his front door. “One year there were so many cars parked barely off the road, it was a tremendous traffic hazard,” he said. “It really has been quite obvious this year that there have been less people actually stopping like they have in the past.”
Warden credits the lower number of dangerously parked visitors, in part, to formal canola tours. Tourists can book a guided tour, stopping at two canola farms, and stand inside a “hotspot” to reduce the risk of contamination.
Warden is one of two farmers near Cowra welcoming visitors on his property. “Having organised visitors is a wonderful idea, I’m more than happy to facilitate the opportunity,” he said.
“Biosecurity is the biggest matter. Ninety-nine per cent of the time, it probably would be fine, but then it may not be. It’s really going to come down to one rule: you don’t want people wandering through the crops willy-nilly.”
Some photographers and influencers have made headlines for illegally entering canola fields, risking the spread of diseases that affect the broadleaf plants.
Dubbo cattle farmer and podcaster Jack Cresswell has taken to social media to share “how-to” guides for canola chasers. His videos encourage visitors to stay on the right side of the farm fence, in an effort to reduce the burden on fellow farmers managing their biosecurity risks.
“If you see a beautiful crop, it doesn’t mean there’s an open invite to come in there,” he said.
“You can’t just launch into a paddock headfirst, literally like jumping, jumping through the canola fields, thinking it’s like the Sound of Music.”
Warden believes that more culturally and linguistically diverse education is needed, to support the growing number of international tourists who join the canola trail.
“It is difficult to get the message out there,” he said. “You’d certainly want to have this done via signage, and in a lot of other languages. It seems to be those of a foreign speaking language that make up the greater part of the ones that come visiting.”
In Cowra, farmers are encouraged to display signs that show two canola paddocks: one with two people taking photos at the fence line, marked with a tick; and another with people in the paddock marked with a cross.
Cowra Tourism’s Stassi Austin said the signs are a “helpful visual” for tourists.
“If you want to jump into a canola field and get that Insta-worthy shot, you have to book a canola tour,” she said.
