The policy is intended to identify Queensland’s premium cropping land and exclude it from urban and resource development that permanently alienates the land.

QRC chief executive Michael Roche said the journey from policy to implementation would be far from straightforward and must not be rushed.

"There is a substantial gap between the large-scale regional maps released today by the government and the detailed, paddock-by-paddock information that farmers and resource developers will need to put a policy into practice," Mr Roche said.

"Ideally, the relevant technical data to make an informed decision should be available from the State Government but that is not the case in Queensland."

Mr Roche said that because of localised variations in soil, rainfall and underground resources, what qualifies as ‘strategic’ cropping land must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

"This is particularly important in assessing land with a high cropping potential, but which may not have been cropped in the past," he said.

"The draft trigger maps released today will evolve through time as individual plots are assessed and their status is determined as cropping land that is either strategic or just very good.

"The task of fine-tuning the maps is going to be complex but we welcome the government’s decision to ensure that it is done in consultation with all industry stakeholders."

Mr Roche also said there was a risk in writing "black letter law" that enshrines assumptions about resource operations.

"While it might be the case today that a specific resource project risks the agricultural productivity of a parcel of land, we should not be locking resource extraction out of the equation forever, as vastly improved mining technologies are inevitable," he said.

"The Queensland resources and agricultural sectors are primarily exporters, so maximising the opportunities for both to co-exist is clearly in the state’s and the nation’s long-term interests."