{"id":576207,"date":"2026-03-31T11:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T11:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/576207\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T11:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T11:48:13","slug":"tributes-for-farming-stalwart-ian-burnett-and-grandson-after-farming-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/576207\/","title":{"rendered":"Tributes for farming stalwart Ian Burnett and grandson after farming accident"},"content":{"rendered":"

The grandfather who died alongside his grandson when machinery rolled into a central Queensland dam at the weekend is being remembered as a “devoted family man” and “respected leader”.<\/p>\n

The deaths of AgForce central Queensland councillor Ian Burnett and his seven-year-old grandson on an Emerald property on Sunday<\/a> have sent shock waves through the Central Highlands community and agriculture industry.<\/p>\n

Mr Burnett was a highly respected, third-generation farmer who remained deeply involved in the Emerald and broader agricultural community after retirement.<\/p>\n

The 70-year-old grain and beef producer had served almost 30 years with AgForce, including as a councillor, state vice-president and president.<\/p>\n

\"Farmer<\/p>\n

Ian Burnett played a pivotal role in establishing and strengthening cotton production in central Queensland. (Supplied: Cotton Australia)<\/p>\n

AgForce president Shane McCarthy said the community was devastated by the loss.<\/p>\n

“Ian was a devoted family man, a respected leader and a genuinely community-minded person,” Mr McCarthy said.<\/p>\n

“He was a very unassuming character who had a lot of knowledge and a lot of time for people.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes we don’t tell the people while they’re still with us what they mean to people \u2026 and maybe we should \u2026 do that more often.”<\/p>\n

\"Farmer<\/p>\n

Ian Burnett is being remembered as a family man and respected leader. (ABC Rural: Ashleigh Bagshaw)<\/p>\n

Long-serving AgForce member and friend of 50 years, Anthony “Bim” Struss, remembered Mr Burnett as a thoughtful and reflective leader.<\/p>\n

“Above all, Ian was a family man. He was deeply committed to his children, always encouraging them to strive, while guiding them to make the most of their opportunities,” Mr Struss said.<\/p>\n

“He would have been utterly devastated that his grandson was lost with him. That thought sits heavily with all of us who knew and loved him.”<\/p>\n

Cotton Australia also paid tribute to Mr Burnett, who began growing cotton when he moved to Emerald from Clermont in 1983.<\/p>\n

“Ian was more than a respected cotton grower; he was a leader, a mentor and a quiet powerhouse of Australian agriculture,” CEO Adam Kay said.<\/p>\n

“Ian leaves behind a legacy of leadership, service and integrity, and he will be deeply missed.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ian Burnett with his partner, Julie Lancaster, and sons Ross and Nigel Burnett. (Supplied: Cotton Australia)<\/p>\n

After stepping away from his role in AgForce, Mr Burnett remained a passionate community member of Rotary and the Rural Fire Brigade and helped fundraise for the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Emerald.<\/p>\n

Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry said Mr Burnett was always willing to lend a hand.<\/p>\n

“In regional communities like Emerald, people like Ian are the backbone,” Ms Landry said.<\/p>\n

“They are the ones who show up, who contribute, and who quietly make a difference every single day.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The grandfather who died alongside his grandson when machinery rolled into a central Queensland dam at the weekend…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":576208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[54653,282646,64,63,218525,282649,282651,13330,282645,282648,44,282650,282647,100098],"class_list":{"0":"post-576207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"tag-agforce","9":"tag-agricultural-industry","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-central-highlands","13":"tag-emerald-property","14":"tag-family-mourns","15":"tag-farming","16":"tag-ian-burnett","17":"tag-ian-burnett-and-grandson-die","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-respected-farmer","20":"tag-tragic-farming-accident","21":"tag-tributes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}