Driving through regional central Queensland, it's hard not to spot the large concrete silos that have become eyesores on the fringes of farming communities.
As towns have expanded and grain storage moved on-farm, these large and sometimes abandoned grain silos sit front and centre on main tourism trails.
Grain depots in Dingo, Emerald, Gindie, Springsure and Capella are all blank canvas, waiting to bring much needed tourism and colour into these communities.
The success of Australia's rural Silo Art Trail is well-known and has become one of the country's largest outdoor galleries, stretching over 8500km and linking Western Australia with Queensland.
A visual showcase, these silos reflect the community identity on a large scale, featuring local flora and fauna and specific aspects of the rural towns like farmers in a field of wheat or a sunset-lit field with sheep grazing.
So is it time we brought this concept further north?
The Silo Art Trail was conceived in 2016 after the success of the first silo artwork in the Victorian wheat town of Brim, north west of Melbourne.
What started as a small community project by the Brim Active Community Group, Grain Corp, street art network Juddy Roller, and Australian street artist, Guido van Helten, resulted in widespread international media attention and an influx of visitors to the region.
One of Queensland's most celebrated silo murals is Thallon's The Watering Hole by artists Joel Fergie and Travis Vinson depicting a vibrant sunset over the nearby Moonie River and the agricultural aspect of the region.
Completed in July 2017, it was the first silo mural in Queensland.
Thallon's silo mural project manager, Leanne Brosnan, told Queensland Country Life in 2017 that the "massive silo art has the power to transform a community and the broader region."
In 2019, the mural took out the top gong at the inaugural Australian Street Art Awards.
The Thallon silo mural project was funded by the Balonne Shire Council, Arts Queensland, GrainCorp, Taubmans, Rural Affinity Insurance and the Royal Flying Doctor Service - Drought and Wellbeing Program.
Back then Balonne Shire Mayor Richard Marsh said council encouraged projects that bring more tourists to the region.
Since then the Burnett Highway at Monto is now home to the Three Moons silos, depicting several stories of yesteryear; from gold mining, to mustering and the Dreamtime.
It's hard not to become mesmerised by the Monto silo mural installation and there's no doubt the artwork is bringing in more tourists and providing a much-needed boost to the economy, for years to come.
Earlier this year, Biloela joined the art trail, when the Australian Mungbean Company brought in street artists Travis Vinson (DRAPL) and Joel Fergie (The Zookeeper) to capture the mungbean industry on three of its large silos.
"The proof is in the pudding" is one way to described the social and economic value that the iconic Silo Art Trial has provided through tourism for these rural communities.
With CQ councils screaming out for new tourism opportunities, perhaps there is an opportunity for these councils to work with Grain Corp to fund or crowd-fund these silo mural projects. What would you like to see?
Talk of the North is a weekly opinion piece written by ACM journalists. The thoughts expressed are their own.