Author: Kalagro

CHEMCLEAR – REGISTER YOUR CHEMICALS

ChemClear provides Australian agricultural and veterinary chemical users with a collection and disposal pathway for their unwanted chemicals.

Collections are scheduled based on the volume of chemical registrations received by a region and state across Australia.

Growers wishing to register their interest in disposal of chemicals can register either “online”, free call 1800 008 182,

complete and return “ChemClear Inventory Form to mailto:[email protected]

or mail to GPO Box 816 Canberra City.

Link to the process to “Register Your Chemical” is http://www.chemclear.org.au/register-your-chemical/

Les Elphinstone
Manager KCGO

SMARTCANE BMP INCENTIVE PAYMENT – OFFER EXTENDED

Current collective and individual Cane Supply Agreements, Schedule 4 Clause 11 includes an incentive payment for growers who achieve their Accreditation and Certificate for the Smartcane BMP program. Incentive payment was available for the 2017 and 2018 seasons only.

Wilmar have agreed to extend this incentive payment offer of 15 cents per tonne capped at 25,000 tonnes until 1st July 2020 subject to growers registering for Smartcane BMP by 29th March 2019. Accordingly members who want to obtain the Smartcane BMP incentive payment will have to register with Burdekin Productivity Services by the 29th of March 2019 to be eligible. This can be done either online or by attending a workshop at BPS.

As a result of extension, BPS is conducting an extra workshop to be held on Monday 18th March from 1pm-3pm at the BPS office. Growers interested in attending you are asked to contact Jasmine Connolly on 0428 927 079 to register your interest.

Les Elphinstone
Manager KCGO

SRA to build industry knowledge on interactions between on-farm practice and water quality in priority Great Barrier Reef catchments
Sugarcane growers in multiple priority catchments of the Great Barrier Reef will gain a clearer understanding of the relationship between farm management and water quality through a new project to be undertaken by Sugar Research Australia (SRA).
Called Cane to Creek 2.0, the project expands on two successful water quality projects that have been running in the Wet Tropics under the direction of SRA.
These projects have looked at herbicide, pesticide and nutrient management in multiple catchments of Far North Queensland. Cane to Creek 2.0 will build on the momentum of these projects and expand their footprint across sugarcane growing regions from Mossman to the Burdekin.
Cane to Creek 2.0 is funded by a partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation with support from SRA.
SRA Executive Manager, Regional Delivery, Mr Ian McBean, said this investment would improve understanding and acceptance of the link between farming practices and water quality.
“This will lead to increased adoption of improved practices that have been shown to improve productivity, profitability and sustainability for the sugarcane industry,” Mr McBean said.
“Building on that, Cane to Creek 2.0 will provide a platform in a number of priority catchments for growers, researchers and advisors to agree on and test potential solutions to better match nitrogen and herbicide application to their specific requirements.”
As the lead agency for the Australian sugarcane industry, SRA plays a pivotal role investing in and researching activities related to the interaction between farming systems and water quality.
Mount Sophia farmer Glen Anderson is a keen participant in the existing Cane to Creek project that has been running in the Mulgrave area for the last two years.
“Farmers want to know what’s coming off their farms and whether they can improve it,” Mr Anderson said.
“Farmers learn more on their own farm and it reinforces what we’ve learnt in the workshops, seen in the training, and read in the magazines. By getting involved you can find out exactly what’s coming off your farm and by trying out different practices you can see what difference it makes to your costs, yields and water quality. This is a win for the industry and for our environmental sustainability.”
Fishery Falls grower Len Parisi is also involved in the current project and said it gave him the facts about what was happening on his farm.
“We want to save the reef as well, like everybody else, so that’s what we’re doing here. Although there has been lots of research done on this, as a grower it’s good to have real data, sit down, and have a look at it,” Mr Parisi said.
“As we get more data, we can continue to modify our practices and then we can know that we’re reducing run-off of nutrients and chemicals into the waterways. Then we can educate everybody what we are doing on farm, because we are in a pretty sensitive area.”
For a video of Cane to Creek visit https://sugarresearch.com.au/sra-information/media/ read more