The winners of the 2017 Reef Alliance Awards were announced in Townsville overnight, shining a light on the sectors leaders in on-farm practices and extension to reduce and manage agricultural impacts on the iconic Great Barrier Reef. Innovative nitrogen reduction practices, fitting porous check dams within gullies to capture sediment run-off and organic matter, and innovative extension approaches were just some of the project success stories honoured last night at the Reef Alliance Awards held in Townsville. The Reef Alliance awards recognise the work of farmers to reduce their off-farm impact on the Reef, and are an initiative of the Reef Alliance partnership which includes the Queensland Farmers Federation, peak agricultural industry bodies, regional natural resource management groups and the conservation sector. The 2017 awards include two exciting and welcome firsts, an award category that recognizes the important contribution made by extension officers in supporting practice change at a grass roots level, and a partnership with The Princes Trust offering the Prince of Wales Environmental Leadership – Reef Sustainability Award. Reef Alliance Chair Joanne Grainger said the Awards were an opportunity to highlight the role farmers play in land stewardship, and another way to showcase the collaborative nature of the Australian Government Reef Programs. The 2017 winners have done their communities, regions and industries proud. The Reef Alliance was inundated with nominations, and these farmers and extension officers are truly at the top of their field, Ms. Grainger said. The Australian Government Reef Programs such as Reef Trusts are successful because they focus on improving both farming and the environment. There have been many worthwhile projects undertaken, and these awards allow us to showcase some of the great achievements. The Reef Alliance Awards for the first time too will be recognized too the important contribution made extension officers in supporting practice change at a grass roots level. This years winners are:
Reef Nutrient Management Award categoryChristopher Russo, Farnsfield, for his innovative modification of a high clearance tractor and nitrogen injection bar to apply liquid nitrogen subsurface, allowing later nitrogen application.
Reef Sediment Management Award categoryDan Bishop,Hill End Farms Pty Ltd, Rockhampton, for on-farm efforts to address gully erosion reducing sediment loss by 123 tonnes per year and increasing on-farm productivity.
Reef Conservation Award categoryGary & Angela Spotswood, Inkerman, for restoring the ecological function of Mt Almas 100 ha lagoon providing important habitat for wildlife including migratory wader birds and fish species such as Barramundi.
Reef Extension Officers Award categoryDebra Telford, Mourilyan, for her instrumental role in delivering grants and extension support to growers to reduce their impact on water quality over 20 years in the sugar industry in Far North Queensland.
Prince of Wales Environmental Leadership Reef Sustainability AwardFrank & Dianne Sciacca, Innisfail, for co-founding the innovative Ecogani farming system, which enables fungicide reduction of 60-100%. Their Wax Tip Bananas are available in nearly all Australian states and territories.
The broad range of excellent projects nominated for these awards is testament to the widespread practice change and innovation taking place in Reef catchment areas, Ms Grainger said. Farmers and their communities are voluntarily working to reduce the runoff of nutrients, chemicals and sediment from their land so that we can protect the Reef for future generations. The Australian Governments Reef Programs have been very successful in supporting and delivering mutually beneficial outcomes for farmers and the environment. The Alliance commends the government for investing in the collaborative and productive partnerships forged between industry and Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups. The awards were sponsored by the ‘Reef Trust: Reef Alliance “ Growing a Great Barrier Reef project, which is funded by the Australian Government Reef Trust.
Burdekin Shire Council has sought the assistance of growers in gaining an understanding of feral pig population/issues throughout the region with a view to possible aerial culling by completing a survey via the following link.
Election offers energy spark, but more still needed
Electricity affordability has proven to be a major issue during the Queensland State election with the parties already releasing their policies to combat the ‘energy crisis early in the campaign.
Queensland Farmers Federation (QFF) President Stuart Armitage said it was encouraging that all parties had announced some positive commitments, but we are yet to see the holistic solution to the ‘energy crisis that farmers need.
The LNP and Katter’s Australia Party (KAP) have committed to addressing the network assets optimization issue “ the LNP by writing down Energy Queensland’s regulated asset base (RAB), KAP by valuing the assets at actual cost rather than replacement cost.
This is an important shift as the gold plating of the poles and wires is the number one driver of electricity price increases. The LNP commitment needs to go further, as it only writes the total RAB down by about 6.5% when 50% is required to deliver real price relief.
The LNP’s $75 million Food and Fibre Transition Payment for farmers on tariffs 62, 65 and 66 is also a constructive first step. But when the 3-year $1,400 payment runs out we will still be left with unsuitable tariffs. Encouragingly, KAP have committed to directly dealing with the transitional tariffs issue by indefinitely freezing the proposed changes.
KAP, The Greens and One Nation (ONP) have all committed, in different ways, to addressing the four hidden taxes on the Government Owned Corporations (GOCs) that accounted for about $3 billion in government revenue last year about $12 billion over the last 3 years.
Labor has best addressed on farm demand management and energy efficiency with its commitment to a $10 million extension of the Energy Savers Program that will conduct 200 extra energy audits and offer a 50% co-contribution (capped at $20,000) towards the cost of implementing changes recommended through the audits.
However, without addressing the price side, Labor must significantly ramp up this program so more farmers can benefit and evolve the program over time to address broader productivity issues.read more
Farming alongside the Great Barrier Reef has a strong future
Queensland farmers continue to embrace industry-led Best Management Practice (BMP) programs, demonstrating their commitment to improved land management practices that reduce agriculture impact on the Great Barrier Reef.
Queensland Farmers Federation (QFF) President Stuart Armitage, CANEGROWERS Chairman Paul Schembri and AgForce General President Grant Maudsley, urged all political parties to support farmers within the Reef catchments with long term funding for voluntary BMP programs.
Over the last eight years, these voluntary programs have supported farmers to gain a more complete understanding of their businesses and implement improvements, Mr Armitage said.
In the past four years alone (2013-17), over 7,500 Queensland farmers have engaged with their industry-led BMP programs. 2,600 reef catchment farmers have been benchmarked against industry standards and are working towards improving their land management practices.
Our sector has been and continues to be built on the triple bottom line. Farmers engaged in industry-led BMP programs own their impact on their local area and the Reef, improve their environmental performance, leading to greater farm profitability.
The three farm leaders also urged the next state government not to introduce increased regulation in the Reef catchments.
QFF does not support increasing regulation to existing or new agricultural industries as it will not deliver the intended cultural change needed. Regulation should be a last resort not a first response, Mr Armitage said.
Regulation is a blunt instrument that supports minimum standards of compliance at the expense of true practice change, and it does little to encourage a culture of innovation and excellence.
This election, QFF is advocating for the following sensible and practical actions to realise our vision for a vibrant and thriving agricultural sector providing food, fibre and amenity to all Queenslanders:
Commit to long term investment at or above current levels in voluntary industry-led BMP programs.
Adopt a long term strategic funding model commensurate with water quality targets.
Do not introduce increased regulation in the Reef catchments.
Expand the sources of information that informs the Reef Report Card.
BPS and Farmacist will be conducting a round of shed meetings in November 2017. Topics will include SRA8, smut update, variety selection, irrigation, managing nitrogen losses, managing seed cane and chemical losses. Please see the table below for times and dates. Growers are welcome to attend an alternative shed meeting if they are unable to attend their normal venue.
There is no doubt that electricity prices will be a major factor in the outcome of the Queensland State election. The jury however is still out on how various parties will positively address this integral issue for regional and rural Queensland.
Queensland Farmers Federation (QFF) President Stuart Armitage said that despite assurances from politicians over several years of downward pressure on electricity prices, there has been no reprieve and the time for downward pressure is over immediate price relief is needed now.
The ongoing energy crisis continues to have viability and profitability ramifications for Queensland farmers, who over the past decade had experienced electricity price increases of at least 130%. For some, the cost of this basic need and critical farm input has risen by 300%. Over the same period, CPI has increased by just 21%.
Farmers are fed-up with the lack of action and are looking for those candidates and political parties willing to do what it takes to reform the current broken electricity system.
Modern, intensive farming businesses rely on a range of energy-intensive activities for irrigation, heating, cool rooms and packaging sheds to produce high quality food, fibre and foliage. Reliable, affordable electricity is a must for farmers to keep the doors open so they can continue to employ people and support Queensland communities.
Government programs addressing energy efficiency and demand management have been an important resource for helping Queensland farmers to identify, learn and implement energy efficiency practices and changes to their businesses.
These programs must continue and must evolve to factor in linked activities, address broader productivity issues and provide implementation incentives. But they must also be ramped up so more farmers can benefits, and they have only dampened the unsustainable price increases imposed on farmers, Mr Armitage said.
This election QFF is advocating for the following sensible and practical actions to realise our vision for a vibrant and thriving agricultural sector providing food, fibre and amenity to all Queenslanders:read more
Queensland farmers continue to embrace industry-led Best Management Practice (BMP) programs, demonstrating their commitment to improved land management practices that reduce agriculture impact on the Great Barrier Reef.
