Archives for November 2012

Keep it in the paddock

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According to local Paddock to Reef sugar cane water quality monitoring trials, cane farmers can greatly reduce herbicide loss if there is a significant gap of at least three weeks between herbicide application and substantial rainfall. The trials also found that applying herbicide before an infiltrating rainfall helps to incorporate herbicide into the soil and further reduces the risk of loss. Overhead irrigation has the same effect.

How it works

The trials show two complimentary strategies for keeping herbicides in the paddock where you need them.

1. Keep an eye on short term rainfall predictions

The wet season came early in 2010/11. Herbicides were applied and within seven days there was a runoff event. Enough rain fell to saturate the soil and flow off the property. The herbicide was still fresh on the surface of the cane trash blanket; therefore a relatively large amount was lost in this early runoff event.

The wet season data for the season showed that the majority of herbicide loss occurred within twenty days of application. In fact, within one month of herbicide application, approximately 92% of the total wet season runoff loss of the regulated herbicides had occurred although only 6% of the season’s rainfall runoff had occurred.

During this period the trials experienced heavy rains. A total of 3300 mm of rainfall was recorded between 1 September 2010 and 30 April 2011, well above the long-term average of 1468 mm. This resulted in 1751 mm of runoff.  The regulated residual herbicides applied were found in high concentrations in the first runoff event and then rapidly declined.

2. Time herbicide application to coincide with infiltrating rain or follow with overhead irrigation

Applying herbicide prior to an infiltrating rainfall event—one that does not runoff —or following herbicide application with overhead irrigation moves herbicide through the trash blanket and into the surface soil, making it less available for runoff.   This was demonstrated at the Paddock to Reef trial sites in the 2009/10 wet season when there was very little herbicide detected in the runoff collected with a much longer time between application and a runoff event and a beneficial 8 mms of rainfall seven days after application.

Herbicide application should not be taken lightly. John Agnew, MAPS Senior Productivity Officer and Paddock to Reef Agronomist, recommends that as growers prepare their cane for the new season they carefully follow recommendations on the product label and any associated regulations. These may include waiting at least two days after herbicide application on bare soil before watering in, not applying herbicides to water logged soil or delaying application if runoff-causing rainfall is predicted within 48 hours of the planned application.

About Paddock to Reef

The Paddock to Reef sugar cane water quality monitoring trials aim to show that industry-promoted best practices can improve grower’s profitability and have water quality benefits.

Paddock to Reef uses water quality monitoring and modelling tools across paddock, catchment and marine scales to measure and report on improvements in agricultural runoff entering the Great Barrier Reef catchments. In the Mackay Whitsunday region, Paddock to Reef is coordinated by Reef Catchments and conducted by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM), Mackay Area Productivity Services (MAPS) and two local sugarcane farmers.

The water quality monitoring sites are on two local farms with different soil types—loam over clay and black cracking clay—that represent 44% of soils in the Mackay Whitsunday area. Both sites are looking at the effect of row spacing (controlled traffic versus conventional), nutrient (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) and herbicide management (knockdowns and residuals) on productivity, profitability and water quality.

For more information on the Paddock to Reef trials in Mackay contact Belinda Billing at Reef Catchments on 4968 4208 or belinda.billing@rc2019.thedma.com.au.

Land managers got lowdown on pest management

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Whitsunday land managers attended an information session on wild dog and feral pig control last week.

Regional Landcare Facilitator, Christine Peterson, said that pest animals such as wild dogs and feral pigs cause an estimated $720m impact annually state-wide. Control is a necessary and often expensive part of most agricultural enterprises.

Mr Duncan Swan, Principal Biosecurity Officer from Biosecurity Queensland, was available on the day to give a presentation and answer specific questions from land managers.

One of the key messages of the session was that control methods need to match the problem at hand. Options include trapping, shooting, baiting, fencing, and increasingly in some areas or for some stock types, using guardian animals.  Land managers often need to use more than one control method.

In terms of baiting, Mr Swan said that while the use of sodium fluoroacetate (1080) and strychnine are coordinated by Biosecurity Queensland and local government on-ground, they are actually administered by Queensland Health under the Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996. Very stringent guidelines are in place to ensure their safe use.

During discussion between graziers, local government officers and Mr Swan, it became clear that local government pest officers, across the state, provide a great deal of support to land managers participating in baiting events, assisting with both technical advice at odd hours of the day and with the vital process of notifying neighbours of planned baiting campaigns.

Land managers with pest animal problems in the Whitsunday Catchment should contact Bren Fuller, Pest and Vector Control Officer, Whitsunday Regional Council on 4945 0237.

The information morning was hosted by Whitsunday Regional Council and Whitsunday Catchment Landcare. For more information contact Christine Peterson: 4945 1017 or christine.peterson@rc2019.thedma.com.au

Great Barrier Reef Ports Strategy | Update from CEO Rob Cocco

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The Great Barrier Reef Ports Strategy presents the vision and principles guiding future port development and planning in the Great Barrier Reef coastal region to 2022. The Queensland Government’s aim is to ensure that port development in the region occurs in a balanced and incremental way to support economic development while maintaining the outstanding environmental value of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef Ports Strategy includes a number of questions about the future operation of Queensland’s port network. Issues for consideration and response include:

  • Best use of each port
  • Assessment and management of environmental impacts
  • Strategic use of port land
  • Improvements to port planning including master planning
  • Commercial funding models and barriers to investment
  • Opportunities to improve efficiency and limit environmental impacts.

Results of consultation will inform a Queensland Ports Strategy. Have your say by 14 December 2012.

Strategic Assessment of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area | Update from CEO Rob Cocco

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The Australian and Queensland governments are working together to undertake a comprehensive strategic assessment of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and the adjacent coastal zone under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The strategic assessment will ensure that we continue to achieve best practice in managing a balance between growth and environment protection.

In accordance with the EPBC Act, the assessment will address impacts on Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES), including world heritage properties, nationally threatened species and ecological communities.

The comprehensive strategic assessment will, in part, respond to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s decision of July 2012 that the Australian Government undertake a comprehensive strategic assessment of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

There are two key components of the strategic assessment – a marine component and a coastal zone component. The marine component, led by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), will look at the arrangements in place to manage and protect the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and World Heritage Area. The coastal zone component, led by the Queensland Government, will assess how Queensland’s coastal management, planning and development framework manages environmental protection within the Great Barrier Reef region.

The coastal zone strategic assessment requires the preparation of two reports:

  • A program report which describes in detail the Queensland management, planning and development framework (the Program) being assessed
  • A strategic assessment report which assesses the potential impacts on MNES from the implementation of the Program.

The Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities it expected to release the draft program and strategic assessment reports for public consultation in early 2013. It is also expected that the draft program and strategic assessment reports will be available for consideration by the Australian Government by the end of 2012.