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.

Celebrate Coastcare week

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Mark your calendars for 1-8 December

Coastcare week recognizes the efforts of local volunteers to preserve our coast for future generations.

The week kicks off on Saturday 1 December with Coastal Community Activities and free BBQ at Bucasia Beach. Hosted by Reef Catchments and Mackay Regional Council, these events recognise volunteer contributions during the past twelve months.

From 8-10 am on Saturday, residents and visitors alike are invited to the final Coastal Community Activities of the year. Volunteers will be planting trees to stabilise dunes and improve the condition of the coastal environment. It’s a great opportunity for families to get outdoors. To participate, meet at beach access track, accessed via easement beside 172 Waverley Street, Bucasia.

Volunteers from across the Northern Beaches are invited to a complimentary ‘Thank You’ BBQ from 10:30am-12pm on Saturday 1 December at Seaview Park, Bucasia Esplanade. Please RSVP to Reef Catchments for catering purposes on 0448015775.
On top of the sizzling sausage, volunteers will have a chance to win prizes at the BBQ including a ‘Beach Pack’ and vouchers for Reef HQ Aquarium.

There’s more than one way to win: visit Mackay City Library to share why you love the coast on the Coastcare display in the main foyer and enter the prize draw.

Coastcare is Australia-wide community of volunteers who care for their coast. Coastcare volunteers identify local environmental problems and work together to achieve practical solutions. There are currently 2,000 Coastcare groups across the country.

Download the PDF calendar of Coastcare events.

Annual aerial feral pig shoot scheduled for December

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It’s that time of year again. While some are planning Christmas celebrations and others are hard at work on the land finishing up the crush, community groups are planning the fate of many feral pigs.

Communities in the Gregory River and Rocky Dam Creek Catchments along with Reef Catchments and Sarina Landcare Catchment Management Association (SLCMA) have collaborated throughout the year to bait and trap feral pigs as part of an integrated control plan.

This December, local landholders aim to deliver a major blow to feral pig population. Feral pigs are on the move searching for water and food due to the relatively dry weather, making them good targets for those who wish to reduce their impact. The pigs cause a significant amount of damage to roots, tubers, sugarcane, riparian vegetation and grazing paddocks.

Land holders invited to participate in shoot

Land holders in the Rocky Dam Creek catchment (Koumala and the surrounding area) with the help from SLCMA and the Mackay Regional Council are planning an aerial feral pig shoot for first week of December, weather dependant.

There is still plenty of time for new landholders to get involved. The cost is approximately $395 per landholder. The fee keeps the helicopter in the air for an hour, which is relatively inexpensive when compared it the cost of the damage done by feral pigs to properties. In 2011, 23 hours were flown and 247 feral pigs were humanely controlled. This project is funded by the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country initiative.

Get involved

Contact Michelle Field from Reef Catchments on 4968 4209, Saskia vonFahland from Sarina Landcare Catchment Management Association on 4956 1388 or Michael Tuckett from Mackay Regional Council on 0403 266 211.

1080 Baiting Program

Earlier this month, Whitsunday Catchment Landcare, Whitsunday Regional Council, the Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Canegrowers Proserpine, and private grazing land managers combined feral pig 1080 baiting programs to control feral pigs across an extensive part of the Whitsunday Catchment including the Gregory River Sub-Catchment.

PIGOUT®, containing 1080 poison and 500 gram blocks of meat injected with 1080 poison, were used. Baits were distributed via helicopter over inaccessible areas by a licensed operator and distributed by vehicle in accessible areas.

Regional Ecological Monitoring Database

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As part of Reef Catchments Citizen Science Network a new database is bringing together information on ecological monitoring from a range of sources across the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region.

The database will increase awareness of environmental monitoring in the region, provide a common, single point of access to information about monitoring programs and help identify where there are gaps and where future efforts may best be directed.

A broad range of environmental monitoring occurs across the region but the information on who is doing what and where is in different formats, held by different groups, which makes it difficult to get a clear picture of all activities that are being undertaken.

What is it and how is it useful?

The Citizen Science Regional Ecological Database is a central hub for information on ecological monitoring from a range of sources across the Mackay Whitsunday Issaac region.  The portal will increase awareness of environmental monitoring in the region, provide a common, single point of access to information about monitoring programs and help to identify where gaps exist and future efforts may best be directed.

The database will allow for the easy flow of information from, to and between all involved (including Government agencies, organisations, volunteers, schools and students, groups, businesses, industry, and community members). The portal is not designed to supply online access to actual monitoring data; it is simply aimed at communicating concise details and locations of Mackay Whitsunday Isaac ecological monitoring programs, allowing us to build an overall picture of ecological monitoring being undertaken in the region.

Call for contributions

As part of the project Reef Catchments is inviting other organisations and groups to contribute information on their ecological monitoring by completing this template and returning via email to Healthy Waterways project officer, Melanie McSwiney.  You can also contact Melanie by phone on 0407 171 046 to provide details of your monitoring activities or for more information.

What kind of monitoring can be included and who can contribute?

The aim is to incorporate a broad suite of environmental monitoring activities from sources ranging from government agencies, to schools, councils, businesses, industry, landowners, volunteer groups and everyone else!  Anyone conducting any kind of ecological monitoring is invited to contribute.

It is important to emphasise that the portal is not designed to supply online access to actual monitoring data; it is simply aimed at communicating concise details and locations of Mackay Whitsunday Isaac ecological monitoring programs.

Database location

The database portal will be available via the Reef Catchments website in the coming weeks and will include:

  • The group undertaking the monitoring and any partner organisations
  • Key contact and contact details
  • Monitoring location/s
  • Monitoring indicators (what is being monitored)
  • Frequency of monitoring
  • Temporal coverage (program start/end dates and if ongoing)
  • Where data is stored/reported

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

Feral Pig control efforts in the Gregory River catchment

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Land managers, community groups and government are working together to address the problem of feral pig damage in the Gregory River catchment.

Following an information session in May, land managers have accessed free feral pig traps and ongoing advice and information regarding best practice control methods.

Regional Landcare Facilitator Christine Peterson said there is no stand-alone option to control the impacts of feral pigs; land managers have to use what is appropriate for their land and situation. Other control methods include shooting, hunting with dogs, fencing, and baiting.”

The Gregory River feral pig project recently assisted with aerial baiting using Sodium fluoroacetate (1080) in cooperation with land managers, Whitsunday Regional Council, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, and Whitsunday Catchment Landcare. Ground distribution of 1080 is also underway.

“The aim of this project was to reduce the impact of feral pigs, a Class 2 Pest. Feral pigs cause economic and environmental damage throughout the region, including direct crop damage, loss of pasture available for grazing, predation on native fauna and flora and degraded water quality from pig diggings” Ms Peterson said.

Land managers interested in borrowing feral pig traps or in participating in future coordinated baiting events are encouraged to contact Bren Fuller, Pest and Vector Control Officer, Whitsunday Regional Council on 4945 0237.

The Gregory River feral pig project is part of a Mackay Regional Pest Management Project supported by Reef Catchments, through funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country.

For more information contact Christine Peterson, Regional Landcare Facilitator, Reef Catchments: 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.

Carbon Farming Futures- Extension and Outreach Program | Update from CEO Rob Cocco

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The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is currently seeking applications for project funding under the Extension and Outreach Program, as part of the Australian Government’s Carbon Farming Futures Program. The CFI is a voluntary carbon offset scheme that provides a financial incentive for farmers and land managers to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases or to sequester carbon in the landscape.

Additionally, the CFI will increase the land sector’s resilience to a changing climate, protect Australia’s natural environment and enhance long-term farm productivity.

The Extension and Outreach grants funding will deliver information that is clear, consistent and current for farmers, land managers and their key influencers using a mix of traditional and new extension services.

Extension and outreach activities supported by the program will assist farmers, land managers and key influencers to reduce land sector greenhouse gas emissions, sequester carbon in the landscape and participate in the CFI by:

  • Providing technical information and support about integrating carbon management into whole farm planning and farm performance
  • Sharing new research and farm techniques for the property and farm business, including those generated through the Carbon Farming Futures programs
  • Increasing communication resources and channels available
  • Creating tools and information systems to improve knowledge of land sector emissions
  • Enhancing productivity and environmental sustainability.

To be included in the first assessment, applications need to be received by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry by 5.00 PM AEDT on Wednesday, 19 December 2012.

Paddock to Reef Water Quality Monitoring Trials revamped for new season

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Changes are underway at the Mackay Paddock to Reef paddock scale water quality monitoring trial sites. Site improvements will help build understanding of herbicide application and add to the valuable information the Paddock to Reef trials have provided to the Reef Catchments Sustainable Agriculture program for three years.

Monitoring on two treatments, comparing best management practice with conventional management practices, has been undertaken at the site by DNRM and Mackay Area Productivity Services (MAPS) for three years. From this project we have gathered important information on the benefits of controlled traffic farming, the influence of nutrient rates on run-off and timing of application of herbicides.

The Paddock to Reef water quality monitoring site includes the following treatments:

T1: Conventional Practice

  • 1.5m row spacing
  • Broadcast regulated residual herbicide
  • Calcino nutrient rates

T2: Best Practice

  • 1.8m row spacing
  • Broadcast non-regulated residual herbicide application + knock downs
  • Six easy steps nutrient rates

T3: Conventional practice with wide rows

  • 1.8m row spacing
  • Broadcast regulated residual) herbicide application
  • Calcino nutrient rates

T4: Best practice with banded herbicide

  • 1.8m row spacing
  • Banded regulated residual – inter row weed control with knock down if required
  • Six easy steps nutrient rates

The third Paddock to Sub-catchment Scale Water Quality Monitoring of Sugarcane Management Practices technical report detailing run off and productivity data from the 2011/12 season will be ready for dissemination in the coming weeks.

Please contact Belinda Billing on 4968 4208 or Belinda.billing@rc2019.thedma.com.au if you would like a copy.

Volunteers clean up beaches

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Bucasia and Eimeo coastal volunteers removed over 750 kilograms of invasive weeds and marine debris from their beach and coastal creek on Saturday 27 October.

Nearly 30 local residents volunteered their time to care for the coast at the events, which are coordinated by Reef Catchments and Mackay Regional Council as part of the Coasts and Communities program.

The problem with weeds

Invasive weeds are a major threat to the coastal environment.  By competing with native plants and eventually replacing them, the weeds change the balance of natural systems and reduce the habitat quality for native animals.

Weeds typically produce large numbers of seeds, assisting their spread. Seeds are distributed by wind, waterways, birds and other animals.  Unfortunately, weeds are also introduced into our coastal environment by the illegal dumping of green waste which contains garden plants which invade our natural environment.

What we are doing to help

The Coasts and Communities program provides a holistic approach to coastal management in the region.  Volunteers make major contributions to the program through activities such as weed removal, which encourages the growth of native vegetation and restores the balance of the natural environment.  The benefits go both ways. Through the coastal volunteer program, local residents can learn about the coastal management initiatives that are underway across the region and make a difference at their beach.

How you can get involved

The next Coastal Community Activities will be on Saturday 1 December at Bucasia (from 8.00-10.00am) and Haliday Bay (from 3.00-5.00pm).

To get involved in the Coasts and Communities program, view and download the full list of upcoming Coastcare activities or contact Noni Zahmel at noni.zahmel@rc2019.thedma.com.au.