Print Icon
 

ACFA E-Newsletter

14 August 2020

   

 SUGAR INDUSTRY

   

Cane train collisions and near misses caught on camera

10 August 2020 | Queensland Country Life

A spate of cane train collisions and near misses has prompted Wilmar Sugar to issue a warning for people to take care around its railway network.

The sugar company released footage of a crash between a harvester and cane train that happened at Ingham in July to drill home the safety message. More...
   

Biosecurity webinar 2 - Current sugarcane diseases and future threats

12 August 2020 | SRA

Dr Nicole Thompson presents our second webinar of this three part series on Biosecurity. Watch here
   

Scholarship to elevate rum fermentation process

11 August 2020 | Bundaberg Now

CQUniversity has partnered with Bundaberg Rum to offer a scholarship opportunity that aims to find a way to improve the rum fermentation process.


The two-year Masters Elevate Scholarship recipient will work alongside researchers from CQUniversity and industry-based personnel from Bundaberg Distillery.

Bundaberg Rum governance and compliance manager Ty McKeown said the Elevate scholarship was a cost-effective investment to solving a real-world problem.  

More...
   

Growing a career in agriculture

6 August 2020 | QFF

Tahlia Kinrade loved every minute of her time as a Trainee Extension Officer at Burdekin Productivity Services (BPS) through the Queensland Farmers Federation’s (QFF)’s Agricultural Extension Work Placement Program. Contributing to BPS’s goals of productivity, profitability, and sustainability for Queensland’s largest sugarcane-growing region certainly kept her busy throughout the year-long graduate program. More...

   

Partnership paves way for new planting technology in Australian cane industry

10 August 2020 | Biofuels-News

New Energy Farms (NEF) and Sugar Research Australia (SRA) have entered into a license agreement to introduce the NEF CEEDS technology into the Australian sugarcane industry.


NEF is a crop technology company, established in 2010, to develop artificial seeds for crops that do not produce conventional seeds, such as sugarcane. More...

AGRICULTURE

   

Rural debt rises as farmers look for finance

12 August 2020 | Queensland Country Life

Farm debt and rural finance options are consistent themes of discussion within agriculture. With debt funding continuing to be an important source of finance for on-farm investments and the maintenance of working capital, the relationship between the banks and agriculture has never been more entrenched. More...

Far North Queensland farmer cultivates easy to cut neon pumpkin variety from 'field of thousands'

11 August 2020 | ABC

A designer pumpkin, the first new variety to hit the Australian market in 20 years, promises to end an eternal kitchen struggle: cutting the notoriously impenetrable vegetable. More...
   

Robots won't replace workers in labour-intensive ag sector: CSIRO

13 August 2020 | Farm Online

Robots have been discussed as one way to fill the upcoming labour shortage facing the ag sector, however the head of the nation's leading science agency doesn't see them replacing man power anytime soon.

Labour-intensive ag industries, such as horticulture and shearing, are staring down the barrel of a massive workforce shortage, with the nation's border restrictions causing a rapid decline in the number of seasonal workers available. More...

Farmers are tapping into subscription model to sell farm fresh produce direct to consumers

13 August 2020 | ABC

While consumers are flocking to streaming services for their entertainment during the pandemic, some farmers are also hoping to capitalise on the trend. More...

CSIRO calls for towns who want to trial underground water bank

12 August 2020 | Queensland Country Life

Australia's leading science agency is looking for towns and communities who want to trial an underground water bank, where the precious resource can be stored for a not so rainy day.

The CSIRO's research indicates underground water banks could be part of the solution to the nation's water woes and used for everything for irrigation to town drinking water. More...

Farmers promised financial help to drought-proof their properties left out of pocket

14 August 2020 | ABC

Farmers believe they are owed millions of dollars through a Federal Government water infrastructure scheme, which was run by the states.

Last year, the On-Farm Emergency Water Infrastructure Rebate (EWIR) was extended to fruit, vegetable and nut growers making them eligible for a 25 per cent rebate if they paid to drought-proof their properties. More...

COVID compliance focus turns to horticulture

10 August 2020 | Queensland Country Life

There was a time we dared to think COVID-19 would blow over. What's quite clear now is that the disease is more persistent than nutgrass, with hopes of eradication about the same.

As we watch Victoria ratchet down the restrictions, including on regional areas, and slowly turn their COVID cases around, we understand there remains a lot at stake. More...

CSIRO sets sights on new ‘Team Australia’ missions program

12 August 2020 | CSIRO

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, will work with the government, universities, industry and the community, on a new missions program to bolster Australia’s COVID-19 recovery and build long term resilience. More...

   

Agriculture replaces fossil fuels as largest human source of sulfur in the environment

10 August 2020 | Science Daily

A new paper out today in Nature Geoscience identifies fertilizer and pesticide applications to croplands as the largest source of sulfur in the environment -- up to 10 times higher than the peak sulfur load seen in the second half of the 20th century, during the days of acid rain. More...

   

CRUSH STATISTICS

Week Mill Crush (t) %CSS
Date STD Week STD
9 Aug 2020 Mossman 229,756 12.01 11.45
9 Aug 2020 Tableland 261,463 14.43 13.88
9 Aug 2020 Mulgrave 375,480  11.56  11.18
9 Aug 2020 South Johnstone 317,358 11.87 11.57
7 Aug 2020 Tully 677,147 12.65 11.87
8 Aug 2020 Victoria 753,583 12.27 11.66
8 Aug 2020 Macknade 336,235
8 Aug 2020 Invicta 1,022,176 14.10 13.14
8 Aug 2020 Pioneer 423,063 14.47 13.55
8 Aug 2020 Kalamia 440,301 13.66 13.37
8 Aug 2020 Inkerman 470,135 14.37 13.54
8 Aug 2020 Proserpine 381,317 13.59 13.03
9 Aug 2020 Mackay 1,504,071 13.42 12.56
8 Aug 2020 Plane Creek 345,360 13.61 12.67
8 Aug 2020 Bundaberg 344,022 14.35 13.98
9 Aug 2020 Isis 158,909 14.02 13.97
9 Aug 2020 Maryborough 94,218 14.01 13.77
9 Aug 2020 Rocky Point 27,985 12.91 12.74
9 Aug 2020 Harwood 146,942 10.97 10.41
9 Aug 2020 Broadwater 171,821 11.45 10.80
9 Aug 2020 Condong 156,423 10.92 10.55

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

   

Weekly Rainfall Update

for 7 days to 9 am 11 August 2020

Rainfall Statistics

Week Ending 14 August 2020

 Town Aug YTD
 Mossman2.0 1637.8 
Mareeba  9.0474.4 
Cairns 5.8 1242.0 
 Gordonvale5.81242.0
Innisfail 0.02344.1
Tully 54.22821.4
Ingham  4.21578.6
Ayr 2.81024.0
Proserpine  19.6771.6
Mackay 32.41196.4
 Bundaberg34.2479.8
Maryborough 21.2656.6
 Beenleigh12.0900.2
 Murwillumbah20.01427.4
Ballina 39.41604.2
Yamba 48.6 1352.4
   

Spring break: Eastern Australia set for wetter September to November

14 August 2020 | Queensland Country Life

Eastern Australia is shaping up for an excellent spring break with September to November likely to be wetter than average, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's latest three month outlook.

BOM mapping shows much of Queensland and large parts of NSW, South Australia and Victoria having an 80 per cent chance of receiving above average rain during spring. More...

Rain offers late help for Queensland farmers

10 August 2020 | Queensland Country Life

Belated winter rainfall offered a late reprieve for Queensland grain farmers last week. It's a bittersweet rain for some where dry weather in June and July already robbed them of significant yield potential but the late rains will help farmers ensure they harvest crops. More...

EVENTS