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ACFA E-Newsletter

24 July 2020

   

 SUGAR INDUSTRY

   

Reef regulation measures ramp up

20 July 2020 | North Queensland Register

The state government has dumped a controversial plan to introduce contractors to access data about Queensland farmers in Great Barrier Reef catchment areas.


It comes after Canegrowers issued a warning about the 'covert' move saying it would breach farmer's privacy.

Canegrowers CEO Dan Galligan said the Department of Environment and Science was seeking a contractor to identify sources of information about sugarcane growers, graziers and banana producers along much of the Queensland coast.


"We are alarmed that this outsourcing exercise will put at risk the privacy of our members' personal information as defined under privacy law," Mr Galligan said. More...

QSL Grower Rep Members announced

22 July 2020 | QSL

The 2020 QSL Grower Representative Member election process is now complete, with the following growers appointed for the new three-year term:

QSL Managing Director and CEO Greg Beashel thanked all those cane growers around the state who had participated in the elections, either as a candidate or voter.“


QSL Grower Representative Members play a vital role in our business, voting on key matters of importance at QSL general meetings, including the Annual General Meeting, and providing a vital communication link between QSL and growers throughout Queensland,” Mr Beashel said. More...

Managing soil health: how soil health is prioritised on a dryland sugar cane farm

5 July 2020 | Growcom

With inputs to growing becoming more expensive, finding ways to become more efficient is at the front of every growers mind. By managing and improving soil health, water can be retained in the soil, fertiliser inputs decrease and yields can increase.


This short video highlights how how soil health is prioritised on a dryland sugar cane farm

   

Soil Health Extension Toolkit (SHET)

24 July 2020 | SRA

The Soil Health Project of the Central Region has now released the Soil Health Extension Toolkit (SHET).


Project Manager, Zoe Eagger Farmacist Pty Ltd and SRA Mackay Adoption Officer, Clare Gersch are pictured with SRA staff Eric Kok and Stephanie Roberts who have been fully trained in use of the Toolkit at a regional workshop held in early March. More...

   
   

Agtech helps sugarcane grower face COVID-19 crisis

17 July 2020 | Future Farming

Sugar cane is Brazil’s main agricultural product in terms of volume (600 million tons). It’s also pivotal for the production of biofuel – ethanol accounts for 47.5% of the fuel consumed by vehicles in Brazil. As a consequence, the sector has been strongly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused ethanol and petroleum prices to fall globally. More...

Report reveals $1.3b cost of misguided Reef policies

23 July 2020 | CANEGROWERS

A new analysis reveals the State Government risks an economic hit to Queensland of $1.3 billion over ten years with its misguided push to cut nitrogen applications on sugarcane crops by up to 30% below industry best practice levels. More...

Reef regulations a $1.3 billion hit to the sugar industry

23 July 2020 | Queensland Country Life

A $1.3 billion economic black hole will be created in Queensland if cane farmers are forced to abide by draconian reef regulations, a new report shows. More...
   

AGRICULTURE

   

A class action to reimburse Queenslanders
QLD Energy Class Action

The QLD Energy Class Action is a legal claim being brought against Stanwell Corporation Limited and CS Energy Limited on behalf of all business and residential electricity consumers in Queensland.

You are eligible to join the class action if you have paid for electricity in Queensland between the 2014 and 2019 period. Register to Claim

Farm safety must be a priority

22 July 2020 | Queensland Country Life

This week is National Farm Safety Week, which aims to raise awareness of farm safety issues across Australia. It's a particularly relevant topic as agriculture is one of the most dangerous sectors to work in due to the combination of hazards, including plant, chemicals, noise, dust, sun exposure, working with animals as well as the fact many in the industry work alone or in remote locations. Between 2014 and 2018, there were 188 worker fatalities in the agriculture industry, which is 20 per cent of all worker fatalities over the period. With 69pc of fatalities in the sector involving a vehicle including tractors (23pc) and quad bikes (15pc). More...

   

Why precision agriculture is essential in combating climate change

23 July 2020 | AFN

The relationship between farming and climate change is something of a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, agriculture is among the largest contributors to climate change. It accounts for 24% of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions, which makes it the world’s second-largest emitter after the energy sector.  More...
   

Biosecurity under inspection again

21 July 2020 | Queensland Country Life

In January Growcom celebrated the beginning of 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health, as declared by the United Nations.

Sadly for those many people affected, human health has since stolen the spotlight. Despite this, plant health and biosecurity generally continues to attract necessary attention. More...

The first 2019 Scholar report has been released!

23 July 2020 | Nuffield

"Attracting Youth into Agriculture. Developing a strategic framework to encourage young people to pursue a career in agriculture"

By Clare Peltzer, 2019 Scholar from Evandale, TASMANIA
More...

   

CRUSH STATISTICS

Week Mill Crush (t) %CSS
Date STD Week STD
19 Jul 2020 Mossman 97,503 11.50 10.92
19 Jul 2020 Tableland 174,910 14.13 13.58
19 Jul 2020 Mulgrave 206,571    11.30     11.80  
19 Jul 2020 South Johnstone 154,626 11.76 11.35
19 Jul 2020 Tully 402,040 11.90 11.49
18 Jul 2020 Victoria 385,498 11.55 11.24
18 Jul 2020 Macknade 157,682
18 Jul 2020 Invicta 747,656 13.86 12.84
18 Jul 2020 Pioneer 353,675 14.28 13.40
18 Jul 2020 Kalamia 371,913 14.20 13.29
18 Jul 2020 Inkerman 373,376 13.88 13.34
18 Jul 2020 Proserpine 193,001 12.99 12.70
19 Jul 2020 Mackay 978,708 12.95 12.18
18 Jul 2020 Plane Creek 201,268 12.76 12.18
19 Jul 2020 Bundaberg 140,863 13.98 13.71
19 Jul 2020 Isis 33,783 13.82 13.82
19 Jul 2020 Maryborough 27,934 13.60 13.60
19 Jul 2020 Rocky Point 2,661 11.93 11.93
19 Jul 2020 Harwood 75,571 10.50 9.92
19 Jul 2020 Broadwater 99,519 10.52 10.36
19 Jul 2020 Condong 117,588 10.89 10.36

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

   

Weekly Rainfall Update

for 7 days to 9 am 21 July 2020

Rainfall Statistics

Week Ending 24 July 2020

 Town Jul YTD
 Mossman31.6  1635.8
Mareeba 0.4465.4
Cairns  33.81236.2
 Gordonvale33.81236.2
Innisfail 84.22344.1
Tully 138.42766.8
Ingham 38.91574.4
Ayr 62.81021.2
Proserpine 54.2751.8
Mackay 42.81163.8
 Bundaberg21.0442.4
Maryborough 46.2618.8
 Beenleigh33.6819.2
 Murwillumbah21.41273.0
Ballina 56.81446.8
Yamba 45.41140.4
   

All eyes on promised weekend rain

23 July 2020 | Queensland Country Life

All eyes are now on the potentially handy winter rainfall the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting for parts of Queensland over the weekend.

According to BOM a 1029 hectopascal high over south eastern Australian will move slowly eastwards into the Tasman Sea during Friday and weaken, relaxing the associated ridge across the southern half of Queensland. More...

   

Cyclones can be predicted four months ahead, thanks to new Australasian model

23 July 2020 | ABC

Cyclones have been notoriously hard to predict over decades, but a new scientific model could prove to be a circuit-breaker, particularly in the cyclone-battered Pacific. More...
   

Bureau chief scientist to lead new international scientific think-tank

23 July 2020 | BoM

The Bureau of Meteorology's Chief Scientist and Group Executive of Science and Innovation Dr Gilbert Brunet is the first chair of a new Scientific Advisory Panel for the World Meteorological Organization. More...

   

NSW bushfire outlook for 2020/21, areas of concern named

20 July 2020 | The Land

The Far North Coast, South Coast and the northern ranges are all being closely monitored by fire authorities, with the dry sub-soil conditions a cause for concern.

Although the country is still in the middle of winter, the recent Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook is a timely reminder that the fire season is just around the corner, which started in August for some places in 2019. More...
   

EVENTS

   

29 July 2020 - 2020 Biosecurity Webinar Series | SRA