features - australian sugarcane issues/172amsug13... · 2013. 7. 24. · australia’s irreverent...

April–May 2013 Australian Sugarcane — 1

April–MAy 2013

COVER Australian SugarcanePO Box 766, Toowoomba, 4350. Phone: (07) 4659 3555. Fax: (07) 4638 4520. Email: [email protected] – www.australiansugarcane.com.au DELIVERY ADDRESS: 120 Herries Street, Toowoomba, Qld. 4350

EDITOR: Brian O’Connell PRODUCTION MANAGER: Mick Allan ASSOCIATE EDITORS: David Dowling OFFICE MANAGER: Catherine O’Connell Lloyd O’Connell NATIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER: Michael Cook (0428 794 801)

ADVERTISING: Phone (07) 4659 3555 Fax (07) 4638 4520 E: [email protected]

CONTENTS OF ADVERTISEMENTS are the responsibility of the advertisers. All statements and opinions expressed in Australian Sugarcane are published after due consideration of information gained from sources believed to be authentic. The following of advice given is at the reader’s own risk, and no responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of the matter published herein. No portion in whole or part may be reproduced without permission of the publisher. Copyright 2013.

Published by Berekua Pty. Ltd., 40 Creek Street, Brisbane, Queensland. Registered by Australia Post Publication No. PP100008014. ISSN 1442–5157.

PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY, APRIL, JUNE, AUGUST, OCTOBER, DECEMBER. AUSTRALIAN SUGARCANE ANNUAL

Bonsucro CEO Nick Goodall comes to grips with the pointy

end of Australian cane farming. Nick’s message is that if the

sugar industry around the world embraces Bonsucro’s Standard for sustainable sugarcane we

as farmers, millers, traders and consumers will all benefit

(see story page 8).

Step up and be reinvigorated!

Australian sugarcane production ‘on track’

The cause of yellowing sugarcane

INSI

DE

Print Post Approved Publication No. PP100008014

APRIL–MAY 2013Volume 17, No. 2 $7.70

FEATURES

4 Step up and be reinvigorated!

8 What is Bunsucro?

HARVESTFEATURE

14 Identifying the cause of yellowing sugarcane

17 Canegrub control in ratoons simplified

19 Precision farming soybeans boosts sugarcane

20 Stem fly batters soybean crops

REGULARSECTIONS

2 Editorial

12 Modern Machinery Matters: Celebrating 25 years in the field

21 Marketing: Australian sugarcane production ‘on track’

22 Classic Tractor Tales: The road to the Isles – Part two

26 Fishing: Climb every mountain, fish every sea!

28 District Reports and ACFA Commentary

www.australiansugarcane.com.au

2 — Australian Sugarcane April–May 2013

Stepupandbereinvigorated!

i had the pleasure of attending the inaugural StepUp Conference held in March at the Gold Coast’s Sea World – a venue well chosen with young farming families and the young at heart in mind.

See article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4

Canegrubcontrolinratoonssimplified

Canegrub control in ratoon crops has just been made easier with the introduction of a granular alternative to liquid products. A water-dispersible, granular imidacloprid Senator 700WG was registered and released for use in April.

See article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 17

TheroadtotheIslesMy old school

friend Donald had alerted me to the existence of an island based classic tractor collection, which he assured me was to be found on the remote Outer Hebrides, that chain of rugged islands located in the Atlantic Ocean off the West Coast of Scotland. But he was vague when asked to specify which island, as there are several in the group.

See article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Inthisissue...

Editorial...�FOrGet about the cyclone season, we are in the

conference season. And that can be a little confusing for aging editors. Over the years i have attended many a

cotton conference on the Gold Coast in a conference centre next door to Jupiter’s Casino – farming is after all the biggest gamble of all.

this year i found my self again on the coast, this time at townsville, in a conference centre next door to Jupiter’s Casino – déjà vu all over again!

the annual SrDC innovation Awards were presented during the ASSCt gala dinner at Jupiter’s Casino Hotel in townsville. it is a tribute to our research personnel that, in the midst of the current uncertainty in their world, they continue to strive for the innovation that is essential for our industry’s sustainability. We will be taking a look at some of their work in the next issue.

Also in townsville preceding the ASSCt conference we had the ACFA Soil Health expo. Why soil health? Well as many farmers are all too well aware – despite crop breeding and high inputs including fertiliser and biocides, cane yields are stagnating. the view put forward at the expo was that the next wave of productivity improvements in Australia will come from the very foundation of agriculture – the soil itself. Again we will be looking at some of this work in the June–July issue.

And the cavalcade of conferences and expos doesn’t end there. in March i was back on the Gold Coast – again that casino in the distance – but i was bound for a different world – Sea World no less!

And it was a different world in many respects – not just the watery kind but also the atmospheric kind. i attended the Next Generation Step Up! Conference on the Gold Coast and the atmosphere at the event was unlike anything i had encountered in the cane industry for a long time.

Hosted by the ACFA, the aim was to encourage young farmers to become involved in the cane industry’s decision making processes – to ‘step up’ and be counted.

the conference program was dynamic and upbeat – and

certainly took grower’s minds off mundane things like flooded cane fields.

And it seems there are many companies that share that enthusiasm for the future of the Australian sugarcane industry.

there are of course all those international processors who are taking a significant position in the industry – and these are companies that do an immense amount of research before investing their millions.

And at the farm level Case iH told the conference that they are planning to trial their new multi-row cane harvester in Australia this season. this promises to be the most significant innovation in harvesting efficiency for many decades.

And wait for it! the word from sugar market analyst Nicolas Wainwright of the Czarnikow Group was that prices will soon be on the rise as producers struggle to meet rapidly growing international consumer demand.

So there you have it – forget about the stormy weather, concentrate on the blue sky future!

But hang on – there might be a little, or even a lot, of yellow on the horizon. At all of the conference

venues there was concern expressed at the degree of crop damage and associated potential yield loss from yellowing cane.

BSeS has announced that new field trials have commenced in tully and the Mulgrave area as part of the ongoing investigation into the cause of yellowing cane.

Dr Andrew Ward, Manager professional Communication and extension Unit, BSeS said that these trials are part of the work being done to accurately identify the condition. to date, investigations of affected fields have failed to identify any potential causal agent that is common to all fields and there are no obvious conclusions as to what is causing the yellowing.

Until we know what it is it is very unlikely we can effectively control it – which is far from reassuring for those farmers who have been hit by cyclones and floods and now this, whatever it is! it would be nice to think it’s just a seasonal thing peculiar to the particular conditions of the past few years and that it will ‘fade’ away as quickly as it has appeared.

by�Brian�O’Connell,�Editor

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I HAD the pleasure of attending the inaugural StepUp Conference held in March at the Gold Coast’s Sea World – a venue well chosen with young farming families and the young

at heart in mind.And when i say i had the pleasure, it wasn’t just that i like

dolphins – it was indeed a genuine pleasure; a breath of fresh air; a new awakening; a reinvigoration… i think you get the picture. it was great to be in a place of intense positivity where people were passionate and optimistic.

the Case iH sponsored conference was opened by John McVeigh Qld Minister for Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry. Former Australian Wallaby captain, dual rugby World cup winner, successful businessman and generally very nice bloke, John eales was the key motivational speaker and he did his job extremely well.

Something fishy about dinnerAnd dinner was a riot – of the nicest possible kind – with

Australia’s irreverent ‘lamb Ambassador’ and AFl legend, Slammin’ Sam Kekovich as our host. Dolphins were on the menu so to speak – the private show put on prior to the conference dinner by the Sea World team was a greatly appreciated appetiser.

And not even a very large and particularly articulate performing seal could overwhelm our Sam – he called for a cross species breeding program with a fish flavoured lamb chop in mind. A concept that builds on all that is good about ‘putting another shrimp/chop on the barbie’.

Next Gen Programthe conference is a key component of the Australian Cane

Farmers Association’s (ACFA) Next Gen program. this program has been developed in response to a major issue facing the sugar cane industry – maintaining and enhancing its main asset, its famers.

the conference program focused on three key industry drivers: profitability, sustainability and innovation. it was specifically aimed at encouraging the next generation of cane farmers to ‘step up’ and play their part in shaping the future of the industry.

Next Gen Officer, Gerard puglisi, said the interest from cane farmers across all sugar regions was overwhelming.

“young cane farmers in particular are crying out for industry knowledge and advice that will help them run profitable businesses into the future,” he said.

the speakers at the conference certainly delivered on that sort of input. there was practical advice tailored to young farmers on securing finance; finding and hanging on to workers; stress management; business planning; applying precision farming techniques; cutting edge harvesting technology; marketing; international Best Management practice; and environmentally sustainable and economically profitable farming.


Stepupandbereinvigorated! ■ By Brian O’Connell

The Case IH team at the Conference Machinery Display.

Key note speaker and rugby legend, John Eales, meets with Next Gen farmers Erik D’Urso, Martin Walsh, Josh Buchbach, Philip Finlay, Troy Manderson

John Deere’s history runs deep Take our T-Tape for drip irrigation in sugarcane: T-Systems helped a Bundaberg farmer install drip tape in a block of cane in the early 1980s. This revolutionary thought put water right where the crop needed it, and profits right where the farmer wanted it. T-Systems is now part of John Deere Water – a global company committed to helping you grow your business. Together, we were the first company to install drip tape in sugarcane in Australia, and we’re the only company to manufacture it right here in Queensland. We were the first and still the only company to manufacture 29 and 35 mm diameter tape. That larger diameter gives you the ability to run each tape for a longer distance, which increases your block size and decreases your costs. And you know what that means: More profits in your pocket.

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Older hands play mentoring roleAlso on hand were experienced cane farmers who currently

play an active role in the industry they love and who are keen to share their experiences and to pass on their hard won knowledge.

Attendees had the rare opportunity to ask questions of these leading growers together with machinery, research, accountancy, financial, and legal experts. Ask they did and, on the whole, they got clear and frank answers from them all.

the ACFA had called on young cane farmers across all key sugar regions to apply to be their local Next Gen representative and these were announced at the conference.

Over the three-day event the discussions informed a 10-point action plan for the next 12 months which will be used to inform Government on key issues impacting the industry.

those young farmers at the conference were able to network and gather new information, before going back to their home areas better informed and – perhaps most importantly – inspired to actively participate in their industry at all levels.

“the future of our industry is in the hands of young farmers and they need the support and knowledge of their more experienced counterparts to push the industry forward,” said Don Murday, Chairman of Australian Cane Farmers. “We are extremely pleased that together with our sponsors we provided an opportunity for this to happen.”

For more information visit: www.nextgenfarmer.com

The major sponsors of StepUP 2013 were: Case IH Agriculture, QSL and SRDC ■


Next Gen Reps, Gerard Padovan, Carl Menzel, Phil Deguara, Hayden Quabba, Sam Mischke, Josh Buchbach, Gavin Lerch and Erik D’Urso, meet one of Sea World’s stars under the watchful eye of Slammin’ Sam Kekovitch.

Bonsucro’s CEO Nick Goodall comes to grips with the pointy end of Australian cane farming.

Senator is a registered trademark. Crop Care Australasia Pty Ltd ACN 061 362 347

Senator 700WG, a unique new water dispersible granule formulation of imidacloprid, is now registered for control of cane grubs in sugarcane. This innovative new high strength granule formulation is:

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IN late 2012 Australian cane farmers robert Quirk and Gerard puglisi, both board members of ACFA, were recognised as industry leaders on an international stage at the Bonsucro

conference in london.Northern NSW sugar cane farmer robert Quirk was presented

with the Bonsucro Sustainability Award and Mossman cane farmer, Gerard puglisi, was chosen as the only cane farmer in the world to sit on the official review panel for Bonsucro’s Global Best Management practice initiative.

“Bonsucro is a leader in the field of Best Management practice (BMp) and Gerard and i were really impressed by the professionalism, ideas and focus at the conference,” explains robert. “We plan on working closely with the Queensland Government to ensure that the local BMp which the Newman Government has committed to works in tandem with Bonsucro’s established and internationally recognized BMp practices.”

On the website – www.bonsucro.com – we are told that Bonsucro is a membership driven organisation offering a sustainable sugarcane certification scheme world wide.

Sixty-seven companies and organisations are members of Bonsucro. Six full-time staff are delivering training, seminars and briefings in more than 30 cane producing countries.

less than a year and a half after the Bonsucro production Standard became available in 2010, 2.15 per cent of all land around the world under sugarcane was already Bonsucro-certified. Bonsucro is committed to 20 per cent penetration by 2017.

embracing the Standard for sustainable sugarcane means that a farmer sees better yields, human rights are respected, the planet benefits from better stewardship, the miller becomes more efficient, the trader gains more visibility, the end user greater transparency of origin, and we all, as consumers of sugar, benefit from knowing that Bonsucro certified means ‘sustainable’.

there is no future in not being sustainable.

For more information: www.bonsucro.com ■


WhatisBonsucro?

Bonsucro CEO Nick Goodall says hello and sends out an invitation for all sugarcane farmers to join the organisation.

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Hello! It was great being with so many of you last month at StepUp!

I’ve an idea I’d like to run by you: • Do you still want to show the world you’re the best cane farmers?

• Do you want to make sure that when Bonsucro talks, it is listening to you?

• Do you want to be first ‘in the know’ with the latest in trends worldwide?

• Do you want all this for free?* Then come and join us in Bonsucro! We’ve created a special membership category for people like you: Farmers.

Look, its really simple – fill this in http://bonsucro.com/site/application/ and send it to us.

That’s it. As soon as you’re in, we’ll start asking your views and sharing news from others.

There’s even a dedicated member of staff just for Farmers – Daniel Lobo, based in Brazil.

What are you waiting for?

Nick Goodall Chief Executive

*Farms less than 100Ha are free to join. Less than 1000Ha are £50 and so on up a sliding scale to 50,001Ha+ £700.

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Celebrating 25 years in the field

THe Case iH Magnum turns 25 this year having delivered producer-driven, proven technology to Australian farmers since 1988.

John Dreves, Case iH product Manager – tractors, said the Magnum has long been a customer favourite – delivering reliability, exceptional performance and durability over the past 25 years.

“the series has been built with customer feedback front of mind, offering more power to handle the most demanding tasks at higher speeds, better fuel efficiency and with the best cab in its class.

“Magnum delivers leading fuel efficiency, and with Automatic productivity Management – ApM – you can achieve up to an additional 24 per cent in fuel savings. ApM also makes the Magnum easy to drive, even for the least experienced operators.”

the current model Magnum has the tightest turning radius in its class and delivers more power to the ground with

minimal ballast due to its sculptured surround frame.Operator comfort is also a hallmark of the range with the

current models providing drivers with the largest, quietest cab, with the best visibility on the market – and industry exclusive cab suspension is standard.

the Multicontrol armrest puts control of 80 to 90 per cent of the tractor’s commonly used functions in one hand.

Silver special editionto celebrate Magnum’s 25th

Anniversary, Case iH has produced 150 special edition silver Magnums globally. A dozen of these machines are being shipped to Australia and will be appearing at field days across the country.

All 2013 Magnum tractors will come with a commemorative 25 year decal on the bonnet in recognition of this important milestone.

For more information contact your local dealer or visit www.caseih.com.au

Modern Machinery

Mattersis proudly supported by

To celebrate Magnum’s 25th Anniversary, Case IH has produced 150 special edition silver Magnums globally – 12 of them are in Australia and one of them was at

the Next Gen Conference.


Case IH Agriculture was the major sponsor of the recent Australian Cane Farmers Association (ACFA) Next Gen Step UP! Conference.

The conference was held at the Sea World Resort on the Gold Coast where – it can be safely said – their regular patrons were a little surprised to see an impressive array of big red machines!

Don Murday, Chairman of the ACFA and its Next Gen program welcomed Case IH on board for the conference observing that it meant big things for Australian sugar farmers – and he wasn’t just referring to the big gear.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Case IH is the major sponsor for this inaugural event. It means several hundred young and established farmers will be able to speak to Case IH experts from around the world to learn about new farming practices.

“The brand is synonymous with profitability, innovation and sustainability, so it makes perfect sense that the conference be named Case IH Step UP!”

The aim of the conference was to foster the next generation of sugarcane farmers by encouraging and empowering them to ‘step up’ and play a significant role in the future of our industry. And step up they did!

There was a high level of interest from farmers young and old. They were hungry for information and keenly participated in the various sessions addressed by industry experts from around the globe.

Among these experts was Guilherme Belardo, the Global Product Marketing Manager for Case IH’s Sugarcane and Coffee Business. Guilherme travelled from Brazil specially to speak at the conference. He is an expert in precision agriculture equipment and has a long and distinguished history on the international agriculture stage.

Next Gen sugarcane harvesterGuilherme delivered the keynote address to the conference

and he certainly held our attention. Amongst many other things at the ‘cutting edge’ of machinery innovation, he talked to us about his work with the Case IH team charged with developing the next generation sugarcane harvesters.

This work is well advanced at the prototype stage and it was clear from the video presentation that a multi row harvester will

soon be with us. And not just in the figurative sense, Guilherme announced that a prototype will be undergoing field trials in Australia at the earliest opportunity.

Needless to say there were a great number of conference attendees with their hands in the air offering to host the team – and the machine - during the next harvest.

The multi-row harvester will only be offered as a tracked machine. There will be significant differences at the front end and wider 2.4m track spacing. This brings with it improved flexibility – the new machine will be able to be used across the range of row spacings currently in use in Australia.

It will also allow for greater harvesting efficiencies and reduced compaction with fewer vehicle movements. The machine’s improved efficiency will in turn deliver improved profitability when it comes to harvesting low-yielding crops.

Case IH has plans to introduce the new harvester to the Australian market in 2014.

Next GeN harvestiNG – Next GeN coNfereNce

A special edition silver Magnum was in the spotlight at the recent Case IH StepUP Conference.

The original Magnum series went into the field a quarter century ago.

Regular Sea World patrons were a little surprised to see an impressive array of big red machines – together with their Case IH minders – on display!

TWO new field trials conducted by leading scientists from BSeS limited (BSeS) will commence in tully and the Mulgrave area as part of the ongoing investigation into the

cause of yellowing sugarcane.Dr Andrew Ward, Manager professional Communication and

extension Unit, BSeS said that these trials are part of a structured and rigorous approach being followed to accurately identify the condition.

“to date our thorough investigations of affected fields have failed to identify any potential causal agent that is common to all fields and there are no obvious conclusions as to what is causing the yellowing. As such, the next step is to investigate the cause or causes of the problem in a systematic and controlled manner with field trials and laboratory trials,” said Andrew.

“With planting season upon us local productivity service boards are being asked by growers whether the yellowing disorder can be transmitted via planting material.

Systemic disorder?“At this stage, we don’t believe that the yellowing is caused

by a systemic disorder but this has not conclusively been ruled out. in an attempt to rule this out a trial will be established in tully this week under controlled conditions.

“Until the results of this trial are known we recommend that growers stick to the basic principle of using the best quality planting material that they have. Sugarcane that is severely affected and not growing actively is unlikely to germinate well and establish vigorously so should be avoided.”


Harvest FeatUre

Identifyingthecauseofyellowingsugarcane

symptoms of yellow suGarcaNe disorder

Growers should continue to look out for the following symptoms in their crops and report any findings to their local Sugarcane Productivity Services group:

■ The spindle leaf shows faint general yellowing at the tip. This progresses to a stronger yellowing/chlorosis generally to one side of the leaf and towards the leaf tip.

■ Leaves five or six show uneven course mottling, with areas of uneven green and yellow tissue developing. Unlike typical viral or nutrient deficiency symptoms, this symptom is uneven, and looks more like a stress condition or herbicide effect. It extends right down the leaf blade.

■ The lower canopy leaves are more uniformly yellow, showing areas of brown-black necrotic spots. Leaf tips and some margins begin to die.

■ Older leaves senesce early. ■ There are no internal stalk symptoms or discolouration in

the growing point area. ■ The overall crop looks quite yellow, and this yellowing

extends into the youngest leaves in the worst affected crops.

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Linear bugs?the second trial which will be established in the Mulgrave

region aims to rule out linear bugs as a cause of the yellowing.“We are investigating all possibilities and one of our leading

entomologists will conduct a trial,” he said.Sugarcane crops showing yellowing symptoms in the Burdekin

were visited on April 17 by a working group that included a broad-knowledge research team from BSeS, growers and representatives from the Burdekin productivity Services limited; Herbert Sugarcane productivity Services limited; and the Sugar research Development Corporation.

“this group included the industry’s most experienced plant pathologists, entomologists, agronomists and crop nutrition experts who have a combined knowledge base built from over 200 years’ experience in sugarsugarcane research,” said Andrew.

Yield impact“the group agreed that some crops which are healthy and

have been grown using best management practices are likely to have excellent yield, even though they have some yellowing. On the other hand, other crops which were not so well maintained are likely to yield less due to their poor condition, regardless of the yellowing.”

Following the tour, the working group wanted to reassure industry that all steps are being taken to diagnose the condition.

“A correct diagnosis is vital to understand the cause of the yellowing and finding a solution for growers that will work. this will take time, as we saw some years ago when Northern poor root syndrome was first identified. in this situation it was several years before pachymetra root rot was identified as the causal agent,” said Andrew.

“A rushed diagnosis runs the risk of being wrong and this outcome could potentially waste growers’ time and money.”

the trials are expected to be completed over the coming weeks.

From BSES media release April 22, 2013 More Information: A newsletter about the yellow sugarcane situation can be accessed by selecting Subscribe to Updates on the homepage of the BSES website: www.bses.com.au ■


What to look for.

What to look for.

Harvest FeatUre

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CANeGrUB control in ratoon crops has just been made easier with the introduction of a granular alternative to liquid products. A water-dispersible, granular imidacloprid

Senator 700WG was registered and released for use in April.Crop Care’s Kerrie Mackay said this high-concentration

formulation had been very successful in overseas markets. its ease of use and excellent shelf life has already seen 2000 tonnes sold in Brazil alone.

“Senator 700WG provides easy, effective top-up protection from canegrubs in later ratoon crops.

“it is the ‘perfect partner’ to suSCon Maxi for growers wanting to extend the life of their crop beyond the two to four years’ protection that suSCon Maxi provides.”

Crop Care’s suSCon Maxi is the only product in Australia registered to protect sugarcane against Greyback canegrub damage for two years; Negatoria and Southern one-year canegrub damage for three years; and Childers canegrub damage for four years – from a single-application to plant cane – see table.

Sustained, controlled-release technology – developed by Crop Care in collaboration with the industry – has revolutionised canegrub control. Growers are able to realise the benefits of a canegrub treatment that gives long control from one planting application – saving on annual application costs and suppressing the grub population.

planting is a major expense in the cane crop cycle so the greater the number of productive ratoons, the lower the planting costs per hectare per year.

ApplicationAlthough the new granular product is registered for plant

cane, Crop Care is recommending that canegrowers use suSCon Maxi in plant cane for up to four-year control of canegrubs, and then use annual follow-up applications of Senator 700WG in later ratoon crops.

trials have shown granular Senator 700WG to be equally as effective as liquid-based products, while providing significant handling and storage benefits for growers.

Treating ratoon caneKerrie said ratoon cane should only be treated with Senator

700WG as a subsurface soil application behind coulters – with twin coulters, or via stool splitting with a single coulter.


Harvest FeatUre

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Protection of ratoons from canegrub damage has been simplified.

“Apply while stools of ratoon cane are small enough to avoid excessive damage. if ratoon growth is advanced, avoid narrow spacings and stool splitting.

“Senator 700WG shouldn’t be applied to wet or waterlogged soils; application should be planned to avoid runoff within 48 hours of application; and the cane crop shouldn’t be irrigated within 48 hours of application.”

Ease of usethe high concentration and low use-rate reduces the overall

volume of product that has to be handled during measuring, transport, storage and packaging disposal.

the wettable granule formulation is also easy to mix and measure for application to the soil subsurface. Other benefits include low dust, low foam, and a long shelf life.

Mixing the granulesCrop Care makes the following recommendations for best

results from Senator 700WG. ■ the correct, measured amount of product should be added to water in the spray vat.

■ Agitation should be maintained throughout spraying.

Contact: Kerrie Mackay, National Business Manager – Horticulture, suSCon, Crop Care Australasia, Ph: 07 3909 2008; Mob: 0413 458 069; E: [email protected] ■


The new granular formulation will provide easy, effective top-up protection from destructive canegrubs in later ratoon crops, following the two to four-year protection provided by suSCon Maxi.

The extensive cane grub damage in these third ratoons could have been prevented by the use of suSCon Maxi on plant cane (as in the treated rows to the right). Follow-up annual protection with Senator 700WG would continue to keep the right-hand ratoons productive.

TABLE 1: Comparison of imidacloprid products registered for use against canegrubs

ProductProduct type granule or liquid

Imidacloprid concentration

Usage ratemaximum

Period of control applied to plant cane

Period of control applied to ratoon cane

suSCon Maxi Sustained-release granules

50g/kg225g/100m of cane row

2 years Greyback

3 years Negatoria Southern one-year

4 yearsChilders

Not registered for ratoon cane

Senator 700WG granules

Wettable granule 700g/kg11g/100m of cane row

1 yearGreybackChildersNegatoriaplectrisrhopaeaSouthern one-year

1 yearGreybackChildersNegatoriaplectrisrhopaeaFrench’sSouthern one-year

Confidor Guard liquid 350g/l22ml/100m cane row

1 yearGreybackChildersNegatoriaplectrisrhopaeaSouthern one-year

1 yearGreybackChildersNegatoriaplectrisrhopaeaFrench’sSouthern one-year

Harvest FeatUre

MArK and Bev North bought their first cane farm at Condong in 1986 and now grow approximately 250 hectares of cane in northern NSW.

Mark attributes much of their success in farming to the advice provided by Dpi, BSeS and supplier agronomists to keep them at the ‘pointy edge’.

“We always like to work closely with extension people like Steve leeson from BGA AgriServices and suppliers like Crop Care to obtain the latest information and advice (see Handy Hundred box story). One of the biggest breakthroughs in lifting our productivity was about 10 years ago, when we adopted controlled traffic on our farms and introduced soybeans into our rotations.”

in 2010, speaking at the GrDC Summer Grains Conference, Mark explained how soil degradation was at the root of his sugarcane problem, with heavy crops and mechanical harvesting machinery resulting in widespread compaction. “After decades of no significant yield increases in the sugar industry, farmers responded with heavier tillage and by replanting sugarcane with no fallow. With 1800 mm of annual rainfall, most machinery operated in moist to wet field conditions, and 95 per cent of fields were trafficked and compacted.”

Laser levelling, raised beds and controlled trafficthe need to address these environmental issues led Mark and

Bev to laser-grade their fields before introducing raised beds and a GpS-guided controlled-traffic system.

“GpS and matching machinery wheels with row spacings reduced the farm’s trafficked area from the 96 per cent to 36 per cent,” says Mark.

“A controlled-traffic approach also delivers good husbandry, control of weeds and volunteer cane, and grain-harvesting advantages.”

A legume break crop was then essential for cost-effectively supplying the high nitrogen requirements of sugarcane.

Soybean – break crop of choiceSoybean was the break crop of choice owing to its weather

tolerance, manageable crop residue, provision of nitrogen and for its attractive market returns. He said soybean provided income from the sale of grain and reduced nitrogen inputs for the subsequent cane crop.

“if well established, soybean growing delivers significant economic benefits, with yields between 3.5 and 5 tonnes providing gross returns between $1100 and $2500 depending on price,” said Mark.

“in addition, there can be a $200 a hectare in savings on nitrogen fertiliser for the following cane crops, along with weed control and soil health benefits.”


Precisionfarmingsoybeansboostssugarcane

at a GlaNce…Poor cane yields due largely to soil degradation led one

Northern NSW cane farmer to adopt precision farming techniques. Heavy tillage and harvesting operations saw significant compaction of often wet soil. Productivity increased significantly with the introduction of controlled traffic and a soybean rotation.

three caNe Growers take out ‘haNdy huNdred’ competitioN

Crop Care Australasia recently announced the winners of its ‘Handy Hundred’ competition. Three cane growers and their resellers each won a $2,500 Eftpos card from Crop Care to spend as they wish.

Sharing the honours were: ■ Tom Sheahan from Long Pocket outside Ingham, supplied

by Ingham Farm Supplies; ■ Les and Liza Trueman from Marwood, supplied by Mackay

Farm Supplies; and, ■ Mark and Beverley North, who grow cane at Condong in

the Tweed Valley, supplied by BGA AgriServices at Grafton.The Handy Hundred competition celebrated the 50-year

partnership between Crop Care, rural resellers and cane growers.

Kerrie Mackay, National Business Manager with Crop Care, congratulated all the winners for taking out the top prizes. She also thanked the hundreds of cane growers and resellers who had entered the competition over the past six months.

“One of the best jobs I’ve had this season has been phoning the growers and our resellers to advise them of their $100 weekly wins and then the major $2,500 prizes,” she said.

Wal Green, who manages the BGA AgriServices store in Grafton, said he and his staff were delighted to share in the honours along with Tweed Valley growers, Mark and Beverley North.

He and his staff are planning to celebrate their win with a weekend away at Yamba.

Meanwhile, the Norths decided to put their prize money towards a holiday in Tasmania, after one of their cane farms was flooded for the second time in weeks.

Celebrating their win in Crop Care’s Handy Hundred competition were (from left) Wal Green and Steve Leeson (BGA AgriServices, Grafton) and Bev and Mark North, Condong.


integrated pest management (ipM) was essential when splitting two rows of sugarcane with three rows of soybean in raised beds.

the manageable nature of the soybean residue allows for the direct drilling of sugarcane rows into the soybean stubble, following a pre-plant glyphosate application in September.

“Our preferred variety has a suitable planting window coinciding with early summer rain and it’s a good, erect high-yielding crop at 300,000 plants a hectare.”

“We planted three soybean rows atop 1.4-metre raised beds and formed 1.9-metre wheel spaces to enable machinery access and promote air circulation, reducing sclerotinia fungal rot.

“raised beds also improved drainage, increasing crop survival and helping with management of phytopthora.”

Weed control can be hindered by unpredictable rainfall, with liquid herbicide applied before or after crop emergence, while tillage provided a “back up” option.

the North’s decision to produce soybean as a summer crop grew out of an industry and investment NSW program derived from the ‘Sugar yield Decline Joint Venture’ involving Queensland primary industries and Fisheries, BSeS Sugarcane, Biological Crop protection and the Sugar research and Development Corporation.

Drawn from GRDC Ground Cover Issue 88 September/October 2010. ■

Stemflybatterssoybeancrops

ExteNSiVe flooding earlier in the season saw much of the Northern NSW soybean crop wiped out. those growers who avoided the flood waters are now finding they have

to contend with yet another challenge. Agronomists estimate 4000 hectares of soybeans in the richmond Valley have been damaged by soybean stem fly (SSF) (Melanagromyza sojae), a pest rarely seen in damaging numbers in Australia. Stem fly has also been reported this summer in the Clarence Valley.

Mackay outbreak 2009Hugh Brier, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

(DAFF) senior entomologist, Kingaroy, Queensland says the only other significant soybean stem fly outbreak occurred in 2009 in the Mackay region of Central Queensland.

experience overseas suggests yield losses of 20 to 30 per cent when crops are infested in the early vegetative stage as damage causes reduced pod and seed set.

But overseas literature is divided as to the pest’s impact on more advanced crops, Hugh said.

“in many crops on the richmond, stem fly damage was compounded by poor root development due to water logging, and the fungal disease, charcoal rot,” he said.

Charcoal rot, a disease which blocks the plant’s vascular tissue, causes similar damage such as leaf wilting and plant death.

Hugh said plant stress may exacerbate the impact of SSF, and visa versa.

“Fortunately recent rain does seem to be easing symptoms in some crops as they are better able to meet water demands, despite damage to vascular tissue in the stems, be it due to stem fly, charcoal rot or earlier water logging,” he said.

“But reports are coming in from agronomists in the richmond Valley of new instances of damage including leaf death in stem fly-infested crops with healthy root systems.”

More common in Africa and AsiaWhile soybean stem fly occurs in Australia, it is more common

in Africa and Asia, where it is a common pest of soybeans.Stem fly activity is favoured by warm temperatures, high

rainfall and high humidity but it unusual to see this pest active so far south, Hugh said.

“Management of this pest is difficult as the damaging larval stage feeds inside the petioles and stems,” he said.

“Consequently its presence is usually not detected until plants display noticeable symptoms such as leaf wilting and death.”

Once damage is observed, spraying with dimethoate (permit per14121) is unlikely to be effective as the damage is done and other than the emergency permit there are no insecticides

registered for the control of soybean stem fly, Hugh said.“Significant parasitism (by as yet unidentified wasps) was

observed in soybean stem fly infested plants,” he said.“it maybe that in most years that the pest is kept in check

by these and other natural enemies, and that, in the absence of noticeable damage as evident this season, stem fly has been present previously without drawing attention to itself.”

Hugh says adult stem flies are shiny black, about two millimetres long and look very similar to the bean fly (Ophiomyia phaseoli) which is a major pest of navy bean seedlings.

“the damaging stage is the white larvae (maggot) which feeds inside the stem.

“Soybean stem fly larvae can be distinguished from other bean fly species by the “blunt, somewhat atrophied (shrunken) central horn” in each posterior spiracle. the pale brown pupae are cylindrical in shape with rounded ends.

“infected stems are often red inside (sometimes pale) and a distinct zig zag tunnel may be observed – with maggots or pupae inside.”

He says apart from the exit holes, the soybean plants will initially appear healthy on the outside.

“large infestations (three or more maggots per plant) may cause wilting and may even cause plant death, especially in younger plants particularly if damage occurs in the plant’s basal stem.”

For more information: Hugh Brier, DAFF Kingaroy, ph: 07 41 600 740 or [email protected]; Natalie Moore, NSW DPI, ph: 02 6640 1637 or [email protected] ■

A recent stem fly outbreak in northern NSW has damaged soybean crops.

THe Australian sugarcane crop is in the middle of the peak growing season and is on track to yield higher national sugarcane and sugar volumes year-on-year, according to a

recently-released report by agricultural lender, rabobank.the rabobank Sugar Quarterly report says recent cyclone

activity has brought much needed rainfall to boost yields in the Northern, Herbert/Burdekin and Central sugarcane growing regions, but multiple flood events during the quarter have caused up to a 10 per cent reduction in sugarcane area in the southern region around Maryborough and Bundaberg. the New South Wales crop is expected to experience an estimated 10 per cent reduction in both sugarcane yields and sugar content.

rabobank maintains its Australian sugarcane production forecast of 32.8 million tonnes in 2013, up eight per cent year-on-year, while raw sugar production is expected to reach 4.68 million tonnes, up nine per cent year-on-year.

rabobank sugar analyst tracey Allen says the ongoing tropical cyclone season, although expected to be more ‘normal’ than the previous two years, poses the greatest risk to the size of the Australian crop at this stage of the season.

“the tropical north is transitioning from the wet to the dry season and while cyclones still pose a risk to the size of the crop, it is less so than in previous years. thankfully this year’s cyclone season has been quite moderate, which bodes well for sugarcane yields in 2013,” tracey says.

Australian sugar exports are winding down for the 2012–13 season and are expected to exceed three million tonnes raw value.

Retention and expansion remain a prioritySugarcane area retention and expansion remain a priority for

the Australian industry in an effort to increase crushing volumes, tracey says.

“Australian sugarcane area harvested has declined 11 per cent over the past decade but is now beginning to increase,” she says.

“Surplus national crushing capacity stands at around five million tonnes on current sugarcane volumes and milling capacity. But millers have been acquiring new and existing sugarcane land for some time – this has accelerated over the past 18 months following injections of foreign investment.”

Growers have also accepted incentives from the mills to bring new area in to sugarcane, tracey says.

Yields remain low by historical standardsAustralian sugarcane yields remain low by historical standards,

averaging an estimated 80 tonnes per hectare in the 2012 season, down from the 10-year average of 87 tonnes per hectare. this could largely be blamed on seasonal conditions and low sugarcane vigour. Sugarcane yields trended upwards in the 2012 season and are expected to rise further in 2013.

in the coming months, and in the absence of any major weather disruptions, rabobank believes there is little room for prices to break out of the upside of their current range of 17–19 USc/lb. the ample stock situation and large supplies projected for 2012–13, should restrict scope for gains price-wise.

With the Northern Hemisphere crops drawing to a close,

tracey says all eyes are turning to Brazil, where a sizeable increase in sugarcane output is expected. While ethanol production is expected to increase significantly, only modest growth in anticipated for sugar production.

“Any factor that alters this outlook – either related to ethano,l economics or weather – is likely to have a direct impact on sugar prices,” she says.

Rabobank quarterly sugar report – April 2013 ■


Australiansugarcaneproduction‘ontrack’

Rabobank sugar analyst Tracey Allen immersed in her work.

marketing

A chance encounter at UllupoolMy old school friend Donald had alerted me to the existence

of an island based classic tractor collection, which he assured me was to be found on the remote Outer Hebrides, that chain of rugged islands located in the Atlantic Ocean off the West Coast of Scotland. But he was vague when asked to specify which island, as there are several in the group. However the lure of the search was too tempting to ignore.

Accordingly, accompanied by Margery Daw, (who is my Girl Friday, my minder, my secretary, my accountant and oh yes – also my betrothed), we shipped the rental rover to the islands and commenced a thorough search of the entire chain, island hopping along the way. each day i received the same negative reply to my inquiries. By the time we eventually arrived at the most northern of the group – lewis – it became disappointingly clear that there was no classic tractor collection in existence anywhere in the Outer Hebrides.

But we managed to remain philosophical, for after all we had experienced the magnificence and solitude of a remote part of Scotland that few people are privileged to see!

i drove the car up the ramp onto the Caledonian MacBrayne island ferry for the return voyage across the Minch. three hours later we berthed at Ullapool, a small fishing centre, located on Scotland’s rugged west coast with road connections to the outside word. An appetising fragrance of fish and chips and malt whisky emanated from the ancient hotel adjacent to the jetty, and it seemed the obvious course to check in for the night.

the following morning we breakfasted on porridge, local kippers and oat cakes. Suitably nourished, i wandered down the jetty and spent an enjoyable half hour inspecting the colourful array of stout small craft secured by their hawsers to the sturdy bollards.

On returning to the hotel, i found Margery engaged in conversation with a middle aged chap i had noticed earlier in the

dining room. i was introduced and learnt that Margery had been telling him of our failed mission to the Outer Hebrides.

“No, there are certainly no tractor collections out in the Hebrides,” said the man emphatically.

“you speak with conviction,” i said, observing him speculatively. “Have you an interest in old tractors?”

“As a matter of fact i have and happen to own a couple of restored old Fordsons,” he responded. “But i am also a co-ordinator with the North of Scotland regional tourist Bureau and travel around extensively. it is my business to know what goes on in my territory,” he added. then continued, “the only collection you will find on an island up here in the north is a long way from Ullapool i’m afraid”.

i took a deep breath, “Give me the bad news.”“Well i know there is a collection on one of the islands in

the Orkney group, and as i said, that is a mighty long way from here,” he replied apologetically. “But i also know that if you are searching for a tractor collection on a Scottish island, then i guarantee that is the only one. But i am sorry i can’t be more specific as to which Orkney island.”

He spoke confidently and i had no reason to doubt the accuracy of his information. Obviously Donald had got his islands mixed up, which should not have surprised me as he was bit of a dunderhead at school! But now the challenge of tracking down this elusive island tractor collection was becoming an obsession. For all i knew it might consist of merely two common-or-garden Fergusons! But i obstinately simply had to find out!

Margery contemplated for a moment, then with a twinkle in her eye said “No use standing around. you had better get us to Orkney.”

The drive northUllapool lies at the head of loch Broom in the shadow of

the towering mass of Beinn eiledeach. the only road north is the A835 which steadily curves its way up through the Cromalt Hills to ledmore, where it is joined by the road that leads from


TheroadtotheIslespart two – the tractor collection – found?

■ By Ian M. Johnston

CLASSIC TRACTOR TALES

The road north from Ullapool winds through some dramatic scenery. (Photo M Daw) A crofter’s cottage near Durness. (Photo M Daw)

inverness and tain. the rover negotiated the breathtakingly beautiful glens and steep passes effortlessly. the descent to the eastern shores of loch Assynt presented us with a sweeping panorama and we gazed in awe as we drove past the dramatic relic of ancient Ardveck Castle, rising from the still waters, a reminder of the tempestuous period of Scottish history over a thousand years ago.

Our planned destination that night was the Durness Hotel, on the most northerly point of North West Scotland, where the Atlantic constantly pounds the rugged coastline. We hastened along the narrow road, with its pull-in places should two cars meet head on. However we drove for an hour without sighting another vehicle, until eventually arriving at Durness, which consists of the small hotel and a handful of bleak cottages. But the hotel was closed for the season!

it was now late afternoon. the watery sun cast weird hues through the ribbons of sombre clouds, as it commenced its disappearance over the horizon. the gloaming was settling in and the countryside prepared for sleep. But no rest for us! A close perusal of the AA road Atlas left us in no doubt that the nearest village and hotel was tongue. this meant a lengthy tedious drive along a single track roadway that curved torturously along the northern coast before almost circa-navigating the sea inlet – loch eriboll – then across the moors to the Kyle of tongue, and hopefully a hotel that was not closed for the season!

eventually tongue was reached, having crossed the spindly viaduct over the Kyle. We were the only guests at the crumbling hotel, but enjoyed a hearty meal of poached local salmon followed by roast venison in front of a cosy peat fire, plus a hot bath and a sound sleep in an old fashioned creaking bed.

the following morning we made an early start and pointed the nose of the rover east in the direction of thurso. Unlike the vast majority of Highland terrain, the strip along the northern region is relatively flat and almost heath like. On the approach to thurso i swung a left turn which took us to the ferry terminal of Scrabster, the place of embarkation for Stromness, the principal port of Orkney.

Orkneythe Orkney islands are separated from the Scottish mainland

by a stretch of water known as the pentland Firth. Although only a few kilometres in width, it has the reputation of being the

A view of Scappa Flow. (Photo IMJ)

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stormiest water crossing in the world! i had prepared Margery to expect the worst. She tends to suffer from mal-de-mere even on dry land!

the St Olaf was obligingly awaiting our arrival (it would seem) alongside the jetty at Scrabster. this cavernous ferry had been custom built to cope with the huge seas that so often prevented conventional ships from venturing out into the Firth. it obviously had an uncommonly deep draft and broad beam, in order to help stabilise the vessel in high seas. large trucks were accommodated deep down in the bilge area, while the lighter cars were directed to the higher decks.

With the car safely stowed away, Margery and i ventured out on the upper deck, where we witnessed a comical sight which had us chuckling. the captain (no less) was leaning over the rail of his bridge with a fishing rod and line, whilst peering hopefully

down into the water! it occurred to us that he probably preferred a fresh fish for lunch rather than the cook’s frozen variety in the galley!

Margery suspected me of exaggerating when i had warned her of the mountainous seas normally experienced in the pentland Firth. that day the surface of the water resembled that of a mill pond. the St Olaf quietly surged its way across the flat sea on its journey to Stromness. On our starboard bow the island of Hoy rapidly took shape. But it was the Old Man of Hoy upon which our attention was focused. rising dramatically out of the Atlantic to a height of 449 feet (137 metres) this needle-like red sandstone stack has been separated by the erosive power of wind and wave from the cliffs of rora Head. it stands like a sentinel and is considered the UK’s most challenging climb.

Stromness is a typical island port, grey and sombre, having endured centuries of huge seas and battering winds. We located a modern B&B cottage on a rise overlooking the town where we were warmly welcomed by a cheerful lady with a most captivating Orcadian lilt to her dialect, whose name was Alison Clouston. importantly she was the repository of all the ‘goings ons’ on the islands.

“yes of course, to be sure i ken of the tractor collection. After all, everybody knows of Billy Dass out on Bhu Farm,” she said pointedly.

i let out a sigh. thank goodness! We were now on the home run.

Bhu farm is located on the isle of Burray. this involved us in a scenic drive through rich farming country and clusters of stone cottages. No trees grow on these islands on account of the perpetual winds constantly bombarding the landscape. indeed the soil is rich in phosphate due to aeons of winds crashing against the cliffs and hurling sea shells the breadth of the land. Barley for the local distilleries is one of the principal crops.

We drove east following the road around the northern shore of Scapa Flow, that historic sheltered naval sanctuary, which features so prominently in the maritime history of both world wars.

A pause for lunch in the main commercial centre of Kirkwall was followed by a quick tour of St Magnus Cathedral, a majestic edifice in pristine condition dating back to the twelfth century. then it was south to the isle of Burray, which included driving across an artificial causeway, part of the Churchill’s Barriers designed to protect the naval ships in Scapa Flow from U boat attacks during World war 2.

there are three wee villages on Burray – Northtown,


The Old Man of Hoy. (Photo Scottish Tourist Board) Stromness. (Photo Scottish Tourist Board)

Southtown and Burray Village. A tractor pulling an overfull dung cart was emerging through a field gateway and i inquired from the driver if he knew of Bhu Farm.

“Of course,” he retorted, seemingly amazed that anyone

would not know of its whereabouts. “ye canny miss it,” and with that he proceeded to wave his arms indicating a farm along the road.

Success at last!the stout oak door was opened and a rotund jolly figure

appeared.“Aye, whit can i do for ye?” he asked, somewhat aggressively

i thought.“i am looking for Mr Dass. A fellow along the road said this

was Bhu Farm,” i explained.“No person here of that name,” he retorted sharply. i

was perplexed, the tractor driver was quite positive with his directions.

“Are ye frae the tax department?” he asked suspiciously.“No, certainly not!” i was taken aback by the suggestion. “i

am from Australia. i write books about tractors and am searching for the Bhu Farm collection,” i shot back at him.

“Och weel. that’s all richt then. you´d better come awa ben. i’m Billy Dass and you and yer wife are very welcome. i’ll pour oot a wee dram and then i’ll introduce ye to my collection of David Broons.”

And this is where the story ends. Billy Dass proved himself to be quite a character. We were introduced to his wife and enjoyed afternoon tea, following the inspection of his David Brown tractors.

Did our lengthy search end in an anti-climax? Absolutely not! Was it worth all the time and effort to finally track down Billy’s collection? yes! Have i forgiven Donald for his vagaries? Most definitely! the search encouraged us to travel through some stunningly beautiful country, we otherwise possibly would never have visited.

As for that elusive collection? Certainly so far as tractor collections go, it could only be rated as average. But, i can now boast of having seen the collection closest to the North pole! How good is that? Not many of my fellow tractor enthusiasts can match such an achievement! ■


A Stromness life boat, powerful and fast – can handle any storm. (Photo IMJ)

Billy Dass of Bhu Farm. (Photo IMJ)

An early David Brown 30 D in Billy Dass’s collection. (Photo IMJ)

iaN’s mystery tractor QuiZQuestion: Can you identify this little crawler?

Clue: Notice the attachment!

Degree of difficulty: This is a stinker!

Answer: Page 32.(photo iMJ archives)

ONe of the great things about travelling to fish – apart from the obvious, like the people you meet, the camping etc, etc, etc – is the challenge of understanding your

surroundings and making the most of your opportunities. in the past i’ve talked a lot about estuaries mainly because demographics show Queenslanders tend to own small open boats and concentrate their fishing in the estuaries and the intertidal zone. But there’s more to life than sand banks so let’s look at some ‘what ifs’.

Here’s the scenario. What if you’ve just rocked up to a dream campsite in the lee of a rocky headland? Across a wide, white sheltered beach lays a broad calm bay of gradually darkening blue water. the place just screams FiSH!!! But where to start?

there are two approaches. the ‘chuck and chance’ method where you just cast out and hope for the best, but your guaranteed to catch something – the species and eating quality will probably be questionable. preferably you’ll adopt the ‘reconnaissance is king’ method, take a closer look at the structure and tidal flow and make the most of the location.

if the tide is low you’ll see most of the beach layout and get a pretty good idea of the fish holding areas which will also indicate the most likely species which will, in turn, decide the fishing technique and the preferred bait.

if the tide is out and you’re feeling nimble you can take your polaroids, something to draw on, binoculars and if you remembered to pack it, a copy of Beacon to Beacon or a marine chart of the area and get a bit of altitude.

Climbing the headland will give you more than a cardio workout and a better view.

Rule of thumb number one: if the headland is steep with rocks and boulders above the surface it will have the same submarine topography, steep with rock and boulders. Boulder strewn headlands tend to form on short coastal strips where volcanic activity has forced a geographic fault into a ridge which pushes out into the sea. Naturally the higher you go the better the angle of view. Being able to look down is better than looking across. Because you’re on the east coast you’ll want to do this between 11am and 2pm.

Rule of thumb number two: ‘the angle of incident equals

the angle of reflection’ so the sun will be closest to its optimum angle to give you the best light penetration, also your polaroids work best when the lens is as close as possible to 90 degrees to the light source.

What to expect. Being on the east coast the dominant tidal flow is up from the south. As the ridge runs down into the sea it will create a groin, a barrier, to the north flowing current, which has two effects. it will produce a deep scouring on the southern side where the water wells up and erodes the headland. the combined effects of the erosion and scouring is to strip away any from of vegetation that’s not extremely hardy. that’s why all the marine vegetation in areas like this will be short, tough and dark in colour – more on the colour a bit later.

Secondly all the eroded material from the up-welling will settle out around the corner and form that nice wide beach you’re camped on.

this apparently simple geographic structure effectively divides two major and very complex marine environments and creates a huge biodiversity. to the south the upwelling current will be cold and aerated and entice pelages like king fish, tuna, mackerel and any other passing ‘hoodlums’.

the rock fishing will be excellent, and a little dangerous. Off the rocks it’s best to fish the run out tide with lightly weighted flesh baits like gar and squid that you’ve gathered in the estuary on the other side of the headland.

trolling or bait fishing off shore will be excellent but not for the faint hearted because most car topper tinnies won’t have the freeboard for these types of conditions. either way, rig for the environment and fish heavy – no need for finesse here.

Around the corner on the leeward side will be car topper tinny country with broad expanses of sand and easy access to the inside of the sheltering reef. the submarine landscape will be flat but undulating and crossed by low profile diagonally gutters. Any debris washing into the bay will collect in these gutters and eventually end up on the beach and fossicking will keep the kids occupied for hours. there will be patches of seagrass vegetation in the shallows and any areas that get exposed on very low tides. As the water deepens the species of marine growth will change and provide protection for those creatures that have to leave the flats on low tide.

From your vantage point you’ll see how sea grass marks these drainage lines because these grass areas mark the lowest points.


Climbeverymountain,fisheverysea!

■ By Phil Jackson — Fly, Tye and Tackle

FISHING

Understanding your surroundings will improve your fishing.

these beds of sea grass are extremely important as their long undulating tendrils strain nutrients’ from the passing current and ultimately support all those table species we are so fond of like prawns, squid, and crabs. this is the typical estuary i wasn’t going to talk about.

Now, if you have any form of boat you have access to the most productive and prolific environment of all, the barrier reef. i know your first mental picture is the classic aerial photo of coral cays that stretch from Morton Bay to New Guinea.

Actually any structure that forms a protective barrier between any two environments is referred to as a reef or more correctly, as a barrier reef.

in our situation the barrier’s shape and construction will vary considerably as you move further from the headland and will eventually disappear as it gets covered with sand or where it gets close enough to the next rocky headland for the process to start all over again.

Beautiful Cape Hillsborough just north of rockhampton is a perfect example on a grand scale.

in colder southern waters this barrier won’t be the classic coral reef that always features in movies about pirates and castaways because they usually form where the seabed has built up to form a permanently exposed sand bar surrounded by a deeper lagoon.

What we can expect is rock reef covered with marine growth like sponges and soft corals. the same sort of reef that would occur where the sea has broken into a lagoon formed by a volcanic crater with cold deep and turbulent water on the outside and shallower warm calm water on the inside. port Moresby is a classic example, but smaller versions occur all along our eastern seaboard. remember we’re talking about underwater features and many won’t exhibit all the textbook traits.

As a travelling fisherman with the ubiquitous 3.7m tinnie on your camper tailer you’ll be able to fish this barrier reef from the calm water inside the rocky headland. As you get further from the headland the wave action will drop off and the bottom profile will change as the reef gets covered with sand. this is where you can move outside the reef in reasonable safety. this cross over area will fish very well right through the tidal range but your options will depend on the size of your boat and sea conditions. locations like this will produce fish somewhere irrespective of the time and tide; all it takes is planning and preparation.

let’s look at the gear. As a travelling fisho you’ll be limited by just how much you can carry, but a tide chart, a little map reading and some time on Google earth will help you decide what you really need.

Casting off the rocks will be long rods and high speed spinning gear or the ever faithful Alvey, while trolling south of the headland it will be tlD25s with medium to short rods with plenty of action in the tip and plenty of grunt in the butt. Straight through braid or braid with a meter of 80lb mono leader to either a single 4/0 circle hook or a gang of three with a stinger hook will work well. you may also need about 17 cm of black wire trace rigged with a black swivel.

if you’re drifting or casting baits you’ll want plenty of action in the presentation so keep your sinker well away from the bait and again use a black swivel. you can collect your gar and squid baits from the weed beds in the estuary and live crabs and cunjevoi from the surge zone just inside the lee of the headland.

Over the grass beds and around the rocks bait jigs will provide all the yakka and juvenile pike you’ll ever need.

the rigs will get lighter, six to eight kg, and you’ll need more finesse as you move further along the barrier and further from

the headland. the species will remain the same and individually they will be bigger although there will be fewer of them.

Drifting the outside of the barrier with flesh baits or trolling with fast action red and white lures will put mackerel and sweet lip fillets in the fridge and give you frames for the crab pots. you’ll get good populations of blue swimmers around the weed beds and on the sand inside the barrier and muddies up the creeks.

i know we weren’t going to talk estuaries but there is always a creek in these places and i really enjoy fresh muddies.

Get muddies steamed up and give ‘em ginger!Speaking of muddies. Have you ever tried muddies streamed

with wild ginger – absolutely excellent! Just dig up a big bulb of wild ginger, usually found in the wet areas behind the beach, trim off all the excess and smash to a pulp with the back of the shovel. Quarter fill your crab boiler with salt water and put it on the fire. throw in the crushed ginger and drop in a wire trivet to keep the crabs up out of the water (i made mine out of chicken wire) and bring to the boil. Cut the crabs in half, front to back, and drop in the pot and steam until the little bubbles of white protein begin to form or about 17 to 20 minutes, and serve.

Or, at about the 10 minute mark you could throw some crushed spring onions, garlic and ginger in a very hot wok with some sweet chilli sauce and chunks of fresh tomato and stir gently until the crab is ready. take the crab straight from the boiler to the wok. Stir once or twice and serve on the steamed rice you prepared earlier. ■


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MOSSMANApril is here already and to date the weather has been kind to

us. the wet season arrived later than usual, however the northern crop has generally handled the dry start pretty well. For the first three months of this year the Mossman region received around 1187 mm of rain. the January total for 2013 was 588 mm, February’s total was 304.5 mm and the March total was 294.5 mm.

With the recent rain and at times wild winds there appears to be areas of lodged cane. these areas are isolated and i expect it to have a minimal effect to the 2013 crop. With the cyclone season drawing to an end and a relatively dry summer, the crop in all the northern areas is looking like a better than average season.

the Mossman region’s chances of a reasonable crop appears very likely and i feel that a crop estimate of around 560 000 is very achievable. A reminder to all farmers that their estimates along with any map correction should be sent back to Mossman Agricultural Services as soon as possible.

local farmers are also eager for some dry weather so they can start their planting programs – to date there has not been any early planting. Growers are reminded that before they intend to plant to please contact their local productivity Board for a plant source inspection. An accurate reading can take a few weeks for the results, so please give your field officer plenty of notice before you intend to plant.

As most of you may be aware, since January i have been the interim Next Gen Officer. the Next Gen program’s aim is to facilitate and encourage an active network of young and established farmers in each mill region. Since i have started this role i have undertaken a road trip from Mossman to Harwood in the NSW and travelled over 6500 km. On this journey through the industry i have had the privilege of meeting many innovative farmers both young and old. i found these meetings very productive, the feedback from very encouraging and i am sure that the sugar industry has a ‘sweet’ future. Being able to meet with fellow farmers from different regions and talk to them on their relevant issues and even their current farming practices was very exciting for me.

in March the Next Gen team had the pleasure of hosting the first Next Gen conference, which was held at Sea World resort on the Gold Coast. About 170 cane farmers, cane professionals and industry stakeholders met at the Case iH Step Up! Conference to discuss the future of the Australian sugar industry.

the conference aimed to build on the Next Gen program’s network of young and established cane farmers across Queensland and Northern New South Wales.

Of the delegates that attended, around 80 were younger farmers that were able to identify and address issues of succession planning and the flow of information from mills to the younger generation – a common issue across all mill areas.

the main themes of the conference focused on sustainability, profitability and innovation and speakers from london to Singapore were able to talk to farmers about the real issues which weigh heavily on them.

the Next Gen program wants to encourage younger people to step up and take more of an industry role.

Decisions are being made that are not going to necessarily affect the people that are making the decisions for as long as they are going to affect younger farmers

the conference gave delegates the chance to contribute to a 10-point industry action plan which will be used to inform government and other stakeholders of our hopes for the future.

All in all it was a very exciting conference: i hope that ACFA and the Next Gen team can again have the chance to show our support for Next Generation farmers in our industry.

Gerard Puglisi Northern Region Director

April 24, 2013

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the coastal soils are quite waterlogged with a fair amount of lodging present. there has been some stool tipping, even without the presence of grubs or cane-yellowing. the mills have been undergoing a high level of maintenance which is welcoming as we look at early to mid-June starts on the coast – estimates are now underway.

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there have been a few sales of new harvesters and announcements at the Case iH Step Up! Conference have generated some keen interest and discussion in the area.

Vines and grasses have been growing vigorously, combated by equally vigorous armies of high-rise and inter-row spray units. the loss of diuron-based products is noticeable as the alternatives are more costly and less effective.

it is encouraging to see the ongoing return of former MiS forestry land to cane.

John Blanckensee ACFA Innisfail Director

April 24, 2013

Tully District Mill reportthe wet season has been quite low key this year, with

continuous days of rain really only occurring early April. A total of 280 mm was recorded for February, 470 mm for March and so far, 450 mm in April.

Many growers have begun ground preparing for planting with spray out of legume crops and grassy fallows.

tCpSl have commenced the rSD testing service for the 2013 plant and estimates are being collected for the up coming harvest.

A series of industry shed meetings were conducted by tCpSl, tSl and Canegrowers in March culminating in the tully sugar industry awards on March 21. preceding this event was a sugar quality forum where BSeS harvester researcher Cam Whiting and Ag consultant Chris Norris both spoke on harvesting issues. tully Sugar‘s Chief Chemist lloyd Cripps also spoke on field conditions that effect sugar quality.

Many growers have taken advantage of the sunny days and kept busy with weed/vine control strategies to date.

Generally all sectors of the industry – growing, milling and harvesting – are undergoing routine maintenance to prepare for the planting and crushing season ahead.

the tully sugar industry also farewell tCpSl field officer Claire Bailey who has moved to a new Agricultural production position in tasmania after providing the tully industry with outstanding service for three years.

Greg Shannon Cane Production Development Manager

Tully Sugar Limited April 15, 2013

HERBERTthe Step Up! Conference on the Gold Coast was a great

experience and all the farmers who attended hope we hold another one next year.

From experiencing lovely sunny days, we have fallen into April showers – so far, every day has seen rain in one form or another with some of the falls quite heavy.

A group of farmers have attended a soil improvement workshop, looking at what our cane needs to enable us to increase our productivity. the program was run by philip Jones. there are a lot of new products out there and we farmers need to look at what we can do better to try and lessen our input costs.

in the near future we intend to have a bus tour looking at some of these product trials.

Carol Mackee ACFA Herbert Director

April 24, 2013

BURdEkINthe harvest estimate has been drastically reduced to 7.2

million tonnes for the 2013 season, due to a succession of late finishes and poor seasons, as well as the severe impact of the yellow leaf problem in the district.

All areas of the district have been affected, except the Millaroo and Dalbeg areas. Farmers from the Far North have made contact over the past month, complaining the effects are becoming more pronounced and moving more quickly now on their own farms. Where previous strong root growth into the inter row is apparent, that growth has been affected and the root ball around the cane stalks has been compromised with farmers being able to lift the stool out of the paddock by hand, due to the root damage inflicted by this problem.

Some varieties are more badly affected than others, including KQ228A, Q200A, Q247A and Q238A, with late cut cane the worst affected, including Q 183 and Q208, to a lesser degree.

John Deambrosis and the Burdekin productivity Services team have worked with Dr rob Magarey (BSeS plant pathologist) and Dr Andrew Wood (retired Sucrogen Agronomist) to collect root samples and data to try to get to the bottom of the problem as quickly as possible. to date there does not seem to be a common thread across all varieties, soil types or fertiliser and water management programs.

At the time of writing, BSeS reported that on April 17, a working group of pathology, entomology and agronomy researchers and productivity Services Staff was again to visit the district to examine affected crops and develop some hypotheses as to the possible cause. the next step will be to consider ways to test the hypotheses through field trials and further experiments.

“A description of the disorder has been developed. this is an important part of ensuring that impacted fields are correctly identified. A copy of the description is available on the BSeS website at http://www.bses.com.au/page/library/industry_issues/

Growers should be looking for the following symptoms: ■ the spindle leaf shows faint general yellowing at the tip. this progresses to a stronger yellowing/chlorosis generally to one side of the leaf and towards the leaf tip.

■ leaves five or six show uneven course mottling, with areas of uneven green and yellow tissue developing. Unlike typical viral or nutrient deficiency symptoms, this symptom is uneven, and looks more like a stress condition or herbicide effect. it extends right down the leaf blade.

■ the lower canopy leaves are more uniformly yellow, showing areas of brown-black necrotic spots. leaf tips and some margins begin to die.

■ Older leaves senesce early. ■ there are no internal stalk symptoms or discolouration in the growing point area.

■ the overall crop looks quite yellow, and this yellowing extends into the youngest leaves in the worst affected crops (BSeS).

Margaret Menzel ACFA Burdekin Director

April 24, 2013

CENTRALREGIONthe Mackay crop is coming in at 10 to 15 per cent under last

year’s crop. the unseasonable conditions of last year and the late finish which was two months later than last year, has impacted on growing conditions for this crop. the rain didn’t arrive until Christmas and we have had about 1200 mm of rain for this year.


February was wet with clouded days and very little sunshine available for crop growth.

the estimate at this stage looks to be around five million tonnes of cane for Mackay Sugar. if we were to receive an open winter the position could improve.

Mackay Sugar has made a strategic investment in its cane supply, with the company’s recent acquisition of an additional 714 hectares of cane land within the Mackay district under a newly formed investment entity, racecourse projects.

racecourse projects, comprising Mackay Sugar and an investment fund managed by Black river Asset Management, a global alternative asset management firm, purchased Mackay’s Marwood Farm for $10.5 million.

An initiative under its Cane Development Business plan, Mackay Sugar has invested $1 million into the new entity and will hold an approximate 15 per cent shareholding in the business, which aims to provide continued investment in existing and new cane supply.

Mackay Sugar is again offering a plant loan Scheme with incentives to help the grower to bring back cane land into production. incentives are also available to lease farms and land which can be brought back into production.

On the March 27, Mackay Sugar’s 38 megawatt racecourse Cogeneration plant was officially opened by the parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change, industry and innovation the Hon yvette D’Ath.

Construction of the $120 million cogeneration plant first commenced at racecourse Mill in early 2010, with the commissioning phase and export of renewable energy to the national electricity grid commencing respectively in September and November 2012.

At full capacity, the racecourse Cogeneration plant produces enough renewable energy to meet approximately 30 per cent of Mackay’s annual electricity consumption, while also providing energy to the racecourse Mill and adjacent racecourse refinery.

local young Farmers led by phillip Deguara attended the Next Gen Conference. they enjoyed the experience and believe that the information gained will certainly position them well in the sugar industry going forward.

Steve Fordyce Southern Qld April 24, 2013

SOUTHERNREGIONradiation – total solar energy – cloud cover forecasts. All very

new to us in the paddock, but perhaps we need to learn as much as we can. the Southern region is in the doldrums with regard to sugar cane growth due to extensive continuing cloud cover.

What else could it be? possibly de-nitrification due to high water tables? i recently went against all i have previously held true and spread Gran-Am (sulphate of ammonia) in the last days of March. Usually this would mean a CCS crash come harvest, but what was i to do when pale, listless ratoons won’t grow to pay the bills? i just did it.

the recovery in vigour since has been remarkable. At under $200 per hectare i reckon i will be ahead by November when this late ratoon will be cut. i don’t know who else may have done this but sometimes things just seem the right thing to do.

the SrDC expo in Childers brought interested parties from all over the region. Many suppliers to the sugar industry were there. i don’t think this has ever been the case before and i reckon they have finally seen how user friendly these SrDC funded projects can be.

it was interesting hearing from a climate change meteorologist. He is working at finding out what will be the things we need to know, just in case. longer wet seasons would mean more track gear would be needed. Variety selection criteria would have to change and more, which that leads us back to my opening words.

i am unsure as to how many of our farmers are factoring in climate change scenarios into their decision-making. i don’t know. the science magazines rant about things such as increased bush fire risk. they should look up some history as many of these things have happened before. less rant more fact is needed!

Soybean cropping in with sugar cane has been a mixed bag this year. Uneven maturity is going to be one of the challenges to harvest. At least we have a crop, not many bugs and very little irrigation needed thus far.

the iSiS Central Mill has dried about 70 electric pump motors for suppliers. the mill has an oven for this type of work. it just shows what level of disruption the Australia day floods caused.

iSiS farmers start crop estimating next week so i guess i will spend the weekend praying for, would you believe, sunshine.

Mike Hetherington ACFA Southern Region Director

April 24, 2013

NEWSOUTHWALESMarch will go down in history as a milestone for ACFA. it

was the culmination of months of work for all of us in getting the very successful Case iH Step Up! Conference planned and delivered to 170 delegates at Sea World on the Gold Coast.

Hats off to our dedicated staff who all went far and away beyond the call of duty to deliver one of the best conferences i have ever attended.

From the speakers, ‘wow’, some of the best ever, to the break out sessions, to the interaction between the participants; including sharing the fish tank with the sharks.

Congratulations to all who helped, and to the main sponsors Case iH, QSl, and the many others sponsors who provided support to make the conference so successful.

the crop for this year and the floods in NSW:From the roads and headlands, the crop on the tweed looks

pretty good and on the higher ground it is: 30cm in ground height made the difference between complete damage and a crop that will be harvestable either this year or will make a reasonable stand over crop.

Soybeans in most areas of NSW will be a complete loss, with some farmers considering winter legumes.

the richmond river has pockets of complete losses while other areas (higher ground) will be OK. the richmond growers will have some good two-year-old cane for this year while the year-old will struggle to make the crop we were expecting prior January 26.

the Clarence area suffered two, and in some areas, three quite major flood events. With some fields under water for up to a month the losses to individuals on the Clarence will be devastating – one grower reports that out of 150 acres he has a house block sized area that is still green.

All of the NSW sugar cane areas have been declared a natural disaster area with the Clarence and tweed been given category C. this allows small business in those areas to be able to claim for infrastructure damage up to $15,000 – it is not a lot but it will most certainly help.

January 26, while it is a day to celebrate, has been the date


when on four occasions we have had major floods, and the date when we will be looking for sunshine in the future.

in NSW we are looking forward to good plantings and more favourable growing seasons in the future.

Robert Quirk ACFA New South Wales Director

April 24, 2013


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aNswer to iaN’s mystery tractor QuiZThe tractor is a 1952 Howard Platypus, developed by Australia’s Clifford Howard when his Rotary Hoes group controlled Fowler of Leeds in the UK. It was built at his Basildon plant in Essex, and featured a Perkins P4 diesel of 34 bhp. (photo iMJ archives)

April 10, 2013 was a historic day in the Australian sugar industry when the members of the BSES voted to destroy it and send its assets to a ‘yet-to-be-formed’ company, Sugar Research Australia (SRA).

Many, perhaps most, of the members didn’t return their vote: farmers have reported to the ACFA that they are so fed up over being pushed around over the R&D issue, and the feeling of disenfranchisement, that they couldn’t be bothered to vote.

Some have also complained that the BSES has been so deliberately run down that they are beyond caring what happens to it! This is a sad situation and a lesson to be learned when it comes to freely trusting our institutions to others.

It’s not that farmers don’t care, deep down, but with local BSES assets sold off; services reduced or made user-pay; local BSES staff made redundant, transferred or overloaded with work; many farmers have lost the connection with the BSES value proposition. This connection is a major part of what made BSES so successful for so long.

This is a great shame and an ignominious end for what was the greatest international sugar R&D institution. Morale is low and how can staff be proud of their employer and enthused by their work when their company has been deliberately eroded in order to boast of its obsolescence. Future generations of farmers will ask why as they try to pick up the pieces: and what of R&D into diversification and biomass; will our focus be forever on crystal sugar?

The real jewel in the crown for millers is control of R&D direction and the gain in funding – derived from farmers – for more milling research. Currently millers control half of R&D structures, while on average, mills pay less than half their share of funding BSES. Under SRA, mills and farmers will pay five times the current compulsory levy in what appears to be equal amounts, at face value.

So why are they doing it?The reason is control of the research agenda; and following

that, farmers will eventually be contributing financially to a greater proportion of milling research.

SRA will commercialise and user-pay as many services as possible as ASA has forced BSES to do recently. The burden of these services, as well as extension services, will be further put onto farmers and the local productivity services, as has already occurred.

This will further skew the R&D balance of funding and R&D outcomes; and farmers could well end up controlling half of R&D structures while paying up to 2/3 of the costs – not an equitable outcome.

In summary, individual farmers will pay a five-fold compulsory research tax for little say over the R&D program. Whereas farmers can currently have a direct say over their support of BSES, they will be forcibly thralled to SRA.

There is much yet to be done on this issue, as the ASA plan requires Federal legislation and so the outcome is not yet a ‘fait accomlpli’.

The major message for farmers from this exercise is: rather than condemning what you own; seize it and reclaim it as your own.

Don Murday Chairman

Australian Canefarmers

acfa commeNtary

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