Contents… - Australian Sugarcane issues/214assug17... · 2017. 12. 12. · 2 — Australian...

AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2017

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 ACCOUNTS: Deb Meddleton 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 2017.

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

Harvest is well underway but for some operators in the Herbert it comes with a twist this season.

They are participating in a ‘ground-breaking’ – perhaps even a ‘harvest-crunching’ – trial which could see more cane being turned

into sugar – article page 10.(PHOTO: Bernard Milford)

Harvest optimisation trial – Herbert

Lending plants a hand to survive drought

Crop Nutrition Feature

INSI

DE

Print Post Approved Publication No. PP100008014

AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2017Volume 21, No.4 $7.70

Contents… 2 Editorial 6 ACFA commentary – Fine harvesting weather but political storms

ahead – again? 10 Harvest optimisation trial – Herbert 11 The fragrance of a new pesticideCrop Nutrition Feature… 12 Roots of change, tricking plants to reduce fertiliser needs 14 Nitrogen production and Root Knot Nematode tolerance of

legumes on sandy cane soils 16 Increasing on-farm nitrogen efficiency 17 Marketing:

How vulnerable is global sugar consumption to food and beverage trends?

18 Modern Machinery Matters: Handling the harvest after the havoc of Cyclone Debbie

20 Lending plants a hand to survive drought 22 Ridding our fields of rats with ‘infertility genes’ may be possible 23 Same products, different branding this spring 24 News & New Products 25 Classic Tractor Tales:

Trade in your horse team on a NEW TRACTOR? 27 District Reports 30 Fishing:

Phil speaks of adventure Seekers

www.australiansugarcane.com.au

Eight page Next Gen Farmer Issue 27 in the centre of this

magazine.

August–September 2017 Australian Sugarcane — 1

2 — Australian Sugarcane August–September 2017

A little over a month ago I was standing on the Mongolian steppes next to a nomadic herdsman’s skin covered tent-like gur or yurt, mobile phone in hand talking with my brother in Seattle and our other partner in Skagway – we were doing business. Ten years ago we couldn’t do that – 20 years ago we didn’t even think about doing that.

The technology for doing business has changed and apparently the people required for doing business have also changed. In this issue, we look at what motivates the ‘next gen’, ‘gen y’ and the ‘millennials’.

Yes, I know, you’re up to speed on next gen but you have about as much idea as me as to what constitutes a gen y and a millennial. That’s because the average age of farmers in Australia is 56 – seems young to me – and we baby boomers and the like are obviously out of touch. Which is a pity because we are the people who will be employing gen y and the millennials, because we have all the money, because we bought all the cheap houses and farms!

The majority of employees in 2020 will be Generation Y (born in the 1980s and 1990s) and Millennials (born in the 21st century) – there, now you know.

Apparently, these Millennials and Gen Ys are unlike generations before them – that’s most of us. Seems that when looking for a job – or should I say career – the pay, whilst high on their priorities list, is not the primary driver for employment. People and cultural fit is number one – they are looking for a relationship with the people they work with and strong leadership from the owners of the business is a key attraction.

The pressure is on – these are self-confident and ambitious individuals with high expectations of their

workplace and employer. And they can be hard to hang on to! Surveys show that gen y will:n Average more than four careers in a lifetime;

n Stay an average two years in a role;

n Work for 17 employers in their lifetime; and,

n ‘Work to live’ rather than ‘live to work’.

I don’t have survey figures for the Millennials – I suspect they haven’t been around long enough for anyone to gather the data.

Prior to getting out on the Mongolian steppes, our agricultural study tourists had accompanied me to South Korea. The South Koreans like us and they like our produce. Just prior to our arrival they had again re-signed with QSL for ongoing sugar deliveries, making them one of our longest standing customers. We visited with Austrade in Seoul and their people spoke at length about the South Korean consumer’s appreciation of the accountability of Australian suppliers.

They like the fact that we do BMP, that we grow and process our agricultural exports responsibly. It’s no longer enough to just deliver a commodity, we have to stand behind what we sell. And to get the sale in the first place we have to differentiate our product and, more and more – we have to differentiate ourselves!

I suspect that our next gen, our gen y and our millennial children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for that matter will do a fine job of this. Just make sure they’re doing that fine job on your family farm, not someone else’s.

Now with that off my chest I might just sit back, relax, and sip on some more of my very fine Mongolian mare’s milk vodka. Yes, that’s what I said – mare’s milk vodka. I’ve seen the mares milked, I’ve seen the distillation process and I’ve sampled the end product – and I survived! Smooth as mother’s milk!

Harvest optimisation trial – HerbertAbout 20 harvesters supplying Macknade Mill in the Herbert are participating in a ‘ground-breaking’ – perhaps even a ‘harvest-crunching’ – trial in August, which could see more Herbert River district cane being turned into sugar.

See article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 10

Crop Nutrition FeatureAustralian researchers have overcome a critical hurdle in boosting plant performance with limited fertilisation. If translated to crop plants, the findings could save Australian farmers $300 million per year and reduce run-off phosphorous in waterways by 20 per cent.

See articles starting . . . . . . . . Page 12

Trade your horse team in on a new tractor?Our editor entrusted Mr Johnston with the responsibility of undertaking the hazardous trip to the U.S.A. by ocean steam boat, for the purpose of studying the dramatic interest, being exhibited by mainly younger progressive America farmers, in replacing their horse teams with tractors.

See article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

In this issue...

Editorial… by Brian O’Connell, Editor

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THE 2017 crushing and planting season is in full swing under dry conditions

and the Bureau of Meteorology predicts fine weather through to the end of November.

The long and arduous fight to implement Grower Choice in sugar marketing has reopened after only four months of calm since the Federal Code of Conduct was ratified in April.

NSW Liberal Democratic Senator David Leyonhjelm has introduced a disallowance motion into the Australian Senate to try and reverse the federal government’s sugar marketing code of conduct

The ‘enigmatic’ senator has caused fear and loathing by taking on a matter which is not an issue in his jurisdiction, after failing to discuss his intentions with farmers and their representatives.

Not only has Senator Leyonhjelm not cared to consult with

farmers, he has used the current disarray in the Australian Parliament to opportunistically foist his personal crusade on, mostly, Queensland farmers.

According to Fairfax, Senator Leyonhjelm said he needed Labor, the Greens and five of the cross-bench senators to vote with him, to succeed on the motion.

The senator has been reported saying that the code introduced by the Coalition in early April contained elements that were “anti-free trade, anti-free market and anti-everything except maintaining a growers’ cooperative socialist nirvana.”

“If they want control over their marketing they always have the option of hiring a truck and sending their crop 300 kilometres down the road to a mill that sells into the socialist collective, if they don’t like Wilmar.”

Seems the senator has no idea of the economic restraints associated with the freighting of harvested sugarcane, a relatively low-value, perishable product.

If he had spoken to a grower, any grower, he would have been made aware that transport to the local mill is already a significant production cost and that there is also a deterioration in sugar quality – and hence value – for each hour between cutting and crushing.

Stephen Ryan.

ACFA COMMENTARY

Fine harvesting weather but political storms ahead – again?

n By Stephen Ryan, General Manager ACFA

Senator David Leyonhjelm takes aim at the federal government’s sugar marketing code of conduct – canefarmers feel he’s shooting blind! Blind to the realities of negotiating with a monopolistic multinational that is.

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“But that’s their choice if they want to, rather than force distortion of the market by saying ‘we need choice’,” says the senator.

“Wilmar has purchased a number of mills, the farmers have decided the sky is going to fall in because their marketing co-op is not the only way of selling sugar and they want their little social collective to be involved and have kicked up such a big fuss and the government, for purely political reasons, acquiesced and introduced this code.”

The senator seems to have ‘spilled the beans’ as his rhetoric is all about Wilmar and only Wilmar.

But his words are not lost on farmers. They are words of insult, insensitivity, indifference and, for the greatest part, ignorance.

We hope that the senator will do a lot more research on this issue and listen to farmers, rather than belittling and threatening Australia’s canefarming businesses.

Brazil harvestIn early August, Unica, the Brazilian sugarcane industry

association, announced that since the beginning of the current season, mills had processed 246.58 million tonnes of sugarcane, down from 262.67 million tonnes during the same period of last season.

Sugar production during the first half of July reached 3.1 million tonnes, up 9.11 per cent when compared to last year. Since the beginning of the current season, mills have produced 14.15 million tonnes of sugar, up 2.1 per cent from last season.

Ethanol production reached 1.89 billion litres (499.29 million gallons) during the first half of July, including 1.04 billion litres of hydrous ethanol and 843.06 million litres of anhydrous ethanol. Since the beginning of the current harvest, hydrous ethanol production has reached 5.43 billion litres, with anhydrous ethanol production reaching 4.06 billion litres.

Mills in the south-central region sold 1.01 billion litres of ethanol during the first half of July, with 71.3 million litres destined for export and 943.2 million litres for the domestic market. In the domestic market, sales of anhydrous ethanol reached 396.43 million litres, with sales of hydrous ethanol reaching 546.77 million litres.

Sugar versus steviaBloomberg comments that the stevia herb, which is 200 times

sweeter than sugar has become a $4 billion global industry, showing up in everything from Coca Cola sodas to Heinz ketchup.

The stevia plant, which can be processed into a zero-calorie sweetener, has taken off as a sugar alternative. Consumption tripled from 2011 through 2016, according to data from researcher Euromonitor International. While it’s still a small part of sweetener sales, companies such as Cargill Inc. and ED&F Man Holdings Ltd. are investing more, including to improve the taste.

Stevia still faces some difficulty with consumers, in part because it has a bitter aftertaste in many forms. While demand continues to grow, the gains have slowed dramatically since 2012, rising just 2.1 per cent in 2016 to 1038 tonnes, according to Euromonitor data.

Sugar versus corn syrupBloomberg also reports that according to the USDA, over

the past 17 years, Americans have managed to cut their consumption of sugars by more than 15 per cent.

That decline has been in corn sweeteners, while consumption of sugar made from cane or beets is up slightly, since the 1990s. The overall drop in sweetener use seems to have halted over the past four years.

Soft-drink makers have also been shifting away from corn syrup and back to actual sugar. Energy drinks, which have supplanted traditional soda among some consumers (especially young male ones), tend to use sugar rather than corn sweeteners

Singapore versus sugarReuters reports that seven major drinks companies including

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, will limit the sugar content of drinks they sell in Singapore as part of the city-state’s campaign to fight diabetes. Singapore is one of the first countries in Asia to target sugary drinks.

Singapore’s ministry of health said the seven firms had signed an industry pledge to remove by 2020 drinks that contain more than 12 per cent sugar from their portfolios of sugar-sweetened beverages. n


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ABOUT 20 harvesters supplying Macknade Mill in the Herbert are participating in a ‘ground-breaking’ – perhaps even a ‘harvest-crunching’ – trial in August, which could

see more Herbert River district cane being turned into sugar.The large-scale harvesting trial will be run by Sugar Research

Australia (SRA) and Herbert Cane Productivity Services Limited (HCPSL) over a three-week period, beginning on Sunday, August 13.

In the middle week of the trial all harvesters supplying Macknade Mill will be required to have pour rates off the elevator at, or less than, 80 tonnes per hour. This rate is significantly lower than what is believed to be the current industry average.

The aim of the trial is to collect localised data on how harvester operation impacts the amount of sugar ultimately produced.

Call to minimise harvest lossesHerbert Cane Productivity Services Limited Manager Lawrence

Di Bella said there had been considerable discussion over recent years about how to recover more cane from the paddock through minimising harvester losses.

“This is the first time all industry sectors in the Herbert have come together to obtain some real, hard data on this issue,” said Lawrence. “The trial involves not only the productivity board and

SRA, but Sugar Research Institute, Wilmar Sugar, Herbert River Canegrowers and Herbert River harvesting operators.

“It will enable us to objectively assess the quality of cane delivered to the mill and measure the gain of improvement in cane and sugar quality to the grower, the harvesting operator, and the miller.”

Reducing extraneous matterSRA Adoption Officer for Harvesting, Phil Patane, said: “We

would like to see if we can reduce extraneous matter in the cane supplied to the mill, while recovering more cane from the field.”

A similar trial was conducted in the Isis Mill area, near Bundaberg, last year.

CCS improvement“The Russo family from Isis has seen big improvements to

their harvesting efficiency this season after introducing a number of changes from last year’s trials,” said Phil. “Michael Russo at Isis saw a CCS improvement of 0.69 units immediately after making harvesting changes.”

Savings from increased bin weightsIsis Mill Cane Supply Manager Paul Nicol said: “We saw an

increase in bin weight immediately, which reduced trips to the siding by 24 per week, so we are talking about gains that paid for themselves in just one week.”

Canegrowers Herbert River and the project team met recently to discuss the objectives and protocols for the harvester optimisation trial.

Herbert Canegrowers Director Vince Russo said: “We need the support from all sectors of the industry for this project. The whole industry needs sound data to base its decisions upon.”

Wilmar Sugar Herbert Regional Operations Manager Adam Douglas said Wilmar and other project partners were making a significant investment in money, time and resources to ensure that sound data was collected across the whole value chain.

“When the dust from the 2017 harvest is settled, the industry needs to have a mature discussion about growing the pie for the whole sugar industry and the broader Ingham community,” said Adam.

Drawn from SRA e-Newsletter August 11, 2017. n

Harvest optimisation trial – Herbert

The large-scale harvesting trial will be run by Sugar Research Australia (SRA) and Herbert Cane Productivity Services Limited (HCPSL).

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YOU probably know methyl benzoate when you smell it. The natural compound’s wintergreen-spicy, floral-fruity aromas make it a popular ingredient in perfumes, soaps,

and shampoos.Snapdragons and petunias emit methyl benzoate to attract

bees for pollination. Many insects also produce it as an attractant.

But not all insects like this compound.Chemist Aijun Zhang, with the Agricultural Research Service

Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, has found a new use for methyl benzoate, namely as an environmentally friendly control for agricultural pests like the spotted wing drosophila fly (SWD), an invasive species from Asia.

First found in California in 2008, SWD has quickly spread across the US and can cause significant damage to fruit crops, especially berries. There are currently few choices for controlling SWD. The possibility of a new bio-based pesticide – especially one based on an inexpensive chemical whose residue lasts a relatively short time in the environment – is exciting.

Originally, Aijun was identifying volatile compounds in apple juice that attracted fruit flies. “Rotted apples and other fruits usually attract flies, including SWD. We had isolated out several compounds which did that,” Aijun says. “But we found one


The fragrance of a new pesticide n By J. Kim Kaplan, Agricultural Research Service – USDA

AT A GLANCE… n Methyl benzoate is a natural compound used in foods and

cosmetics. n ARS scientists found that methyl benzoate kills several

insect pests. n Methyl benzoate could be an environmentally friendly

pesticide.

ARS chemist Aijun Zhang collects volatile compounds from apple juice. (PHOTO: Peggy Greb)

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Petunia flowers emit methyl benzoate to attract bees for pollination. (PHOTO: Peggy Greb)

compound – No. 19 – that strongly repelled SWD, and we later showed that it killed SWD as well.”

Compound No. 19 turned out to be methyl benzoate, a compound approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in foods and cosmetics.

Wider agricultural applicationAijun then tested methyl benzoate against other agricultural

pests, including the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), diamondback moth, and tobacco hornworm. He found that the compound can kill all stages of these insects – egg, nymph, and adult – though it works better against smaller insects than larger ones.

Aijun focused first on SWD and BMSB because they are fast becoming important agricultural and household pests, even though they are relatively new invasive species. New controls for these pests are urgently needed.

According to Aijun’s tests, methyl benzoate is 5 to 20 times more toxic to eggs of BMSB, diamondback moth, and tobacco hornworm than a conventional pyrethroid insecticide, a sulfur and pyrethrin mixture, and some organic products currently on the market.

Next, he is planning to test methyl benzoate’s effectiveness against fire ants, gypsy moths, stored-product insect pests, and mosquitoes. All these insects are developing resistance to standard pesticides.

Aijun is also investigating whether low doses of methyl benzoate could control Varroa mites, the number-one problem of managed honey bees today.

A patent has been applied for methyl benzoate’s pesticide uses. One company has already expressed interest in it.

Further information: Aijun Zhang, Invasive Insect Biocontrol & Behaviour Laboratory, USDA Beltsville, MD 20705. Email: [email protected] – Ph: +1 (301) 504 5223 n


ARS scientists found that a naturally occurring chemical, methyl benzoate, can kill brown marmorated stink bugs. Stink bugs (top) and tobacco hornworms (bottom). (PHOTO: Peggy Greb)

Roots of change, tricking plants to reduce fertiliser needs

AUSTRALIAN researchers have overcome a critical hurdle in boosting plant performance with limited fertilisation. If translated to crop plants, the findings could save

Australian farmers $300 million per year and reduce run-off phosphorous in waterways by 20 per cent.

The results, published in American journal Plant Physiology, describe how manipulating gene networks to ‘trick’ plants into thinking phosphate is scarce, leads them to use this essential nutrient more efficiently, by up to 50 per cent.

The team of researchers at the ARC Centre for Excellence in Plant Energy Biology and the Centre for AgriBioscience at La Trobe University, have boosted plant performance under limited phosphate by targeting genes that regulate phosphate transport in plant roots, resulting in increased phosphate uptake while sidestepping negative effects on plant growth and yield.

The approach overcomes a hurdle encountered by previous attempts to increase plant phosphate uptake, where reduced growth and yield were observed as a result of plants not being able to process the extra phosphate.

Overuse of fertiliserThe team from the ARC Centre and La Trobe is now

collaborating with researchers at China’s Zhejiang University to apply their findings to rice plants. The discovery would be even more valuable in China where overuse of fertilisers is a huge environmental and economic issue. There is also great interest in the United States where the findings were published.

Phosphate, an essential nutrient for plant growth, is a limited and non-renewable resource, with high-grade phosphate reserves gradually being exhausted. According to the United Nations, global food production will need to double by 2050.

“We’ve made plants ‘phosphate lazy’,” says Professor Jim Whelan. “We need to find out what we bred out of them and breed it back in.”

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Improving fertiliser use by crops, in particular phosphorus use, is essential for sustainable agriculture.

In the field, only a small percentage of the applied phosphate fertiliser is taken up by plants, with the rest remaining in the soil or being lost as fertiliser run-off and ending up in waterways. Increasing phosphate uptake by plants will result in less fertiliser wastage and, ultimately, a need to apply less of this limited resource for plant growth.

Plants tricked into thinking phosphate is scarce“Our approach is focused on altering phosphate uptake

and transport by roots, to avoid negative impacts on shoot metabolism,” said senior researcher Dr Ricarda Jost.

“Our study showed that a reduction in plant vigour can be overcome by a targeted approach. By manipulating local gene networks, plants can be ‘tricked’ into thinking that phosphate is scarce which puts them into a heightened state of alert. As a result, they will launch a number of responses that lead to higher phosphate uptake by roots.”

The researchers took a data-mining approach to predict genes that respond to changes in phosphate supply in a root-cell specific manner. By targeting local regulators of phosphate transport in root cells, the researchers found they achieved a better overall outcome for plant performance.

The study’s first author, Joshua Linn, said: “We focused on genes in the cells of plant roots that are known to control nutrient flux.

“We were delighted that plants with reduced expression of these genes grew much better than the controls when they were exposed to lower phosphate levels.”

The plants took up more phosphate, but were also better equipped to metabolically convert that phosphate in order to promote growth.

Professor Jim Whelan, who led the study, said: “Crops that lacked these negative regulators would require fewer fertiliser applications due to more efficient nutrient acquisition, reducing fertiliser run-off and water pollution. A win-win for farmers’ budgets and the environment.

For more information contact: Ricarda Jost; Researcher ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology E. [email protected] n



Plant performance is boosted by targeting genes that regulate phosphate transport in the plant root.

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GREEN manure legume rotations are commonly used in sugarcane to provide a break for cane pests and diseases as well as provide nitrogen for the plant cane crop. On

sandy soils, a major pest of cane is RKN) and it also infects many other crops such as the legumes commonly used as break crops. The idea of the trial was to see which of the available legumes produced the most biomass/Nitrogen and which showed the most tolerance to RKN – there-by reducing nematode numbers in the soil to provide the best environment for the cane to be planted into.

TreatmentsThe legumes planted in the trial were:

n Soybeans – Leichhardt, Stuart, Mitchell, A6785; n Cowpeas – Meringa, Ebony; n Dolichos Lablab – Rongai; n Sunn Hemp; and, n Peanut – Kairi.

Results

TABLE 1: Biomass and N production from different legumesLegume DM (T/ha) N% N (kg/ha)

Sunn Hemp 15.9 1.0 159

Stuart soybean 4.9 3.5* 170

Meringa 5.4 2.8* 152

Ebony 6.6 2.8* 184

Rongai 7.3 2.3* 169

*6ES data used

There is variability in the amount of biomass produced and the N content of the different legumes but all the crops samples were well-grown and there were similar amounts of N fixed per hectare in the above ground part of the plant. It is estimated that 30 per cent more N can be added for the roots.

Sunn Hemp – dry matter stand outThe amount of dry matter produced by the Sunn Hemp is a

stand out at approximately three times that of the other legumes which would add more carbon to the system although it’s nitrogen contribution is similar to the other legumes.

TABLE 2: Visual assessment of plants for fine root and RKN gallsLegume

Fineroots %

RKNgalls %

A6785 70 0

Ebony 20 75

Stuart 60 2

Rongai 5 14

Peanut 40 0

Meringa 30 14

Leichhardt 10 50

Sunn Hemp 80 0

Mitchell 15 2


Nitrogen production and Root Knot Nematode tolerance of legumes on sandy cane soils

n By Derek Sparkes – Senior Agronomist DAF

AT A GLANCE… n Difficult to draw firm conclusions as there was high

variability between replicates. But: n There was heavy galling on the Rongai lablab, Leichhardt

soybean and Ebony cowpea and soil Root Knot Nematode (RKN) numbers were high; and,

n There was little galling, healthy fine roots and lower RKN populations in Stuart and A6785 soybeans and Sunn Hemp. The peanuts also had healthy roots with no RKN galls.

Derek Sparkes – Senior Agronomist DAF.

Despite all the crops looking very healthy, there was a wide variation in the health of the roots. Some had a high degree of galling and a poor fine root system (Ebony, Rongai, Leichhardt) while others had a lot of fine roots and few to no galls (Soybean A6785, Peanut, Sunn Hemp)

Given the level of damage on some crops, it was surprising that the RKN counts were not higher (e.g. Leichhardt). Perhaps this is an indication that many of the nematode eggs are still in the galled tissue rather than the soil.

Nematode populations are not necessarily related to the level of galling. Galling is a response by the plant to nematode infection and some plants gall much more heavily than others.

ConclusionsIt is difficult to draw firm conclusions from the data as

variability between reps is higher than normal. Levels of galling also varied considerably from plant to plant. This suggests that the nematode was unevenly distributed in the field and that the initial population was low.

All plants would have been infected at the same time. Thus, the reason the crops looked OK is that the initial population was

low, so they all got away well. The heavy galling occurred as the crops matured and if they were not stressed for water and nutrients, they would still have yielded reasonably well.

The other plant-parasitic nematodes were mainly present in low numbers. Root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus) counts are low due to the legumes being poor hosts. Dagger (Xiphinema) numbers are low to moderate and this nematode is capable of causing some damage.

The Reniform nematode was Rotylenchulus reniformis, which for some reason I only see on cane in the Cairns area. It is very damaging on other crops but we don’t know much about it on cane. The most common species on cane is R. parvus (very common on the red soils in Bundaberg).

(Comments supplied by Graham Stirling – Nematologist)

Acknowledgements: DAF Sustainable Farming Systems extension work in Reef catchments is supported by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. n



TABLE 3: Soil measurements of nematode population under legume plotsNumber of nematodes/200 mL soil

Crop Cultivar Root-knot Lesion Reniform Stubby Spiral Stunt Dagger UnknownSoybean Leichhardt 1 57 5 12 62Soybean Leichhardt 2 124 6 25 6 46Soybean Stuart 1 24 44 4 5 4Soybean Stuart 2 92 8 32 4 8 6Soybean Mitchell 10 75 5 75Soybean A6785 0 520 2 3 3 50 10Cowpea Meringa 1 33 18 5 12 6 90Cowpea Meringa 2 1189 25Cowpea Ebony 1 768 4 13 13Cowpea Ebony 2 165 12 12Lablab Rongai 1 252 362 13 26 65Lablab Rongai 2 322 3 78Sunn Hemp 2 34Sunn Hemp 128 8 16

The legume trial site was planted in late December 2016 on sandy soil at Freshwater near Cairns.

IMPLICATIONS FOR GROWERSThe main nematode pest of cane is Root Lesion Nematode

and this occurs in most cane paddocks in Queensland. Legume break crops are all resistant to this nematode so they are good at breaking its lifecycle in the sugarcane production system.

On sandy soils, we also find Root Knot Nematode (RKN) and some of the legumes we use as a break crop can be a host of RKN.

If a grower is planting a legume in a sandy soil waterlogging is unlikely to be an issue but RKN may be a problem.

Although it is hard to draw firm conclusions from the data, soybean varieties Stuart and A6785, as well as Sunn Hemp, appeared to have more fine roots, less root galls and lower nematode numbers in the soil after four months of crop growth.

The Ebony, Rongai and Leichhardt varieties tended to have less fine roots, more root galls and higher nematode populations in the soil after four months of crop growth.

Those legumes hosting RKN will leave a higher nematode population in the soil to infect the plant cane which is to follow.



A TOOL for increasing the efficiency of nitrogen fertilisers is helping Proserpine district cane grower, Andrew Auld, to enhance yields under highly variable weather conditions.

In 2015, Andrew first tried Entec treated urea blends on half his cane in what turned into an extremely dry season.

In contrast, there was plenty of rain in 2016 when he applied Entec urea blends across all 400 hectares of his cane.

And in the wake of Cyclone Debbie this season, he is sticking to the enhanced efficiency fertiliser because it slows down the

release of nitrate nitrogen irrespective of seasonal conditions.“The soils here are light and flood-prone, so I like the way

treating our planting and ratooning blends with Entec reduces the risk of losing the nitrogen through leaching when those big weather events come through,” he said.

“With the treatment, the cane seems to hold its colour and it also makes sure I’m doing my bit to protect the environment.”

A mechanic by trade, Andrew grows around 45,000 tonnes of cane on 400 hectares on four farms in the Crystal Brook area south of the Proserpine River.

He has steadily expanded his operation after leasing his first block to grow cane in 2000.

Yield reduction courtesy of Cyclone DebbieIn the wet conditions of 2016, Andrew harvested just over

50,000 tonnes, but he anticipates this season’s yields could be 20 to 30 per cent lower due to the late finish last year and the crop damage and flooding caused by the cyclone.

Farm HQ adviser, Paul Rogers, encouraged Andrew to try Entec, recognising its potential on his light soils and flood-prone blocks.

“In these past three years, we’ve been through all the weather extremes, but it’s good to know that with this technology, growers can slow down the release of nitrate nitrogen and protect their nitrogen investments,” Paul said.

“The treatment stabilises the ammonium and prevents it being carried beyond the root zone in heavy rain or irrigation, so there’s more opportunity for the cane to utilise the nitrogen to grow higher yielding crops.

“Growers like Andrew are producing better cane crops and they have the peace of mind of knowing their nitrogen is better protected, whatever happens to the season after it is applied.” n

Increasing on-farm nitrogen efficiency

Andrew Auld is sticking to Entec because his nitrogen is sticking around longer under highly variable weather conditions.

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Issue 27

August 2017 NextGen Farmer i

ii NextGen Farmer August 2017

EditorialBy Stephen Ryan

At this time of the year the Next Gen canefarmers are busy doing what ‘every gen’ farmer is doing

-they’re harvesting, they’re planting and they haven’t got time to scratch themselves. We just trust that when they get a chance to draw breath they will get a little inspiration from the articles that follow in the magazine.

Reece Curwen, a 2015 Nuffield Scholar and a young Western Australian farmer, used his scholarship grant to explore what it was farmers had to do when it comes to attracting people and retaining them within their business.

“People are our most important resource,” says Reece. “But the reality of hiring and retaining staff in rural areas, particularly in primary industries at peak times of the year such as harvest, can be incredibly challenging.

“I wanted to understand how other managers in a similar position were inspiring and leading their teams, whilst at the same time boosting productivity on farm.”

Supporting young people wanting to get into agriculture is about more than talking up career options, it’s also about money, a lot of money – the massive ownership transition that has to happen is going to cost billions to fund.

And funding is what banks are about. In the ‘funding farm ownership’ article, General Manager of NAB Agribusiness, Khan Horne, says these days, traditional finance is not necessarily an option for those getting into the industry for the first time. We need to look at fresh ideas and we need to do it sooner rather than later!

“Given the high cost of land, we’re seeing a lot more interest in leasing both land and livestock, share farming, the older generation acting as caretakers, and other opportunities to ease into and out of ownership,” says Khan.

“The key is to start the succession planning process early. To provide financial security for everyone, different family members’ needs will have to be put on the table and everyone will need to be honest about what they want the future to look like.”

So, take some time – when you get some – and sit down with the family and get that succession planning underway. You know you want to! n

FRONT COVER: The greater agricultural sector needs to find a way to encourage high school graduates and university students to look at agriculture as a positive career choice. Grants through the Science and Innovation Awards are available.

ContentsEditorial ii

Building a winning next-gen team on your farm iii

Investment in young scientists reaping rewards v

Funding farm ownership transition to the next generation vi

QSL Monthly Sugar Report vii

Next Gen contacts viii

August 2017 NextGen Farmer iii

Reece Curwen, a 2015 Nuffield Scholar and Stirling-based producer in Western Australia, manages his family’s 7500 hectare cropping program that includes

canola, barley and wheat, in addition to 14,000 head of merino ewes.

It was recognition that as farm businesses grow, so too does the need for team members, that led him on his two-year research journey, which included more than 16 weeks travel through 11 countries.

The key objective of his Nuffield study was to provide farmers with direction when it comes to attracting people and retaining them within their business, giving them the confidence to grow their farm business.

The report seeks to answer: n What are the best ways to attract and engage the current and

future labour force? and, n What are the best ways to build a winning team and retain

team members for the long-run?“People are our most important resource,” says Reece.

“But the reality of hiring and retaining staff in rural areas, particularly in primary industries at peak times of the year such as harvest, can be incredibly challenging.

“I wanted to understand how other managers in a similar position were inspiring and leading their teams, whilst at the same time boosting productivity on farm.”Farmers their own worst enemy

Reece believes that farmers worldwide are their own worst enemy when it comes to attracting people to their industry; the typical stereotype portrayed is farmers being hard working

and underpaid. Furthermore, the media tend to only promote negative aspects of farming such as droughts or floods; instead of all the positives this industry has to offer.

As such, agriculture is finding it difficult to source talented staff who are passionate about the industry. In addition to this, a 2015 report highlights the issue of sourcing employees from graduates, “The number of students graduating from agricultural science courses continue to decline, and those who do aren’t necessarily going to work on farms”.

The average age of farmers in Australia is 56 and the

Building a winning next-gen team on your farm

Next Gen Farmer GPO Box 608, Brisbane QLD 4001 Tel: (07) 3839 1900 Fax: (07) 3839 1911 E: [email protected]

Delivery address: Level 3, 447 Upper Edward Street Spring Hill, BRISBANE QLD 4000

Editor: Stephen Ryan Administration: Alicia Opajdowska Next Gen Officer: Gerard Puglisi

Mob: 0412 417 717 E: [email protected]

Next Gen Farmer, Issue 27 Published August 2017 ISN 2201-7240

The Australian Cane Famers Association (ACFA) produces Next Gen Farmer. Views expressed within are not necessarily those of the ACFA.

Reece believes that the agricultural industry needs to work harder to engage the best of the next gen otherwise it will be stuck with whatever is left.

iv NextGen Farmer August 2017

majority of employees in 2020 will be Generation Y (born in the 1980s and 1990s) and Millennials (born in the 21st century).

The greater agricultural sector needs to find a way to encourage high school graduates and university students to look at agriculture as a positive career choice. The next generation are future leaders and the industry needs to work harder to engage them otherwise it will be stuck with whatever is left.

Currently in Australia, backpackers are filling a very important role in most agricultural sectors during seeding and harvest. They are employed because they are accessible and are driven to work hard for a short period. The sector would suffer a significant financial loss without them, but it does mean that trained staff are exported abroad bi-annually, which creates instability within a business’s team.

Finding ways to embrace our next generation and attract them to agriculture would certainly decrease reliance on foreign workers.Understanding the next generation

Being able to attract and engage the next generation of talent is crucial for the future success of family farming. This is a generation of self-confident and ambitious individuals with high expectations of their workplace and employer. As this generation enters the workplace, farm businesses will be forced

to adapt their management style in order attract and retain them for the agricultural industry.

Gaining an understanding of what potential employees are looking for from their employment will be crucial.

Millennials or Gen Y are unlike generations before them. For example, remuneration, whilst in the top half of priorities, is only fourth, confirming that money is not the primary driver for employment.

People and cultural fit is number one, which highlights the fact that a relationship with the people they work with and strong leadership from the owners of the business is a key attraction.

According to Mccrindle, a social research agency, Gen Ys: n Average more than four careers in a lifetime; n Stay an average two years in a role; n Work for 17 employers in their lifetime; and. n They ‘work to live’ rather than ‘live to work’,

These demographic changes have made attracting, engaging and managing people one of the biggest challenges moving forward. This will be difficult but not impossible, and farmers need to change to accommodate and create an environment that people want to be a part of.

Of all the farm businesses Reece visited overseas, he found the most successful had mastered staff retention and were considered an ‘employer of choice’ in their industry and community.

“The strongest businesses were led by strong leaders that practiced good governance, core values, continual communication and accountability measures,” he said.

“They empowered their employees, and gave them the tools to succeed, which led to increased professional and personal growth.

“This is particularly relevant for the younger generations who are primarily motivated by a successful and positive culture, rather than salary or status.”Investing in training makes sense

Reece’s research highlighted key areas of improvement for family farms including the need for more training so as to encourage people to thrive in the workplace.

“Investing in training makes sense, particularly when people are so important,” he said.

“Continual training demonstrates that the business values their employees, it motivates team members to improve and allows them to take on more responsibility over time.

“Getting staff more involved in the business, both at a technical and strategic level pays off. On the most successful farms I visited, the leadership style had shifted away from telling people what to do to empowering people and allocating responsibility.

“With Australian agriculture entering a new wave of growth and prosperity, there’s never been a better time to sell the positive story of a career in farming and where it can take you.

“When a business or industry becomes attractive, it attracts people.”Reece Curwen was supported by GRDC.

For more information visit: www.nuffield.com.au n

FIGURE 1: What millennials look for in employers

August 2017 NextGen Farmer v

Investment in Australia’s young agricultural scientists by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and other agri-industry bodies is paying dividends.Take for instance the recipient of the 2017 GRDC-

sponsored award, Dr Caitlin Byrt, whose studies are already having a significant impact.Seeking salt tolerance

A Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Adelaide’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Caitlin has been using her GRDC sponsorship to study the roots of wild relatives of barley crops to determine what makes them so tolerant to saline conditions. She hopes that by crossing these traits into modern cultivars, higher grain yields can be achieved.

“There has already been a really exciting development – in collaboration with fellow GRDC-supported researchers we have identified a key gene in barley that is influencing the amount of sodium that accumulates in the leaves in saline conditions,” Caitlin said.

“I’m now further testing the function of this gene, and collaborating with researchers in Scotland to look at the variation in this gene in a larger range of wild relatives of barley.”25 per cent yield increase

Caitlin’s studies into salt tolerance in barley follows a successful outcome from a similar project looking at a wild relative of wheat, another GRDC research investment. She was able to identify two key genes which made a wild wheat variety

more salt tolerant, and these were crossed into modern cereal varieties.

The project achieved a 25 per cent increase in durum wheat grain yield in saline soils, and the traits and genes were distributed to more than 18 countries.

Caitlin says she hopes her GRDC-sponsored barley project will ultimately result in Australian growers having access to cultivars with greater salt tolerance and the potential to lift yields and profits.Innovators should apply

And she encourages 18 to 35-year-old innovators like herself to apply for grants through the Science and Innovation Awards which are designed to support early career researchers and scientists in developing new approaches to industry issues and, in turn, make Australia’s agricultural industries more productive and competitive.

Eleven industry award categories are available in the 2018 round of the awards which also support the career pathways of the award recipients and highlight the opportunities, innovation and technologies in modern agriculture.

Each winner will receive a grant of up to $22,000. One recipient of an industry category award will also receive the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Award, with additional project funding.

Applications close at 5pm AEDT on October 13, 2017. For further information on the awards, visit www.agriculture.gov.au/scienceawards n

Investment in young scientists reaping rewards

Dr Caitlin Byrt has been using her sponsorship to study the roots of wild relatives of barley crops to determine what makes them so tolerant to saline conditions. (PHOTO: Wendy Sullivan)

vi NextGen Farmer August 2017

Supporting young people wanting to get into agriculture is about more than talking up career options, as the massive ownership transition that has to happen is going to cost

billions to fund.According to National Australia Bank (NAB) Agribusiness,

successfully moving from our current ageing population of farmers to the next generation is one of the big challenges facing the industry.

The recently released Agricultural Census figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the average farmer is 56-years-old, up from 54-years-old less than a decade ago.

General Manager of NAB Agribusiness, Khan Horne, says these days, traditional finance is not necessarily an option for those getting into the industry for the first time.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re going to pass on the farm to the kids or to strangers, you need an income in retirement, and the person taking over the farm needs money to keep making improvements,” Khan said.

“Even children taking over from their parents often need to borrow against their inheritance. Mum and dad might gift their children a million dollars’ worth of farm, but the parents may need money to live on for the next ten years because they don’t have superannuation or alternate income streams.

“Given the high cost of land, we’re seeing a lot more interest in leasing both land and livestock, share farming, the older generation acting as caretakers, and other opportunities to ease into and out of ownership.”Fresh ideas

Khan says the next generation also usually comes in with fresh ideas.

“As you get older, you tend to become more conservative without even realising. Then someone comes along with the energy of youth and wants to make changes and try new things, which often needs capital to implement.

“The key is to start the succession planning process early. To provide financial security for everyone, different family members’ needs will have to be put on the table and everyone will need to be honest about what they want the future to look like.

“It can also be good to get the next generation involved, such as helping with the books, or giving them a defined role that includes responsibility and decision-making.”Partnership with succession planning

NAB has a partnership with succession planning specialists Next Rural which has been running for five to six years, as part of the bank’s commitment to helping clients plan for a timely and seamless transition of ownership.

This includes running seminars and organising one-on-one sessions with customers who are interested in learning more about the options available to them. NAB’s agribusiness bankers also receive training to ensure they have enough knowledge of the options to have initial conversations with clients before handing over to the experts.

“Time is your friend, so we encourage all our customers to at least start the conversation with their families now, so there can be a managed and successful transition that doesn’t start with a will,” Khan said. n

Funding farm ownership transition to the next generation

General manager of agribusiness Khan Horne said NAB saw the value in investing in “skills and talented young people”.

August 2017 NextGen Farmer vii

The ICE 11 raw sugar market traded in a relatively tight 13–15 c/lb range for most of July, touching lows below 13 c/lb while the AUD/USD defied most analysts’

expectations and strengthened to above 0.80. These two features combined to keep AUD returns below A$400/tonne in the spot position for most of the month.

Thankfully, the forward prices have remained a bit more resilient than the spot prices, and 2018, 2019 and 2020 levels all hit intra-day trading highs above $450 per tonne.Brazil

The Brazilian harvest has been progressing very strongly, and the ratio of sugar versus ethanol has been higher than expected. The pace of sugar production is at record highs, and if it continues we expect to see a larger surplus of Brazilian sugar to be delivered to the October 17 contract.

A delivery to the exchange may be the best home for this sugar as it will then not have to be discounted to compete into traditional North Africa and Middle East markets – as well as China where the additional safeguard tariff is now in place. This surplus is potentially going to be felt by the market in the months to come.

Ethanol prices have been well supported and have been at or above sugar levels for the month. The price disparity does not seem to be impacting production yet. Some milling companies are talking about increasing their production ratios but so far it would appear that they are going to maximise their sugar for the near term.Going forward

Demand from India is likely be muted as we are now almost through to their new season, so the market will be focused on supply-related variables coming from Brazil and the speculator position.

While the outlook for Brazil’s supply of sugar remains on the high side and we continue to move closer to the new crop supply being sold by producers from Thailand, Europe and India, it is expected commercial buyers will likely try and wait for price lower levels to emerge.

Speculators or Brazilian millers buying back their sold positions may be the only support we’ll see in the next month,

but this volume is fairly considerable. Timings of the producer selling versus the speculator buying will be watched closely.What could change?

Ethanol parity is higher than sugar now. Any buy-backs of Brazilian millers’ sold sugar positions and diversion to ethanol would be supportive for prices. The market is also watching closely to see if Brazil’s cane and agricultural yields show any signs of weakening (fingers crossed!)

QSL Monthly Sugar ReportBy QSL General Manager Trading and Risk – Dougall Lodge

FIGURE 1: Prompt AUD/tonne

viii NextGen Farmer August 2017

Gerard Puglisi Next Gen Officer 0412 417 717 [email protected]

Gerard Padovan Mossman Rep 0416 034 953 [email protected]

Erik D’Uros Innisfail Rep 0428 247 405 [email protected]

Angela Marshall Bundaberg Rep 0435 799 041 [email protected]

Hayden Quabba Mackay Rep 0400 266 012 [email protected]

Phil Deguara Mackay Rep 0417 796 468 [email protected]

Gavin Lerch Bundaberg/Isis Rep 0418 798 225 [email protected]

Josh Buchbach Bundaberg/Isis Rep 0427 559 095 [email protected]

Sam Mischke Rocky Point Rep 0423 399 281 [email protected]

Tracey Doherty NSW Rep 0455 107 792 [email protected]

Next Gen HQ (07) 3839 1900 [email protected] GPO Box 608, Brisbane, Q 4001Ne

xt G

en c

onta

cts

www.the-gate.com.au

The LABOUR PLACEMENT division of The-Gate is essentially a service introducing Australian farmers needing short-term skilled labour, to keen and experienced young workers with farming backgrounds.

The-Gate offers a pool of skilled international farm workers with header and other large machinery experience.

So to get the ball rolling on solving your short-term labour needs, go to www.the-gate.com.au and register (for free) on The-Gate’s database or

contact Catherine on 0408 717 459

Helping you access short term, skilled labour now

Currency

What Happened? The Australian Dollar (AUD)/US Dollar (USD) exchange rate continues to remain well supported but this is due more to US weakness and commodity strength rather than the strength of the Australian economy. The Australian Reserve Bank and Treasury remain concerned about the consequences of a continued strong AUD. The main driver of the AUD/USD strength is that the US economic outlook remains clouded and the outlook shared by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is being interpreted by the market that there is less likely chance for more interest rate increases in the near term. Most analysts are now expecting only one rate increase at most for the balance of 2017.

Exacerbating this situation is that the hedge fund/speculator position has been selling the USD, and it is now at its highest net-sold level in around five years, despite the equities market being at record high levels in the USA. US Manufacturing indicators were reported lower than expected during the month,

and none of the Trump administration’s proposed infrastructure and other councils seem to be coming together to be able to resolve some of these structural issues. Confidence is low.

Commodities have been helping provide support to the AUD/USD. Iron ore is back up near $80 per tonne, and metal prices (aluminium, zinc, steel, nickel) are also up on the back of increased Chinese demand. Oil has also recovered to head back up towards $50 per barrel again. Going forward

Structurally, the AUD/USD should be poised for a correction downwards, but bigger forces in the USA are at play and providing support. Any positive change to the USA outlook will provide the catalyst for a break downwards in the AUD, but until then we are seemingly in a new range of around 0.75-0.80 for the near-term.What could change?

Any developments in USA politics and North Korea/Russian tensions could impact the AUD/USD. n

mailto:[email protected]

ATTITUDES towards sugar are changing globally. As the concerns of consumers and governments have gained momentum, food and beverage companies have felt the

pressure and need for change. These initiatives could accelerate a longer-term slowdown of sugar consumption. In this shifting landscape, the outlook for industrial sugar use in emerging markets is key.

RaboResearch Food and Agribusiness recently released the report Sweetness and Lite – How vulnerable is global sugar consumption to food and beverage trends? by their Global Sugar Strategist Andy Duff. This report looks at the global shift in attitudes towards sugar and calculates the implications for the sugar industry under a range of scenarios. The report makes four main observations:

Consumers are cutting back on sugarThe consumer shift away from sugar has become a global

trend. This is a big deal for the sugar industry and cannot be dismissed as a passing fad or wished away. For many consumers who follow today’s health-and-wellness trends with respect to weight management, calorie reduction has become synonymous with sugar reduction.

Companies are committing to sugar (and calorie) reduction

Leading food and beverage companies, ever eager to cater to their consumers’ wishes and changing tastes, have responded by going beyond the traditional industry mantra of ‘in moderation, all foods have a place in the diet’, and have made public commitments on calorie and sugar reduction through a range of strategies, including reformulation and changing product size. These moves are not necessarily to the detriment of their bottom line.

Bloomberg recently reported that Coca-Cola has 200 reformulations of products in the works to lower sugar content and cut calories. Similarly, PepsiCo Inc. has vowed that at least two-thirds of the company’s volume will have no more than 100 calories from added sugars per 12-ounce serving by 2025. And again – Nestle said late last year it had found a way to reduce sugar in chocolate as much as 40 per cent and would lower sugar in the chocolate and confectionery it sells in the UK and Ireland by 10 per cent.

These initiatives could accelerate a longer-term slowdown of sugar consumption

As in the past, global economic growth is slowly bringing a larger share of the world population towards levels of per-capita income beyond which any further gains in income produce only modest increases in per-capita sugar consumption. Nevertheless, we estimate that, if initiatives by companies and governments were to achieve a significant (five per cent or above) reduction in global food and beverage sector sugar use over a two to three year implementation period, it would offset much of the expected global growth in consumption during this period.

The outlook for industrial sugar use in emerging markets is key: Processed foods and beverages account for 63 per cent of global sugar consumption, and most of this industrial use – 47 per cent of total global sugar consumption – is in emerging markets. Thus, any measure that significantly affects industrial sugar use in emerging markets will significantly affect total global consumption.

For more information: www.rabobank.com n


marketing

How vulnerable is global sugar consumption to food and beverage trends?

Rabobank’s Andy Duff is Global Strategist for international and national sugar markets and is the head of RaboResearch Food and Agribusiness South America.

PROSERPINE sugarcane farmer and contractor Peter Miotto is preparing for another busy harvest – a harvest that even a particularly fierce tropical cyclone couldn’t prevent.

Cyclone Debbie roared across the Queensland coast on March 28, just north of Proserpine at Airlie Beach, and while her ferocity exacted a devastating toll on the state’s agricultural resources, cane growers have, as always, carried on.

Peter and wife Judy farm about 200ha just north of Proserpine. They also run a successful contracting business with a Case IH Austoft 8800 harvester, which they purchased 12 months ago in time for the 2016 crush.

Last year, Peter says the Austoft cut about 100,000 tonnes of cane – across about 1200 hectares – but thanks to Debbie, and another big rain event in May, it will be a slightly different story this season.

“There’s been a fair bit of damage, a lot of broken cane, snapped cane, that sort of thing,” Peter said. “We’ll be at least 20 per cent down (in this area) on last year because of the cyclone, and the sugar content will be affected a bit, too.”

Peter said for the contracting business, it would be a fairly slow season because of

flattened cane and remnants of the cyclone, such as bits of tin and other rubbish, littering paddocks.

But he knows he’s got the best equipment for the challenging four-plus months ahead, saying he had used Case IH machinery for the past 30 years – as long as he’s run the contracting business – and kept buying it for some very important reasons.

“I like the product, simple as that,” Peter said. “They’re reliable, we’ve never had any big dramas with them.”

The Miottos change over their Austoft harvester every three to four years, and also have several Case IH tractors on the property, including a 180 Puma and two 155 Pumas.

For a business that goes seven days a week in peak time, reliability is key, but in the case of a harvester it’s also got to be accommodating for the people behind the controls, who work six days out of eight and can be in the machine for up to 12 hours at a time.

“They are very comfortable and they need to be when the drivers are sitting in there all day,” Peter said, referring to son Steven and employee Joel O’Brien.

About 180 km up the road from the Miottos at Ayr, Malcolm Searle and wife


Handling the harvest after the havoc of Cyclone Debbie

Modern Machinery

Mattersis proudly supported by

Idoya welcomed the contractors in June onto their two cane farms.

The Searles – whose sons Graham and Jeffrey work alongside them, with another son Adrian assisting on a part-time basis – also run about 1700 head of Brahman cattle on two other properties, something that sets them apart from many other producers in the sugar industry.

Most of the cattle are sold and processed in Mackay but the Searles also take advantage of Australia’s live export arrangements, sending cattle to Townsville from where they are then shipped to Vietnam.

Aside from the cane they grow and raising cattle, the family also sows just over 12 hectares of corn a season for livestock feed, and are assisted across this range of on-farm tasks by their small fleet of Case IH tractors.

Three Puma tractors – a 195, 165 and 125 – work alongside a Case IH 85hp JXU across the two properties, assisting with the sugarcane that yields on average 18,000 tonnes annually, cattle work, the corn crop, hay-making activities and slashing.

Malcolm said they’d used Case IH equipment for just on 10 years and found the company’s tractor models well suited to

the wide range of tasks demanded by a unique mixed farming enterprise like theirs.

“They’ve been really good for us, and are always reliable,” Malcolm said. “They do what we need them to do and have proved to be very versatile and good to drive. All up they probably do about 500 hours each a year.”

“We also find the service great and help is there if you need it.”

The Miottos, whose local dealer is McDonald Murphy at Proserpine, and the Searles, who rely on Ayr-based dealer Ag North, both rate the level of service from the businesses as high and a big factor in them staying loyal to the brand for so many years.

But, both growers, who are third generation North Queensland cane farmers, know how fickle Mother Nature can be and the importance of taking the good seasons with the not-so-good.

“It’s all part of what we do, and when we can’t rely on the weather, being able to rely on the machinery we use is that much more important,” Peter said.

To find out more about the Case IH range of harvesters and tractors see your local Case IH dealer or visit the Case IH website at www.caseih.com n


Case IH has announced the world’s first articulated tractor with Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) will soon be available in Australia in the shape of the Steiger CVT, to be officially launched at Gunnedah’s AgQuip field days in August.

The Steiger CVT technology will feature on the Quadtrac 450 and 500, and Rowtrac 400, 450 and 500. The Steiger wheeled 400, 450 and 500; and the wheeled scraper 450 and 500 will also join the CVT stable.

“CVT offers many benefits for the tractor operator and we’re excited our Australian customers will soon have the opportunity to put it to the test,” said Case IH High Horsepower Tractor Product Manager for Australia/New Zealand, Alyx Selsmeyer.

“As well as noticing cost savings where fuel consumption is concerned, the CVT makes the tractor more user-friendly for operators of all skill levels and its features contribute to smooth operation and increased comfort for those behind the controls.”

Alyx said Case IH had been developing its CVT technology for almost 20 years and was proud to now be able to offer it at the top end of its tractor market.

As well as targeting

fuel efficiency and operator fatigue, the CVT transmission provides faster acceleration to field or road speed, full power availability at low ground speeds for special applications and implements, and full hydraulic flow availability at low ground speeds, for the likes of drilling and planting. The result is increased productivity with faster cycle times and maximum fuel efficiency.

“It all adds up to a tractor designed to ensure the most efficient operation at all times, in all conditions, regardless of the task or terrain, with the capacity to reduce engine speed to

the minimum required for the tractor’s workload, in order to maximise fuel efficiency,” Alyx said.

The Steiger CVT transmission was specifically designed for applications requiring 400 hp and above. This new transmission further enhances an industry leading product line allowing the driver to focus on the task at hand rather than on tractor operation.

Orders for the tractors will be taken from October 1, with delivery to begin on Forward Order units early next year.

To find out more, see your local Case IH dealer or visit the Case IH website at www.caseih.com

WORLD’S FIRST ARTICULATED TRACTOR WITH CVT COMING TO AUSTRALIA

Tractor operators will soon be able to put the Steiger CVT technology to the test.

http://www.caseih.com

http://www.caseih.com


A RESEARCH team led by The Australian National University (ANU) has found a new way to help plants better survive drought by enhancing their natural ability to preserve

water.The findings have helped some plants survive 50 per cent

longer in drought conditions, and could eventually benefit major

crops such as barley, rice and wheat, which are crucial to world food supplies.

The research team, led by Dr Wannarat Pornsiriwong, Dr Gonzalo Estavillo, Dr Kai Chan and Dr Barry Pogson from the ANU Research School of Biology, mapped a new molecular signalling pathway that controls the ability of plants to close the pores on their leaves to conserve water during drought stress.

“This basic scientific research has the potential to be able to improve farming productivity not just in Australia, but potentially in other countries that suffer from drought stress,” Barry said.

“If we can even alleviate drought stress a little it would have a significant impact on our farmers and the economy.”

Chloroplasts and hormonesThe researchers found that chloroplasts, better known for

their role in photosynthesis, are actually key players that work together with plant hormones during drought stress.

Barry said the research found chloroplasts in cells surrounding the pores on leaves, called stomata, can sense drought stress and thereby activate a chemical signal that closes stomata to conserve water.

“This finding was completely unexpected and opens new avenues of inquiry into how chloroplasts can contribute to plant responses to the environment,” Barry said.

The team conducted tests on barley and arabidopsis – a small flowering native plant – and enhanced levels of the chloroplast signal which helps plants close stomata.

“Boosting the levels of this chloroplast signal also restores tolerance in drought-sensitive plants and extended their drought survival by about 50 per cent,” Kai said.

He said boosting the chloroplast signal, by breeding, genetic or agronomic strategies, could be the key to help plants preserve water and boost drought tolerance.

“Dr Pornsiriwong, who has started her own research lab in Thailand, is currently investigating breeding strategies that naturally enhance levels of this drought tolerance-promoting chloroplast signal in rice,” Kai said.

The research was funded by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology and was a collaboration between ANU, the University of Adelaide, Western Sydney University, CSIRO, Kasertsart University (Thailand) and the University of California San Diego (US).

The research has been published in eLIFE. n

Lending plants a hand to survive drought

Members of the ANU research team Dr Su Yin Phua, Dr Kai Xun Chan, Diep Ganguly and Estee Tee. (PHOTO: Stuart Hay, ANU)

Diep Ganguly and Dr Kai Xun Chan. (PHOTO: Stuart Hay, ANU)

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INVASIVE pests such as rats in sugarcane cost agricultural industries around the world hundreds of millions of dollars and are a major threat to biodiversity and the environment.

As previously discussed in the April/May issue of Australian Sugarcane, spreading deleterious genes (such as genes causing sterility) through pest populations using gene-drive technology is viewed as a potential ‘silver bullet’ for conservation science and agriculture. The technology could also be applied for public health benefit, to control the spread of diseases by animals such as mosquitoes.

University of Adelaide researchers have now developed a realistic mathematical model to predict whether gene drives could be used to eradicate populations of invasive mice from islands. Islands would be the most likely testing grounds for gene drives, to minimise the risk of spread to non-target populations.

The researchers have shown in a computer simulation that a single introduction of 100 mice carrying a gene drive causing sterility could eradicate an island mouse population of 50,000 individuals within four to five years.

“If viable, this technology offers a humane, targeted solution for invasive species control. This could complement or even replace traditional control methods such as culling, trapping

and poison baiting, as well as more advanced bio-controls such as rabbit haemorrhagic disease,” says lead author and mathematical ecologist Dr Thomas Prowse, from the University of Adelaide’s School of Mathematical Sciences.

Hype ahead of science!“Our paper indicates that controlling invasive pest populations

using gene drives may be feasible, but certainly the hype around this new technology is still some way ahead of the science.”

The researchers found a way to defeat the evolution of resistant genes which could thwart the use of this technique for population control. But, they say, good gene-drive design is critical.

Gene drives work by overcoming the laws of natural selection which would typically remove detrimental genes from a population.

“New CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology enables the gene drive to replicate itself during egg and sperm production – this ensures that it is passed on to the next generation and ultimately results in spread through the entire population. Our results indicate that placing the gene drive in a fertility or viability gene will eventually cause the population to crash,” says Professor Paul Thomas, a molecular geneticist in the University’s School of Biological Sciences.

Overcoming evolutionary resistanceEven so, evolution still upsets this process by producing

resistant genes which don’t accept the gene drive. The researchers showed that a technique allowing ‘multiple shots on goal’ overcame this problem.

“The next necessary step will be development of gene drives in laboratory mice under secure conditions to enable improved modelling of this potential for pest eradication,” says Professor Thomas. “This will provide the critical data needed to debate the important questions that remain around biosecurity, regulation and ethics.”

Drawn from paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B – 9 August 2017.

For more information contact: Dr Thomas Prowse, The University of Adelaide. Email: [email protected] n

Ridding our fields of rats with ‘infertility genes’ may be possible

Rats cause expensive problems in the crop and at the mill. In the future can they be controlled with the introduction of an infertility gene?







































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THIS spring, Australia’s cane growers, their suppliers and advisers

will notice a change of brand on many of their crop-protection staples, with the full range of Crop Care products now moved into parent-company Nufarm’s stable.

Nufarm regional development manager Rob Walker said Australian-based company Crop Care had worked very closely with the sugar industry for more than 30 years, developing effective and practical ways for Australian cane growers to manage insect pests, fungal diseases and weeds.

“Crop Care worked alongside Australian growers, their advisers and industry R&D bodies to research, develop and provide products designed and adapted for local conditions; to solve local problems; and to fill niche market gaps.”

Rob said that after Nufarm acquired the Crop Care business in 2002, the companies had continued to operate independently in the Australian crop-protection market.

“Their products were always complementary, so being offered under the Nufarm banner now provides retailers and canegrowers with a comprehensive one-stop-shop for 27 products, R&D, and technical advisory services.

“The full range of products continues to be available – the only change being that since 1 August, products previously sold by Crop Care are being sold by Nufarm, with the Crop Care brand disappearing as existing stocks run out.

Staff expertise retained“The expertise of former Crop Care sugarcane portfolio staff

also has been retained, with Crop Care sales staff transferring to parent company Nufarm, to continue providing invaluable technical advice to retailers and canegrowers.

“This continuity of expertise was considered very important for the industry, especially with unique products like suSCon maxi Intel with very specific requirements in terms of application method, timing and placement.”

He said additional Crop Care products used in sugarcane that had shifted to the Nufarm brand included the well-known insecticide Astral 250EC; the fungicide Sinker; and herbicides Barrage and Comet 400.

suSCon technology shifting to NufarmCrop Care developed the patented controlled-release suSCon

technology in 1981– providing a major breakthrough in canegrub control.

The suSCon (sustained-control) granular technology developed and patented by Crop Care over many years is now a Nufarm brand.

Nufarm will continue the long-term work with sugar industry researchers to extend the period of canegrub control with controlled-release suSCon products.

“Continued research with SRA (Sugar Research Australia) is investigating the potential for even longer protection, with positive results from recent trials,” said Rob.

Quality fungicides for caneSugarcane fungicide registrations unique to Crop Care –

now to Nufarm – include Sinker and Shirtan, both to prevent pineapple disease.

“Sinker is registered to protect sugarcane setts from both pineapple sett-rot as well as sugarcane smut, with a single application to the sett at planting. SRA trials demonstrated that Sinker can protect cane-sett pieces against pineapple disease for 130 days, providing more effective control than propiconazole.”

Full range of herbicidesCrop Care also brought a range of pre-emergent, knockdown

and residual herbicides for sugarcane in quality, easy-to-use formulations.

The herbicide range – including Atradex, Barrage, Comet 400, Diurex, Spark, Rifle, Shirquat, Daconate, Gladiator, Gladiator Optimax, and Trooper 75-D joined well-known Nufarm herbicides Agritone 750, Amicide Advance 700, weedmaster AGRO, weedmaster DST, Sempra, Trooper 75-D and Tomahawk.

“There’s a full range of herbicides for plant cane and ratoon cane at different crop stages – pre-emergent, early post-emergent, canopy cover and ‘out of hand’ – and for the full range of annual and perennial grasses, broadleaf weeds and vines at different stages of growth.

“This expansive Nufarm range gives growers the scope to rotate different mode-of-action herbicide groups to help avoid and manage herbicide resistance.”

For more information contact: Rob Walker, Regional Development Manager, Nufarm, E: [email protected] n

Same products, different branding this spring

suSCon maxi Intel, applied to the plant crop to protect the sugarcane stand from canegrub damage for up to four years, is now under the Nufarm label.

Nufarm regional development manager Rob Walker said the necessary sugarcane technical expertise of Crop Care sales staff had been retained by their shift to Nufarm.

mailto:[email protected]

INGHAM district canegrower, Vito Cavallaro, is the lucky winner of one tonne of Entec fertiliser and a heavy-duty esky in a competition promoting the enhanced efficiency fertiliser.Vito has his wife, Rosemary, to thank for his win because

she filled in the entry form for this season’s competition run by Incitec Pivot Fertilisers (IPF).

Sibby Di Giacomo, branch manager of Ingham Farm Centre, and Troy Morgan, regional business manager with IPF, congratulated Vito on winning the competition, which attracted hundreds of entries from cane growers in Queensland and northern New South Wales.

Entec is a treatment that keeps nitrogen stabilised and available in the soil for weeks or months longer than untreated urea, promoting more efficient plant uptake and reducing the risk of leaching and denitrification. After using the treated fertiliser on three-quarters of his ratoons for the first time last year, Vito plans to use it on all his cane this season.

“The cane grown with the treated urea blends last year grew

better and stayed greener for the whole season,” he said.“Our soils are sandy to silty loams and it’s reassuring to know

Entec is protecting our nitrogen fertilisers from leaching and we’re doing our bit for the environment.”

The Cavallaros grow cane at Lannercost, west of Ingham. Even though this year’s cane price is down on last year’s, Vito

says Entec is worth the investment because of its potential for improving yields.

“A grower friend of mine did trials with Entec last season and there was a big difference in yields between the treated and untreated blocks at harvest time,” he said.

Vito was encouraged to try Entec treated urea blends by Mr Di Giacomo at Ingham Farm Centre.

Sibby said Entec keeps nitrogen stable in the soil for longer, giving it more staying power so the crop can use the nitrogen more efficiently.

“We like Entec for cane growers because it enables growers like Vito to enhance the efficiency of their nitrogen applications.” n


news & new products

Ingham grower wins Entec competition

Sibby Di Giacomo, Ingham Farm Centre (left) and Troy Morgan, Incitec Pivot Fertilisers (right), congratulate Ingham cane grower, Vito Cavallaro, on winning this season’s Entec competition.

This report is from our rural journalist Mr Ian M. Johnston (pictured), who urges farmer’s with vision to step up to the Twentieth Century, by at least considering the purchase of one of these modern-day mechanical marvels, now referred to as ‘tractors’.

Our editor entrusted Mr Johnston with the responsibility of undertaking the hazardous trip to the U.S.A. by ocean steam boat, for the purpose of studying the dramatic interest, being exhibited by mainly younger progressive America farmers, in replacing their horse teams with tractors. Hereunder is his summary.

I have just returned to Australia, having spent three months of 1910 travelling around the American Grain Belt by train, horse and buggy, and (when lucky) automobile, confabulating with farmers on the subject of tractors. Accordingly, I can now report that a growing number (already around two per cent) have either invested in a tractor or are seriously considering so doing.

It is true that many farmers, and not just the old timers, are convinced that tractors will never replace their traditional and reliable horse teams. They consider new fangled tractors as being an extravagant passing phase and predict, by the year 1915, these clattering machines will have totally disappeared from the landscape.

The arguments against tractors are certainly persuasive and include the following:• They use motor spirit therefore are a parlous fire hazard,

particularly if or when the engine blows apart.• They are unreliable and on each occasion they break down, have to

be towed by at least two horses into town and then into the confines of the local blacksmith’s shop for repairs.

• Unlike a horse team, they frustratingly do not respond to spoken commands.

• Motor spirit fuel is not readily available and has to be purchased from the local store in four gallon tins, providing they have stocks.

• The roaring din of their engines disturbs the tranquillity of the countryside and can cause men to become impotent.

• The constant jolting when sitting upon the iron seat is likely to cause rickets and mental disarray.

• Horses have been known to die of heart failure when a tractor engine starts up.

Further, operating a tractor on The Sabbath would be sacrilegious in the extreme and likely result in a visitation from an incensed Reverend.

But of course the opposite view is adopted vigorously by the afore mentioned younger progressive farmers. It is their belief that these arguments, as itemised above, represent the thinking of biased old fashioned land owners, who are likely to be religious bigots, probably out of favour with their bank manager, plus possibly constantly nagged by a grouchy wife!

Upon contemplation and following the consumption of endless gallons of corn chowder whilst sitting around scrubbed kitchen tables and listening to the cogitations from long gangly grain farmers on the subject of tractors, there is no doubt in my mind that the destiny of modern agriculture might well revolve around the evolution of the farm tractor!

I have taken the liberty of including with this report, a few pictures of some of the better tractors available, and following consultations with a leading export company, whose reputation is well known – Messrs S. Laurel and O. Hardy Inc. of Los Angeles – any of these tractors could be ocean freighted to Australia.

In order to assist Australian farmers with arriving at a conclusion regarding the suitability of a tractor for their agricultural applications, I beg to offer the following comments:

It is not appropriate for a lady to be in the vicinity of tractor, as


Trade in your horse team on a NEW TRACTOR?

AVERY 18-16 is a lightweight small farm tractor powered by a two cylinder opposed engine of 18 horse power. Its narrow width enables it to operate in vineyards and orchards originally laid out for tilling using a single horse.

AULTMAN AND TAYLOR 30–60. This unit incorporates the gear and cog final drive design, which can become worn due to the splattering of mud or the grinding of abrasive dust. A close inspection of the photo will reveal the exposed gear built into the rear wheels. Note, the clutch is built into the flywheel. The four cylinder engine produces 30 horse power at 500 rpm.

CLASSIC TRACTOR TALES

they are inclined to be noisy, hot and smelly. (I refer here of course to tractors and not the ladies!)

A male operator should be fit and not aged, ie. not over 45 years. In this regard I respectfully draw your attention to the fact that a robust ladder is required for him to carry the dozen or so four gallon tins of gasoline aloft, from which to pour the contents into the fuel tank. Also, the chain and windlass steering device requires considerable muscle power and around three acres in which to negotiate a 180 degree turn. This manoeuvre involves around 20 rotations of the steering wheel!

Horses, mules and beasts should never be in the same paddock as a working tractor, as they will take fright and abscond through fences. A hen house must be located at least half a mile from a tractor, else the hens will be put off laying and fall off their perches.

Each tractor has a water cooling system capacity of between 50 and 100 gallons. It is necessary in frosty weather to completely drain the system every night or risk the contents freezing and thus cracking the iron cylinder walls.

A tractor must never be started on The Lord’s Day. The wrath of the church would likely result in excommunication for the worthless offender!

An important consideration is the imperative of having a local blacksmith invited to inspect and become acquainted with a newly arrived tractor. This is necessary so that on each occasion the unit fails to proceed, he has a prior knowledge of how to rectify the problem and if necessary beat out on his anvil new parts to replace those damaged.

There is a trend among tractor manufacturers to equip their machines with the complexity of two or even three forward gears. I consider this frivolous, as obviously a single gear is all that is required. After all, a horse when ploughing requires only one gear!

It is important that a good quality grease is used to lubricate axle bearings. My research indicates that beef fat mixed with goose oil is the best choice. Mutton fat and lard are not as durable.

The design of a tractor’s rear wheel drive is an important consideration for an intending buyer. A ring gear built into the wheel and driven by a cog will be subjected to dust and/or mud, which causes premature wear. But chains can be readily removed and cleaned quite effectively by inserting them in a tub containing either cabbage soup or Ceylon tea. That is a well known fact!

Strange sounds emitting from a tractor gearbox can be easily rectified by inserting there-in four pounds of soft mashed bananas.

Several kettles of hot water, plus a scrubbing brush and a block of pig’s fat and nettle juice soap (with added caustic soda) should be on standby at the end of a day’s work, enabling a weary tractor driver to climb into a hot bath and be scrubbed by his wife, to remove the layers of oil and soot from his person. Conversation will not be possible for at least half an hour, owing to temporary deafness.

Neighbours within a radius of five miles should be acquainted with the fact that you own a tractor. This is common courtesy, or else an ailing elderly person lying in a sick bed in a homestead that is within earshot, could well imagine that the raucous sound bellowing from your tractor’s exhaust stack, heralds doom and finality!

Finally, I respectfully suggest that a new tractor owner allows at least a 12 month settling-in period before finally selling off the horse team, just in case incompatibility with the tractor ultimately eludes his earlier aspirations.

Note: An unwanted tractor can be safely and discretely abandoned at the bottom of a deep farm dam. But it is a good idea to first drain all oils and fuels! n


INTERNATIONAL MOGUL TYPE C is powered by a single cylinder horizontal petrol engine with a bore of 8 7/8 by 15 inches and produces 20 horse power. Undoubtedly one of the most reliable tractors available. One example is already operating in The Central Highlands of Queensland. Note the position of the steering gear which rotates the windlass drum with its chain to the front axle.

RUMELY OIL PULL 30–60. The term ‘OIL PULL’ is used to describe the fact that Rumely uses oil, as distinct from water, as an engine coolant. Accordingly, the engine is able to operate at a much higher temperature, which results in more efficient combustion of the kerosene fuel. The 30–60 weighs around 12 tons and its two cylinder engine develops 60 hp, at 375 rpm. Photo shows the tractor pulling an eight furrow plough.

IAN’S MYSTERY TRACTOR QUIZQuestion: Can you identify

the tractor by its unique patented wheels?

Clue: It is a licensed British version of an International 15/30.

Difficulty: TOUGH!!!Answer: See page 32.

NORTHERN REGIONThe 2017 crush has passed week eight and we have had a

better ‘eight week’ than last year with over 296,000 tonnes crushed compared to the 181,135 tonnes we had crushed at the same time last year.

The mill currently has around 34 per cent of this season’s crop cut. Lost time is around 350 hours mainly due to mill issues early on in the season.

The mill average CCS for week eight was 12.84 and the season to date is around 12.08. The estimate for 2017 is now running around 1,215,000 tonnes – just below the start of season estimate.

In regards to planting, most farmers are now well into their planting programs and, if the weather stays fine, we should have planting done with very little disruption.

At the end of July, it was again show time in the Cairns and Mossman regions. Both shows were well supported from the local farmers and the Mossman Next Generation Group would like to congratulate the winners of this year’s Mossman Show cane exhibition.

n Padovan Harvesting (1st), R. Scomazzon (2nd) and M. and L. Giudice (3rd) for taking the three prizes in Class 1 – three sticks of an approved variety. (Next Gen Sponsored)

n Puglisi farming (1st) and R. Scomazzon (2nd) and Padovan Harvesting (3rd) for taking the three prizes for Class 2 – collection of three sticks of three varieties

n R. Scomazzon (1st and 2nd) and Padovan Harvesting (3rd) for taking the three prizes for Class 3 – six heavy sticks of any one variety.

n Padovan Harvesting for taking Champion Exhibit. n R. Scomazzon for winning the Most Successful Exhibitor.The 2017 Mossman Next Generation Group’s show cane

exhibition was a well organised display with a good level of entries. The display had 25 entries from five different growers with each class being well represented. The growers from the region should be commended for their effort, especially after the difficult year they had last year.

The Mossman Next Generation Group would also like to thank the sponsors, everyone who entered and also the people who helped setup on the day.

Gerard Puglisi Northern Region Director

August 18, 2017

SOUTH JOHNSTONE, MULGRAVE, TULLY

This year seems to be shaping up very similar to last year with considerable delays in harvesting and planting due to annoying, drizzly showers.

The South Johnstone sugar is starting to climb with the CCS weekly average at 11.7 and season to date 11.13. South Johnstone mill is at 26 per cent of estimated total tonnage crushed, equating to 411,323 tonnes – sitting at 84 tonnes of cane per hectare for the season to date.

Mulgrave is doing slightly better in CCS with a weekly average of 11.85 bringing the season to date average to 11.35. Mulgrave mill has crushed 375,117 tonnes which is 27 per cent of estimated total tonnage.

Even though we haven’t received heavy downpours, the wet weather has been persistent enough to delay harvesting and planting. Mulgrave has received 72 mm of rainfall during crush and South Johnstone has had a little more (as usual) this season with 210 mm. Farmers are enjoying the August weather as it is the first month they have had that has provided a chance to start planting.

Have you seen a cane train yet?MSF Sugar launched the new cane rail safety campaign to

highlight the need for the public to remain vigilant during the crushing season. “Our rail network sits dormant for six months of the year, and becomes active for the last half of the year during the cane crushing season which generally runs from June to December, depending on the milling region,” MSF Sugar CEO Mike Barry said.

Treatments at level crossings vary between active (flashing lights) and passive (give way signs) at crossings throughout the 800 km north Queensland cane rail network in residential and rural areas.

Facts n An average locomotive weighs between 18 and 40 tonnes. n This weight increases to 600 tonnes when carting a full load of bins.

n The stopping distance for a travelling locomotive is approximately 250 metres (subject to a dry track).

n Cane trains operate 24 hours a day during the season.

Michael Camilleri Northern Director

August 18, 2017


Districtreports...

Brisbane ●

● CairnsAtherton TablelandMossman–Mulgrave

Innisfail–TullyHerbert

BurdekinProserpine

Mackay–Sarina

Bundaberg

Maryborough

New South Wales

Rocky Point

HERBERTThe two Herbert mills are powering away at present sending

plenty of steam into the atmosphere. Last week we had mediocre rainfall when it was reported we would be receiving quite a dollop.

The rainfall was scattered with rain falling nearer to the coast while the western areas were lucky (or not – depending on whether you wanted it) to receive more than a millimetre or two.

Planting is underway at present and everyone is flat out getting blocks ready and putting cane in the ground for next season.

The district forecast has been updated to an estimate of 4.9 million tonnes of cane for crushing this year.

Cane crushed Macknade area season to date stands at 216,216 tonnes; Victoria area a total of 1,692,196 tonnes.

The best performing variety at present is Q208 with an average CCS 13.53

District CCS this week stands at 12.98 and average season to date is 12.42.

At present, we’re experiencing some dry weather and, for the first time in three years, we have mango flowers! We are very hopefully expecting a good crop of mangoes. Good news for all of us who love eating them.

Carol Mackee ACFA Herbert Director

August 18, 2017

BURDEKINHarvest

The ongoing dry weather has meant few harvest interruptions and at the beginning of August, the Burdekin mills had completed 25 per cent of the 2017 forecast with over 2,000,000 million tonnes crushed. Q183 was performing well with CCS 13.95 and KQ228 with CCS 13.77.

Grant funding available: Round 2 of the Reef Trust Repeated Tender opened 7 August 2017 and closes at 2pm AEST 29 September 2017. Up to $7.1 million of grant funding is available in Round 2 to reduce nutrient runoff to the Great Barrier Reef, with farmers invited to take part in a reverse auction to bid for up to $500,000 to fund their on-farm nitrogen and irrigation management projects.

NQ Dry Tropics sees this project as a great opportunity to build on the significant improvements that the Burdekin sugarcane industry has already made to the quality of water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef.

Fishing surveyElectro-fishing surveys taking place around Sheepstation

Creek will shine a light on the health of juvenile fish stocks in the area. Sheepstation Creek, in the Burdekin Delta, flows into the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon, and is an important juvenile habitat for many native fish species including barra and mangrove jack.

Since 2013 NQ Dry Tropics has worked with Burdekin Shire Council, Lower Burdekin Water and local landowners to improve wetland function as part of the Australian Government-funded Systems Repair project. This has involved measures to improve fish habitat, such as constructing fishways, removing weeds, and reducing the flow of excess irrigation water that can help weeds proliferate.

James Cook University’s tropical aquatic research group, will

be conducting the survey using its electrofishing boat, which captures fish by delivering an electrical pulse into the water that extends out to approximately two metres either side of the boat. This temporarily stuns the fish, which are then netted and measured before being released back into the creek unharmed.

For more information about the Systems Repair project or the electrofishing survey, please contact Scott Fry on [email protected] or call 0478 119 499.

Compiled by the Editor August 18, 2017

CENTRAL REGIONWeather

The weather event in May brought good falls of over 150 mm throughout the district. This gave some optimism following the devastation of Cyclone Debbie. But there has been no follow up falls. Planting is well under way and some rain to help the establishment would be useful. The standing crop would also benefit the situation with conditions drying out now.

Crop reportThe crop is currently cutting at 99.5 per cent of estimate with

31.3 per cent of the crop harvested. Season-to-date non-stand over cane is cutting at 98 per cent and stand over at 101 per cent with 67 per cent of the stand over cut. Stand over has been slightly elevating the overall cut: estimate ratio.

The majority of the cane is showing a slight downward trend against estimate. If the weather forecast holds, the trend would not worsen significantly. But, it is evident that the budgeted 5.30 million tonnes is at risk. The working crop estimate has therefore been revised down to 5.20 million tonnes.

Total cane crushed for the season to date as at August 6 is 1,625,630 tonnes or 32.26 per cent of the 5,200,000 tonnes forecast crop. The three factories have all faced various challenges since the start of the season

A poor start to the season has resulted in below budget availability to this point in the season, with good results in the past several weeks. PRS and purity are increasing with the drying out of the cane, and this allows the factories to produce more consistent sugar. Bagasse production has been slightly under target for the start of the season, but has improved greatly and will soon be on budget.

New director Jeffrey Grech was elected to the board, replacing Syd Gordon

who retired earlier this year.Q253 was recently released as a variety for the Central

Districts. The issue with Q253 was the Fiji Rating. With our current disease monitoring, the risk is not as serious as the first time there was an outbreak.

Q253 is not seen as becoming a major variety. Should there be an issue with disease, there are many options to replace it. When the initial outbreak of Fiji occurred, there were very few options available to replace the then major variety affected – NCO 310.

New biorefineryThe State Government has announced $8.64 million

assistance for BPA’s proposed $50 million biorefinery in Mackay to help accelerate the project’s development and construction. Treasurer Curtis Pitt said the initiative could create up to 115 jobs and would position the Mackay region as an emerging bio-industry hub.


The proposed facility – to potentially be co-located at Mackay Sugar’s Racecourse Mill, subject to formal documentation being agreed – would deliver up to 70 construction and 45 skilled operational jobs and attract significant investment and further jobs in the region. BPA’s production of biodiesel in Mackay would likely support Queensland’s bio-based diesel mandate, which now requires 0.5 per cent of all diesel fuel sold in Queensland to be bio-based diesel.

BPA’s Mackay facility will comprise three elements: n A yeast producing plant that will produce 2000 tonnes per annum of high value yeast products, primarily for Asian animal feed consumers.

n An oilseed crushing plant that will produce 30,000 tonnes per annum of non-food grade vegetable oil. Co-products such as soy and sunflower meals to be directed at Queensland-based pastoral consumers.

n A 15 megalitre per annum biodiesel plant producing trans-esterified B100 biodiesel for the transport fuels market.Bio Processing Australia CEO John Lockhart welcomed the

Government’s investment in the project’s Mackay operation. “There are global markets demanding our products and expertise, so this is really the start of something that can be an exciting boost for the region.”

Steve Fordyce Southern Queensland

August 18, 2017

SOUTHERN REGIONAbout 60 hours of thought – except for sleep and a nanny

nap after Sunday lunch. Well isn’t that what you do when you’re not on weekend harvesting. And I watched the offshore powerboat racing at Mackay on SBS Speedweek. Why am I telling you all this in a district report? It’s because of Professor Tim Flannery.

Myself and a friend, who is a viticulturist, were attendees at a public lecture given by the ‘Prof’ to open the Hervey Bay Marine Festival. Again, what relevance to canefarmers?

The Great Sandy Biosphere is not all that often heard of in public, but it is the ocean end of the Southern Region sugar production system. Massive tourism dollars are earned in and around this area. Anything degrading this biosphere will be harshly dealt with in the future.

Professor Flannery gave agriculture a high five for implementing change to production practice which goes a long way to containing this threat. I am sure he gives farmers a ‘fair go’ in environmental debate.

Seaweed is apparently capable, on paper, of reducing CO2. I know we don’t have the sea, but we do have a lot of farm dams. Is there a freshwater seaweed? He certainly gives ‘providing for our future families’ top priority and I reckon he spends a lot of effort finding the true numbers for agricultural activity rather than just emotive argument. Look him up, give him a call.

Anyone who has Sir Richard Branson cold call him to invite him over to discuss how to make CO2 reduction profitable must be somebody to have on side.

And besides, he seems like a bloke you could have a beer at the campfire with.

CrushingIsis big tonnes. Apart from some pea soup fog mornings and

a single light thunderstorm, nothing is holding up the harvest in the Region. Isis is happy with the second biggest weekly

crush ever. 72,575 tonnes. Q240 and the old KQ are the best performers. CCS levels pleasingly high.

BundabergTo quote a few figures from Gavin Lerch, Bundy Sugar

Services – week seven has seen KQ go in at 16.2 CCS. Last week Q252 averaged 15.8 CCS – not bad for the middle of August. The Bundy mills are at around 550,000 tonnes crushed.

MaryboroughOn my junket to Hervey Bay, surprisingly I saw some

sugarcane still growing in the Hervey Bay area – dryland. Street names in the new urban areas there are reminiscent of farming, but it’s all housing.

ClimateWeather has been all for harvesting. Dry looking for spring

planting, but then the Bundaberg–Isis System has plenty of irrigation water available. Farmers are pre-watering to make cultivating much easier on the gear, if not the pocket. ‘Climate change’ is making decision change here. Planting is staring in August; irrigation is becoming the norm, rather than supplementary; and, harvesting is going toward preparing for less frequent but bigger rain events. Must have wet weather capability, which means a whole set of ‘just in case’ machinery.

These are the sorts of problems non-agricultural administrators do not understand, so practice your spiel for whenever you get the chance to put sound argument up in the public arena.

So, here’s looking at a clean finish to the harvest.

Mike Hetherington ACFA Southern Region Director

August 18, 2017

NEW SOUTH WALESThe weather has been very kind and the harvest is progressing

well, at the time of writing in mid-August coming up to the 40 per cent completed.

Despite the floods at the end of March the crop is harvesting around estimate and will be close to the five-year average. We have estimated finishes between the end of November and mid-December at the three NSW mills with the old proviso of weather and mill performance permitting.

Most of the soybeans have been lost to the flooding, and we expect some of the nitrogen provided by the beans has also been lost.

NSW department of Agriculture is doing some trials to assess just how much of the nitrogen has been lost at some sites along the Richmond and Tweed Rivers. We look forward to seeing the results of these. It will be useful when it comes to calculating N application for the plant crops.

Other trials include polymer-coated urea being trialled against straight urea at rates of from nil to 400 units of N. This is again to assess the N losses and the N that will be available to the crop. These are SRA funded trails and will be harvested both this year and next, some are in two-year cane.

The stand out varieties that suffered the least damage from the flooding are in order of lack of damage – Q208, Q252, SRA2, Q242. Most others have side-shot – they will be harvested but have added little growth since the floods.

Robert Quirk ACFA New South Wales Director

August 18, 2017


WE all need some adventure, a challenge in our lives. It gives us something to look forward to – it’s what keeps us motivated, our reason for being, a raison d’etre.

The term adventure means different things to different people. For some people adventure is the challenge of conquering the elements, amassing a financial fortune, hunting trophy animals or trophy relationships. I remember a bumper sticker that said “An adventure was getting to exotic places now it’s just getting to the bath room.”

What ever form your adventure takes, it takes planning and preparation. The old adage “you can’t travel light and live large” is true and the more remote and the more demanding the adventure the more involved the planning and preparation.

I see this a lot with clients going to remote places to fish. Some, the seasoned fishing adventurers, have a small amount of good quality gear and know how to use it. The inexperienced tend to fall prey to the “what if scenario” and bring everything they own, and most of it has been acquired for the occasion.

I’ve seen back decks and cabins cluttered with all their treasures for ‘show and tell’ and the deck littered with cast off sale stickers. Rule number one for fishing gear that works, it’s never on sale.

I recall a trip off Gove with ‘The Boys’ from one of the nation’s bigger realty groups – the number of lures they lost, and the booze they consumed was their measure of success of the trip. Perhaps the two were interrelated?

What rod?One of the big issues is the mismatch of gear. There are rods

built to fish monofilament and rods built to fish braid.Mono rods are stiff to compensate for the stretch in the

mono and braid rods are softer to compensate for the lack of stretch in braid. If you’re pulling lures out of fish or losing fish because you can’t set the hook, it’s probably because you’ve got your terminal tackle mixed up. In some cases you can cover your bets by running a metre or so of mono between the braid and lure but it’s better to have the right gear for the job.

All spinning reels and most small overheads have a built-in level lay. Mono reels lay line almost side by side and braid reels lay with a broad cross over. You’ll find the tension on braid while your fighting a fish will make it cut in and jam, so it needs a much wider crisscross on the reel. I use braid reels for mono because I like the safety of a wider crossover pattern. In the early days of braid rod runners were a problem because braid literally cut through the old porcelain runners. I rarely see anything other than silicone carbide runners these days but be wary if you’re using old gear with braid.

Lures are lures are luresIf it’s artificial and catches fish it’s a lure, but all lures are not

created equal. If you’re paying for a remote fishing trip with all the on-costs you need to make the most of your limited carrying capacity then only take lures that really work.

Rule number two for lures that really work. If you’re fishing blue water anywhere that the same postcode extends from horizon to horizon there are only two colors you need in a lure – red and white. Trust me, I’ve dragged a lot of lures through a lot of oceans and when you tally the strike rates, red and white wins hands down.

But there are exceptions to every rule and the only exception I’ll make is to red and silver.

Sourcing silver SeekersA couple of decades ago I’d dropped by a mate’s place in

Gove to pick up a reel repair. He was out in the shed – head down in a shower of sparks. He’d scavenged a genuine antique chrome plated bumper bar and was hooking into it with a plasma cutter and the floor was littered with shiny fish shaped offcuts. Having finished his Darth Vader impersonation and shut down the light sabre, a couple of green cans appear from the Waco.

This, he explained, offering me a still hot piece of chromed


Phil speaks of adventure Seekers

n By Phil Jackson – Fly, Tye and Tackle

FISHING

The “Shallow Seeker” not the original but the same precept of the concept, and at 15 cm, more suited to Moreton Bay.

Nothing can resist that flash of silver and blur of red. Cast or trolled the Seeker series are proven fish catchers. This is the results of a 20 cm Shallow Seeker cast to the rocks on the left.

steel, was his secret sacred weapon that guaranteed his victory in the up coming Gove Fishing Classic.

These were his Deep Seekers.The cutting out was just the first step. Now came the edge

smoothing and painting. The front quarter was roughed up on both sides with a wire wheel to accept the primer before a couple of coats of red metallic car paint and a coat of epoxy to help the finish last as long as possible on toothy critters. They were all rigged with black stainless traces and a couple of #8/0 hooks.

My old mate assured me that nothing put more huge mackerel on the scoreboard than his ‘Secret Sacred Deep Seeker’. His trophy cabinet had always impressed me and this was his secret!

We discussed trolling speeds and spread patterns and running depths and it was obvious that the Deep Seeker was just that, so what about the shallow? Big fish, especially trevally, like to cruise the shallows where a rocky headland meets a sandy beach. Enter the Shallow Seeker.

The spray booth door flew wide open and ‘lo and behold’, about 30 pieces of chrome plated curtain rail ranging from 10 to about 30 centimeters long hung suspended on wire strainers. They all had red heads and some had pinched ends where the split rings attached. Bubbles, my old mate explained, nothing gets the attention of a big pelagic like a smoke trail of light refracting bubbles.

My one remaining challenge was to separate my long time drinking mate and piscatorial mentor from a couple of his secret sacred competition winners.

“Was I competing in the Classic?” No. “Was I going to be at the weigh in?” Strictly as an interested spectator. “Was our friendship worth the grief that would come from betrayal?” Absolutely not! Bear in mind that Gove is a drinking town with a fishing problem, where every favour is rewarded with a libation, and the bigger the favor the bigger the offering, so needless to say I’d be pressing the doorbell with my elbows after this lot.

Setting sail with the SeekerA week later, and an hour away from the

mother ship – Auriga Bay 2, I let the big 200 HP Yammi idle in the mouth of Hole in the Wall – the gap between Raragala and Marchinbar Islands in the English Company Group of Islands – on the northern boundary of the Wessels.

The sounder was scarlet with bait balls as the marauders rounded them up for the kill. One ball in particular was V shaped and the boiling mass of bait extended from the surface to about 50 meters, and that’s where we were heading. Seven metres of solid plate ‘ally’ fishing boat handled like a dingy with the big ‘Yammi’ on the back and a touch of the throttle had us up on the plane and in position for the first pass. This isn’t the place to have lots of gear in the water so my clients drew straws to be on first strike. The Deep Seeker ran out on the 24 kg stand up gear and we were away.

We were up current of the bait ball and just above idling speed as I ran diagonally to cross the outer edge of the ball so as not to disturb the

action and WHAM!!!!!!!! The rod tip goes down and we’re running hot.

Our hero on strike was a travel writer from Adelaide who we’ll call Dave, for material reasons. Now Dave is a hell of a nice guy – for a Pom. But he wasn’t exactly what I’d call a robust individual and 30 minutes of solid slugging was taking its toll, but he vowed to prevail come hell or heart attack, and so he did.

The rest of the crew were getting a little testy having to sit out the action but the denizen that came over the transom had us all gob smacked. The action was thick and fast and endless and everyone got as much rod time as limb and back could handle. It was almost sun set when we left and the cycle of life was still being played out as we headed home to Mother.

My tally of ‘Sundowners’ was mounting as we’d relived the event a dozen times for those who weren’t there for the real thing, when Dave took me aside with a sheepish grin on his sunburnt face. He was extremely grateful for the awesome fishing and wonderful experience and I was naturally happy that he had ticked off another priority on his bucket list, but he had a confession.

He felt he should tell me he’d had a triple heart bypass three


FISHING

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weeks earlier. This was one of the few occasions in my life when I was actually speechless! What could I say? The fish was in the boat and Dave had survived the experience, so far, and I suggested he take things easy for a day or two and stay close to his medication.

In the back of my mind I was planning how to winch him off the deck into the marine rescue chopper without getting him

wrapped around the mast or tangled in the rigging along with all the sat nav, radio aerials and sundry other bits and pieces that work best strung amongst the super structure.

Lesson learnt – from that day on I’ve always asked clients if they have any medical issues they feel I need to know about.

Regrettably my old mate’s original Seekers have long since been lost in action, but their progeny live on, all be it in a size more suited to Moreton Bay.

Easy to make and even easier to fish, the Seeker series will get you into good fish anywhere the seas are blue. You should do it before some token vocal minority group makes a title claim and the Green Gestapo make it illegal to wash a lure and have a campfire on the beach. n


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FISHING

The bigger the lure the bigger the fish and nothing fires up big pelagic like the Beep Seeker. This massive mackerel really put Dave’s triple bypass to the test.

ANSWER TO IAN’S MYSTERY TRACTOR QUIZ

The mystery tractor is a 30 hp 1930 Vickers.

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