GOOD SCIENCE BENEFITS LAND AND REEF
QUEENSLAND farmers are proving that what’s best for farms can be what’s best for the Great Barrier Reef. Father and son cane growers John and Charles Quagliata have improved their bottom line by fine-tuning fertiliser use and improving practices on their Burdekin farm. The Quagliatas are part of the RP161 project which sees more than 100 Burdekin cane growers receive one-on-one support from Farmacist agronomists to improve nutrient management planning, fertiliser box calibrations and farm decision support. Farmacist regional manager and senior agronomist Jayson Dowie says that farmers are using good science to optimise production and reduce input costs while keeping the fertiliser where it’s needed – on their farms.
“It’s more sustainable,” Dowie said. “The community benefits, the environment benefits, the grower benefits. It’s a win-win for everybody.
“We’ve saved about 82 tonnes of nitrogen over the four and a half thousand hectares in the project for the first year growers alone by fine-tuning (nitrogen) applications to soil types, varieties and farm management. Without their trust and commitment, we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish this task.”
By reducing fertiliser run-off, farmers are improving Reef water quality and reducing the threat of the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish. Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish are a major contributor to the loss of coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef.
Across Queensland, farmers are working to reduce fertiliser run-off.
In the Wet Tropics, Carole Sweatman, chief executive of Terrain Natural Resource Management, is working with banana and cane growers on a major integrated project, part of a $33 million initiative to reduce nutrient and pesticide loads flowing to the Great Barrier Reef.
“This is designed by those who know farms best – farmers and industry experts – applying the best available science and local knowledge for sustainable farms, communities and to achieve better reef water quality,” Sweatman said.
Back in the Burdekin, long-time grower John Quagliata says his family loves the Reef.
“We’ve always gone to the Reef because it is a natural wonder and it’s just beautiful and I want it to be there for my grandchildren, for their kids to enjoy,” Quagliata said.
“This project we are with I reckon it’s a great way, and the more people that take it on board, the better it’s going to be.”