Canegrowers excel on waterways

NORTH Queensland sugarcane growers should take pride with the release of a report card on the condition of the waterways of the Wet Tropics region, Canegrowers say.

Canegrowers CEO Dan Galligan said eight of the nine catchments between the Daintree and Herbert rivers had been graded as good or very good in the report card.

“It is a great outcome for the year to June 2017 and a recognition of the sugarcane industry’s commitment,” he said.

“This region is home to about 40 per cent of Queensland’s sugarcane farmland where growers have embraced best practice on their farms to improve the quality of the water flowing to the Reef.

“Only one waterway was given a C rating and that was because there was insufficient data for water quality.”

The report card is published by the Wet Tropics Healthy Waterways Partnership. It compiles and analyses data from the work of many organ- isations which monitor water quality, habitats and fish community health.

“The partnership is a collaboration of industry, community, research and government bodies,” Mr Galligan said.

“Canegrowers district organisations right along the coast are an integral part of this partnership demonstrating the sugarcane industry’s willingness to be open, accountable and involved in addressing water quality issues for the resilience of the Reef.”