Australian Canegrower - 31 August 2015

Canegrower AUSTRALIAN

The flagship of the sugarcane industry 31 August 2015 Price $8.95

Smartcane growers tick BMP boxes

Trespassing on farms, know your rights

Driven by growers. Used by growers. Owned by growers

Become part of the movement:

Sign up to Smartcane BMP Contact your local Smartcane BMP facilitator. Get recognised for what you are already doing. www.smartcane.com.au

CONTENTS 17.08.2015

CHAIRMAN'S COMMENT

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The sugar marketing dispute has been with us for some time and been unsettling but this issue is worth fighting for. We call on the LNP, KAP and ALP to work together in the Queensland Parliament to resolve it before Christmas.

Paul Schembri CANEGROWERS Chairman

Cover: Nadine, Walter and Matthew Giordani with their Smartcane BMP accreditation certificate.

Canegrower AUSTR ALIAN

The flagship of the sugarcane industry 31 August 2015 Price $8.95

INDUSTRY NEWS 2 Editor's Desk 3 Chairman's Comment

Opposite: Sugarcane and bananas side by side in the Tully district.

4 Progress towards a new national farmer voice 5 Growers call for choice gains more political support Smartcane growers tick BMP boxes

Trespassing on farms, know your

Editor Neroli Roocke Design, subscriptions, advertising and classifieds Wayne Griffin Articles appearing in Australian Canegrower do not necessarily represent the policies or views of CANEGROWERS Published every second Monday by CANEGROWERS Level 6, 100 Edward Street, Brisbane, Queensland Australia ABN 94 089 992 969 Postal Address: GPO Box 1032, Brisbane, Queensland 4001 Australia Telephone: 07 3864 6444; Fax: 07 3864 6429 Email: info@CANEGROWERS.com.au Website: www.CANEGROWERS.com.au CANEGROWERS/Members Card Hotline 1800 177 159 AUSTRALIAN CANEGROWER ISSN 157-3039 Volume 37, Number 17 Printed by Screen Offset Printing 202 Robinson Road, Geebung, QLD, 4034 Subscriptions Yearly subscriptions for 25 issues (postage included) Within Australia Overseas (AUD)

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rights

6 Industry Spotlight - Are we ready for the next biosecurity threat?

7 Northern growers achieve Smartcane BMP accreditation 8 Regional round-up 10 Online tool takes guesswork out of variety selection 11 Pest ant control program 13 QSL - 2015 Advances Update 14 SRA Snapshot - New focus for breeding program

WHAT’S NEW 15 Survey finds farm crime increasing 17 Trespassers on your land - know your rights

ON FARM 18 Zonal approach boosts yields

MEMBER SERVICES 23 Classifieds 25 Rainfall report 31 August 2015

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EDITOR’S DESK

This magazine we celebrate some new BMP accreditations!

These are growers who’ve completed and been audited in the three key modules of Smartcane BMP, the industry’s best management practice program.

They talk to Australian Canegrower about their motivations for working through the modules on page 7.

This magazine the On Farm feature takes you to the farm of Mario and Heidi Quagliata – they were recently named winners of this year’s Mangrove Jack Award in recognition of their focus on water quality as they’ve worked to improve productivity across their farms.

And what a lot of work they’ve done! Read about it from page 18.

In this edition’s Spotlight column, on page 10, asks if the industry is ready for the next industry-wide threat.

A recent survey found that trespassing and illegal hunting are the most commonly reported crimes on farms.

Has this been a problem for you?

Read about the survey results from page 15 and on page 17 there’s a summary of your rights and options when uninvited people are on your land.

Neroli

Biosecurity issues are impact on sugarcane farms in at least three district; Tully with the banana disease Panama TR4, Mackay with red witchweed and Rocky Point with red fire ants.

I T ’S CANETUBE TIME!

IT’S ON AGAIN!

Calling all budding film-makers $18,000 of cash prizes up for grabs!

1ST PRIZE - $10,000

2ND PRIZE - $5000

$3000 - SCHOOL PRIZES

WHAT DO I DO? Just make a 2 minute video about sugarcane farming in Australia and enter it in the CANEGROWERS Canetube competition.

Make it fun, make it quirky, make it dramatic make it any way you like but make it informative because farmers have been doing a lot to protect the environment and grow a great product (and they are a bit shy about shouting about it themselves).

We are looking for short, entertaining and educational videos showing best practices in the Australian sugarcane industry.

There’s categories and prizes for school students, university creatives and community or individual entries. All videos will be uploaded to the CANEGROWERS Youtube page.

Not sure what to include? Check out the resources and competition details at www.canegrowers. com.au/thecanetube or go straight to our YouTube site to check out entries in previous years at www.youtube.com/thecanetube And please help us spread the word – to schools, hobby animators, closet movie-makers and IT tinkerers!

Entries close 1 December 2015

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CHAIRMAN'S COMMENT

Watching prices and politics for positive signs

By Paul Schembri CANEGROWERS Chairman If there is anything that cane growers watch more than the weather, it surely must be world sugar prices.

“The Queensland Government can ill afford to dismiss the issue. Growers simply want a fair go in relation to marketing.”

Paul Schembri CANEGROWERS Chairman

The Australian sugar industry is the most exposed sugar industry. Eighty percent of what we produce is exported attracting the world price. Even what we sell on the domestic market attracts more or less the world price.

mitigates the impact of low prices.

Currently the Australia dollar is trading in the range of 72-73 US cents.

The current price of around 10-11c/ lb US is obviously very low, and well below the costs of production for the Australian sugar industry.

As a rough rule of thumb, for every one cent the Australian dollar comes off, it adds around $4 a tonne of sugar to our Australian dollar returns.

What is driving down sugar prices?

This low sugar price is unsettling to growers. However, the longer term is pointing to global deficits. The sooner the better, we all hope.

The world market has been exposed to five successive years of global surpluses, hence the market sentiment is used to having a lot of sugar production being available. As well, there are high global stocks of sugar, particularly in Thailand and India.

Most of the downward movement of the sugar price is the result of the Brazilian currency (the Real) falling faster than most other currencies.

It simply means that the Brazilians are more competitive at the lower currency exchange rates and given they export 20 to 25 million tonnes a year, their competitiveness drives the world price.

Trying to predict the movement of world prices is almost like predicting the winner of the Melbourne Cup. However, whilst the short term outlook is not positive, there are positives longer term.

Most commentators are predicting a global deficit for next year, 20152016, of three or four million tonnes. A deficit will change the market sentiment dramatically.

Australian producers also tend to be in forward pricing schemes which can provide some shelter from lower prices. Make no mistake however, if low prices remain for an extended period then our industry will face significant economic hardship.

One of the other offsetting factors is the lower Australian currency which

fighting for. We will only get one opportunity to right this wrong.

The Australian sugar industry operates on the eastern coastline spanning some 2,000kms. Not surprisingly the variability of weather and climate over such a distance results in huge regional crop variability.

The Queensland Liberal National Party has released a draft private member’s bill (called the Exposure Bill) which aims to resolve our issues with the future of raw sugar marketing. CANEGROWERS welcomes this bill and will provide input into the consultation process underway.

Most importantly, the Bill seeks to confirm the validity of Grower Economic Interest as a historically legitimate basis for growers determining our own pathways to the market. This Bill seeks to give us choice in marketing.

This year the sugar regions are pointing to large variations in productivity.

Some regions are staring down the lowest crop production levels in 20 years, yet other regions are on track for their best crop in ten years!

More importantly, the industry has enjoyed a run of fine weather recently, which obviously heightens our chances of getting this crop harvested and the next one safely in the ground. We’ll all keep watching the weather and the forecasts as we always do. 

The LNP announcement, following a similar move from the Katter’s Australian Party, now says that almost 50% of the members in the Queensland parliament are demanding pro-competitive intervention in this dispute we are having with milling companies.

CANEGROWERS is calling upon the LNP and the KAP to work together to ensure a marketing bill that protects growers’ interests is put through the Queensland Parliament before Christmas.

The Queensland Government can ill afford to dismiss the issue.

Growers simply want a fair go in relation to marketing.

I do acknowledge that growers are concerned that this dispute has been with us for some time and been very unsettling but this issue is worth

Shadow Agriculture Minister Deb Freckllington and Jason Costigan MP get some cane planting tips from CANEGROWERS Chairman Paul Schembri and Mackay grower Greg Plath.

31 August 2015

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Low prices Progress towards a new national farmer voice National Farmers Federation messages that, if delivered well, could weigh on sugar The has taken the next step in its plan to fight back against the often more streamline and strengthen agricultural organised and extreme campaigns confidence representation in Australia. that are waged against farmers on the The latest Rabobank Rural Confidence survey has found while nearly half of all farmers in Queensland are optimistic about the future, sugarcane growers largely expect conditions to worsen in the short-term.

Overall 49% expected conditions in the agricultural economy to improve over the coming 12 months, up from 34% last quarter. 32% expect the agricultural economy to remain similar to last year, while those expecting conditions to worsen fell to 17%.

When the figures for cane growers is isolated, however, the picture is different with 70 expecting conditions to worsen.

Record beef prices and strong returns for grain and cotton are underpinning much of the positive sentiment, while prices were a driver of the negative sentiment in the sugar industry.

Investment intentions were relatively strong, with 20% looking to increase their investment and a further 64% expecting to maintain current levels of investment.  As thousands of Brisbane children and their parents enjoyed the Ekka (the Royal Queensland Show) this month they also got a taste of the country and learned the stories behind their food.

It’s formed an Implementation Management Committee made up of member group CEOs and elected representatives.

CANGEGROWERS CEO Dan Galligan is on the committee which will advise the NFF Members Council on ways in which the aim of a more unified national voice for Australian farmers can be implemented.

“With over 90 farming groups identifying as having a role in influencing national policy for farmers, it is apparent that more needs to be done to ensure resources are used both efficiently and effectively so that the voice of farmers is owned and driven by farmers, but it all goes to nothing if our voice is not heard by those people that matter” he said.

“As a long-time member of NFF, CANEGROWERS has been heavily involved to ensure that we protect the interests of cane farmers and leverage their existing membership dollars into a greater, louder, more coherent national voice.

“Much of that could come from better coordination and the streamlining of

national and international scale.”

The CANEGROWERS structure, with its district membership, is a strong example to be learnt from as other groups struggle to identify pathways for individual farmer participation.

“Protecting this structure for CANEGROWERS is important and to that end it is intended that CANEGROWERS will be recognised as an independent commodity council under any new national model,” Mr Galligan said.

“The benefits of this stronger national voice should become directly obvious to our valuable members.”

Any change to the current arrangements will be developed and negotiated among state farm organisations and Commodity Councils particularly around the area of funding and responsibilities.

It’s expected the overall national restructure will take a couple of years to complete with the intent that farmers will first and foremost continue to be members of their state and commodity organisations. 

Sugar helps tell the story of food

Pulled together by AgForce as part of the School to Industry Partnership Program, the display and its activities encouraged children to trace familiar food products from a shopping trolley back to their source commodities and farms.

Profiles of some of the people who’d been part of the journey were also displayed on the wall and accessible via touch screens.

CANEGROWERS was invited to be part of the effort along with GrainGrowers, Australian Wool Innovation and Cattle Council.

CANEGROWERS Proserpine Grower Services Manager Christine Peterson and Herbert River grower Joseph Grottelli shared their stories.

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The SIPP stand was part of the Ekka learning trail – a free activity sent kids around to eight stands for activities, demonstrations and displays about

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agriculture. After collecting a stamp for each stand visited the kids went into the draw for science-related prizes. 

INDUSTRY NEWS

Growers call for choice gains more political support CANEGROWERS is urging all parties in the Queensland parliament to sit down and negotiate given that close to half of all MPs are ready to vote for pro-competitive changes to the Sugar Industry Act. CANEGROWERS is urging all parties in the Queensland parliament to sit down and negotiate given that close to half of all MPs are ready to vote for pro-competitive changes to the Sugar Industry Act. The Liberal National Party has drafted a private member’s bill and is taking comments until 4 September. The Katter’s Australian Party has tabled a private member’s bill which is moving through parliamentary processes.

CANEGROWERS Chairman Paul Schembri, who was with Shadow Agriculture Minister Deb Frecklington when she announced the bill on a Mackay district farm, says the organisation will not be choosing one over the other.

Mr Schembri called on all parties to work together to develop a Queensland solution to the intractable marketing issue, an issue also clearly identified by the multi-party Senate Committee and a separate federal taskforce which recommended a Code of Conduct for the sugar industry.

“We need this issue resolved by Christmas and we are encouraged that there is now a huge block of the State Parliament telling the big sugar milling companies that their proposed way of doing business, stripping growers of their long-standing right to market though QSL, is not the way forward for our industry,” Mr Schembri said.

a workable solution to the sugar monopoly threatening regional growers by preserving their interests, but without imposing a transfer of ownership, strengthening the rights and futures of cane farmers.”

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The LNP has always recognised the value of the sugar industry to the state’s economy and we would like Queenslanders to consider this reform to help strengthen this vital industry.

4. Allowed growers the choice of who markets their sugar through the Cane Supply agreement.

The Australian Sugar Milling Council has publicly opposed the bill saying it represents too much government intervention in what should be commercial negotiations between growers and milling companies.

"Our biggest concern is that there is still no clear identification of what the actual problem is that this sort of proposed regulatory intervention is seeking to address," the ASMC’s Dominic Nolan said in an interview.

Ms Frecklington said the LNP Bill achieved the following: 1. Avoided ex-appropriation of property rights which was a concern to sugar millers; 2. Maintained a reference to Cane Supply Agreements where grower economic interest was to be recognised; 3. Did not provide for pre-contractual arbitration, but rather included a mechanism for dispute resolution if required;

In the Federal Parliament, a recent motion moved by Queensland Senator Glenn Lazarus confirmed that all sides of politics endorse the taskforce and committee’s recommendation for a code of conduct, including the crossbench parties and independents.

Pending Federal Cabinet support, the political boxes have been ticked for an outcome to emerge from the solid work that LNP MPs and Senators have been doing to push for the intervention growers are seeking on this issue. 

Ms Frecklington said the LNP had worked closely with producers, millers and other key stakeholders and encouraged the wider community to have its say on the proposed Sugar Industry (Facilitating Grower Choice) Amendment Bill 2015.

“The content of the Bill has benefited from the consultation that occurred as part of the Senate Inquiry and the work of the Sugar Marketing Taskforce,” she said.

“The LNP has always recognised the value of the sugar industry to the state’s economy and we would like Queenslanders to consider this reform to help strengthen this vital industry.

Shadow Agriculture Minister Deb Frecklington (middle) with Jason Costigan MP, Mackay grower Greg Plath, CANEGROWERS Chairman Paul Schembri and CANEGROWERS Mackay Chairman Kevin Borg and CEO Kerry Latter.

“This exposure draft aims to achieve 31 August 2015

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Online tool takes guesswork out of variety selection Sugarcane growers preparing for spring planting are being urged to use the free online resource QCANESelect™ to help choose the right varieties for their farm.

Sugar Research Australia (SRA) has developed the free online resource that is aimed to optimise sugarcane production by helping growers choose varieties according to soil types, the productivity zone, and other factors such as management.

SRA CEO Neil Fisher said QCANESelect was a useful tool that could help to maximise productivity from variety selection and therefore provide benefit for growers and millers.

An SRA survey of growers earlier this year discovered that 91% of growers have heard of QCANESelect and 66% are using it.

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QCANESelect can be found on the SRA website at http://tools.sugarresearch. com.au/QCANESelect and it provides interactive, up-to-date advice and information on varieties for individual situations.

“Growers can define the characteristics and concerns for their farm, such as soil type or disease concerns, and receive information on varieties that are available and meet their individual requirements,” Mr Fisher said.

“QCANESelect provides a wealth of reports on the actual performance of varieties from mill data, and we

encourage everyone to make the most of this free online resource. Growers can develop a whole farm plan for varieties to help them calculate the amounts of clean seed they need to obtain this year for planting in one or two years’ time.”

QCANESelect provides useful detail around how a variety may perform in relation to Pachymetra root rot or ratoon stunting disease, which is information that I need.

Cairns Region grower Mark Savina

“There is an opportunity for the one third of growers who are not using to make the most of this valuable tool,” Mr Fisher said.

Cairns Region grower Mark Savina using QCANESelect™

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Cairns Region grower Mark Savina uses QCANESelect each year when choosing varieties for his farm.

“I find QCANESelect provides useful detail around how a variety may perform in relation to Pachymetra root rot or ratoon stunting disease, which is information that I need,” he said.

“It provides not just information on cane yield in tonnes per hectare, but also a lot of intricacies on performance across a range of factors for your situation.”

Mr Savina operates several lease farms as part of a business partnership and said he found QCANESelect useful for choosing varieties for these properties, where historical farming knowledge was much less than on the usual family farm.

“We have soil maps for these farms, so it is very helpful in that situation for example, when matching a variety to a soil type,” Mr Savina said.

“I also find it interesting being able to look at varieties that we don’t have and see how they perform in other regions.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

Northern growers achieve Smartcane accreditation

A CANEGROWERS policy council member who wants to silence the cane industry’s critics and a relatively new grower are the latest farmers to be accredited in the best management practice program, Smartcane BMP – in the process proving they are world class producers of quality, sustainable sugar.

Burdekin grower Russell Jordan and Herbert River grower Walter Giordani have completed and been audited in the three key water quality modules: 99 Soil Health and Plant Nutrition; 99 Pest, Disease and Weed Management; 99 Drainage and Irrigation management.

By Neroli Roocke

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Both Russell and Walter were recently presented with accreditation certificates by new Smartcane BMP Project Manager Mick Quirk as he visited growing districts in North Queensland.

Russell Jordan says Smartcane BMP means he can show he is caring for the Great Barrier Reef while producing around 30,000 tonnes of quality cane from four irrigated farms at Giru.

“When we cop criticism, we can now put this up as proof we are doing the right thing as an industry,” he said.

And for him, it was definitely worth finding the time around farm work and family to pull together the evidence the process needed – with early mornings proving to be the best time.

“We keep good records of what we do so I just had to sit down in spare moments, a little bit each day,” he said.

“I found getting up half an hour earlier with a coffee before the kids woke up worked for me.

“We’re already going down the path of controlled traffic and wider row spacings and this has cemented the ideas we’ve had for our business and confirmed the direction we’re heading in.

It wasn’t too hard really.

I’d encourage everyone to go and see their local facilitator who’ll put them on the right track with a list of things to do and then just work through it.

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“We saw a lot of value in doing it,” he said. “It was a team effort with Nadine doing most of the entries into the Smartcane BMP website – she did all the hard work on the computer!”

While Walter and Nadine have been accredited as already meeting industry best practice, they have plans to improve further when budgets and finances allow.

Having now achieved his accreditation in the three key modules, Russell is encouraging everyone who’s registered with Smartcane BMP to continue on to be audited as well.

“It wasn’t too hard really,” he says.

“I’d encourage everyone to go and see their local facilitator who’ll put them on the right track with a list of things to do and then just work through it.”

Mick Quirk says BMP is important for sugarcane growers for a number of reasons.

He says it can help identify the practices that are most likely to improve efficiency, production and profitability while demonstrating to our communities and overseas customers that our sugar is sustainable, and help Australia maintain a competitive edge.

“Many Queensland growers have registered and done the self-assessment stage, now we are seeing many of them start to move towards seeking accreditation,” he said.

For information about the program and to contact your local Smartcane BMP facilitators visit www.smartcane.com.au 

Russell Jordan (second from left) with his certificate being congratulated by CANEGROWERS Environment Manager Matt Kealley, Smartcane BMP Project Manager CANEGROWERS Burdekin Chairman Phil Marano.

“And as a Policy Council Member and CANEGROWERS Burdekin director, if we’re telling growers to do it, we should be doing it,” Russell said of his decision to push through and be audited.

For Walter Giordani, who with his wife Nadine has 100 hectares over two farms at Bambaroo, the Smartcane BMP modules were a way of checking that they were on the right track with their farming practices and plans.

“I’m a relatively new grower as it’s only in the past six years that we bought our farms and expanded so I’m keen to adopt and implement any best management practices,” he said.

Nadine and Walter Giordani and son Matthew (middle) with Matt Kealley (L) and Maria Battoraro and Peter Sheedy of CANEGROWERS Herbert River. (R) 31 August 2015

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INDUSTRY NEWS

CANEGROWERS Regional round-up

By CANEGROWERS district offices

Mossman and Tableland With 14 weeks completed, Mossman Mill had processed a total of 438,760 tonnes of cane for an average of 11.63CCS. The Mossman Pool average is 11.00CCS for a total of 231,108 tonnes of cane and the Tableland Pool average is 12.34CCS for a total of 207,652 tonnes of cane.

The factory had several large stops during week 14 resulting in 27% of the 19,385 tonnes in the week to be processed as delayed cane. The expected finish date for Mossman is now the last week of November 2015.

Tableland Mill crushed 26,178 tonnes last week with a mill average CCS of 13.97.

An additional 25,000 tonnes of Mackay Sugar contracted cane is in the process of being diverted through the Tableland Mill as per the original 2015 season toll crushing agreement, bringing the total toll crush tonnes through Tableland Mill up to 250,000 tonnes.

Cairns Region

CCS is slowly rising which has some concerned but the late rain has kept the crop growing and staying green.

Recent drier conditions have allowed for planting to get fully underway and large areas have been completed but some growers are indicating that they will reduce their planting program because of the late timing and also the poor performing sugar price. At current indications most growers will receive a value for their cane well below cost of production.

Herbert River The Herbert’s geographic transition between the wet and dry tropics is truly accentuated by the pattern of this year’s weather where the Upper Stone and area south of Toobanna have missed the wet season completely whereas other areas received beneficial rain in May and June that has promoted considerable late growth. Planting is delayed for the bulk of the district with some areas still drying out.

The current week 9 has seen reduced loadings as a result of maintenance days for both Victoria and Macknade.

The crop is shaping up to be 10% greater than original estimate and after lagging well behind the five year average, CCS is now starting to lift as the dry cooler conditions promote natural crop ripening.

CANEGROWERS Herbert River Directors were consulted regarding a downward adjustment to estimated seasonal average payment CCS to coincide with the 20 August increase in delivery advance. A reduction of 0.25 units is to be made for both pools. We will need a continued strong improvement in weekly CCS to avoid further downward adjustment.

Burdekin More than 45% or 3.7m tonnes of the crop had been crushed at the end of Week 10. No time at all has been lost due to wet weather and the four mills are averaging over 370,000 tonnes per week. CCS continues to rise and is now averaging 14.94.

The harvest has gone particularly An increasing crop estimate, disruptions The safety message of Rail Safety Week well for weeks 7 and 8 of the season to crushing and some wet weather appears to have fallen on deaf ears with ideal field conditions and more in the Burdekin, with two cane train delays are continuing to raise season consistent milling performances than collisions occurring within one week. length concerns amongst growers. have been seen for several seasons.

CCS across both regions is slowly increasing and planting is well CANEGROWERS Burdekin Chairman Phil Marano recently hosted some hot rock on his underway across the region farm when Townsville singer Jade Holland filmed her latest clip in front of a cane fire. with current weather conditions favourable for farming operations.

Round eight contracts for the Australian Government Reef Programme are currently being completed and members are continuing to gain accreditation for modules in the Smartcane BMP program.

Innisfail Crushing operations have settled down and the crush rate is up to planned budget rates. Every ounce of crushing capacity will now be needed to remove the crop. An increase in the pre-season estimate is now evident. At the week ending 16 August the estimate was running at 14% above the pre-season estimate and 22.7% of the pre-season estimate had been crushed.

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These included a car colliding with a train on the Bruce Highway near Brandon and an on farm incident. Luckily there were no serious injuries.

Cane farmers across the Burdekin are contributing to a “half a cent could save a life” voluntary levy deduction.

COmmunity Response to Eliminating Suicide (CORES) is a local not-for-profit organisation working to prevent suicide by giving locals the knowledge to see and understand warning signs before it is too late to act and lives are lost.

Ten percent of CANEGROWERS Burdekin members are contributing via the levy deduction with Wilmar matching the grower deductions processed through cane payments dollar for dollar. Earlier this year Queensland Sugar Limited (QSL) donated $1,000 to this worthy cause.

CANEGROWERS Burdekin Director, Russell Jordan, has become the first grower in the region to be accredited under the Smartcane BMP program, completing the three key water quality modules with the assistance of local Smartcane BMP Facilitator Terry Granshaw (0437 553 149).

The Board of CANEGROWERS Burdekin recently met with Geoff Croke from PSI Delta. Geoff has been engaged by the Queensland Government to undertake Part 1 of a seven part project titled The Lower Burdekin Catchment Development Project. It has been developed in response to the growing demand to access water.

Mackay The Mackay area mills crushed 222,470 tonnes of cane with an average PRS of 14.18 through the week ending 16 August. The sugar content has increased significantly in the last week, topping 14.00 PRS for the first time this year.

With 1,981,103 tonnes of cane crushed to date, the mills have processed over 40% of the estimated crop of 4.86 million tonnes.

Repair works to Farleigh’s No 1 Mill hydraulic booster pump were undertaken at the start of the week, resulting in significant lost crushing opportunity.

Marian Mill underwent a chemical clean of the evaporator train early in the week, which was extended due to the replacement of a return roller on the bagasse system. The mill also experienced low grade fugal

availability later in the week, which limited throughput. A chemical clean of Racecourse Mill’s evaporator station was also conducted during the week, with the mill continuing to perform well once it was back on line.

Plane Creek Mill crushed a total of 70,468 tonnes of cane for the week ending 15 August, bringing the season to date total number of tonnes to 492,761. CCS for the week was 15.35 with the season to date 14.60. The highest CCS sample for the week was from a rake of fourth ratoon Q208 at 17.41 from the Turnors Paddock Productivity District.

Bundaberg

average CCS of 13.35. Week 10 had a few disruptions due to scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. CCS has started to improve markedly in the last few weeks.

The crop is looking dry at the moment but that is understandable given the last three-monthly rainfall registration is less than 60mm. Growers are busy with land preparations and planting operations.

Isis Productivity Limited will distribute clean plants from plots in Childers, South Kolan and Alloway commencing the first week in September. Productivity Board staff have been busy with plant inspections.

Maryborough

The Bundaberg Sugar mills crushed a total of 87,881 tonnes with a CCS average of 14.90 units. Millaquin averaged 14.82 units and Bingera 14.97 units. A total of 790,289 tonnes of cane has been crushed so far which is approximately 45% of the season’s estimated crop.

As a result of the steady rise in CCS, the base CCS at both Millaquin and Bingera mills has increased by 0.40 units from 13.30 to 13.70 units. The base will be reviewed fortnightly to ensure cane pays are adjusted in line with CCS increase.

The highest performing varieties for the week were KQ228A (28% of supply) with a CCS average of 15.15 units, followed

by Q240A (20% of supply) at 15.09 units.

Variety Q208A (15% of supply) averaged 14.89 units.

Manager Dale Holliss travelled to Sydney to present a submission on electricity prices to the Australian Competition Tribunal. Whilst this tribunal was dealing with NSW and ACT regulated electricity and gas businesses, any precedent that is set in NSW will most likely impact upon consumers in regional Queensland.

Ergon Energy has already signalled its desire to test the AER’s new powers in the Tribunal and has registered to participate in the NSW appeals. We hope that our attendance will encourage and embolden the AER to make decisions and recommendations that are in the long term interests of electricity consumers.

Isis After 10 weeks of crushing Isis Mill has processed 597,761 tonnes for a seasonal

MSF Limited has crushed approx.

351,000 tonnes (42%) of an estimated 830,000 tonnes as at 20 August. CCS levels have improved over the past week and stand at 13.72 for the week to date.

CCS for year to date is 12.95. Harvesting conditions have been excellent over the past fortnight. Growers are busy preparing for the spring planting season.

Rocky Point Harvesting in Rocky Point is progressing well at this stage, with week 5 reaching season to date tonnes of 70,621 and a CCS of 13. The estimate has increased by 3.6% from 348,529 to 361,269 tonnes.

There has been no rainfall for the last two weeks and planting has begun.

New South Wales A major boiler failure at the Harwood Mill has hampered operations over the past three weeks. The problem occurred in a bank of superheater tubes and took several attempts before the issue was resolved. As a consequence, harvesting at Harwood has been very disjointed with cane needing to be transferred to the Broadwater mill on a limited basis.

To date 636,000 tonnes have been harvested. CCS levels have risen substantially over the past couple of weeks and are now averaging above 12% for all three mill areas. The crop continues to yield well and in excess of the growers estimates. There are some concerns with finish dates at all three mill areas, with finish dates expected in December and in Harwood’s case the second half of that month. n

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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Are we ready for the next biosecurity threat?

By Matt Kealley CANEGROWERS Senior Manager – Environment & Sustainability There will come a time where we as an industry will be dealing with a new biosecurity risk to sugarcane.

Are we prepared? Do we have the systems in place? If you found something unusual, what steps would you take?

Biosecurity is the protection of the Australian sugar industry from infectious diseases, pests and other biological threats.

I believe biosecurity has never been more important than now to the Australian sugar industry.

You only need to look at the current biosecurity matters affecting agricultural in Queensland to understand why we need to be ready.

Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus (CGMMV) is a huge risk to Queensland's $90 million melon industry and the growers of cucumbers, zucchinis, pumpkins and squash.

The virus makes members of the cucurbit family potentially unsaleable which puts pressure on the production of zucchinis and cucumbers which are big crops in Queensland.

In bananas, a soil-borne fungus called Panama Tropical Race 4 threatens the state's $600 million banana industry.

The detection of the biosecurity threat in Tully meant more than 16,000 plants were destroyed.

This fungus is currently being dealt with in the region and has created some challenging issues for quarantine and preparedness.

Red witchweed has been found in Mackay on five cane farms.

Red witchweed grows attached to the roots of a host plant suppressing its growth and sometimes causing death.

Although Red witchweed has little impact on sugarcane, the risk is that it

could spread outside of Mackay and have impact on other crops.

In 2006, sugarcane smut affected the entire Australian cane industry which lead to a range of management issues, biosecurity plans and more significantly, changes to cane varieties.

There are also endemic and exotic pests and diseases.

Serious diseases like Fiji leaf gall and mosaic have been managed and restricted because industry has taken biosecurity seriously.

For now, diseases that are present in Australia are under active control and that’s the way we need to keep it.

To be prepared for future challenges here are some actions and ideas.

Legislation and regulation The Biosecurity Act was passed in Parliament on 6 March 2014.

It will come into effect by 1 July 2016 with new regulations that control the movement of sugarcane and sugarcane machinery between Queensland’s pest quarantine areas (PQA’s), and control pests and diseases within pest quarantine areas.

SRA has a good handle on the pest and disease risks for the Australian cane industry as well as preparedness in breeding programs.

Biosecurity levy options An Emergency Plant Pest Response (EPPR) levy set up under the Plant Health Australia Funding Act is used to fund emergency plant pest responses.

This is often initially set to zero by Plant Health Australia members.

Apart from repaying government contributions the EPPR levy may be used for any other purpose relating to emergency plant pests within the meaning of the Emergency Pest Plant Response Deed.

This is an option for dealing with future risk.

There will come a time where we as an industry will be dealing with a new biosecurity risk to sugarcane.

Have you spotted anything unusual lately? n

The industry has worked together to ensure the PQA’s remain in place.

This need to be utilised and supported by best management practices to ensure that endemic and exotic disease is kept in check.

All regulatory actions are managed by Biosecurity Queensland (BQ) and are underpinned by a General Biosecurity Obligation.

Technical expertise Sugar Research Australia does not have a regulatory role but it supports the industry by carrying out research and providing technical expertise.

10 Australian Canegrower | 31 August 2015

Industry Spotlight sponsored by Smartcane BMP

INDUSTRY NEWS

Pest ant nest destroyed Red imported fire ants have been identified in the Rocky Point cane growing district.

The National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program invited growers to view a nest at Norwell so they could learn how to better identify the ants and report any sightings. The nest was destroyed land around the nest has been bait treated with an insect growth regulator.

Fire Ant eradication is a joint effort between the National Fire Ant Eradication Program, the community including CANEGROWERS Rocky Point and the Gold Coast council which has enrolled all of its ground staff in fire ant training.

Biosecurity Queensland says research shows fire ants are 70% more likely to choose disturbed land to build new nests after a mating flight making agricultural land and development sites at risk.

It says the Gold Coast shares a similar environment to the Florida Keys in the United States, where fire ants have had a devastating effect on the coastline, nesting turtles and lifestyle.

At this stage, with nests being identified and destroyed, it is not expected the fire ants will have a major impact on Rocky Point cane growing or its mulch industry.

31 August 2015

| Australian Canegrower 11

QSL

Sign up for market updateS and QSL newS at www.qsl.com.au

ICE No.11 Prompt Futures Contract 20.0 19.0

Market Update

By Shaun Tupou, Treasury Analyst

18.0

Current as of 24 August 2015

17.0 16.0 15.0

Sugar

14.0

Having made some modest moves over the fortnight, the sugar market was on the back foot for the most part, with fresh contract lows followed by a modest recovery which fell away at the period’s end. The October15 contract found a bottom of 10.37c/lb before attempting to stage a recovery back toward 11 cents and closing lower for the week.

13.0 12.0 11.0

Despite some narrow trade ranges and light volumes through intra-day price action, spread activity generally traded toward the upside. Opening the fortnight at the lows (-128), front spread October/ March traded out to a -112 point high. A slight draw back in the front spread saw the prompt October/ March spread fall back to -122 points, whilst there was a notable strengthening to -116 points as flat prices declined on the close and highlighted the fortnight’s price action.

10.0

Australian Dollar (AUD v USD) 0.98 0.96 0.94 0.92 0.90 0.88 0.86 0.84 0.82 0.80 0.78 0.76 0.74 0.72

The latest Brazilian Sugarcane Industry (UNICA) report for the first half of August was released on Friday. As expected, another spell of dry weather in Centre South Brazil has ensured production numbers were higher again. Of note was a higher Total Recoverable Sugar figure (141.2kg) and sugar mix number (44%), which helped remove any doubt over whether last year’s drought and flowering in the cane-producing regions would perhaps impact on the current crop.

Additionally, the latest Commitment of Traders report was released on Friday. Surprisingly the non-index funds remained relatively unchanged, reporting 87,000 lots short for the week (from 88,000). The reporting period covered a full 10-day period that saw flat prices rally to 10.93c/lb before retreating back to familiar territory.

It was another choppy fortnight of trade for the Brazilian Real, as prices traded down to a top of 3.4376 before retracing gains back through to 3.5241. In India, the monsoon has continued to fall behind the previous week, with a drop below 50% in the main growing regions of Maharashtra and Karnataka. In Thailand, El Nino is affecting the crop with inadequate wet weather to offset the drought impacts of last season.

QSL Forward Fixed Price Contract (A$/mt) 520

Looking ahead, market sentiment would suggest we have kicked the bucket of lower lows. However, this doesn’t always mean we are going to see a recovery. Indeed, we will continue to question when and how a recovery may ignite. But we remain open to the fact that the market is more than likely to stay in a low price environment as we draw closer to expiry.

Currency

500

China’s currency devaluation of more than 3% dominated Aussie dollar price action over the fortnight. As we drew nearer to a partnering with the US dollar, China’s decision to devalue had larger implications for the AUD. Following this, the AUD fell below 0.7200 from 0.7325 before all losses were erased with the AUD regaining a 0.7300 handle.

480 460 440 420

Additionally, the RBA August meeting minutes were released with no real surprises. The RBA reaffirmed their neutral position on policy driven by a downward revision in the labour market and improvements in inflation. Overall, the RBA appears to have toned-down their easing bias, although it may be somewhat hasty to rule out policy moves before the end of the year.

400 380 360 340

This week we have few economic events ahead of next week’s RBA meeting, while the US is scheduled to release Quarterly GDP, Consumer Confidence and Mortgage Applications data.

320 2015

2016

2017

Data source: QSL Daily Market Report (Futures and Currency) & QSL Daily Indicative Prices

12 Australian Canegrower | 31 August 2015

While all care is taken in the preparation of this report the reliability or accuracy of the information provided in the document is not guaranteed. QSL does not accept any responsibility to any person for the decisions and actions taken by that person with respect to any of the information contained in this report.

QSL

QSL: WORKING FOR YOU

2015 Advances Update

By Bryce Wenham, QSL Finance Manager, Supplier Relations

As the current harvest passes the halfway mark in some districts, many growers are turning their attention towards their next crop.

With irrigation, fertiliser and Council rates just some the costs they’ll need to fund in coming months, growers are looking at their expected cash flow and the likely direction of the QSL Advances program for the remainder of the season.

The key influences on the timing and the size of the Advance payments are: • Estimated pool price • Shipping program to customers • QSL’s available borrowing capacity The world raw sugar market remains oversupplied and the futures board is still in carry, which means that better prices are likely to be obtained over the March 2016 and May 2016 future positions, rather than selling now at what are the lowest prices we have seen in a number years.

In particular, the January 2016 advances payment – where growers are paid based on their actual pricing choices rather than the mill average pool price – may see growers who have their entire crop priced in the Harvest Pool receiving a smaller payment compared to other growers in this period.

QSL will review the advances program again at its September 2015 board meeting.

As was the case last year, QSL will endeavour to maintain a strong payment program up to Christmas and a reasonable program of increments in the January-to-June period while still targeting the best prices when marketing the balance of the crop.

Climate forecasters are still indicating the presence of a strong El-Niño pattern.

El-Niño patterns are associated with drier conditions in Australia, Thailand

and India, and wetter conditions in Brazil.

The continued presence of ElNiño could result in reduced sugar production in Thailand and India for their crops which will commence harvesting in November, therefore there may be some respite ahead from the lower sugar prices we have seen in recent months.

While the estimated 2015 Harvest Pool price is currently significantly lower than QSL’s other pools, the Harvest Pool is best positioned to take advantage of any price recovery that may occur over the coming months, thanks in part to its Buffer Tonnage which must be priced and sold after it is received in the latter part of the crush.

So as we wait to see where the market will take us, please be mindful that the Harvest Pool’s Advance payments may remain volatile over coming months. n

Within the constraints of available storage, QSL is positioning its marketing and shipping plans for the 2015 season to capture as much as possible of the better prices available for sugar to be shipped in the first half of 2016.

Despite this, the current estimates of QSL Pool prices for 2015 are currently significantly less than last year and this means that advance payments are likely to be less than those that were paid at the same time last year.

31 August 2015

| Australian Canegrower 13

SRA | SNAPSHOT

New focus for breeding program to deliver optimum cane varieties into the future

By Neil Fisher, Chief Executive Officer, Sugar Research Australia An industry reference group has worked with SRA’s sugarcane breeding program to ensure that future sugarcane varieties deliver characteristics that will improve grower and miller profitability.

The group of 12 people, appointed by the Australian Sugar Industry Alliance (ASA), has reviewed how individual traits of sugarcane varieties (such as CCS, tonnes of cane, disease resistance, and others) are weighted in the industry’s variety development program.

Selecting and delivering the best possible varieties are based on each of these traits having an economic value.

Growers and millers have come together through this group to consider the weightings of traits for the breeding program, and this group has now told SRA what they want implemented as part of these changes.

This group has told SRA that the breeding program must maximise profitability for the entire industry and, with this as their focus, they have endorsed specific changes to the weightings of traits.

Notable changes to the weightings are the inclusion of a ratoonability index and more emphasis on cane yield.

This reflects the different production environment to the early 2000s, where now many mills have excess capacity and

it makes economic sense to utilise that capacity. The overall focus is on maximising profit to the industry.

The review considered a range of important issues and specific traits and the weightings have been tailored to the specific needs of local industry (Northern, Herbert, Burdekin, Central, and Southern Queensland, with northern NSW yet to be finalised).

This information is being communicated with growers and millers throughout the second half of 2015.

SRA releases new Performance Report SRA has recently developed a new Performance Report, which is an important tool for providing SRA investors with information on our progress and activities. Since the creation of SRA two years ago, the Board and management of SRA have heard from growers, millers, and other stakeholders that they want to be able to easily track how SRA is performing as a company.

The report follows a traffic light principle for ease of understanding: green for work that is on track; yellow for activities that are facing some hurdles; and red for research and activity that needs more attention.

A summary of the report has been emailed to SRA members and is available on the SRA website. We welcome feedback on this Performance Report, which can be directed to Leigh Clement on (07) 3331 3333 or lclement@sugarresearch.com. au.

SRA Board visits northern NSW growers and millers The SRA Board met with northern NSW cane growers and millers earlier this month to hear the local industry’s priorities for research, development and extension in the Australian sugarcane industry. The visit forms part of the SRA Board’s commitment to meeting regionally with SRA investors on a regular schedule.

These visits also allow SRA to communicate directly with our investors and to share how the research agenda is delivering outcomes for growers and millers. As the Board discussed, Northern NSW is an important region for the Australian sugar industry, with some unique research requirements that are being addressed by SRA-funded research.

For example, there is a project underway that will run until 2020 working with NSW Sugar on developing productive and regionally-adapted varieties for NSW. The aim of this research is to deliver more productive varieties that are suited to the two-year cropping cycle and have improved frost tolerance, both of which are needed for this temperate growing region.

We are also identifying new genetically diverse parents to use in the crossing program.

An industry reference group has come together to consider the way various traits are weighted in the sugarcane breeding program.

14 Australian Canegrower | 31 August 2015

We are also strengthening our presence in the region by recruiting for a Development Officer (DO) based at the Condong Mill. This person is expected to be an interface with the local industry and complement our existing staff at Broadwater, working on the SRA plant breeding program. 

WHAT’S NEW

Survey finds crime on farms is increasing While crime rates generally have fallen across Australia, this is not the case for rural crime. Of the farmers who responded to a recent survey, 74% had experienced some type of rural crime over the past 12 years.

The study was conducted as part of Project Gateway, an initiative of Queensland Police, established out of concern about increasing trespassing and unauthorised hunting and other crimes on farms.

A mail survey was completed by 1,251 farmers across a range of industries in Queensland and New South Wales. The following is from a report prepared by Associate Professor Elaine Barclay of the University of New England.

The findings Farmers agreed rural crime had increased but overall it was not considered to be a serious problem; although victims of crime were significantly more likely to rate rural crime as serious.

Of concern, incidents of trespassing and unauthorised hunting have doubled. They reported the current ‘pig hunting craze’ has produced offenders who are well equipped with off-road vehicles, GPS systems, and highpowered rifles.

This has resulted in gates left open, damage to fences, crops and vegetation, vandalism, arson, littering, disturbing, stealing or shooting stock, having dogs that attack livestock and the thefts of fuel, tools and equipment, tyres, lights or GPS equipment from farm machinery.

Most landholders have strict requirements for access to their properties and while some are happy for people to enter as long as abide by these requirements, others quietly turn people away without any repercussions.

However, some experience persistent problems, and are concerned as offenders are armed, own savage dogs and ignore their requests to leave.

Thefts of fuel, machinery, timber and rubbish dumping have increased since 2001.

Stock theft has increased to a lesser extent, but this age-old crime continues to have a significant impact on victims; financially, psychologically and socially.

The theft of one or two animals for food remains a common problem.

Some large thefts are committed by organised crime networks.

There has been an increase in farmers reporting crimes to police for incidents of trespass and illegal hunting and theft of fuel and stock. Yet, overall, only half of all rural crimes are reported to police.

Often too much time elapses before a theft is discovered, or there is uncertainty that a crime has actually occurred.

Many farmers think it is a waste of time reporting crimes because there is little the police can or will do. Farmers were frustrated when calls to local police are redirected to regional centres where staff had little knowledge of the district or rural crime.

The lack of feedback to victims on the status of the police investigation when they do report crimes was a common complaint.

31 August 2015

Continues page 16...

| Australian Canegrower 15

WHAT’S NEW

The failure of the courts to prosecute offenders discourages victims from reporting crime.

Crime prevention Most crime prevention practices by farmers are reactions to criminal events.

Many have been forced to change farm management practices to prevent further victimisation, for example, no longer storing bulk fuel on farm or moving stock from paddocks that are subject to repeated thefts.

Apart from livestock identification and record management, securing firearms, and locking homes when unattended, few farmers bothered with property security. However, security cameras for monitoring access to properties and for providing proof of crimes in court are very popular.

Compared with 2001 survey findings, fewer farmers could rely on their neighbours to call the police or let them know if there was something suspicious occurring on their property. Many farmers noted that they no longer know everyone in their area.

There was little involvement in community crime prevention programs, and informal crime prevention groups lack community support.

Ideally, police could have a role in facilitating community crime prevention.

Alternatively, industry groups, farmer organisations, rural fire services or other groups may assist.

When asked who or what they blamed for rural crime in their district, farmers

identified trespassers and illegal hunters, seasonal workers or transients, or miners, and lower socio-economic groups, unemployment and drug abuse.

Farmers agreed that the police were doing a good job despite limited resources, but few believe that police have rural crime under control. Stock and rural crime investigators are highly valued, but farmers would like to see more of them.

Conclusions Overall farmers in both states shared similar views on rural crime. Crime poses a threat to food safety, food security,

biosecurity and international trade.

Crime is costly for farmers in terms of lost production, replacement costs, lost work time and higher insurance premiums, which impacts on local economies. There is a need to raise awareness about rural crime. We need tighter legislation around trespass and hunting and more resources for policing rural crime and crime prevention.

Associate Professor Elaine Barclay thanks the farmers involved in the study and Queensland and NSW police for their support. ď Ž

Fig 1. (left): Rates of reported crime on farms

Fig 2. (below): Reasons for not reporting crime

16 Australian Canegrower | 31 August 2015

WHAT’S NEW

Trespassers on your land - know your rights A recent survey of farmers has found that incidents of trespassing and unauthorised hunting have doubled since an earlier survey in 2001. So what can farmers do about trespassers? Solicitor Chris Cooper runs through the options.

Legal options Entering onto land in possession of another without a lawful justification is regarded as trespass. It may be both a civil wrong and a crime depending on the circumstances.

Being a civil wrong, growers may take their own civil action and sue a trespasser in the civil courts. Growers can seek a court order that requires a person to stop trespassing and to never trespass again (an injunction). The Court can also order that the person trespassing pay compensation.

Trespass is also a crime in some circumstances under the Summary Offences Act. It is up to police, following a formal complaint, to take the necessary prosecution action.

Fines of up to $1,138.50 and imprisonment for up to six months are possible for people who, without lawful excuse, enter or remain on land used for agricultural purposes or open and leave open any gate on enclosed agricultural land.

Practical options In some cases the legal approach may not be appropriate. Civil action can be expensive, time consuming, stressful and uncertain in outcome and police may be reluctant to investigate.

Alternative action includes, where possible, direct discussion with the trespasser (and their parents, if relevant).

Other alternatives include seeking assistance from local police, media and community awareness programmes which could be undertaken in schools and throughout the community.

Protecting your property You can eject a trespasser from your property. The trespasser could be asked to leave the premises but if the situation looks as if it might get out of hand the police should always be contacted. Try to make a record of the trespassers details, including name, vehicle description, date and time of trespass, with photos if possible.

Under the Qld Criminal Code it is lawful for a person in possession of land to use such force as is reasonably necessary in order to prevent any person from

wrongfully entering upon such land or in order to remove such person from the land PROVIDED THAT he does not do bodily harm to such person.

It is an offence to set a trap intended to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm on a trespasser.

Liability for injury to trespassersions Whether a grower will be liable for an injury to a person trespassing on their land will always depend on the circumstances of each case. Just because a person is a trespasser does not mean that they couldn't recover damages if they are injured.

The issues of liability will be determined by the law of negligence and the best approach is, of course, that at all times you act reasonably. What will be reasonable will depend on each growers own circumstances.

If you see someone trespassing on your land: (i) Call the police. (ii) Record details such as a description of the person and any vehicle, date and time. Take photos if possible. (iii) Approach the person directly, tell them they are on private property and ask them to leave. (iv) You can use such force as reasonably necessary to eject the trespasser but you can’t do bodily harm. Such action can be risky and the situation could escalate.

Legal remedies Lodge a formal complaint with police who may prosecute the trespasser for the criminal offence of trespassing.

Take civil legal action and sue the trespasser, seek either a court order preventing further trespass and/ or an order for the payment of compensation.

Warning signs

Prevention measures

A common option is the use warning signs designed to limit a property owner’s liability, for example “Enter at Your Own Risk” or “Private Property – Keep Out”.

Community awareness programmes.

School information programmes.

Neighbourhood watch programmes.

Place “No Trespassing” or “Private Property” signs at entry points.

Report trespassing behaviour to police.

Erect boundary fences and lock gates.

Media coverage and engagement.

Whilst such signs may be a good idea, they do not often provide a proper defence to an action brought against the landholder by a person who is injured.

Liability issues

The basis of the defence is that a person is entitled to waive one's legal rights and accept any risk by entering the property acknowledging that the property owner owed that person no duty of care.

Courts are reluctant to uphold this defence as it must be established that the person entering the property was aware of the warning notice and that the danger was present in the mind of the person and fully appreciated when entering the property.

Act reasonably in the management of your property.

Ensure proper liability insurance cover is held.

Insurance There are no easy answers to this issue of trespass and liability for injury.

So a sign, even though read by the trespasser may not be a sufficient defence if the person did not realise and appreciate the nature of the risk involved. If, however, the person had previously frequented the property and was aware of the possible risks then the defence would have a greater chance of succeeding.

Ultimately every grower should ensure that they hold adequate liability insurance to cover the risk of injury to persons on their land.

Any growers wishing to discuss aspects of trespass liability or any other matter should contact your local CANEGROWERS office or call CANEGROWERS Legal Adviser, Chris Cooper, for free initial legal advice. 

31 August 2015

| Australian Canegrower 17

ON FARM

Mario Quagliata with the zonal rotary hoe. Modifications mean the distance between the hoes can be adjusted when required.

SHORT & SWEET OF IT

Zonal approach boosts yields

• Mario and Heidi have won the Tully district’s Mangrove Jack award for their commitment to improving water quality while increasing productivity on their farms.

Story by Neroli Roocke

• They’ve accessed the Australian Government Reef Programme to ensure every aspect of work done to modernise and amalgamate a series of small farms is done to the highest level of industry best practice.

Their commitment to sustainable farming and their future vision is what earned them the 2015 Mangrove Jack Award – given each year to a Tully grower who works towards best management practices with a focus on water quality while maintaining or improving productivity.

• Wider rows which are not disturbed

by GPS-guided machinery are keeping their sugarcane yields averaging 80-90 t/ha into the sixth or seventh ratoon.

This on farm story has been brought to you by the Australian Government Reef Program

Think of a Reef-friendly farming practice and chances are, Mario and Heidi Quagliata have already implemented it on their Tully district farm or have plans for it.

Work done on the 260 hectares being farmed by Mario and Heidi ticks all of those boxes. They’re a busy couple - along with the work on their own farm Mario runs a contract laser levelling business and Heidi does the paperwork for other agricultural businesses.

Modernising small farms Over years of hard work, the Quagliata family has amalgamated and modernised a series of small farms in the Feluga area into a modern operation with larger paddocks and longer rows.

“In buying out the small neigbouring farms and amalgamating them we’ve done major earthworks to make larger paddocks with fewer drains - taking

18 Australian Canegrower | 31 August 2015

them into the modern age I suppose!”

Mario explains.

For example, one 43ha farm with 18 paddocks is now just four equal-sized, laser-levelled, rectangular paddocks making farming tasks and harvesting more efficient and in the process improving water flow. ►

ON FARM

“It’s important to make sure the water gets away when it is raining,” Mario explains about his district which records an average annual rainfall between 3,000 and 4,000mm.

Water from the farms runs to Banyan Creek and, after passing through Tully, makes its way to the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon.

Reef-friendly farming Mario and Heidi have made use of the Australian Government Reef Programme (formerly Reef Rescue) during their program of modernisation to ensure the practices they were implementing were the best available for both their productivity and the quality of the water leaving their land.

"

“We now have waterways that run through the middle of our paddocks that the harvesters can drive over – they’re spoon drains which are kept grassed and mown in order to filter the water before it enters the bigger drains and eventually goes to the creek,” Mario says.

The next stage is to construct silt traps at the creek outlets, work towards which the Australian Government Reef Programme is contributing.

This year cane is being harvested from 235 hectares and around 34 hectares is fallow.

After years of using the fallow period to renovate paddocks, Mario now has an area planted with mung beans due for harvest in October after a successful trial of wet season rice.

Mario says it was the first time he’d grown rice and although the season was drier than usual, it has been a profitable addition to the business.

“We planted around 13 hectares and it has netted around $500/hectare, producing four tonnes to the hectare,” he says. “It was quite easy and the best part of the deal was that 30 days after harvest we received 100% of the payment.”

We’ve gone from probably a maximum of four ratoons to going six or seven, maintaining good yields averaging 8090 t/ha.

"

They have accessed funding in five of the eight rounds made available to farmers in Reef catchment districts to purchase new equipment and implement zonal tillage throughout the farms.

An initial project was GPS guidance to enable machinery to be kept from the growth zone and this was followed by projects to build a zonal ripper, a zonal rotary hoe and a high crop spray tractor.

In moving to wider, 1.9m dual rows spaced 600mm apart with controlled traffic farming using GPS, Mario is reducing the distance travelled by his equipment, and therefore fuel use and wear and tear.

Heidi Quagliata at work in the farm office.

This system of precision agriculture means the area being compacted by wheels in each paddock is reduced, promoting better root and soil health through an improved environment for micro-organisms.

Putting the effort into caring for the soil in this way is having productivity benefits.

“What we’re finding is that we’re probably a fraction down on yield in plant but we’re able to go to older ratoons and maintain good yields for longer than what we could when we were on single rows,” Mario says.

“We’ve gone from probably a maximum of four ratoons to going six or seven, maintaining good yields averaging 8090 t/ha.”

Continues page 20...

31 August 2015

| Australian Canegrower 19

ON FARM

That said, with his planting this year, Mario is starting to trial wide single rows of 1.75m, 400mm apart, after experiencing some difficulties harvesting the wider dual rows.

“The key thing with any row spacing is to keep the harvesters and the bin tractors off the rows,” he says. “At 1.75, still a nice wide row, I think we can achieve the same results but it’ll be easier to work – it’s what you could call a super-single.”

Some of the laser levelling work required in the modernisation of the farms was also funded and the next stage of silt traps in the drainage system is work to be completed over the next three years.

Mangrove Jack award Mario accepted this year’s Mangrove Jack Award with a tinge of sadness because his parents weren’t there to share the event. His father, Cirno, has been receiving treatment in Brisbane since suffering a stroke in December 2014.

Above: Mario Quagliata programs the GPS to accurately guide his laser levelling equipment (pictured below) Left: Mario checks the progress of his mung bean break crop.

20 Australian Canegrower | 31 August 2015

“Dad was involved in every project that we’ve done,” Mario says. “When we were laser levelling or doing earthworks he would come down on his ’65 Massey with its back blade and do the little tidying up work to finish it off.”

The family is hoping Cirno will be home in Tully later this year, returning to the home he’s had since he came to Australia from Italy and in time to see the next project get underway. 

ON FARM

Fertiliser champion recognised Dr George Rayment has been honoured by the fertiliser industry for his contribution to the Fertcare program.

testing and has been active in the Australasian Soil and Plant Analysis Council.

He was presented with a Fertcare® ‘Champion of the Decade’ award at an Australian Fertiliser Services Association (AFSA) dinner earlier this month.

Given his expertise in soil fertility and environmental management, Dr Rayment’s involvement and input into Fertcare was sought from the beginning and despite retiring from the Queensland public service in 2010, his commitment to Fertcare has continued.

Fertcare has been lifting the skills and knowledge of everyone involved in supplying, distributing and spreading fertilisers, helping to ensure farmers receive good advice based on sound science.

More than 2,800 people have completed Fertcare training across three levels over the past 10 years.

Dr Rayment’s life’s work has been to promote productivity while protecting the environment and minimising food safety risks.

He played an instrumental role in the early development of commercial soil

He is an active member of the technical committee, providing input into the continued development of training and accreditation programs.

This year he received an Order of Australia for services to the primary industry sector in soil and plant analysis.

Fertilizer Australia and AFSA applaud Dr Rayment’s long-standing commitment to Fertcare and his lifelong commitment to ensuring fertiliser use is efficient for farmers, while minimising environmental impacts. 

Dr George Rayment was presented with the Fertcare Champion of the Decade award for Northern Region.

His life’s work has been aligned with the principles of Fertcare.

Getting to know you This column is about putting faces to the people you may hear from or talk to in the CANEGROWERS office. This edition, meet Suzi Moore What’s your role in CANEGROWERS? Communications Manager heading up the communications unit.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

There is nothing quite as rewarding as achieving serious wins for members when we’ve lobbied really hard on an issue. It has also been a real buzz building our media presence and brand.

My first role with CANEGROWERS was to help get cane growers off the front cover of all the major city newspapers and television and radio news reports about the impact of cane farming on the reef. Instead of 20 cane reef vandalism stories a week, we now get less than that every year – and it was largely achieved by sharing the stories of the amazing innovation and latest practices Australian cane growers use.

The job is far from over, but making inroads has been an absolute thrill.

What do you see are the challenges?

Things are so tough for cane growers at the moment. Low prices, unfair trade restrictions hampering access to world

markets, spiralling costs of inputs, the ever-increasing demands of red and green tape, and of course mills trying to use their monopoly power to take away the rights of growers.

The list is long but I’ve loved working for CANEGROWERS because it rallies hard for growers on all of these fronts and does it better than most. I’d say that’s largely due to all the smart growers across the State who remain committed to their organisation. When we band together, we really are a formidable force.

This year has certainly proved this point. Sometimes when economic circumstances at the farm gate are at their worst, it makes it even more important. This year our unprecedented unity has seen growers be heard when it seemed impossible that they would be.

The thing that CANEGROWERS does that other organisations tell us they would like to emulate is the direct action our growers take in support of the big issues along the way. Yes the organisation is one voice, but when all our members stand up and rally that same message in support, that is really

Suzi Moore with fellow Australians Carolyn Martin and Peter Lewis at the House of Lords at a Internation al Federation of Agricultural Journalist s tour in London

powerful stuff – and I strongly believe that approach is making all the difference.

Where and what was your first paid job and what did that lead to?

My working life started at a video store in the sleepy country town of Jamestown in country South Australia.

It led me to paying off some serious damage to the family car incurred when my 12 year old self thought I’d test if you could park the family wagon in the garage at 60 km/h.

I did manage to squeeze it in, albeit by shaving off one side of the car. I’d just wished it was the beat up old ute which possibly no one would have noticed the charming addition of a few more character-building dings. 

31 August 2015

| Australian Canegrower 21

CLASSIFIEDS

FIRST 5 LINES FREE* FOR CANEGROWERS MEMBERS! Book online anytime of the day or night at www.canegrowers. com.au or email us at ads@CANEGROWERS.com.au.

Next deadline is 5 September 2015.

*As a FREE service to CANEGROWERS members, Australian Canegrower will print suitable classified advertisements UP TO 5 LINES FREE, FOR ONE ISSUE ONLY. A charge of $5. 50 will apply for each extra line or part thereof. A charge will apply for advertising of noncane growing activities. Advertisements must relate exclusively to cane farming activities, e.g. farm machinery etc. Advertisements from non-members are charged at $11 per line incl GST. Only pre-paid ads will be accepted.

Beaulieu R.U.M. Attention Canegrowers The first step in achieving a high yielding cane crop is a good strike and vigorous growth in the early stage of your crop.

This can be achieved easily by simply adding 5 litres of R.U.M per acre to your dip water.

For a cost of around $25 per acre Can you afford not to give it a go?

For further information contact – Burdekin & Northern Region call Wally Ford 0417 937 722 Mackay Region call Noel Jensen 0438 595 325 Childers Region call Peter Irwin 0428 427 212

JOHNNY FARMING COMPANY

Australian Distributor Belshina Tyres & Chinese Imports 5 Tractor Tyres 5 Earthmoving Tyres 5 Truck Tyres 5 Cars & 4WD Tyres DROVER EQUIPMENT AUSTRALIA

UTV’s, ATV’s & AG BIKES

FOR SALE - 1 X 4040 John Deere 2WD Air Cab in good condition - 1 X 2Tonne Silkwood Implement Side Dresser on wheels with colters - 1X 3.6 tonne Case Excavator - 1 X 17 tonne Hitachi Excavator - 1 x Kubota 9540 FWD Tractor Ex Con - 1 x John Deere 5520 FWD V/G Con - 1 X Kubota 6040 FWD Tractor Ex Condition - 1 x 2009 Trimble Auto pilot to suit a John Deere 3510 Harvester - 1 X John Deere 4520 – FWD VGC - 1 X Ford Aero Max Prime Mover with Hydraulics - 1 X 2013 5tonne 3 row adjustable stool splitter with confidor tank 07 4068 5499 OR 0418 988 601 email: sales@rbengineeringnq.com.au www.rbengineeringnq.com.au

22 Australian Canegrower | 31 August 2015

See website for more details

P: 07 4952 2577 M: 0412 535 887 www.johnnyfarmingcompany.com.au E: johnnyfarmingco@bigpond.com 133 Schmidke Road Mackay 4740

JOHNNY FARMING COMPANY New Hydraulic Heavy Duty

OFFSETS

3 metre width, 28 discs, All bath bearings $11,000 plus GST ($12,100 incl GST) Other size offsets available are 1.8m, 2.2m, 2.5m, 3m & 3.4metres.

3 point linkage offsets available also

New Heavy Duty

SLASHERS

2.1 metres width $3,300 incl GST Other sizes available are 1.2m, 1.5m & 1.8m

Johnny Farming Company

Phone (07) 4952 2577 or 0412 535 887 (John) or 0407 638 674 (Andrew) 133 Schmidtke Road Mackay Qld 4740

Graham Twyford Machinery Sales Pty Ltd Specialising in Used Cane Harvesting Equipment Sales 2011 MASSEY FERGUSON 5465 4 WD Tractor 120 HP. 1,967 Hrs. Fitted with 6 tonne Side Tipper BSM type.

2005 JD 6920 4WD Tractor 150 HP 5,264 Hrs. Coupled to a HBM Billet Planter 1,000 L. water tank on tractor.

Complete Unit.

CAMECO 1995 TRACK HARVESTER Cat 325 HP Eng. Recent Rebuild.

12’’ x 6 Blade Diff. Chopper 95mm Blade. Good Tracks. Shredder topper.

READY TO CUT. WESTHILL TRACK INFIELD TRANSPORTER Front Unloader 4 Metre Delivery. 12/14 Tonne Elev.

CAT. 3306 TA Eng. 275 HP. Eaton Track Drive Pumps, Sunstrand Pump Driving Elevator With Radial Piston Motors. NEW Walking Gear, Inc. 24’’ Curved Grousers, Chains , Track Rollers, Front Idlers & Sprockets.

WRECKING TOFT 6500 Track Harvester. CAT. 3306 T.A. 275 HP. Eng. Pump Box & Pumps, Tracks.

NEW! 4 SLAT OPEN BUTT ROLLERS Suit JD 3510/20 and CASE. Helps Drop Dirt. Enquire NOW! NEW PLANTING TIPPERS Triple Side Tippers on trailer remote hydraulics.

Immediate Delivery.

IN STOCK NOW 12, 10, 8 & 6 BLADE DIFFERENTIAL CHOPPER DRUMS Suit ‘05 to current 3520 CAMECO/JD. Tungsten Hard Faced on Wear Areas.

New seal plates, Clamping Bars & Dowels with kit.

Graham Twyford 48 Central Park Drive, Paget, Mackay Mobile: 0418 742 696 Phone: 07 49526 668 graham@gtmachinerysales.com.au www.gtmachinersales.com.au

WHAT’S NEW MEMBER SERVICES 20 Molloy Street, Toowoomba QLD Ph: 07 4615 0100 Email: manager@gessner.com.au www.gessner.com.au

Mossman –Tully

The 2015 sugarcane harvest is underway • Are you looking for a job?

• Are you looking for a worker?

We can help! Hop onto the CANEGROWERS Employment page to list a vacancy or check out the work that's available. http://www.canegrowers.com.au/page/Industry_Centre/Careers/ CANEGROWERS has a web page to help you find harvesting work and workers. Browse the listings or put up one of you own.

Good Luck!

INGHAM AGENCIES EXTRACTOR FAN BLADES GREAT RANGE! BETTER PRICES! NEW PRODUCT AVAILABLE CORRADINI TIPPER ELEVATOR FLIGHTS

BASECUTTER DISCS 610mm & 585mm 5 blade and 6 blade versions HILLING SWEEPS VIDA PLATE STRIPS VIDA PLATE LINER

MADE IN QUEENSLAND FOR AUSTRALIAN CONDITIONS Contact: Michael Pelleri Phone: 07 47761273 Fax: 07 4776 2326 sales@inghamagencies.com.au

WEG VARIABLE SPEED Drive.Silkwood Implements stick planter & cutter, blower, 4 trailers. Inter row sprayer w Kubota tractor. Fiat 180/90. Ph 0409279843 AH. SAME 4x4 Tractor 150hp, 28 Plate Napier Offset, Cane Planter &enCutter and Trailers. oice in g The prov chion & Manufacturin s Ph: 4065 6237/ 0427 656 237 lut So t en Equipm SOUTHERN CROSS Travelling Irrigator SX300, fully galvanised and always in shed – very seldom used. Angus hose on wrapped around flat wheel. Winch 20 Molloy Street, Toowoo Ph: 07 4615 0100 Email: manager@gessne in new condition. Tractor power take off www.gessner.com.au pump with transfer box. Model 100X65250 6 inch, suction valve. Also, 16 lengths x 9m long aluminium pipes with ajax fittings on trailer. Ph: 0408 183 762 Ford 7810 a/c 4WD 110HP 2700 Hours $24,000 + GST Very Good Condition.

Newton – 4 tonne fertilizer Bin $4,000 + GST. MSW – S/S 3 Tonne Fertilizer Coulter Bin $12,500. Ph: 0408 456 218 FIAT 411R High Clearance 2,863 hours; 4 Furrow Hodge Reversible Plough; 1 ton bag lifter; and a HBN Ripper Coulter. Ph: (07) 4067 5255.

Herbert River – Burdekin

RADIAL TRACTOR TYRE size 18.4 x 38.

Good condition. $350 incl GST. PH 0427 872 790.

FORD D SERIES Truck, 7T – Petrol Engine.

Good condition – no rust. $5,800 O.N.O, Phone 0429 101 163.

NEW HOLLAND TRACTOR T6050 done 2141 hours, super steer, GSP ready combined with a International 3.5 disc harrow with near new dishes and bearings good condition $72,500 +GST Ph: 0488 038 906 after 7pm

Mackay – Proserpine 12T SELF-PROPELLED 6x6 elev infielder VGC. 6t side/tipper on Leyland tandem GC. Don Mizzi 741 model on Fiat 750 special turbo plus MF102 half-tracks to suit. Mason 9550 4-row precision vacuum seed planter GC. 0438 606 578 (Mackay) TRACTORS/MACHINERY: Ford 5000, 86hp recond. Head, good rubber, 2pac paint, registered, tidy unit. $8500 inc gst. Ford 8401, air cab, recond. Gearbox, new hyd pump, tidy unit, registered, $11000inc gst. 2 x 23-1-30 Good walls 5-10% rubber. $110 both. Ph: 0428 880 771 CAMECO 2000 track harvester, 5ft primary extractor, leg base cutter box, all new walking gear, $110,000 inc GST. Ph: 0407714172 8 x RIMS and tyres, 8.25 x 20, good condition, suit a Bedford. Ph: 0417 743 745

31 August 2015

| Australian Canegrower 23

CLASSIFIEDS

MACLEAN 5 ROLLER half tracks, new stone guards, VGC $6500 plus GST Ph 0418159998 CASE HARVESTER back tyres and rims, 80% tread, $2000 each plus GST Ph 0418159998 SNAPTITE IRRIGATION Hose, 100m x 4” G.C - $1500.00 + GST. P: 0407 969 170 2 FRONT IDLERS suit Cameco/John Deere harvester. Radiator suit Cameco harvester. Ph: 0407 054 417 EXCAVATOR – JCB JS220, 2005, quick hitch, crane lock valves, hammer/auger/ tilt piping, tight pins & bushes, UHF radio, new GP bucket. $49,000+gst. Ph: 0419700761.

AIR COMPRESSOR – 130CFM Compair, 3 cyl Deutz diesel engine, trailer mounted, new tyres. $4,500+gst. Ph: 0419700761.

BUCKETS (NEW) suit Backhoe or 5T Excavator: 1300mm mud bucket, $800+gst. 650mm GP bucket, $600+gst.

Ph: 0419700761.

BUCKETS (NEW) suit 20T excavator: 600mm to 1050mm wide GP buckets.

From $1,900+gst. Ph: 0419700761.

QUICK HITCHES (NEW) - suit various excavator / backhoes.

Prices from $800+gst. Ph: 0419700761.

SOUTHEREN CROSS pump 3" in 2" out has pulley set up to be driven by belts in good condition $880 incl gst. Ph: 0428 529 216 FORD TW30 2WD. Body in fair condition, but runs well needs new tyres $8800 incl gst. Ph 0428 529 216 HODGE PLANT CUTTER. Hodge stripper 6 blade fan at bottom hydraulic topper 1000 PTO; $1200 each INC GST. 40 4” x 30’ irrigation pipes with sprinklers, $100 per pipe.

Ph: 0427 597 356 Valtra 6400 4WD Tractor - 1ooHP, AIR-CON CAB, 2004 Model, 3700 Hours, Good Condition, $30,000 (incl GST) ONO. Ph: 0418710958 / 49503048.

Wanted

BOAT WANTED TO BUY. Haines 16ft.

Hull needs to be reasonably sound. Will repower and build new trailer. Ph: 0400 678 763 TRACTOR TYRES of all sizes. 0418 775 698 all hours.

CRUMBLE ROLLER to suit 80" rotary hoe.

Ph: 0408 074 024 BENT ELEVATOR to suit Toft 6000, Ph: 0429 157 820 (Mackay-Proserpine) 4280 CHAMBERLAIN or 4480 Chamberlain, Ph: 0429 157 820 (Mackay-Proserpine) 4 TO 5 TON stool splitter. Ph: 0408 190 493. Any region AUSTOFT 7000 or Cameco wheelie for plant cutter Phone 0407495022 or 0429876441. (Mackay-Proserpine)

Work Wanted CONTRACT PLANTING, Babinda and surrounding area. Ph: 0401 530 690 after 7pm.

Property MACKAY: For sale cane farm Pinnacle area 07 4958 5253.

HERBERT RIVER: Cane farm 60.73ha with machinery and 4 bedroom dwelling at 194 Lannercost Ext Rd, Ingham Ph. 40454321 INGHAM: Cane Farm for sale. Hawkins Creek: Total area 48.3ha.CPA 46.6ha.

Shed,electricity & water. Genuine enquiries ph.0407635175.

WANTED TO LEASE cane farm on a long term basis, preferably Mackay area. Do have considerable farming experience.

Ph – 0409 897 557

Rainfall Report Recorded rainfall (mm) Location

7 days to 9am 17.08.15

Average rainfall (mm)

Year to date

24.08.15

Jan–Aug

Mossman

0

0

1009

Mareeba AP

0

0.4

576

731

0.8

11

1362

1655

Mt Sophia

2

5

2909

2725

Babinda

0

0

1422

3517

Innisfail

2

18

1926

2967

Tully

0

21

2197

3433

Cardwell

0

22

1063

1716

Lucinda

0.4

14

731

1753

Ingham

Cairns

1795

Tce

8

821

1631

Abergowrie

0

6

952

1488

Townsville

0

3

247

898

Ayr DPI

0

0

348

743

Proserpine

0

0

601

1077

Mirani

0

1

626

1183

0.4

0.2

647

1240

Sarina (Plane Ck)

0

0

771

1344

Bundaberg - Rocky Point

Bundaberg

8

3

584

686

Childers South

12

4

613

585

Drop-deck, tautliner and flat top extendable for hire. 07 4159 8174 or 0417 004 717.

CASE 970 TRACTOR low hours , rear transmission over hauled , VGC $12000 plus Gst Ph 0431 290 004 or 0755 466 867 91 AUSTOFT 7000. Leg box, vertical arm, primary extractor and plastic hoods.

Ideal small tonnage machine or plant cutter, in very good condition. Ph 0407 398 852 / 0408 964 516 BONEL 24 plate disc offsets vgc, $15000+GST, ONO. Ph: 0417003997.

TOFT 7000 HARVESTER - early model, 240hp, Komatsu leg basecutter, 2-blade chop - Ph: 0413 584 728

Maryborough

7

12

721

822

Tewantin

24

45

1082

1204

Eumundi

8

23

1343

1231

Nambour

6

34

1428

1222

Woongoolba

4

14

1087

960

Murwillumbah

2

32

1291

1154

Ballina

13

18

1441

1350

Woodburn

0

8

789

1035

Mackay

Zero indicates either no rain or no report was sent. These rainfall figures are subject to verification and may be updated later.

Weather forecasts, radar and satellite images and other information for the farming community can be accessed on www. bom.gov.au. Weather report provided by the Bureau of Meteorology’s Commercial Weather Services Unit.

24 Australian Canegrower | 31 August 2015

Driven by growers.

Used by growers.

Owned by growers In recent years how we farm has been dictated by others. As Australian farmers, we would much rather have a system which works for us. A system which is about improving our bottom line and one we can use to market our sugar to the world.

The Australian sugarcane industry has worked together and built just such a system. Smartcane BMP. Smartcane BMP will help Australia maintain its competitive edge in the increasingly competitive world market. Being able to show we are productive and sustainable producers of quality sugar is becoming increasingly important to our customers, and the Smartcane BMP system is the way we are going to show just that.

Become part of the movement:

Sign up to Smartcane BMP Contact your local Smartcane BMP

facilitator. Get recognised for what you are already doing. www.smartcane.com.au

www.canegrowers.com.au/page/insurance

WE PROVIDE SOLUTIONS

CANEGROWERS INSURANCE Insurance designed by CANEGROWERS for cane growers At CANEGROWERS, our business is protecting your business.

That’s why we have developed CANEGROWERS Insurance, to ensure our members have access to the best possible personal and commercial insurance products on the market.

CANEGROWERS Insurance products are tailored to meet the specific needs of growers and their families. Our dedicated team provide a personal on-farm service, taking all the complications out of finding the perfect insurance solutions for members.

CANEGROWERS is an Authorised Representative of NAS Insurance Brokers. AFS Licence No: 233750