Good Time To Get Smart

By Kevin Borg, Chairman, CANEGROWERS Mackay

With the crush behind us, many farmers are getting to the jobs that sometimes need to be put to one side during harvest.

Like taking care of Smartcane BMP accreditation and re-accreditation.

There are numerous growers undergoing their five-year re-accreditations. The program has grown over the years, and now 43% of Queensland’s cane country is operated under the sustainable Best Management Practice program.

It’s a standard that has been accepted by global sustainability programs like Bonsucro and Vive, and it has certainly turned out to be an approach to farming that has benefitted environment, grower productivity and profitability, and the state’s sugar trade.

A decade ago, CANEGROWERS determined that there was a growing need to introduce a Best Management Practice program that gave cane producers a framework to document and improve their management of any environmental impacts. By the time of the introduction of Reef Regulations several years later, many growers were already in a place where they could demonstrate positive practices.

Today, the Smartcane BMP program is part of a bigger sustainability picture. If we didn’t have it in place, today our niche in the world market could have been in jeopardy. Australian sugar is now at the forefront of documented sustainable sugar production, and that is attracting buyers from across food, fuel and fibre production, from traditional manufacturers to the emerging bio-commodities sector. The world is looking to our product, and that is a golden opportunity for growers and millers to invest in our production and capture this opportunity.

It is a must that we continue to increase our BMP accreditations as a part of meeting that market hungry for a sustainably produced, readily renewable feedstock.

Those early adopters are now re-accrediting for a second time, and we can be proud to say in the Mackay and Plane Creek districts that re-accreditations are at 100% of those growers in the program. There are over 200 fully accredited growers in the region, covering 34,354ha of cane land. It's good, but we can do better.

The program focuses on areas like fertiliser and chemical use: timing, rates, and documentation, but it takes in a whole raft of farming practices, like soil, irrigation and drainage and pest weed and disease management. These are the core modules, but growers can extend their learning and practice change through optional modules including natural systems management, farm business skills, workplace health and safety, and global sustainability standards.

It really is an outstanding program, and a worthwhile investment in your time and farming business. Growers working in the program are proving that they can produce an equal or higher volume of quality cane with fewer inputs, simply by getting the timing right and with more targeted application. And that is a substantial saving that goes back into the businesses’ bottom lines.

We know that there are lots of growers out there benchmarked in the program, who are using good soil management practices like SRA’s Six Easy Steps, or have engaged with positive programs like Project Bluewater, who have their Nitrogen and Phosphorus Budgets in order. It will be a small and relatively easy step to take that final step and accredit. We strongly recommend speaking with your productivity service and make the most of a great opportunity for your business, the industry, and the environment.

You can learn more about Smartcane BMP at smartcane.com.au.

‍

CAPTION: Our region’s Smartcane BMP officers do a fantastic job supporting growers to accredit. Steven Garrad and Lorelle Flynn at Mackay Area Productivity Services (MAPS), and Leahanna Lacey at Plane Creek Productivity Services. Photo credit: Kirili Lamb

‍