There is a growing awareness among local sugarcane growers that sustainability does not necessarily mean reduced productivity and efficiency.

In recent years there has been a tremendous change in attitude among individual growers towards environmental issues plus an increasing adoption of more sustainable farming practices.

More and more farmers are becoming enthusiastic about the social and productive benefits of adopting ecologically sound practices. Some farmers are even erecting artificial owl boxes and roosts on their properties to assist the control of destructive rats.

Australian cane growers have elected to develop and subscribe to an active, forward-looking policy on the environment. The accent is on sustainability - to balance apparent conflict of efficiency and environmental constraint and, wherever possible, to limit government involvement through responsible self-management and subscription to voluntary codes of conduct.

Canegrowers, the body which represents all cane growers, is playing an active role in this process. For example, in 1998 it sponsored the first publicly open Sugar Environment Forum in Australia to identify issues, solutions and to seek out productivity and efficiency gains.

A Vision for the Future
More importantly, in 1995 Canegrowers and the Australian Sugar Milling Council adopted a plan called Vision 2000 to guide the industry’s development into the next century. Vision 2000 endorsed the concept of a sugar industry which is ecologically sustainable as well as economically viable and efficient. It included the goal of ensuring long-term sustainability by developing an environment management strategy based on an industry environmental audit and the management of community concerns.

The Environmental Audit
Canegrowers voluntarily commissioned an extensive and independent environmental audit of sugarcane growing in Queensland. The audit examined on-farm activities and off-farm impacts. It involved several hundred stakeholder interviews and physical on-farm audits in all cane growing regions. The audit report, released in September 1996, contained 156 recommendations covering 14 different areas of activity. Canegrowers made all results public.

Environment Management Strategy
Flowing from that audit, a strategy to address the actual and perceived issues was developed in conjunction with farmers and research bodies. The Canegrowers Environment Management Strategy has become an integral part of the organisation’s five-year strategic plan.

The plan provides for an appropriate mix of existing and new on-farm initiatives, as well as research, development, monitoring, extension, education and communication amongst industry organisations. The marrying of productivity and environmental responsibility is integral to the strategy.

The Australian sugar industry commits around A\ million a year to research, development and extension with much of this targeted at improving sustainability as well as productivity. A Centre for Sustainable Sugar Production has been established to look specifically at the demands of the environment.

As a direct result of the industry’s aggressive research and development program, advances have been made in areas such as pest control, where many of our programs are world class and an example to other Australian industries. Many of the pest control programs now being developed are based on integrated pest management strategies involving biological control agents, transgenic canes, the use of chemicals and changed cultural practices.

Some other areas where environmental concerns are being addressed include:

• Use of Chemicals
  Community and political concern over the continued and increased use of farm chemicals has prompted rural industries to develop a self-regulatory training and education program for users of agri-chemicals. Over 70% of Queensland cane growers have completed a voluntary one-day course and have been accredited in the use of farm chemicals. The result has been a marked increase in proficient use and a parallel reduction in application rates and frequency.
  
  

• Green Cane Harvesting
  One of the biggest cultural changes in cane growing has been the replacement of pre-harvest firing by the adoption of green cane harvesting and trash blanketing. The volume of cane harvested green (unburnt) has increased by well over 200% in the past 10 years. In 1997, 65% of the Queensland crop was cut green compared with only 18% in 1987.
  
  Adoption of this form of management has been driven equally by ecological and efficiency reasons; however, it has yielded dividends in both environmental and productivity spheres. Green cane harvesting has dramatically reduced the need for cane firing and its accompanying smoke issues, while the ensuing trash blanket protects soil from erosion during heavy rains and flooding. Blanketing increases the amount of organic matter in the soil, improving composition and structure. It has also contributed to a reduction in nitrogen requirements, while at the same time elimination of burning has made harvesting schedules much more flexible.
  
  

• Irrigation
  Australia is a dry country and, while 1998 has been one of the wettest years recorded in the sugar industry, close to 60% of all cane production is irrigated. Irrigation is a costly business with water and associated pumping costs accounting for one third of all costs. Saving water is good business and environmentally responsible.
  
  Irrigation water is monitored closely on all farms, with soil moisture readings an essential component of irrigation timing. Drip (or trickle) irrigation is being increasingly utilised, not just to save total volume but also to improve water use efficiency and productivity. Measurement of nutrient movement in irrigation run-off and ground water is widely practised to ensure hard-won dollars are not wasted.
  
  Tailwater dams are commonly used to ensure that water run-off after irrigation is captured and reused. The effect has been to dramatically reduce off-farm movement of nutrients and thus protect fragile environmental systems, while increasing production and reducing costs.
  
  

• Riparian Management
  Clearance of existing vegetation is necessary to bring new land into production; however, recent recognition of both the environmental and economic importance of riparian zones (vegetation adjacent to watercourses) has changed practices of a lifetime. Trees are now being left adjacent to water ways on all new developments and trees are being replanted in already established areas, even though that replanting may reduce available area for cultivation.
  
  Riparian zones have a major role in the filtration of nutrient run-off, stabilisation and prevention of erosion of banks and the siltation of waterways. They also play a vital part in provision of wildlife corridors and in vermin control. Planting trees on river banks eliminates undergrowth, weeds and grasses, greatly reducing rat populations around cane fields. In turn, this dramatically reduces the need for costly chemical controls.

• Acid Sulphate Soil
  For many years, some farmers have encountered ‘sour soils’ - those with high acid content near coastal regions. These have provided generally poor levels of productivity. Exposure and drainage of acid sulphate soil has also had significant environmental ramifications, with acid run-off having the potential to affect fish breeding areas.
  
  Recent awareness of both the economic and environmental consequences of cultivating acid soils has resulted in a more scientific approach being taken to mapping and identification of potential trouble spots, soil testing, drainage methods and neutralisation. This has produced positive environmental outcomes, while improving farm productivity.
  

  Positive Outlook
  

  Other areas where the resolution of an environmental pressure has resulted in greater productivity or a reduction in real costs include fertiliser management, salination of groundwater and coastal/reef water quality. Solving these challenges has, in the short term, imposed a cost, but in the medium term has led to the development of better and more efficient farm practices and, in the long term, has ensured a more sustainable Australian industry.

  A Brighter Future

  
  

  Australian sugarcane growers have realised that a better, more productive, more sustainable future is in their hands. They have adopted a proactive approach which involves addressing issues before community and conservationist concern generates restrictive and overbearing government intervention.

  Cane growers regard sustainability not as a cost but as a potential means of improving their productivity and efficiency. Most importantly, they see sustainability as a basis for ensuring long term viability and the guarantee that future generations will continue to produce sugar - at a profit.

  This information provided courtesy of Canegrowers Organisation, Australia.