Management of ratoon stunting disease (RSD) in Australia has been a topic of intense debate for many years. Despite recent calls to examine the utility of incorporating RSD-resistance in the plant-improvement program, this has apparently not been seriously considered. Among the reasons for this is the cost of producing resistant cultivars, both in direct terms, as well as the loss of variety output and retardation of genetic gain. This argument has been further entrenched by the widely reported very low incidence of RSD claimed by Sugar Research Australia: why incur these costs when RSD is costing the industry so very little? The counterarguments, that RSD-resistance is itself a practical genetic gain, and that the industry as a whole can have no realistic comprehension of the productivity losses caused by the disease because it does not seriously test for it, do not appear to have had any traction. This paper presents epidemiological data from LSB-qPCR diagnoses of seedbeds in northern NSW and far north Queensland and uses sensitivity analyses that estimate the costs of RSD to Australia. It further provides an avenue by which RSD-resistance can be deployed in the plant- improvement program. Key words Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli, ratoon stunting disease (RSD), resistant varieties, crop health, erosion, soil health