WATER QUALITY - A GROWER'S PERSPECTIVE

SUGARCANE FARMS IN the wet tropics border important waterways that feed directly into the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon. Many growers in the wet tropics grew up on farms with creeks, rivers, harbours and the Great Barrier Reef in their backyard and have no desire to intentionally damage the Reef. Farmers generally embrace innovation and have made significant changes to their farming practices to implement 'best practice' within the industry. Since the 1980s, significant changes have been made to practices, such as land clearing, farm layout, drainage design, cultivation strategies, fertiliser application rates and methods, pesticide application technology/product choice, moving toward more environmentally-friendly products. Recently farmers embraced the Federal Government’s 'Reef Water Quality Incentive Grant Programme', to further improve farming systems and to reduce off-farm impacts on water quality. After implementing these measures, they continue to battle for recognition of their efforts from certain sections of the community peddling their own agenda, which is often based on misinformation and ignorance of the changes that have already occurred within the industry. Hopefully, with the aid of accurate and robust monitoring within river catchments, future policy and initiatives in the agricultural sector will be based around stringent scientific data, rather than emotive ideologies. The farming community is striving for a sustainable industry, with minimal environmental impact, ensuring the best possible outcome for future generations. For all industry participants, the challenge remains the adoption of an holistic approach encompassing productivity, profitability and stewardship.