EXTENSION OF THE 'SIX EASY STEPS' NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM TO THE QUEENSLAND WET TROPICS

FOR THE PASt 20 years, modification of the traditional nutrient management guidelines for the Australian sugar industry has been in progress. Those guidelines have been incorporated into a delivery mechanism for best practice nutrient management called SIX EASY STEPS. In recent years, the industry has become increasingly exposed to environmental scrutiny from the community and government. In 2010, the Queensland Government introduced statutory regulations that include policies focussing on nutrient management. At the same time, the Australian Government implemented a financial assistance program for canegrowers to improve nutrient management practices. The focus of nutrient management change being extended to industry by Sugar Research Australia (SRA) through SIX EASY STEPS is sustainability (minimisation of environmental impacts and improved industry profitability). The Queensland Government, the Australian Government and the sugar industry all recognise the SIX EASY STEPS guidelines as the foundation of acceptable nutrient management for the sugar industry. The SIX EASY STEPS program is delivered by SRA to industry through one-day, grower-oriented short courses titled ‘Accelerating the adoption of best-practice nutrient management’. The wet tropics region in north Queensland from Mossman to Ingham produces one third of the Australian sugarcane crop. In that zone, over three quarters of the area under sugarcane has been represented at a workshop. Voluntary written feedback about the value of the workshop has been overwhelmingly positive. Evidence suggests that nutrient management practices are being modified in an effort to increase profitability and improve water quality by minimising the offsite movement of applied nutrients. As an extension tool, its success is believed to be due to several important factors, including: sound science that provided the foundation of the recommendations; the collaborative and valued involvement of many people in developing the program; developing the workshop with the target audience firmly in mind; and the interactive and relaxed nature of the workshops. Focusing on the wet tropics, this paper tracks the background that led to the current environment, the roles of government and SRA’s program to enhance the adoption of nutrient management practices that broadly meet the requirements of all stakeholders. The paper also reports the initial impacts and changes that have occurred as a result of the implementation of the government programs and SRA’s extension effort.