WEEKLY BULLETIN

SURVEYS OF STOCK AND DOMESTIC DAMS

THE consultant firm Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) has been commissioned by the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) to conduct a survey of stock and domestic dams to develop new methods to estimate the impact of these dams on surface run off into streams. The surveys have commenced and will be conducted on a sample of farms from the Warrego, Condamine Balonne and Burnett catchments. The project is jointly funded by the National Water Commission and DERM and is expected to be completed by mid 2012. There have been questions raised in the preparation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan about the impact that growth in stock and domestic use could have, given that the Queensland Water Act does not regulate this use. While the Department is not expected to change the legislation, they see a need to confirm their estimates of the rates of use from stock and domestic dams in the State. The consultant will be contacting some 200 people in the selected catchments who own land on which a stock and domestic dam has been recorded as being constructed. These catchments have been selected on the basis that they can provide a suitable basis for the development and testing of the survey approach and for the regionalisation of the results across the State.

AGRIFOOD SKILLS AUSTRALIA UPBEAT CONFERENCE

LAST week AgriFood Skills Australia held its annual conference for the first time in Brisbane and was rewarded with an attendance of over 160 delegates from across the rural industries supply chains. All the formal presentations were quite positive about the economic outlook for primary industries, with the only constraint seeming to be the availability of appropriately skilled workers. However, a number of panel presentations showed some very creative workforce development strategies and actions that are already working to attract and keep workers in agribusinesses. There were also some positive suggestions about how agricultural interests can better present the “positive narrative” about farming and supply chain jobs and to attract the workforce we need to capitalise on the next “farm and food boom” which will become evident as the world economies start to improve. QFF recommends some very positive information and ideas can be gained from the speaker presentations that will be available on the website shortly.

IMPROVED RESOURCES FOR EXPLAINING PRIMARY INDUSTRIES

THE Primary Industries Education Foundation (PIEF) continues to make good progress developing resources for school teachers and Australian Curriculum developers. To keep up to date on NATPLAN developments and to access material aides to help in teaching (and just talking about primary industries) PIEF has now launched its Prime Zone web site where all teacher aid materials are housed as developed. Likewise the Primary Industry Centre for Science Education (PICSE) is an increasing visible resource to encourage a renewed interest in the sciences at High School and beyond. There are two highly recommended PICSE Activity Centres in Queensland and the website can direct you to them and additional science resources.

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION FOR QUEENSLAND

QFF last week attended the first reference group meeting conducted by Minister for Environment, Vicky Darling on the update of the Queensland Government’s climate change adaptation strategy. Readers may be aware that the Queensland Government as a first step, recently released the Climate Change: Adaptation for Queensland issues paper for two months of public consultation. How Queensland adapts to the long-term impacts of climate change can affect human settlements, infrastructure, ecosystems, water management, primary industries, emergency management and human health. As a key stakeholder QFF sees the relevance of these issues critical to the viability of agricultural production in Queensland and will directly input to the process. As a part of the public consultation on the Issues Paper, the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) will be visiting regions across Queensland, including Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Townsville, Cairns and Mount Isa. Click here for more information on the issues paper.

FREE CSG SESSION TO GIVE GROWERS THE FACTS ABOUT THEIR RIGHTS

AS coal seam gas (CSG) development across Queensland accelerates, a series of seminars is being planned, covering farmers’ rights and responsibilities under current legislation. The CSG sessions will also offer tips on negotiating an effective conduct and compensation agreement, as well as advice on how to monitor and record the impacts of CSG activity.

Coal Seam Gas sessions are being held at:

Roma on Tuesday 27 September, 12-4pm

Moonie on Wednesday 28 September, 9am-1pm

Goondiwindi on Thursday 29 September, 9am-1pm

Nindigully on Tuesday 11 October, 12-4pm

Thallon on Wednesday 12 October, 9am-1pm

Mungindi on Thursday 13 October, 9am-1pm

Springsure on Monday 17 October, 1pm-4.30pm

Capella on Tuesday 18 October, 9am-1pm

Moranbah on Wednesday 19 October, 9am-1pm

Nebo on Thursday 20 October, 9am-1pm

Producers wishing to attend a free information session can call (07) 3238 6048 or click here to register your attendance.

MEMBER NEWS

COTTONMAP BACK IN ACTION, PROTECTING CROPS FROM PHENOXY HERBICIDE DRIFT

COTTONMAP has gone back online as the cotton industries web application designed to improve Group I (including phenoxys) herbicide application and reducing spray drift damage to cotton. CottonMap, supported by Cotton Australia NuFarm, CRDC and GRDC recorded a total of 580,000 hectares mapped last season, over 5,300 fields were mapped by 407 registered users and that accounted for 96.5% of the cotton area planted in 2010.

The CottonMap site is now updated for the 2011-12 season and has been updated with some improvements and changes:

• Mobile devices will be redirected to www.cottonmap.com.au/mobile which is the new smart-phone version of the site. A link to this version is also displayed on the web (PC) based home page. The web site is also linked from the mobile site so users can view whichever format suits best.

• Field submission updates have been added to better inform users of the status of mapped fields. This includes pop-up information as well as additional system email advice when you submit fields and again when fields are approved and online.

• A ‘news’ item area has been added to the home page that will host CottonMap updates. The most recent message will also be displayed in the map page footer.

• An email system has been added that allows all users to receive email updates (opt-out option is available).

• Last season’s fields will be in your account if you are a registered user so simply delete the non-cotton fields for this season (red X button) then add any new ones and resubmit at the bottom of the my-fields column.

• New users will be prompted to register when they submit a new field(s). Current users with new email addresses (in 2011) will need to create a new account.

Visit www.cottonmap.com.au or www.cottonmap.com.au/mobile for more information.

OTHER NEWS

BANANAS COMING BACK TO REALITY FOR GROWERS AND CONSUMERS ALIKE

BANANA lovers around the country will be pleased to know that their much loved fruit will start returning to supermarket shelves from the end of this month, according to the Australian Banana Growers’ Council (ABGC). To herald the return of fresh banana supplies, Banana Bounceback is being held in Martin Place, Sydney, on Tuesday September 27, with a pallet of bananas to go on auction. Australian Banana Growers’ Council (ABGC) President Cameron MacKay said growers are “over the moon” that supplies of Australia’s number one fruit will once again start to satisfy consumer demand. “We’d like to thank consumers for their patience and understanding during this time of re-growth – production levels are certainly on their way up and this is good news for everyone,” Mr MacKay said. Australia’s Banana Industry suffered a devastating hit on February 3, when Tropical Cyclone Yasi swept through the region, wiping out 95 per cent of production in the Tully and Innisfail region, 10 per cent on the Atherton Tablelands and a further 100 per cent in the Kennedy area south of Cardwell. “With industry worth more $450 million, a total of 75 per cent was affected and the support shown by our State and Federal Government was much needed and appreciated,” Mr MacKay said.