BURDEKIN DRY TROPICS NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN 2016-2026
50 financially, and a positive net present value is indicated when moving up the management practice categories.
The wider impacts of traditional land management practices are well established, and economic data supports the benefits of transitioning to improved methods. Despite this, not enough property owners are currently adopting best practices on their land. The recent Australian Government Reef Report Card identified that for the sugarcane lands in our region, less than a quarter to one fifth of cropping properties are incorporating best management practices for irrigation, pesticides, nutrients and soils( Australian and Queensland Governments, 2015). This highlights the need for a greater coordinated and collaborative effort by industry, government, research organisations and NRM groups to provide landholders with incentives, education and extension to support and enable their transition to more sustainable land management practices.
Regional opportunities
Soil health is important for the land itself as well as for the water entering the GBR Lagoon. Protecting the productivity of degraded rural land, and helping to improve its resilience, is becoming increasingly urgent for our regional communities. Support should be available
Research and innovation Scientists and landholders are currently trialing a bioherbicide technique that uses naturally occurring fungi to kill woody weeds. The bioherbicide is applied as a capsule containing millet that has been colonised by the fungi. The capsules are drilled into a targeted plant and the mega-dose kills the woody weed from the inside. This minimises physical disturbances to land and the banks of watercourses, improves pasture condition due to reduced competition from weeds, provides overall biodiversity benefits, and avoids the need to apply chemical herbicides( Allan, 2015). for land managers to make considered and informed decisions to undertake best management practices that improve land condition and productivity, including using latest innovative techniques and holistic decision making, or possibly even completely changing the commodity they produce. Other best practices may also include using longer farm and business planning cycles, planning for predicted short-term changes in climate, and setting goals for outputs over 5-10 years rather than annually. Accessible technical support networks are vital for land managers who are considering methods to sustainably improve land productivity.
Decreased soil fertility continues to increase pressure on existing agricultural land productivity. More focus on soil health is required to ensure current agriculture enterprises, and any future expansion, is long lived and sustainable for future generations( Soil Science Australia Queensland Branch, 2013). There are regional strategic plans for conservation, pest management and water quality, however, there is as yet no such plan to deal with the issue of maintaining healthy soils. A regionally-specific strategy could help to increase productivity by bringing together a coordinated network of representatives to investigate the optimal levels for soil health, create an ongoing regional monitoring programme, and develop improved management practices.
“ There is one key fundamental concept that we have learnt. Throughout the process we went from being cattlemen, to grass farmers and then realising that we are actually soil farmers. Our future is the direct result of how we look after the soil.”
Barry & Leanne O’ Sullivan Glenalpine Station
( NQ Dry Tropics, 2015a)
Holistic Management is a decision-making framework that is proactive and considers how land productivity can be affected by factors such as soils, water, climate, pasture species, stock and crop genetics as well as weeds and pests. It also considers the social and economic outcomes and the ability to manage land in a productive and sustainable way.( NQ Dry Tropics, 2015c)
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