More recent work by Farr et al . ( 2017 ) ( NESP Project 2.1.3 ; see also Section 7.3.2 ) surveyed 54 sugarcane growers in the Lower Burdekin in October 2016 . It should be noted that the preliminary analysis captures only people in the Burdekin region who were already engaged in programs including those that related to water quality improvement as well as other programs in the Burdekin region ( and that only 70 per cent of the surveys were 100 per cent complete ).
With regard to farm characteristics and decision making in sugarcane management , the findings showed : �
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The respondents have a mature profile - the median age of sugarcane growers is 52 years which is significantly greater than the median age of the Australian population ( 37 years ). Almost 65 per cent of growers are aged between 45 and 64 years old .
A majority own or own and manage their property ( 80 per cent of respondents ) and have lengthy land management experience - average of 20.9 years , often following earlier generations on properties : maintaining traditions and heritage is important ( over 50 per cent of respondents indicated this to be of the highest importance ).
Nearly 41 per cent of surveyed growers said that they share their decisions about land management and farming on their main property and 39 per cent make their decisions entirely on their own , with 20 per cent saying that a majority of the decisions making is theirs . Of those who are sharing decisions , 22 per cent of cane growers consult only with their brothers , 22 per cent make decisions with their children and another 22 per cent consult with their parents .
Land managers were asked about two personal goals and aspirations for their farm / property that are most important when they aim to achieve something on their farm . Just over 23 per cent of surveyed growers said that an increase in productivity was the main goal for their property ; sustainability ( 19 per cent ), financial security ( 12 per cent ), soil improvement ( 12 per cent ) and profitability ( 9 per cent ) were also among their main goals . The most important second goals for cane growers were sustainability ( 18 per cent ), profitability ( 13 per cent ) and lifestyle and selfsatisfaction ( 10 per cent ).
Land managers were asked to indicate how important a range of different factors were when making decisions about what to do on the farm / property ( using a seven – point Likert scale from extremely unimportant through to extremely important ). For surveyed growers , being able to make their own decisions about farm / property and leaving the land / farm in better condition than it was when they first started managing it were the two most important factors . Decisions about minimising sediment run-off and / or nutrient losses were also sighted as important decisions on the farm . Economic factors such as maximising farm profits ( income minus costs ) ( 72 per cent ), keeping a stable ( steady ) cash-flow ( 67 per cent ) and minimising risk ( 67 per cent ) were also extremely important to cane growers .
Nearly 19 per cent of surveyed growers indicated that having efforts recognised by the wider community is extremely unimportant or unimportant to them while 30 per cent were neutral about wider community recognition , more than half thought it was important to essential . Having enough time to pursue hobbies was also not that important for growers . Helping to safeguard local waterways was more important for decision-making about what to do on the farm / property than helping to safeguard the Great Barrier Reef .
� More than 90 per cent of respondents had no significant plans to change future practices .
The perceptions of surveyed growers about causes and pressures on water quality were also considered and are important potential barriers to practice change and are important to understand for informing the design of future investment programs .
� When asked about the top causes of poor water quality in their local streams , rivers and waterways , 11 per cent of surveyed growers cited there was no issue with water quality . For growers that thought there was poor water quality they cited the causes as run-off from farms and bush areas ( 11 per cent ); excessive chemical usage ( 8 per cent ); nutrient and sediment run-off ( 8 per cent ); poor
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