7.3 Documented program evaluation
7.3.1 Evaluation conducted by project partners
Several evaluations of the programs have been conducted by project partners and independently commissioned program evaluations . The key messages from these evaluations are summarised below .
Reef Rescue and Reef Programme , 2008 to 2014
Summaries of the key reports related to Reef Rescue and Reef Trust initiatives ( NQ Dry Tropics 2014a , 2014b , 2015 ; Brown , 2016 ; First Person Consulting , 2017 ) are provided in Attachment 3 .
Engagement �
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Partnerships with industry were instrumental in ensuring a high level of involvement from farmers in water quality improvement programs .
The Reef Programme partnership arrangement appeared to have operated effectively , with partner feedback generally very positive about the relationship and supportive of the role that NQ Dry Tropics played throughout the design and delivery of the Reef Programme .
Sugarcane farmers who received ( Reef Rescue ) grants contributed more than $ 1.24 for every dollar received from program funding .
The provision of funding allowed landholders to follow through and implement identified practices . This helped to overcome the barrier of cost , which was identified as a major impediment to practice change .
Indicators of high potential for continued change and confirmation that water quality improvement actions affected attitudes to environmentally sound production :
- Involvement of farmers in planning activities to improve water quality on their properties built their confidence to undertake further works ;
- Training and dissemination of information related to improving water quality gave farmers tools and knowledge to make decisions about modifications ranging from small incremental shifts to whole-ofsystem changes to improve water quality on their properties ;
- As farmers implement changes through grant projects , economic benefits of improved practices were also experienced , which financed and supported a business case for further changes ; - Farmers bought forward management practice changes as a result of financial support ( through grants ) reducing significant capital costs associated with making the change ; and - Farmers were “ looking over the fence ” at projects completed by neighbours and registering interest in taking advantage of an opportunity to change their practices .
� The top three topics of interest identified by farmers was “ irrigation efficiency ”, “ rotational crops ”, “ whole of farming systems ” and “ nitrogen rates ”. The majority of growers ( 47 per cent ) preferred this in a “ workshop ” format , followed by “ field day ” ( 30 per cent ), and “ one-on-one ” ( 23 per cent ). In relation to irrigation , growers identified the following :
- Implementing a greater number of irrigation practices since receiving their grant ;
- Identifying irrigation technology and adoption of irrigation practices as an improvement they would like to make on their farm in the future ; and
- Identifying ‘ irrigation efficiency ’ as a topic for further learning . In almost all cases , growers had no access to water monitoring equipment to be able to substantiate whether technology and farming practice change was having an effect on water quality .
Approaches
� Extension services were delivered through a number of methods including workshops , group activities , one-on-one engagement , on-site risk assessments such as farm risk assessments and property management planning , and field days and farm walks .
- The delivery of training through a workshop format enabled growers access to experts and grower experience to guide development of tailored property plans that deliver improvements in productivity and water quality outcomes .
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