Cane News - October issue

DATE CLAIMER

Canegrowers Proserpine and Sugar Services Proserpine will hold their joint AGM on Friday 23rd November, 2018
at the Hotel Metropole.

Member invitations and Annual Reports will be distributed by email closer to the meeting.

Tissue Culture orders
Tissue Culture orders for Spring 2019 are due by November 2nd. A printable order form can be found below or alternatively, copies can be obtained from SSPL or Canegrowers reception. Completed order forms can be returned to SSPL or the Canegrowers office.

If growers have any questions about tissue culture or the minimum quantity required to start an approved seed source, contact Frank Millar at Sugar Services.

The tissue culture was supplied by Vitro Flora labs and transplanted into tubes at Yuruga Nursery, Mareeba. This change was the result of the Central Region seeking to be declared FIJI free. Sugar Services has been very happy with both the vigour and the robust nature of the tissue culture tube stock. The tubes stock stood up tot the hot dry winds late last month.

Tissue culture is an excellent way of obtaining a source of a new variety or replenishing the stocks of high performing existing varieties. This coming season SRA 12 and SRA 13 will be available as tissue culture material.

Several plots of SRA 9 have been planted this year and along with the 8000 tissue culture this will provide close to 100 tonnes of very clean material for 2019 planting.

SSPL has ordered 400 tissue culture plants for both SRA 12 and SRA 13 for April 2019. A small quantity of stick material has been planted as well as a source for maximum propagation in 2019.

The Hot Water Treatment facility has closed for the year due to a major steam leak. The plant was under-utilised again this year however, close to 70000 one eye setts and tissue culture seedlings have been planted.

The clean seed plots have been closed for the year.

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Biosecurity issues
The drought has pushed up the price of baled hay and made it attractive to growers to bale grass from abandoned fields. It is the landowner’s responsibility to ensure that no declared pests or weeds are spread during this activity.

If you are uncertain, contact Biosecurity Queensland to determine your responsibilities.

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Rat management requires an integrated approach. It is not particularly effective to bait just when you see damage due to a high rat population as they can breed faster than you can control them. The aim of baiting is to knockdown rat populations before their peak breeding occurs. This should be done on blocks that you have identified as high risk blocks, from long term monitoring or from monitoring during the season. However, there are some things that should be part of ongoing farm management to keep rat numbers down; before baiting is considered.

1. Don’t feed ‘em and breed ‘em.

Keep blocks and surrounds weed free – or at least seed free. Shoots and seeds of grasses and broadleaf weeds provide a protein source which maximises breeding potential. This is part of integrated weed management and needs to start in the fallow and be followed through the crop cycle.

Keep the crop clean;
perimeter spray to keep ends of rows clean;
slash headlands before grasses seed and
manage other harbourage areas such as adjacent paddocks or creek lines as best as possible (slash, graze or plant trees to shade out grasses and weeds).

2. Don’t hamper those that are trying to help you.

Five species of owls are known to hunt in cane. Having a healthy owl population nearby reduces numbers by direct predation and means rats are less free to forage and move around.

Don’t poison your owls by using off-label rodenticides or in a manner contrary to the label, or across the whole farm if it isn’t needed. Studies have shown that the Southern Boobook is exposed frequently to secondary poisoning, sometimes lethally. It is expected that other owls would be also.
Protect your large gum trees, even if dead or dying trees; these are essential for roosting and nesting.

Coordinate with your neighbours to maximise control efforts or to reduce harbourage.

3. Monitor

Check for evidence in newly ratooning blocks and developing plan cane. Look for climbing rat damage at about 1.5m stalk height and nests in the canopy.

4. Strategic Baiting

As mentioned previously, baiting should knock down populations before peak breeding. Baiting for ground rats is best carried out as they re-colonise ratoons after harvest or plant cane, up until March. Follow up baiting may be necessary if rat populations are high or there are plentiful alternative feed sources. They will favour grassy sections in paddocks and winch rows for burrows. Target areas you know they occur rather than the whole farm.
Baiting for climbing rats should occur later than for ground rats, as they colonise the cane crop later (from February onwards). The application window under the Damage Mitigation Permit coving other districts (1 October-30 June) allows for optimum baiting for both species.

Figure 1. Breeding and damage cycle of ground rat. (Source: SRA Booklet “Rat management in sugarcane” B14023)

Rat Baiting In Crop

Growers conducting rat control under a damage mitigation permit must abide by the conditions of the permit, which may include:

Registered baits may be used between 1 October and 30 June.
Growers must provide reporting of their controls e.g. details of blocks they intend to bait.
ZP Rat Bait or Rattoff® may be used, as directed by the product label. Note: the label states that it should only be used as part of an integrated pest management strategy and whe re there is a demonstrated need.
Racumin® (Coumatetralyl) must be used in bait stations if used in the open i.e. when not used in a building. This is to reduce chances of secondary poisoning of wildlife and non-target kills of domestic animals and wildlife.
Rattoff® may be applied by helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicle to lodged cane, under APVMA Permit 84001. This permit applies to Queensland only. It only relates to the ground rat.

Rat Baiting Non-Crop Areas

The only non-crop harbourage areas permitted for baiting are man-made infrastructure and only Racumin® (Coumatetralyl), Storm® Secure or TOMCAT®. Some of these are known secondary killers i.e. they cause death to owls etc. that prey on poisoned rats.

I have asked plenty of farmers about rat damage and rat baiting over the last couple of years and most of the time the answer I receive is that the farmer doesn’t have a rat problem, or not much. Indeed, that comment is usually backed up with clean headlands and crop – little food source to encourage breeding up of rat numbers. The answer that most stays in my mind however is …bait? “No. I’ve got owls!”. This statement was backed up by clean crop, clean headlands and plenty of large gum trees surrounding the paddocks (Christine Peterson)

Record keeping sheets are available from the Smartcane BMP farm records booklet (contact Christine Peteron on 4945 0516).
For more information on rat damage and control contact SSP on 4945 0516.

Studies have shown that rat poisons have killed at least 32 species of native wildlife in Australia.
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Reptiles have been shown to move bait materials from the original baiting site – and result in secondary poisoning when predators consume these reptiles.
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Risk to native birds from primary and secondary poisoning is considered so high that it has been recommended they be held in temporary captivity where possible prior to rat control on remote islands.
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New Zealand is looking for alternatives to Brodifacoum on the mainland due to substantial contamination of wildlife and game species and secondary poisoning of non-target species

Eastern Barn Owl: one of the local owl species known to prey on rats in cane. Photo by Dale Mengel, with permission (https://www.feathersfurfins.com/Wildlife)

Sources: SRA Booklet “Rat management in sugarcane” B14023; Pestsmart.org.au; Ecu.edu.au.

No Industry Damage Mitigation Permit

As the two commercially significant rat pests in sugarcane are native animals, they are protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. A Damage Mitigation Permit (DMP) is required to legally kill these animals.

As many of you would know, Canegrowers once held an industry wide DMP. However, when this permit expired, the Qld Government required DMP to be developed on a district basis.

Due to little or no local reporting of rat control practices for a number of years under the previous industry-wide permit, there is currently no permit covering the Proserpine district for ground control (baiting) of ground or climbing rats. Growers who wish to conduct legal rat control will need to apply to the department for their own DMP.

Rat Management – Baiting Dos and Don’ts

Growers who are conducting rat control under their own damage mitigation permits need to abide by the conditions of the permit, which may include:

Always Read the Label: know that you are putting the right pesticide, rodenticide, herbicide etc. on in the correct way and in the right situation. Strict adherence to instructions for use on product labels or under the conditions of a permit is a legal requirement and penalties of up to $66 000 apply to persons who apply a chemical contrary to label instructions. Misuse of chemical product in contravention of label instructions is an offence under the Chemical Usage (Agricultural and Veterinary) Control Act 1988.

A partnership is when two or more people operate a business as co-owners and share income. All partners act on behalf of each other in the business. Like the sole trader structure, a partnership entity is not separate from its operators.

ADVANTAGES OF PARTNERSHIPS

DISADVANTAGES OF PARTNERSHIPS

It is advisable to have a written partnership agreement. Partnership agreements deal with many matters, but particularly important areas relate to: –

Dealing with the matters individually: –

The partnership agreement deals with a great many other matters including partnership shares, financial contributions, loans by the partners and duration of the partnership.

It is always a good idea for prospective partners to draft a detailed business plan. The terms of that plan can also guide the partnership agreement.

It goes without saying, but should always be pointed out that accounting advice should be obtained. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of the partnership structure versus a corporate structure or a corporate trustee structure should be considered with both a legal adviser and an accountant.

A practical word of advice is that for husband-and-wife partnerships or family partnerships, you should decide how the partners will work with each other and the consequences of any disagreement. For partnerships involving non-family members, it is always a good idea to get to know your partner(s) before entering into the partnership.

Now is therefore a good time to consider the way forward with your legal adviser and accountant.

DISCLAIMER
This article contains information about partnerships. The information is not advice and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information in this article as an alternative to legal and financial advice from a properly qualified professional. If you have any specific questions about any legal and/or financial matters, you should consult an appropriately qualified professional.

Working in close proximity to powerlines, above or below the ground, has its hazards. Unfortunately each year, the workers in the cane industry come in contact with Ergon Energy assets. This includes contact with poles, wires and pillar boxes by vehicles, the loads they are carrying or their associated plant. Contact can also occur during harvesting and haul out operations, when moving machinery and plant from one location to another, or when irrigating.

Transporting a high load?

It's essential that you obtain a Notification to Transport High Loads form from Ergon Energy by calling 13 74 66
or by emailing: highloads2@ergon.com.au

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