Browsing by Author "Muchow, RC"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Best practice irrigation management to maximise profitability and ensure sustainability in the Ord sugar industry : SRDC Final report CSR22
(2003) Wood, AW; Engelke, JM; Sherrard, JH; Plunkett, GM; Triglone, T; Bakker, DM; Horan, HL; Muchow, RC; Inman-Bamber, G
The Ord Sugar industry was established in 1995 with the commissioning of a sugar mill and the first full season of commercial production was in 1996. It is now a major industry in Stage 1 of the Ord Irrigation Area, currently occupying over 4000 hectares and producing around 60,000 tonnes of raw sugar annually for export. The climatic conditions in the Ord impose a high water requirement for sugarcane crops. Growers face a considerable challenge in meeting that requirement whilst maximising their profitability and minimising drainage losses and potential impacts on the environment. Groundwater levels have risen substantially in the 30 years since the start of irrigation in the Ord. Consequently the development of appropriate irrigation practices for sugarcane is a key requirement in the management of rising water tables and in the sustainability of Ord sugarcane production. The first step in developing best practice irrigation management was to gain a better understanding of the range of irrigation practices being used by the industry at the beginning of the project. A survey conducted to benchmark irrigation practices used on the 1995/96 sugarcane crop indicated very high rates of annual water application, making the development of irrigation practices that maximise profitability and minimise groundwater accessions a key priority for the Ord sugar industry.
Cane supply options analysis for maximising whole industry profitability : SRDC Final report MSA001
(SRDC, 2001) Higgins, AJ; Muchow, RC; Haynes, MA; Hollis, JJ
Opportunities exist for increasing industry profitability in the Mackay region through alternative cane supply schedules that exploit differences in CCS and cane yield at harvest date, found across the Mackay region and across individual paddocks on a farm. Research within CRC-Sugar Subprogram 3.2 produced the models needed to conduct options for alternative cane supply arrangements. With Mackay as a case study, and through participatory research with the Mackay Cane Supply Options Analysis Group (MCSOAG), key on-farm input data of CCS and cane yield response to harvest date and off-farm constraints in harvesting, transport and milling were developed for the model. Options analysis showed potential gains in profitability of $13M per year were possible in Mackay, without increased expenditure on capacity. Given an agreement for pilot implementation during harvest 2000, a pathway to implementation was developed through a process of workshops using action research. Some barriers to implementation were addressed, as well as a process that would lead to a further uptake after 2000. Eighteen harvesting groups and nine growers piloted alternative cane supplies in the 2000 harvest season, and while proof of concept was not established due to adverse conditions, piloting continued in 2001. Through evaluating the pilots of the 2000 harvest season, key learnings were incorporated to improve the process for 2001.
Delivering the capability to evaluate alternative cane supply arrangements across the sugar industry using a whole industry systems approach : SRDC Final report CTA0044
(SRDC, 2002) Higgins, AJ; Muchow, RC; Haynes, MA; Peel, SL; Prestwidge, DB; Williamson, MA
Increasing cost/price pressure has forced the Australian sugar industry to seek innovative avenues for increasing profitability. To address this, the industry saw opportunities for increasing productivity and hence profitability through optimising the harvest date of sugarcane. Optimising the harvest date of sugarcane accounts for geographical and crop differences in cane yield and the sugar content of cane for different harvest dates throughout the harvesting season. Whole-ofsystem research within CRC-Sugar produced the statistical and optimisation models needed to conduct options analysis for these alternative cane supply arrangements using case studies in Mackay and Mossman. Options analysis using data from these case studies showed average potential gains in profitability of $119/ha for Mackay and $79/ha for Mossman, at a sugar price of $350/t. To provide the capacity for evaluating and implementing alternative cane supply options in other mill regions, computer tools, user interfaces and standardised databases were developed. The use of this software and documented processes was applied not only to the case study regions but also in partnership with other mill regions, namely Maryborough and the Burdekin. Key outcomes were the reduction in time from start-up to implementation reduced from four years down to one year, an increased uptake from growers and harvesting groups, ease of interpretation of schedules, and increased interest from other mill regions. A computer tool was also developed for the mathematical cane yield re-estimation model, and was used successfully by the Mossman cane inspector during the 2001 harvest season.
Efficient use of water resources in sugar production: a physiological basis for crop response to water supply
(1999) Inman-Bamber, NG; Robertson, MJ; Muchow, RC; Wood, AW
Although sugar is produced in the some of the most humid regions of Australia, water remains a major limitation to production. Experience in other rainfed and irrigated production systems in Australia has shown that use of both surface and ground water resources can easily have long term impacts on future productivity of the system. There is no reason why the sugar industry should be exempt from the consequences of ignorance or mismanagement in regard to the hydrological cycle. At the outset of this project, it was clear that efficient use of water (both rainfall and irrigation) was central to profitable and sustainable sugarcane production. Maximum profitability in fully-irrigated systems required the application of water to match crop water requirements for cane and sucrose production, as moderated by climate and management inputs. Under supplementary-irrigation, the timing of water application in relation to growth stage and climatic conditions was thought to be critical for maximising the economic benefit from a limited water resource. In rainfed systems, profitability could be maximised, by matching management inputs to the production potential and production risk as determined by rainfall variability in different climates. During the life of this project, there has been increased public awareness of water as a production factor and more importantly as a national resource and major component of a fragile environment. The National Agenda for Water Reform has moved in the direction of full recovery of water supply cost, separate water and property rights, specific water allocation to the environment and increased water use efficiency in agriculture. A new initiative on water use efficiency has been launched by DNR who have asked the sugar industry to make 60,000 MI available for irrigation from existing water resources. The products ofCTA016 are therefore highly pertinent for the current focus on water use in the Australian sugar industry. Radiation and temperature as key sugarcane production factors were the subject of SDRC Projects CTA004 and CTA012. These projects have led to a better understanding of the processes of yield and CCS accumulation under conditions of high water and nutrient inputs. Limits to yield in terms of these climatic factors have been identified. Crop growth mechanisms driven by radiation and temperature have been established and captured in mathematical expressions which were necessary for the development of the Sugarcane module now in use within the APSIM modelling environment. In CTA016, the strategic research approach of the earlier projects was extended to water as production factor. Water has of course been extensively researched in the sugar industry largely from the perspective of irrigation requirements. CTA016 was designed to build on past research by going into more detail in order to improve our knowledge of the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum of water. Knowledge of the mechanisms identified as important have been formalised mathematically and incorporated into the APSIM-Sugarcane modelling environment. This project has thus augmented the output from the earlier projects by adding the water balance and crop response to water stress to modelling capability. This capability was then used extensively in developing practical guidelines for saving water during drying off and during early stages of development. This modelling capability was also tested and used in a later more applied project (CTAOI8) to facilitate more efficient use of limited water supplies under supplementary irrigation.
Efficient use of water resources in sugar production; optimising the use of limited water under supplementary irrigation
(2000) Inman-Bamber, NG; Robertson, MJ; Muchow, RC; Wood, AW; Wegener, MK; Spillman, MF
About 60% of sugar produced in Australia depends on irrigation. In some regions, production would be impossible without irrigation; in others, irrigation is used to supplement rainfall. It can improve production and reduce risks in the more variable rainfall environments. The whole subject of supplementary irrigation has taken on a new focus in recent years as termsof- trade for cane growers continue to deteriorate, and as pressure mounts for more efficient management of a scarce national resource. Best practice with limited water, however, depends on complex biophysical and economic factors as well as sensitive off-site impacts. From a biophysical point of view, questions arise as to the probability of achieving the desired irrigation responses in the various regions and seasons, and the extent to which this is affected by crop water requirements at various stages and by variety and soil type. From a management point of view, the questions concern source of the water, the amounts available, and the best crop type and block on which to apply it. Finally, from an economic point of view, the questions concern the interactions between the above factors and the size of the investment required, the likely price of cane, and the probability of achieving sustained profitability from the investment during its lifetime. The aim of this project, therefore, was to address this complexity by developing and applying a generic methodology for assessing the payoffs of supplementary irrigation, taking account of the above factors.
Evaluating the potential for improved sugar yields by assessing the climatic and soil constraints to production in southern cane-growing districts
(1999) Muchow, RC; Hughes, RM; Horan, HL
This project conducted strategic research to better understand the processes of yield accumulation in low temperature NSW environments and to identify limits to yield. The fundamental knowledge gained in this project can be used to assess yield limitations and the scope for yield improvement. In addition, the findings are a pre-requisite to the design of management and genetic improvement strategies to boost production in southern sugarcane growing environments. An additional spin-off of this project is a better functional basis of the processes of yield accumulation encapsulated in the APSIM Sugarcane systems model to allow extrapolation of the findings more broadly across the sugar industry. An analysis framework was used to express sucrose yield in terms of biomass accumulation and the proportion on biomass present as sucrose. Crop biomass was analysed in terms of radiation capture and utilisation. Partitioning was examined in terms of the proportion of crop biomass present as stalk and the stalk sucrose concentration on a dry matter basis. Crops growing under "potential yield" conditions were analysed and compared to those growing under "commercial yield conditions".
Improving profitability of the Maryborough Sugar Industry by assessing the options for cane supply and season length : SRDC Final report MSF001
(SRDC, 2002) Higgins, AJ; Downs, P; Sestak, F; Peatey, G; Haynes, MA; Muchow, RC
Increasing cost/price pressure has forced the Australian sugar industry to seek innovative avenues for increasing profitability. To address this, the industry saw opportunities for increasing productivity and hence profitability through optimising the harvest date of sugarcane to account for geographical and crop differences in cane yield and the sugar content of cane. Whole-of-system research within CRC-Sugar produced the statistical and optimisation models needed to conduct options analysis for these alternative cane supply arrangements using case studies in Mackay and Mossman. The tools developed in CRC-Sugar were used to develop alternative cane supply options in partnership with the Maryborough sugar region. Through exploiting the geographical differences in CCS and cane yield at harvest date, average gains in profitability were $77/ha (sugar price $350/t) versus current equity arrangements. Farms that were found to be significantly early or late maturing, had higher potential gains. Pilot implementation of alternative cane supplies took place during the 2001 harvest season and involved the Maryborough Sugar Factory, where a significant gain in CCS was achieved. Seven other farms benefited from the optimisation work. The Maryborough region will continue to adopt alternative cane supplies in 2002 with a likely increased uptake of the optimisation strategy.