Farming systems and production management

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Adoption of an optimal season length for increased industry profitability : SRDC Final report BSS264
(BSES, 2007) Di Bella, LP; Cristaudo, A; Wood, AW
The project aimed to maximise commercial cane sugar (CCS), sugar yields (TSPH) and industry profitability in the Herbert region by exploiting regional variation in CCS, soil moisture and trafficability. There is significant potential to increase total sugar production, and individual grower and district CCS through better management of harvesting scheduling.
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.
Development and implementation of harvest management planning tools for the maximisation of CCS in the Tully district
(2010) Stainlay, T
The Tully Sugar Limited milling district is characterised by large geographical, varietal, and seasonal differences in sugar yield. Growers are increasingly looking for ways to increase profitability by capitalising on these differences. This is a multifaceted task as there are several variables such as variety, crop class, crop age, CCS, cane yield, and soil type to consider simultaneously when planning the harvest. Adding to the complexity of the harvest planning task in the Tully district is influence of large harvesting groups, high mill crushing rates, and a wet tropical environment. A study of Tully Sugar Industry productivity data by Lawes et al..2004 indicated that, weather effects excluded, the time of harvest and crop age at harvest had the biggest effect on CCS and biomass accumulation. The harvest planning decision making process identified by the growers in the SRDC funded “Working Together For Our Future” Action Group working on Low CCS indicated the key drivers considered by growers when planning a harvest schedule are: • time of harvest in the previous season, • agronomic factors, • block topography, • group rotation, • the growers view of the climate forecast. Using these factors growers formulate a harvest schedule for their cane blocks - “Harvest Plan”. Typically growers then vary this plan to taking account of the weather and transport logistics at the time of harvest. This complex decision making process can be simplified if growers had the ability to produce a number of management scenarios using decision support tools. A review of harvest planning decision support tools revealed that there were no “off the shelf “ decision support tools available for users. However the CSIRO SugarMax models could be adapted for use in harvest planning. The SugarMax tool was developed through previous SRDC projects CSE003 (SRDC, 2005) and CSE005 (SRDC, 2006) to provide increased capacity for growers to learn from and adopt improved time-of-harvest schedules.

Farming systems and production management

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