Completed projects and reports
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Sugar Research Australia, Sugar Research Development Corporation and BSES reports from completed research projects and papers.
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Item Accelerating precision agriculture to decision agriculture: the needs and drivers for the present and future of digital agriculture in Australia(Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, 2017) Zhang, A; Baker, I; Jakku, E; Llewellyn, RThe aim of the project was to benchmark Australian producers’ needs, perceived risks and benefits, and expectations associated with digital agriculture and big data context. Such understanding will inform strategies aimed at 1) better utilising agricultural data to enhance productivity and profitability, and 2) better capitalising on the opportunities created by digital agriculture and big data. In consultation with P2D project members and participating RDCs, CSIRO designed the survey questionnaire and conducted a survey of 1000 producers across 17 agricultural industries during the period of 7 March to 18 April 2017. The sampling specifications for each industry was defined in consultation with relevant participating RDCs. The study investigated producers’ needs, perceived risks and benefits, and expectations from three aspects: telecommunication infrastructure, the status of current data collection, and data sharing and concerns in the big data context.Item Accelerating precision agriculture to decision agriculture : a review of on-farm telecommunications challenges and opportunities in supporting a digital agriculture future for Australia(University of New England, 2017) Lamb, DWThis project is supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources as part of its Rural R&D for Profit programme. The P2D project involves all Rural Research and Development Corporations, and is focused on three main aims: facilitating the development of digital technology in Australian agriculture; fostering the establishment of appropriate legal frameworks, data systems and access to critical datasets; identifying the data communications systems required to deliver the benefits of digital agriculture to the Australia farm and agribusiness sectors.Item A collaborative approach to Precision Agriculture RDE for the Australian Sugar Industry : Final report CSE022(Sugar Research Australia Limited, 2014) Bramley, R; Schroeder, B; Baillie, CStrong sugar industry interest in Precision Agriculture (PA) has developed during the 2000s on the back of considerable progress with PA in other Australian agricultural sectors (grains and wine in particular), attempts in the Herbert (HCPSL and partners), and more recently in other districts, to develop a regional harvest management and yield mapping capability, and increased support for initiatives deemed of value in minimising possible impacts of sugarcane production on the Great Barrier Reef, including the provision of grants to growers for the purchase of GPS guidance systems and variable rate controllers for fertilizer spreaders. Against this background, the then Sugar Research and Development Corporation commissioned the reviews contained in SRDC Technical report 3/2007. A subsequent workshop held to mark the delivery of these reviews identified a number of PA-related R+D priorities which collectively could be characterised as being aimed at properly positioning the sugar industry for appropriate PA adoption, supported by access to the necessary technology, skills, methodological protocols and case studies. This project emerged from that process. Its intended focus, was to be based around core field sites in the Bundaberg, Burdekin and Herbert districts which were established with the intent of both PA research and demonstration.Item Sugar Research and Development Corporation final report Project CTA013 Spatial analysis of the impact of land use on nutrient loads within the Herbert River Catchment(1998) Johnson, A; Walker, D; Wood, AThis Project arose out of concerns for the apparent increase in nutrient and sediment contaminant loads in Queensland coastal waters since European settlement (e.g. DEAP Report, 1992). At the time of Project inception, the origins of this increase had yet to be defined and quantified, however, the sugarcane industry was considered to be a likely contributor because of the large (and increasing) areas of sugarcane involved and the relatively high fertiliser inputs per unit area. There was, therefore, a need to develop practical tools to integrate existing information and spatially model, at the catchment scale, nutrient and sediment losses from agricultural land. It was the Project teams’ intention to provide tools to analyse important issues/questions relating to the sustainable management of existing and potential sugarcane lands of the Herbert River catchment. In response, four core areas of R&D were undertaken. These were: 1. Data collection and integration; 2. Spatial analysis of the impacts of land use and management practices on water quality; 3. Tools for decision support; and 4. Building stakeholder capacity.Item Precision farming with controlled traffic and GPS guidance system : SRA Grower Group Innovation Project final report(2007) Vassallo, C; Vassallo, GAfter working with the Central Region new farming system grower group we decided to take the system to the next level and implement GPS guidance and precision. Our aim was to overcome the problems associated with converting from 1.5 metres conventional to 1.83 meters controlled traffic using GPS guidance, bed forming, minimum tillage, break crops and converting existing equipment to the new system. Some equipment needed to be invented as we proceeded with the new system. The learning from the project was that the 1.83m controlled traffic system needs to be established in a conventional way, rather than preformed beds. The cane needs to be planted deep into the soil, rather than on mounds to establish the stool deep in the soil, into the moisture zone. GPS guidance is of great assistance to establish true control traffic farming.Item Workshop on new technologies in sugarcane crop forecasting : SRDC Final report WS004(2001) Wood, A; De Lai, RWork over the last 3 years in the Herbert Resource Information Centre has demonstrated that it is possible to use remotely sensed satellite imagery to produce a reasonably accurate crop forecast provided there is limited ground truthing to validate spectral signatures. In both the 1999 and 2000 harvest seasons, the estimates derived from the Landsat TM images were closer to the actual yield for the Herbert than the crop estimates derived from conventional methods. SRDC agreed to fund a project in the Herbert involving the HRIC and the University of Queensland to develop the technology further (project UQ037 Development of an a11- weather sugarcane crop yield model using satellite image data). The project was led by Mr Mark Noonan who was employed by the HRlC and was doing this work as part of a Masters degree at UQ. CRC Sugar also agreed to provide funding to assist Mr Noonan with his Masters project. Mr Noonan left the HRIC in November 2000 and arrangements have been made to complete the project through the university. The project is due for completion in June 2001. In the last year there has been a large amount of interest in this methodology from other mill areas such as Mossman, Mulgrave and Mackay and all sugar mills are searching for ways of producing accurate crop estimates without having to simd out large numbers of people to inspect every block of cane on every farm. QSL have also' expressed interest in this technology given the importance of accurate and timely estimates of sugar production for their operation. Initially the HRlC agreed to assist some of the mills in using the model, but with the departure ofMr Noonan this is no longer possible. Some mills (and QSL) are now approaching a variety of commercial companies to see whether they are able to perfect this methodology and customize it for their specific requirements. With the HRlC being placed under increasing pressure from different users to provide advice and expertise, and with the HRlC Board having decided that they should not get involved in research and development, CRC Sugar was requested to coordinate an industry workshop which focused on new technologies in sugarcane crop forecastinItem Beach sand to black clay; Adapting technology and best practice for Homebush farming conditions : SRA Grower Group Innovation Project final report(2008) Bugeja, TThis project aimed to adapt latest technology & best practice to suit the soil types found in the Homebush/Sunnyside district, and evaluate the cost and benefit of adopting these technologies and practices. To conduct the project the group established partnerships with QDPI, SRDC, IAR Consultants, Mackay Rural Supplies, and BSES. Issues investigated included; Refinement & assessment of planting systems and planting rates, Cost – Benefit Analysis of the adoption of available technology & best practice, Trialling “pre-plant” fertiliser, and assessment of Soybean varieties. Key results from the project included: planting rates as low as 3.7T/ha produced similar yields to planting rates of 7T/ha, resulting on cost savings; Pre-planting application of LOS+P in combination with GPS guidance and EM mapping had no detrimental effect on cane & sugar yield, but delivered significant cost savings; Southern bred soybean varieties had some quality advantages, but no yield advantage, and produced less biomass and presented some harvesting issues; the cost/benefit analysis conducted by the group, clearly showed that the technology adoption and practice change paid for itself and delivered a range of benifits. The project assisted a number of growers to convert over to controlled traffic farming systems, and identified a number of cost saving options. The project also developed the group member’s skills in conducting on farm research, which has to the successful application for a 2nd GGIP project investigating the potential of precision agriculture in conjunction with QDPI.Item Utilising available technology to better manage yield variability within blocks : SRA Grower Group Innovation Project final report(2008) Blackburn, LThe specific aim of this project was to gain information on the different layers of information collected at a block level to allow site specific crop management. The Blackburn Brothers have also investigated the farm economic within the fallow period by introducing fallow options like peanuts. Blackburn Brothers have collected a number of different layers of information such as: Satellite imagery, EM Mapping “soil”, Yield Mapping, soil analysis and leaf analysis, from the information collected, management of the nutrient applied, the gross margins achieved, all have allowed for better decision making that have improved the bottom line. A replicated strip trial site was established and determined that there was no significant difference between the peanut fallow and bare fallow in the plant cane crop while the economics determined that the peanut fallow achieved $1147.22 per hectare more than the bare fallow. Within these two treatments two nitrogen rates were utilised 45kg / ha and 150 kg / ha with no significant difference achieved. The results achieved by utilising available technology to better manage yield variability within blocks has been adopted over the total farming area (470 ha) by the confidence achieved by conducting this project. The group has also now undertaken that complete record keeping will be utilised and this will lead to better management decisions to be made at a block level.Item Review, analysis and discussion of precision agriculture technologies : SRDC Final report NCA009(2007) Davis, RJ; Schmidt, EJThe development of a range of new technologies has brought agriculture and agricultural equipment to a whole new level of sophistication. First hypothesised in the early 1990’s, Precision Agriculture (PA) is a crop management philosophy, which utilises these technologies to produce crops in a more sustainable fashion. The Australian sugar industry is faced with a long term trend of reducing value of production and increasing input costs. The industry has rapidly adopted GPS based guidance technology with many cane growers now having access to high precision GPS technologies. However, there remains a wide range of uncertainties and conflicting opinions that make the next step for PA a daunting prospect for cane growers, therefore the adoption of PA has been slow. PA has gained a significant amount of publicity in recent years, especially in other farming systems such as cotton, grain growing and viticulture. There has been a flood of rapidly developing technologies and techniques (often very costly) that have confronted growers claiming to aid in all aspects of farm management. With a few notable exceptions, PA is still a relatively new concept in the sugar industry. However, it will happen in the sugar industry. PA technologies have the potential to improve the commercial viability and environmental sustainability of sugarcane production and harvesting. To a degree, PA, within the sugar industry has been driven by the advent of various new technologies, particularly the coupling of real-time positioning using global positioning systems (GPS). The rapid adoption of GPS guidance and tractor steering technology and the direct benefits of reduced overlap and increased productivity have made cane growers acutely aware of the potential benefits of new technologies. With the initial adoption of these technologies, cane growers are seeing the benefits of more efficient operations with some cane growers claiming that they have halved their labour requirements. There is thus an urgent need to increase knowledge of PA across the industry to ensure that adoption decisions are made on an informed basis that learns from other agricultural industries both domestically and internationally.Item Automating harvester and haulout forward progression during harvest utilizing DGPS : SRA Grower Group Innovation Project final report(2010) Granshaw, BIssue: The issue that this project sought to address was to increase the performance of the harvester and haul-out during forward progression. This issue has ramifications through the entire sugar value chain as losses at this point are unrecoverable and the financial losses are spread across the industry and community. It is increasingly difficult to secure experienced operators with the financial incentive to move to the resources sector, therefore we in the sugar industry face a skill shortage. This project investigated the use of cutting edge technology to automate critical operations to reduce the risk of operator error, to minimise fatigue due to long hours and to maximise the efficiency of the entire harvesting hauling operation whilst in the paddock.