Cane growers, conservationists and Coca-Cola meet in Townsville for the Project Catalyst Growers Forum

The Project Catalyst Growers Forum, being held at Townsville’s Jupiters Casino from 27-29 February, will see sugarcane growers meet with conservationists, natural resources groups and Coca-Cola to focus on reducing the impact sugarcane production has on freshwater quality and the Great Barrier Reef.

Now in its third year, Project Catalyst is an award-winning partnership between 72 sugarcane growers, Coca-Cola, WWF Australia and regional natural resource management bodies Reef Catchments (Mackay, Whitsunday, Isaac) Ltd, NQ Dry Tropics and Terrain Natural Resource Management. This partnership has already shown real environmental benefits, as explained by several figures involved in the project.

“The Project Catalyst Growers Forum is about sharing information, celebrating our success and confirming all the partners’ ongoing commitment to the project. In the last three years, the number of farmers involved has more than tripled,” said Robert Cocco, Reef Catchments CEO.

“Importantly, this forum will demonstrate best practice and give local Project Catalyst growers more of the support they need to make sustainable practices a reality,” said Michelle Allen, Public Affairs and Communication Manager, Coca-Cola South Pacific.

“The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s most loved natural treasures but land-based pollution and climate change are threatening its corals, seagrasses, turtles and dugongs. Project Catalyst has shown that it’s possible to reduce the impact of sugar farming on this fragile environment while also maintaining a viable agriculture sector,” said WWF Australia CEO Dermot O’Gorman.

“NQ Dry Tropics applauds the important work being undertaken by cane growers involved in Project Catalyst. Their willingness to try new and innovative management practices is further evidence of an industry increasing its focus on sustainability,” said Dr Scott Crawford, NQ Dry Tropics CEO.

Highlights of the forum will include presentations from local and interstate agriculture and environmental experts, as well as field trips to five local properties in the Burdekin to see innovative cane farming practices in action.

Keynote speakers include:

• Dr Katharina Fabricius, one of Townsville’s eminent water quality experts and Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Dr Fabricius has worked as a coral reef ecologist since 1988, researching roles and consequences of disturbances (especially ocean acidification, climate change and terrestrial run-off) on ecological processes in coral reefs.
• Margaret O’Keefe, from Birchip Cropping Group (BCG), a not-for-profit agricultural research organisation led by farmers from the Mallee-Wimmera region of Victoria. BCG has been recognised both at home and overseas as an excellent model for independent farmer-driven research and transfer of information to the rural community. BCG operates across five key platform areas: agronomic and farming systems research (including livestock), extension and communication, ‘Making Conservation Pay’, climate research, and social and community development.

The Mackay Whitsunday, Burdekin and Wet Tropics regions will showcase stand-out projects from the 2011/2012 season from the improved nutrient, soil and herbicide management and efficiency in irrigation.

Five local Burdekin projects will also be the focus of a day-long field trip which will look at drip irrigation, variable rate herbicide application and water quality monitoring, soil management and banded application of mill mud.