Bundaberg Sugar is warning motorists that cane trains will have an increasing presence across the region in the lead up to the 2021 cane harvesting season, scheduled to commence on 20 June.
Bundaberg Sugar’s Cane Supply Manager Matt Curtis said it was important for motorists and other members of the public to understand the cane harvesting season brings with it plenty of cane train movement across the company’s rail network.
“Our trains operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week from June to December,” he said.
“Each year our drivers experience near miss incidents where motorists try to race the trains at level crossings or where motorists are unaware of train activity.
“Motorists should not be fooled by the speed of a cane train and must realise that it can’t stop quickly.”
Mr Curtis said a dully loaded cane train could weigh in excess of 400 tonnes and takes more than a kilometre to stop.
“The seasonal nature of train operations makes it easy for motorists to become complacent, so we are urging all road users to be aware and alert to trains,” he said.
“Bundaberg Sugar’s cane rail network plays a significant role in transporting the harvested cane to the sugar mill.
Cane harvesting season is about to begin and motorists are being warned to keep an eye out for cane trains in the region.
“People need to obey the road rules and drive to the conditions.”
Bundaberg Sugar follows a risk assessment process for crossings using the Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model (ALCAM). This system is used to identify key potential risks at level crossings and is managed nationally to ensure a standard approach to design across Australia and New Zealand.
Crossings include active and passive types as determined by the ALCAM process and are designed, constructed and operated in line with the Australian Standard for railway crossings and the Queensland Manual Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
All of Bundaberg Sugar’s locomotives are fitted with cameras that record views looking forward and backward along the rail track as well a view of the inside of the cabin.
This provides valuable information if a near miss or an incident occurs,” explained Mr Curtis.
Bundaberg Police Senior Sergeant, Michael McGarry, said many motorists do not realise that failing to stop or give way at the signage situated at a level crossing is a traffic infringement.
“Whether level crossings have flashing lights or signage only, motorists must be vigilant and drive to the conditions, slowing down and obeying the signals.
Currently motorists could receive a $400 traffic infringement notice and three demerit points for the following offences:
Fail to stop at ‘STOP’ sign at level crossing
Fail to give way at ‘STOP’ sign at level crossing
Fail to give way at ‘GIVE WAY’ sign at level crossing
Enter level crossing while warning lights or bells operating
Enter level crossing while train on crossing
Enter level crossing while train approaching crossing and collision likely
Enter level crossing while crossing or road beyond is blocked
Fail to leave level crossing as soon as practicable
“Road users must also be mindful that during the cane harvesting season we see more heavy vehicles on our roads, such as trucks, harvesters and haul‐outs. Be patient and only overtake when safe to do so,” Senior Sergeant McGarry said.
Mr Curtis added that it was also important for parents to be aware of their children’s activities and whereabouts and remind their children to keep well away from the cane rail tracks.
“Many developments including businesses, housing and schools have been built nearby to cane railways,” he said.
“Staying clear of the tracks is the best way for everyone to be safe.”
Burdekin cane farmers are set to harvest an estimated 7.97 million tonnes this season, on par with the 2020 throughput of 7.91mt.
Today marks a busy day in the Burdekin region, with crushing commencing at all four of Wilmar Sugar’s mills.
The Invicta, Pioneer, Kalamia, and Inkerman mills ran steam trials over the past fortnight to commission boilers and other steam-driven plant, ensuring they were ready for the first cane to go up the belt this morning.
“We’ve done a huge amount of capital and maintenance work across the four sites since the end of last crush, and our crews should be very proud of what they’ve achieved,” Wilmar Burdekin regional operations manager Paul Turnbull said.
The Herbert and Plane Creek mills are set to start crushing on June 15, while Proserpine is scheduled to begin on June 29.
Production commenced at Mackay Sugar’s Farleigh mill last Thursday. A cane elevator drive failed shortly after start-up, however the issue was repaired overnight and the mill is operational again.
Racecourse Mill is set to commence on June 11, while Marian will start crushing on June 15.
The crush at Marian was delayed due to repairs on the mud/ash clarifier and to finalise upgrade works for the boiler operating system.
Mackay Sugar is preparing to crush an estimated 5.3mt of cane this season.
Farmers and motorists are being reminded to take care on the roads due to the influx of cane trains and haul-out vehicles.
Wilmar Burdekin cane supply manager John Tait said locos are now delivering empty bins to cane rail sidings across the region.
“It’s really important that people approach level crossings with caution and look out for cane trains,” Mr Tait said.
“We’ve had a few months without cane train activity and people naturally become complacent. With the crushing season commencing, we’re urging residents and visitors to switch their train brains back on.”
A new analysis of the way sugarcane farms have fared when Queensland councils set their rates will inform important conversations between CANEGROWERS offices and local government.
“We looked closely at 13 councils with a sizeable sugarcane farming industry, where CANEGROWERS members underpin the local economy, the communities and up to one-in-three jobs,” CANEGROWERS CEO Dan Galligan said.
The analysis, completed by the consultancy Queensland Economic Advocacy Solutions (QEAS), assessed the cane farm rate of each council along with its interplay with increasing land values and any measures to limit increases or offer discounts.
The analysis found:
On average the local government rate paid by a cane farm is 35% above the average residential rate indicating more reliance on cane farms to support council revenue.
On average council rates make up around 4% of the annual operating costs of Queensland cane farming businesses.
It concluded that:
“Most councils have a revenue and rates policy together with their own set of principles as to how rates are determined. However, there is little publicly available information explaining why a particular rate applies to a cane farm. The resultant outcome can be rate bill shocks that can impede investment and economic growth across Queensland. There is an opportunity to improve the way rating practices occur for cane farms across Queensland councils with a view to ensuring no adverse or unintended consequences when a land value reassessment occurs and the impact this may have on the final rate bill for each cane farm.”
“We have seen unexpected and large rates bills in some areas having a huge impact on the profitability of cane farms,” Mr Galligan said. “It is vital that increases are kept at reasonable levels. Councils have the power and discretion to cushion any shocks, so the viability of businesses is not put in jeopardy.
“It is important too that CANEGROWERS district staff and elected representatives have a clear pathway to discuss with councils their service delivery to the agricultural sector and the rates charged for those services.
“With the CANEGROWERS district office structure, we are on the ground across the state in close contact with all councils and this analysis will help inform their discussions about how rates are set.
“It will contribute to the close relationship that exists between our industry, represented by CANEGROWERS, and many of our important local councils.”
Final results and maximising sugarcane recovery through development of harvesting decision support tool.
In this webinar Phil Patane (SRA) presented the final outcomes of the project ‘Adoption of practices to mitigate harvest losses’ and and Brendon Nothard (DAF) explained the next stage of the project titled ‘Maximising sugarcane recovery: development of harvesting decision support tool’.
This very important next stage aims to deliver a grower-friendly decision-support tool that applies the latest research findings, incorporates economic evidence, and encourages adoption of HBP.
Phil Patane is the Agricultural machinery specialist for Sugar Research Australia. Phil graduated with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree at the University of Queensland and has been specialising in minimising harvesting losses since 2013.
Brendon Northard is a Senior Agricultural Economist for DAF in Mackay. His involvement in the Australian Sugar Industry includes investigations into the economic impact of cane harvesting practices and new farming systems.
This project was funded by SRA and the Australian Government Department of Agriculture through the Rural R&D for Profit Program. SRA also acknowledges the funding contribution from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries towards this research activity.
Soil science is in the midst of a research renaissance, as scientists and farmers alike dig deeper into the depths of the precious resource.
The Soil Cooperative Research Centre has announced $7 million for 12 new projects, which all have potential on-farm applications.
The projects range from creating rapid-field based tests to evaluate soil carbon and resilience to developing an “eNose” to measure soil health via smell.
Senior research scientist at NSW Department of Primary Industries, Mick Rose, is leading a project to better measure soil microbes.
“For example, the level of root growth – do the microbes affect branch and root development of crops?” he said.
Federation University associate professor Peter Dahlhaus is working on ways to collect and use soil data.
“If data is the new oil, then it’s the fuel for artificial engines,” Professor Dahlhaus said.
“This project is a bit like being the refinery, taking the raw data and turning it into fuel that’s going to run the decision support systems of the future.
“We can build fantastic artificial intelligence systems, but without data to run them they’re useless. You can’t just stick in soil tests you’ve got on farm, you have to feed in quite a lot of data.”
Prof Dahlhaus said the uses of the data – particularly when paired with other streams of data – were limited only by a farmer’s imagination.
“Benchmarking is a common thing people like – ‘how do I compare to everyone else?’,” he said.
“But there are opportunities for real time monitoring or forecasting – ‘should I move the sheep off the pasture, is there enough moisture in the soil?’.”
There are some concerns around the ownership of soil data, however the model Prof Dahlhaus uses allows farmers to maintain control of the data.
“We provide a place where they can put data into a cloud-based system and they set the rules around who can see or buy the data,” he said.
“They can even set it so it’s only available to use for research after six months. A lot of people are happy to share the data with us, but they don’t want the banks or insurers to see it, so we’ve designed the system to allay those fears.”
Soil CRC has invested a total of $26m towards 41 active projects in the past years.
“These new projects help us to contribute to the implementation of the National Soil Strategy that was recently announced by the Australian Government.
“The research continues the Soil CRC’s commitment to working with farmers to increase the productivity of Australian agriculture through cutting-edge soil research.
“The new projects will run over the next two to three years. Some of the projects are completely new research while others will be following on from previous Soil CRC research projects.”
Visualising Australasia’s Soils: extending the soil data federation – Peter Dahlhaus, Federation University
