THEY are the true custodians of the land and the guardians of the reef.
Growers and graziers from across the North have been praised for their innovation and persistence in implementing a range of projects to protect one of Australia’s greatest natural assets during the International Year of the Reef.
With concerns raised about the quality of water run-off into catchments near the Great Barrier Reef, farmers have been proactive in doing their bit to negate any adverse outcomes of their farming practices.
Among the innovators is Tully-region cane grower Ray Zamora, who is widely recognised for his pro-active approach.
The fourth-generation cane grower has 110 hectares under cane on his family farm at Euramo, which he has managed for 11 years.
Despite the dry conditions this year, he harvested 8000 tonnes or cane, or 91 tonnes per hectare which was slightly above the area average of 88 tones per hectare.
Mr Zamora said controlled traffic and zonal tillage practices had improved soil health and reduced runoff.
“Controlled traffic is the big one, there is less compaction, so with more uncompacted soil it is healthier to infiltrated the water so it doesn’t run off so quickly.
“With zonal tillage I cultivate the area where I’m going to plant and leave the hard traffic zones.”
In an industry first, Mr Zamora planted this season’s cane directly into a mixed species cover crop, including tillage raddish, field brassicas, sorghum-sudangrass, millet and desmodium, to achieve zero-till planting.
“The plants feed the microbes in the soil.
“I tried zero till planting this year with some success, next time I would possibly terminate the crop cover a bit earlier and plant earlier, but it was an exceptionally dry year, even for Tully.”
Mr Zamora also dabbles with bio-fertiliser to reduce the use of synthetic fertilisers to improve soil heath.
He ferments cow paunch for about three months, with added trace minerals to fertilise his soil.
“It’s just like a home brew beer, once it’s finished fermenting you put it out.
“It was a move to reduce synthetic fertilisers, I still use some but this year my nitrogen was only 90 units compared to a district average of 140.”
Mr Zamora said he would continue to learn with the land and experiment with alternative practices.
“For me it’s very important, it makes farming exciting again and you get to use your brain instead of having some multinational telling you what to do.
“I like to say I’ve failed more times than most people have tried.”
The Queensland Farmer’s Federation praised farmers who made improvements to their land during the second year of the Reef Alliance’s Growing a Great Barrier Reef project.
QFF CEO Travis Tobin said more than 40 dedicated extension officers had engaged with 1,332 landholders to deliver 18,430 hours of one-one-one advice.
“As a result, 206,570 hectares of farmland throughout Queensland’s Reef catchments have demonstrated practice change to safeguard the future of the Reef,” Mr Tobin said.
“Farmers are excelling in their roles as environmental stewards.
“Their important actions are making huge improvements to the quality of the water leaving the farm and significantly contributing to the health of the Great Barrier Reef.”
