Profits through Recycling
Project Title: Profits through Recycling - Pilot processing of sugar industry and community by-products to improve on-farm sustainability
Group Name: Advanced Nutrient Solutions Grower group
Objectives
- Investigate a process to accelerate improved soil health using farm and Mill by-products (e.g. Mill mud/ ash, trash, molasses, animal manures, rotational cropping etc)
- Increase the skills and knowledge of canegrowers to understand soil dynamics by conducting field trials
- Demonstrate the soil microbe relationship to soil health using analytical soil assays
- To pilot the development of a composting system (prescriptions, handling processes, capacity building of industry participants, initial trial data) for the Queensland sugar industry (Stage 1- this project)
Provide robust data and information for further scientific study that includes in-depth scientific analysis of soil health benefits and further investigation of application rates (Stage 2 - - Future research project pending the outcomes of stage 1)
Project Activities:
- Identify a minimum of 2 sites to produce compost material
- Investigate current concepts of producing compost from farm and mill by products (eg Proserpine mill, Brazil, US examples)
- Source raw materials to produce compost material from farm and mill by-products (as listed)
- Conduct inventory of currently available equipment
- Investigate/purchase compost turner and relevant equipment for processing and applying end product
- Produce a prescription to develop humified compost that is sugar industry specific (methods and economics)
- Establish field trials covering a range of climates and soil types in Mackay region to test and establish:
- most efficient application method
- productivity value and economics compared to current practice (nutrients)
- rate of improvement in SOIL CARBON (labile and non-labile)
- improvements in water infiltration utilising tensiometers (on different soil types)
- change in available nutrients to following cane crop
- change in pest populations (nematode and pachymetrya)
- utilise industry standard registered laboratories (e.g. Incitec, BSES etc) to undertake all soil sampling analyses (points 2, 3, 5 and 6) for provision of robust data
- Increase capacity of growers by
- Demonstrations at field sites
- Information sessions (fact sheets)
Contact person: Neil Ross 4954-1289