The Queensland Government’s new Reef Regulations came into effect on 1 December 2019 and are being rolled out over three years. The strengthened regulations focus on land-based sources of water pollution to the Great Barrier Reef.
Under the laws, farmers and graziers have new record keeping obligations. There are also minimum practice standards for the use of fertiliser. For sugarcane production, the regulations focus on retaining nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment on-farm to minimise run-off and improve the water quality in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.
More information can be found on the Queensland Government’s website here.
Our fertiliser products
We produce a large range of Bio Dunder® liquid fertilisers to meet the needs of different crops, soils and regions. When used correctly, our sustainable fertilisers comply with the Queensland Government’s new Reef Regulations.
Farmers can match the right nutrient formulation to their soil test results, and the fertiliser is precision-applied to the crop by a professional contractor. Bio Dunder liquid fertilisers can be surface banded under pressure to the crop row or subsurface banded using a stool splitter. In both cases, the liquid fertiliser is applied under pressure; it is not broadcast, and it is not applied to the inter-row. Our sales agronomists are available to answer questions about your specific situation.
Over the years, a large amount of trial work has been done to compare the nutrient run-off results of granular fertiliser applied sub-surface and Bio Dunder liquid fertiliser applied to the surface. We now have plenty of evidence to show that there are no significant nutrient losses when Bio Dunder liquid fertilisers are surface applied.
The results of this trial work – and the fact that Bio Dunder liquid fertilisers have been specifically formulated to be on top of the soil – is why our liquid fertilisers are permitted for surface application on the crop row under the current Reef Regulations.
Delivery reports
To help farmers meet their record keeping obligations under the new Reef Regulations, we provide detailed fertiliser delivery reports with essential reporting data.
Since July 2020, we have emailed farmers a fertiliser delivery report within three days of application. This report assists farmers in meeting the legislative requirement to have made a record within three days of fertiliser being applied to their farm.
The report has a table with the following information at a block level for each farm:
- date of application
- fertiliser product name and percentage of nitrogen and phosphorus in the product
- method of application
- product application rate (m3/ha)
- amount of product applied (m3)
- amount of nitrogen and phosphorus applied (kg/ha).
At the end of the season, we email farmers a whole of season fertiliser delivery report. It contains all of the above information in a tabular format, summarised for each farm at a block level for the year.
