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Dear
Members,
Happy
new year to you and your families.
Canegrowers
Herbert River have decided to close the office until Monday
31 January at this stage due to the COVID outbreak in the
district. Staff will be working from home in this period and all
services will continue to be provided to members.
The
board and management will assess the reopening of the office on a
week by week basis.
Please
do not hesitate to contact the office on the same phone number
4776 5350 as the office phone will be diverted to staff mobile
phones.
Thank
you for your understanding.
Frank
Scardamaglia
Manager
CANEGROWERS
Herbert River
Email: frank_scardamaglia@canegrowers.com.au
Phone: 0475 818 800
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CANEGROWERS Herbert River Radio
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For
a mix of music and information listen to CANEGROWERS Herbert
River Radio on our website. Listen in the office or through
bluetooth in your car or tractor!
Click
on the button below to listen.
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Illegal dumping - Grant Funding Now Available
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The Litter and Illegal
Dumping Programs (LIDP) area of the Department of Environment and
Science (the department) works with the community, local
governments, land managers and Natural Resource Management (NRM)
bodies in administering the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act
2011 (WRR Act) and changing illegal dumping behaviours across
Queensland.
The Keeping Queensland
Clean: Illegal Dumping Grant Program will provide up to $500,000
(excluding GST) in grants to primary producers, NRM bodies,
Nature Refuge holders and Special Wildlife Reserve managers for
projects which seek to reduce the amount of illegally dumped
material in our environment and ensure its appropriate disposal
or recovery.
Grants of up to $50,000
(excluding GST) will be provided for activities to remove:
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hazardous illegally dumped waste and/ or
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illegally dumped waste that is difficult to access or requires
specialist equipment to remove due to the location or size of the
material.
For more information about
the program, including the grant program guidelines, application
process and eligibility requirements, please visit the
departments grants and funding page.
Applications will close at
3:00pm on Friday, 18 February 2022.
Should you require any
further information, please contact the Litter and Illegal
Dumping Programs office by email at LIDPrograms@des.qld.gov.au.
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Bruce Highway (Townsville – Ingham) - Helen's Hill
Heavy Vehicle rest area Temporary closure – Upgrade works
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The Department of Transport
and Main Roads (TMR) would like to advise that the Helen's Hill
heavy vehicle rest area located about 17km south of Ingham will
be temporarily closed from Monday 17 January to Thursday 31 March
2022. Works on the Helen's Hill heavy vehicle rest area are being
undertaken to upgrade the entrance and exit points, and parking
areas. These works will improve road safety for heavy vehicles
accessing the rest area and for motorists travelling along this
section of the Bruce Highway.
Click on the button below
for more information.
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WISH Meeting/AGM
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The next meeting for WISH is
Friday 11 February from 9am, Level 4 CANEGROWERS
Boardroom. This will also be the WISH AGM.
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CANEGROWERS Workplace and Safety Guide
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Find
the CANEGROWERS Workplace and Safety Guide for Sugarcane farms on
the CANEGROWERS Herbert River website at https://herbertrivercanegrowers.com.au/safety/ in the member log- in.
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Department of Environment Requests for Compliance
Visit
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Several canegrower districts
have reported that local growers received letters from DES before
Christmas advising of upcoming compliance visits, and some have
also received follow-up phone calls.
CANEGROWERS have spoken
to DES who advised that they will conduct desk-top inspection of
documents and records, electronic versions preferred.
Where this is not feasible,
compliance staff will ask if the grower is OK with a visit to the
farm and assess the appropriateness of a farm visit.
The compliance group are obviously aware of the risks to
elderly growers.
If the grower is anxious about the COVID risk, they will
postpone the visit. If a grower is OK with a visit, the
compliance assessment will be undertaken on a veranda or open-air
shed. Social distancing will be practiced. We have been
advised that all compliance staff are fully vaccinated.
BMP-accredited
growers are recognised as already meeting the regulations and
simply need to send or show a copy of their certificate to the
compliance officer.
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Fertiliser options
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Late last year we were
approached by a representative from Australian Wide Urea Supplies
that is an Australian owned, managed and financed company.
The company is looking to provide a competitive product to all
areas of agriculture and have secured a guaranteed supply of
Urea. Their aim is to provide a good product to ports and
facilities around Queensland at very competitive prices. They are
open for business and can take orders. If you want more
information contact the office and we can provide the Australia
Wide Urea Supplies credit application form, DAP Technical Data
and a Purchase Order Form.
The contact at Australia
Wide is Shane Wilkinson Ph: 0459 263 012. Their website is https://www.australiawideurea.com.au/ and their product
specifications are on this page along with alternative contact
details. When speaking to them late last year they were
still working out delivery into places. They import via shipping
containers in 1 Tonne bags.
CANEGROWERS Herbert River
hold no responsibility for quality and are merely offering a
contact for growers. Growers should carry out their own due
diligence before utilising this supplier.
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2022 is election year for CANEGROWERS
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Your elected grower
representatives serve a three year term which is coming to a
close. Any member of CANEGROWERS can nominate for a position on
their local board and every member can have a say by voting in
the election where districts require a ballot. To help
you get involved, these are the key dates in the CANEGROWERS
election process:
- 1
February - Nominations open (contact your local CANEGROWERS
office)
- 25
February - Nominations and official rolls close
- 15
March - Ballot papers will be posted to members
- 14
April - Deadline for returning ballots
- 20
April - Declaration of results
- 1
May - Term commences for the newly elected members
Once each CANEGROWERS
district board is decided, these grassroots bodies nominate
representatives to attend the CANEGROWERS Policy Council. The
Council in turn elects the Queensland Cane Growers' Organisation
board (the state board of CANEGROWERS). You can read more
about the grower-led structure on the CANEGROWERS website www.canegrowers.com.au/page/about/board-and-policy-council
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COVID information for farms
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COVID-19 cases are now
occurring throughout Queensland including in the sugarcane
industry. The Queensland Government has a fact sheet and
information, checklists and guides for
agribusiness including advice on what to do if someone at
your business tests positive to COVID-19.
Access them here https://daf.engagementhub.com.au/agcontinuity or via the COVID-19 information page
on the CANEGROWERS website
CANEGROWERS continues to
represent you as industry and government work on the
impacts. CEO Dan Galligan is part of the State
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries’ Agriculture Coordination
Group which has advised on measures for critical workers and has
joined other National Farmers’ Federation member CEOs to
discuss supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic.
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Chemical use compliance
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The Department of
Agriculture and Fisheries recently expended its compliance
program on chemical use regulations on cane farms without
consultation or notification. CANEGROWERS expressed
concern to the Department about this lack of courtesy,
and it has agreed to halt any additional compliance activity
until proper consultation has taken place.
This compliance program is
different to the Reef regulations program. While chemical use
regulations apply to every farmer in Queensland, only cane
growers have been targeted with compliance. The focus had been on
the Mackay and Burdekin regions until the recent
expansion to Tully. Growers in all districts are reminded
that:
- Gowers
accredited in Smartcane BMP do not need to engage with
chemical compliance assessments, but need to show, or send,
a copy of the accreditation certificate.
- Compliance
is assessed in relation to changes to the chemical use
Act that, where a product label does not specify any
record keeping, the grower must record an extended list of
information with every application of such products.
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QSL Update
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Advances increase: The Standard QSL Advances
rate will increase to 80% from 20 January 2022. This represents a
2.5% increase on the current rate. Growers are able to download
an up to date cashflow forecaster for the 2021 season on their
QSL portal under the reporting tab. For further details
regarding the 2021-Season Advances rate, please click here.
Updated pool prices: QSL’s 2021 Season
QSL-Managed Pool Prices have been updated with the forecast
current as at 24 December 2021. To see QSL’s latest
indicative pool prices and shared pool values, please click here.
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