This has to be the "story of the day"..............energy from beer!.........well, beer wastewater.
Foster's, Scientists Team Up To Generate Clean Energy from Beer-Making
May 02, 2007 — By Rod McGuirk, Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia --
Scientists and Australian beer maker Foster's are teaming up to generate clean energy from brewery waste water -- by using sugar-consuming bacteria.
The experimental technology was unveiled Wednesday by scientists at Australia's University of Queensland, which was given a $115,000 state government grant to install a microbial fuel cell at a Foster's Group brewery near Brisbane, the capital of Queensland state.
The fuel cell is essentially a battery in which bacteria consume water-soluble brewing waste such as sugar, starch and alcohol.
The battery produces electricity plus clean water, said Prof. Jurg Keller, the university's wastewater expert. The 660-gallon fuel cell will be 250 times bigger than a prototype that has been operating effectively at the university laboratory for three months, Keller said.
"Brewery waste water is a particularly good source because it is very biodegradable ... and is highly concentrated, which does help in improving the performance of the cell," Keller said.
He expected the brewery cell would produce 2 kilowatts of power -- enough to power a household -- and the technology would eventually be applied in other breweries and wineries owned by Foster's. "It's not going to make an enormous amount of power -- its primarily a waste water treatment that has the added benefit of creating electricity," Keller said.
This process has important implications for many similar operations - including many sugary beverage plants as well as beer and wine producers.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Outback revival or just a talk fest
Outback Australia isn't about to lose many of its young people judging by their responses to a survey conducted as part of the Year of the Outback 2006 celebrations.
As part of the Year of the Outback program, the Federal Government, through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and the Australian Outback Development Consortium Ltd were partners in a nationwide research project to discover and document what rural youth see as the important issues facing them in rural, regional and remote Australia. And they were asked to provide their ideas and recommendations on how these issues can be addressed by government, rural industries and communities.
The results of that project have been published in a new report, "Outback Youth Infront, Their Voice - Australia's Future" which can now be downloaded from the Outback Development Consortium's website www.outbackinfront.com or at www.yarn.gov.au.
Australia's Youth Infront was the theme of Year of the Outback 2006 and, due to its significance, will continue through to Year of the Outback 2010. The information in the report was compiled through a comprehensive process including a national on-line survey, five workshops at strategically chosen rural locations and a final workshop held in Canberra.
This final workshop involved a panel of participants representing the five workshops already completed along with representatives from the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry and the Australian Outback Development Consortium Ltd.
The key findings of the report were:
* Most participants imagined they would still be living in regional and rural Australia in the next 10-20 years;
* Participants noted there were many advantages to living in rural and regional Australia with lifestyle and community stated as the best aspects;
* The top three issues identified as important to young people were employment, community and education;
Among the report's recommendations were better professional development opportunities for young outback dwellers; wider promotion of jobs available; and attracting and retaining medical professionals to regional Australia; information packs for organisations on how to run successful training programs; the creation a job database for the local area; more social and professional networks and interaction opportunities for young people.
While Government has tended to act in enhancing the opportunities for medical professionals in rural Australia, through greater opportunities for professional development, there have been relatively few actions to support others - vets, agricultural scientists, surveyors, and other professions of significant importance to regional Australia.
Zone allowances of the Federal government are stuck in the 1970s, with no significant change for many years. Travel costs and the need to regularly update professional accreditation requirements impose very high costs on those professionals in regional areas. There are few major accredittation training opportunities set for regional centres, although distance education opportunities for formal courses are improving. The ongoing cost of being based in regional areas and lack of access to many of the professional seminars, etc are critical to personal development. Where are the technology users to better distribute these opportunities via podcast, video or DVD? [ and a free kick to the Desert Knowledge CRC for making a DVD on the recent conference available!!]
Although, it must be said that housing costs do tend to be lower, even if food cost is much higher than living on the crowded eastern seaboard.
I am sure that many other remote regions around the world might find these ideas relevant as they are for Australia.
These outcomes from the Outback 2006 interaction do need ACTION.........but will we see it anytime soon?
As part of the Year of the Outback program, the Federal Government, through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and the Australian Outback Development Consortium Ltd were partners in a nationwide research project to discover and document what rural youth see as the important issues facing them in rural, regional and remote Australia. And they were asked to provide their ideas and recommendations on how these issues can be addressed by government, rural industries and communities.
The results of that project have been published in a new report, "Outback Youth Infront, Their Voice - Australia's Future" which can now be downloaded from the Outback Development Consortium's website www.outbackinfront.com or at www.yarn.gov.au.
Australia's Youth Infront was the theme of Year of the Outback 2006 and, due to its significance, will continue through to Year of the Outback 2010. The information in the report was compiled through a comprehensive process including a national on-line survey, five workshops at strategically chosen rural locations and a final workshop held in Canberra.
This final workshop involved a panel of participants representing the five workshops already completed along with representatives from the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry and the Australian Outback Development Consortium Ltd.
The key findings of the report were:
* Most participants imagined they would still be living in regional and rural Australia in the next 10-20 years;
* Participants noted there were many advantages to living in rural and regional Australia with lifestyle and community stated as the best aspects;
* The top three issues identified as important to young people were employment, community and education;
Among the report's recommendations were better professional development opportunities for young outback dwellers; wider promotion of jobs available; and attracting and retaining medical professionals to regional Australia; information packs for organisations on how to run successful training programs; the creation a job database for the local area; more social and professional networks and interaction opportunities for young people.
While Government has tended to act in enhancing the opportunities for medical professionals in rural Australia, through greater opportunities for professional development, there have been relatively few actions to support others - vets, agricultural scientists, surveyors, and other professions of significant importance to regional Australia.
Zone allowances of the Federal government are stuck in the 1970s, with no significant change for many years. Travel costs and the need to regularly update professional accreditation requirements impose very high costs on those professionals in regional areas. There are few major accredittation training opportunities set for regional centres, although distance education opportunities for formal courses are improving. The ongoing cost of being based in regional areas and lack of access to many of the professional seminars, etc are critical to personal development. Where are the technology users to better distribute these opportunities via podcast, video or DVD? [ and a free kick to the Desert Knowledge CRC for making a DVD on the recent conference available!!]
Although, it must be said that housing costs do tend to be lower, even if food cost is much higher than living on the crowded eastern seaboard.
I am sure that many other remote regions around the world might find these ideas relevant as they are for Australia.
These outcomes from the Outback 2006 interaction do need ACTION.........but will we see it anytime soon?
Still raining in WA and elsewhere across the south
Southern WA farmers have had their best break in years and have an enviable problem: they've had so much rain that the paddocks are too wet for the seeders to go in.
For the Ridley area north east of Esperance, 25- 45mm of rain over the weekend before Anzac Day stopped proceedings, with the April total around 100mm. This followed on from 150mm in the January floods, in an area where the yearly average is around 425mm.
Many farmers see it as the best season break in over 25 years. April is often seen as the critical "last time" opportunity to have adequate rain for sowing cereal crops.
But many farmers are now sitting it out as paddocks are too wet to work. The spin-off of positivity has been particularly felt by local machinery dealers who have experienced a big lift in satellite guidance sales.
Seems to follow the pattern in the poem "Said Hanrahan"! However, most farmers are more than happy to be seeing rain - at last.
Rain across the other states has not been as much, although now much of temperate Australia are smiling, a spring in their step knowing that decent rain has come and more seems to be coming.
The latter point will be critical to generate adequate runoff and infiltration into groundwater, both highly significant in renewing the waterflows into dams, rivers and tanks and enhancing the lifeblood of the entire region.
For the Ridley area north east of Esperance, 25- 45mm of rain over the weekend before Anzac Day stopped proceedings, with the April total around 100mm. This followed on from 150mm in the January floods, in an area where the yearly average is around 425mm.
Many farmers see it as the best season break in over 25 years. April is often seen as the critical "last time" opportunity to have adequate rain for sowing cereal crops.
But many farmers are now sitting it out as paddocks are too wet to work. The spin-off of positivity has been particularly felt by local machinery dealers who have experienced a big lift in satellite guidance sales.
Seems to follow the pattern in the poem "Said Hanrahan"! However, most farmers are more than happy to be seeing rain - at last.
Rain across the other states has not been as much, although now much of temperate Australia are smiling, a spring in their step knowing that decent rain has come and more seems to be coming.
The latter point will be critical to generate adequate runoff and infiltration into groundwater, both highly significant in renewing the waterflows into dams, rivers and tanks and enhancing the lifeblood of the entire region.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Is the drought over?
ITS RAINING IN SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA......................AND SERIOUS WIDESPREAD RAIN!!!!
Maybe, just maybe..........the drought might be finishing.
There has been good rain [ 25 - 50mm, sometimes a bit more] across much of southern Australia from Western Australia through South Australia and now [ 28 April] extending into Victoria, NSW and S Queensland and Tasmania.
There even appears to be more frontal systems coming across, with additional rain predicted for next week too.
While most farmers are being cautious in thinking or saying too much, this weekend will see a lot of tractors racing across paddocks with urgent planting of forage and grain crops, to follow some planted dry last week. There is guarded optimism in these temperate farming areas.
BUT..........river flows are abysmally low to nil, and it will take a huge amount of rain to get them going again.
It is also notable that the SOI has changed dramatically and quickly from weakening from a strong negative to be close to neutral or slightly negative over the past several months [ie close to neutral, or tending towards normal ] to be -11, whiich is strongly el Nino. This type of figure, if persistent, is usually interpreted as indicating el Nino conditions - and dry for temperate Australia. So one needs to watch through a few different indicators. Most climate forecasters tend to favour more normal to slightly wetter conditions over the next 3-6 months [ see post of March 21], and there is a good discussion on climate pages of the Met Bureau web site. They favour slightly better than median rainfall in temperate areas of Australia over the next few months [ www.bom.gov.au].
Australia is a land of contrasts, with drought often followed by flood. Summed up so eloquently in the poem of John O'Brien "Said Hanrahan"
SAID HANRAHAN by John O'Brien
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
In accents most forlorn,
Outside the church, ere Mass began,
One frosty Sunday morn.
The congregation stood about,
Coat-collars to the ears,
And talked of stock, and crops, and drought,
As it had done for years.
"It's looking crook," said Daniel Croke;
"Bedad, it's cruke, me lad,
For never since the banks went broke
Has seasons been so bad."
"It's dry, all right," said young O'Neil,
With which astute remark
He squatted down upon his heel
And chewed a piece of bark.
And so around the chorus ran
"It's keepin' dry, no doubt."
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."
"The crops are done; ye'll have your work
To save one bag of grain;
From here way out to Back-o'-Bourke
They're singin' out for rain.
"They're singin' out for rain," he said,
"And all the tanks are dry."
The congregation scratched its head,
And gazed around the sky.
"There won't be grass, in any case,
Enough to feed an ass;
There's not a blade on Casey's place
As I came down to Mass."
"If rain don't come this month," said Dan,
And cleared his throat to speak -
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"If rain don't come this week."
A heavy silence seemed to steal
On all at this remark;
And each man squatted on his heel,
And chewed a piece of bark.
"We want an inch of rain, we do,"
O'Neil observed at last;
But Croke "maintained" we wanted two
To put the danger past.
"If we don't get three inches, man,
Or four to break this drought,
We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."
In God's good time down came the rain;
And all the afternoon
On iron roof and window-pane
It drummed a homely tune.
And through the night it pattered still,
And lightsome, gladsome elves
On dripping spout and window-sill
Kept talking to themselves.
It pelted, pelted all day long,
A-singing at its work,
Till every heart took up the song
Way out to Back-o'-Bourke.
And every creek a banker ran,
And dams filled overtop;
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"If this rain doesn't stop."
And stop it did, in God's good time;
And spring came in to fold
A mantle o'er the hills sublime
Of green and pink and gold.
And days went by on dancing feet,
With harvest-hopes immense,
And laughing eyes beheld the wheat
Nid-nodding o'er the fence.
And, oh, the smiles on every face,
As happy lad and lass
Through grass knee-deep on Casey's place
Went riding down to Mass.
While round the church in clothes genteel
Discoursed the men of mark,
And each man squatted on his heel,
And chewed his piece of bark.
"There'll be bush-fires for sure, me man,
There will, without a doubt;
We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."
[from "Around the Boree Log and Other Verses", 1921]
Are farmers the same everywhere?
Maybe, just maybe..........the drought might be finishing.
There has been good rain [ 25 - 50mm, sometimes a bit more] across much of southern Australia from Western Australia through South Australia and now [ 28 April] extending into Victoria, NSW and S Queensland and Tasmania.
There even appears to be more frontal systems coming across, with additional rain predicted for next week too.
While most farmers are being cautious in thinking or saying too much, this weekend will see a lot of tractors racing across paddocks with urgent planting of forage and grain crops, to follow some planted dry last week. There is guarded optimism in these temperate farming areas.
BUT..........river flows are abysmally low to nil, and it will take a huge amount of rain to get them going again.
It is also notable that the SOI has changed dramatically and quickly from weakening from a strong negative to be close to neutral or slightly negative over the past several months [ie close to neutral, or tending towards normal ] to be -11, whiich is strongly el Nino. This type of figure, if persistent, is usually interpreted as indicating el Nino conditions - and dry for temperate Australia. So one needs to watch through a few different indicators. Most climate forecasters tend to favour more normal to slightly wetter conditions over the next 3-6 months [ see post of March 21], and there is a good discussion on climate pages of the Met Bureau web site. They favour slightly better than median rainfall in temperate areas of Australia over the next few months [ www.bom.gov.au].
Australia is a land of contrasts, with drought often followed by flood. Summed up so eloquently in the poem of John O'Brien "Said Hanrahan"
SAID HANRAHAN by John O'Brien
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
In accents most forlorn,
Outside the church, ere Mass began,
One frosty Sunday morn.
The congregation stood about,
Coat-collars to the ears,
And talked of stock, and crops, and drought,
As it had done for years.
"It's looking crook," said Daniel Croke;
"Bedad, it's cruke, me lad,
For never since the banks went broke
Has seasons been so bad."
"It's dry, all right," said young O'Neil,
With which astute remark
He squatted down upon his heel
And chewed a piece of bark.
And so around the chorus ran
"It's keepin' dry, no doubt."
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."
"The crops are done; ye'll have your work
To save one bag of grain;
From here way out to Back-o'-Bourke
They're singin' out for rain.
"They're singin' out for rain," he said,
"And all the tanks are dry."
The congregation scratched its head,
And gazed around the sky.
"There won't be grass, in any case,
Enough to feed an ass;
There's not a blade on Casey's place
As I came down to Mass."
"If rain don't come this month," said Dan,
And cleared his throat to speak -
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"If rain don't come this week."
A heavy silence seemed to steal
On all at this remark;
And each man squatted on his heel,
And chewed a piece of bark.
"We want an inch of rain, we do,"
O'Neil observed at last;
But Croke "maintained" we wanted two
To put the danger past.
"If we don't get three inches, man,
Or four to break this drought,
We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."
In God's good time down came the rain;
And all the afternoon
On iron roof and window-pane
It drummed a homely tune.
And through the night it pattered still,
And lightsome, gladsome elves
On dripping spout and window-sill
Kept talking to themselves.
It pelted, pelted all day long,
A-singing at its work,
Till every heart took up the song
Way out to Back-o'-Bourke.
And every creek a banker ran,
And dams filled overtop;
"We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"If this rain doesn't stop."
And stop it did, in God's good time;
And spring came in to fold
A mantle o'er the hills sublime
Of green and pink and gold.
And days went by on dancing feet,
With harvest-hopes immense,
And laughing eyes beheld the wheat
Nid-nodding o'er the fence.
And, oh, the smiles on every face,
As happy lad and lass
Through grass knee-deep on Casey's place
Went riding down to Mass.
While round the church in clothes genteel
Discoursed the men of mark,
And each man squatted on his heel,
And chewed his piece of bark.
"There'll be bush-fires for sure, me man,
There will, without a doubt;
We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan,
"Before the year is out."
[from "Around the Boree Log and Other Verses", 1921]
Are farmers the same everywhere?
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Sub-surface Drip Irrigation -KISSS a superior option
While sub surface drip irrigation has been available for quite a few years now in Australia, with several of the major companies offering systems, a unique patented Australian system has improved the concept enormously.
Several major issues were identified by users of the existing systems:
- often poor water distribution with overwet soil near emitters, and near dry soil elsewhere
- this poor distribution often lead to poorly distributed root patterns
- root intrusion
- blocked emitters due to soil particles blocking the openings
- uneven soil water profile vertical distribution
- rapid loss of water below the root zone
While some of these are related to installation and management issues eg root intrusion can be corrected via herbicides, and blockages can be eased via correct pipe orientation, it has often meant more, not less hassles to use the system.
Enter KISSS - Kapillary Irrigation Sub Surface System in which most of these isuses are rectified and soil water for plant use is greatly enhanced. The concept can reduce irrigation water use by 60% over existing best practice overhead irrigation, and they have well verified trial results to back it up. See www.kisss.net.au for a lot more details. It is the enormous improvement in water wetting patterns that really allow KISSS to stand above all others.
The system uses existing sub surface piping and wraps it in a highly effective geotextile on the top of the pipe, with a polyethylene layer in the centre [ to stop water tunnelling to the surface] and a polyethylene layer below the pipe to dramatically reduce deep drainage. The geotextile creates an even distribution of water between emitters, and also essentially prevents root intrusion. While a herbicide treatment is useful, and there are systems available to allow this treatment, it may be thought of more as a useful tool, rather than essential to prevent root intrusion and thus impede water flow.
There have been many installations in Australia, and with severe drought along the east coast, users of the system have been able to reduce water use, and still maintian "green" areas. Major public sector bodies are using it very successfully, with most planning an expanded role for the system.
Naturally, as it is below ground, the concept has major potential to use any form of treated grey or sewerage effluent in an unrestricted access area..........people do not come into contact with the effluent! A number of systems are installed already, and more to come. In this case, all system piping uses the lilac colouring to distinguish it from the normal blue colour used with clean water.
Call 08 8948 1894 for more information in either electronic or hard copy format, or email to office@abovecapricorn.com.au
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Compadre Zoysia ideal for the NT
Compadre was selected by plant breeders in the USA as a good replacement for many existing vegetative and seeded zoysia varieties that are hard to germinate and establish from seed or plugs. Performed among the top lines in exhaustive trials. Superior quality turf in comparison to Argentine paspalum or Bahia grass. Compadre is readily available and a great replacement for Bahia grass which is known to be relatively poorly available in Australia in 2007
Previously known by the variety name Companion.
Compadre Coated seeds. The inert material % contains seed coating material:Coating Material percentage runs 50 to 60% depending on each lots test data after coating is completed. - Pure seed of 40-50%. Pure seed also available.
Compadre is specially formulated for faster germination and establishment, yet has low fertilizer and water needs. Compadre is a perfect grass for golf courses in many areas because of its low maintenance requirements. Perfect for home and commercial lawns due to low maintenance as well. It is also itch free, unlike paspalum lawns.
COMPADRE ZOYSIA: This zoysiagrass variety has been chosen by plant breeders due to its high turf quality, very dark green colour and consistent seed yield. Compadre Zoysia has performed well in turfgrass trial plantings in various locations, in comparison to both seeded and vegetative varieties. Compadre Zoysia seed is recommended as a good replacement for many of the existing vegetative and seeded zoysia varieties that are slow to germinate and establish from seed or plugs - the seeds have been primed for faster germination & establishment.
PLANTING RATE:Compadre - Seeds: Plant at 0.5 – 1.0 kg/100 sq m. More seed will not improve speed of establishment.
Plant most of the year in the NT - Follow seed rate recommendations. Suitable for all of the NT, and especially north of Alice Springs.
Plant on a weed free, grass free, prepared soil area. Stale seedbed techniques may be useful to suppress early weeds. Do not plant with other species. Keeping the area shade free is important, so mow regularly as weeds appear during establishment.
A well prepared seedbed is required. - If you can't irrigate, don't plant
WATER DAILY (or even better - twice a day - morning & afternoon) FOR first 10-21 days until seedlings have sprouted. - Then every other day for several more weeks, then gradually reducing the frequency and increasing the duration of watering. Skip watering when it rains. A superior option is to use short burst eg 5 minutes per hour or low volume surface irrigation eg micro-irrigation sprinklers or a soaker hose to keep the surface moist, but NOT overwet. After the first 8-10 weeks you can water as needed. In the Northern Territory, 2-3 waterings per week, wetting the soil to 100mm at each irrigation is adequate.
Once established, Compadre is a very water efficient lawn, requiring less water for peak performance. Among the best of the improved turf lines for water efficiency.
Follow the proper maintenance for your new lawn (water, mow, fertilize, etc.)
High quality seed is readily available!
High quality seed is readily available!
SEED USE NOTICE: Please note that we ONLY recommend Zoysia seeds for use in bare soil areas. Planting seeds into existing grasses has a HIGH FAILURE rate. If planting into an existing lawn (grass and/or weeds) we recommend that you consider using Zoysia plugs instead of seeds. Alternately seek further advice from us on the requirements to renovate existing areas.
At sowing, a quality mixed fertiliser including trace elements is required. We recommend Yara Hydrocomplex 12:5:15 plus trace elements in two applications - one at sowing, and the second after 4 weeks, both at 3-5kg/100 sq m.
We strongly recommend use of slow release turf fertilisers for maintenance, from 10 weeks after sowing, with Multigreen N:P:K 22:3:17.5 a very suitable product, used 2-3 times per year at 2-4kg/100 sq m. [ available at Elders Palmerston and Australia wide]. These products give superior performance and are kinder to the enviroment. After opening the bag, it should be stored in a closed plastic bucket or similar - that way it will last for several years.
"Compadre Zoysia is everything you need in a turfgrass," said Mike Hills, Research Agronomist for Seed Research. "It's a top performer in stressful conditions, a natural weed suppressor and a survivor in extreme summer and winter climates."
"Compadre Zoysia is everything you need in a turfgrass," said Mike Hills, Research Agronomist for Seed Research. "It's a top performer in stressful conditions, a natural weed suppressor and a survivor in extreme summer and winter climates."
Compadre is an ideal choice for renovations or new construction and can be maintained at variable mowing heights for different purposes. It is extremely tolerant of high salt concentrations in water or soil. In domestic use a mowing height of around 20 - 25mm is suitable but it may be cut lower or slightly higher. Compadre is shade tolerant, and will grow in 50 - 70% shade, and will do even better if the area receives a little dappled sun during the day. Do not mow too short in shaded areas - the grass will grow much better .
Seed available through your local contact:
Above Capricorn Technologies
Agricultural & Environmental Consultants
PO Box 736 Nightcliff NT 0814
office@abovecapricorn.com.au
Phone 08 8948 1894 Fax 08 8948 3894
Above Capricorn Technologies
Agricultural & Environmental Consultants
PO Box 736 Nightcliff NT 0814
office@abovecapricorn.com.au
Phone 08 8948 1894 Fax 08 8948 3894
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Coming soon to a lawn near you - even in Australia?
It is often said that trends in Australia follow the US with a lag period of 6-12 months. The material below launches an organic lawn system........will this be in Australia by next September 2007?
A few issues..........
WASHINGTON, D.C. — SafeLawns Foundation, headquartered in New Gloucester, Maine, initiates it national consumer education program on Wednesday, April 4 on the West Lawn of the Capitol Building starting at 1:00 p.m. High-profile doctors, scientists, activists and politicians will help kick off the campaign aimed at helping to initiate systematic and widespread change in Americans' lawn care practices.
Organizers will announce a challenge to Americans to convert over one million acres of grass to organic lawn care by 2010.
Components of the challenge include the following:
Safe Lawns Challenge - A challenge will be issued to universities and companies across the country to end the use of synthetic lawn chemicals and pesticides on their campuses and headquarters;
Safe Lawns Environmental Partnership - States across the U.S. will be urged to eliminate lawn care pesticides at day care facilities and school grounds - following the model of a law recently adopted in Connecticut; and
Safe Lawns Certification Program - A nationwide realty partnership program will be launched to inform home buyers of houses that have child- and pet-safe organic lawns.
In addition, the rally will offer details of a Safe Lawns Challenge for consumers who want to make the transition to organic lawn care in their own yards.
HGTV personality and SafeLawns Foundation founder and spokesperson, Paul Tukey states that, "We see the writing on the wall about the future of lawn care in North America. Americans are spreading millions of tons of toxic materials and wasting enormous amounts of fossil fuels, all in the name of having a beautiful lawn. Our mission is to show people that you can have a beautiful lawn without the toxic and wasteful side effects."
Shepherd Ogden, president of SafeLawns Foundation believes that, "If people want to have a major impact on the environment, they can literally start in their own backyard - an organic lawn also eliminates health risks for themselves, their children and pets. "Eliminating environmental and human threats from pesticides and synthetic fertilizers is now possible as many forward-thinking garden centres, home improvement stores and commercial lawn care companies offer organic products and information for consumers.
The SafeLawns.org Mission: To create a broad-based coalition of organizations committed to educating society about the benefits of organic lawn care and gardening and effect a quantum change in consumer and industry behaviour in grounds maintenance.
Website : SafeLawns Foundation
A few issues..........
- Australia uses far less fertiliser and pesticides on lawns than the US consumer
- Our seasons generally ensure green grass year round [water permitting], in comparison the US mostly has brown areas in winter, except for the south so Australians are less worried about lawns being "super green" in a short growing period
- Australians are more tolerant of less than perfect looking lawns and will not put in the effort to improve them - there are better things to do!
- turf varieties used in Australia are generally hardier and more heat tolerant, less soft and more functional and used more year round, and have less $$ both available or spent on them at all levels of government and the private sector
- a change to slow release inorganic fertiliser usually means less is required - this is a good option, but uptake and use of the technology, especially at domestic level has been slow - it does cost more
- most organic fertilisers are of low analysis and many smell awful
- many areas in Australia would benefit from compost - not for the fertiliser, but for the organic and soil building properties which may mean better water holding soils over time, a major improvement that would also pay off with less need for any additives as soil health is improved
- many Australians mulch the lawn clippings, hence build up soil organic matter anyway, which is a very useful option for many, but NOT all lawn species
BUT........watch this space for the same trend in Australia. It is probably an overdue correction in US lawn care management, where many $$ are overspent on fertiliser and then more mowing!!!. I am not so sure of the same widespread issue in Australia.
-------------------------------------------------
SafeLawns Launches Nationwide Consumer Program on National Mall April 04, 2007
By SafeLawns FoundationWASHINGTON, D.C. — SafeLawns Foundation, headquartered in New Gloucester, Maine, initiates it national consumer education program on Wednesday, April 4 on the West Lawn of the Capitol Building starting at 1:00 p.m. High-profile doctors, scientists, activists and politicians will help kick off the campaign aimed at helping to initiate systematic and widespread change in Americans' lawn care practices.
Organizers will announce a challenge to Americans to convert over one million acres of grass to organic lawn care by 2010.
Components of the challenge include the following:
Safe Lawns Challenge - A challenge will be issued to universities and companies across the country to end the use of synthetic lawn chemicals and pesticides on their campuses and headquarters;
Safe Lawns Environmental Partnership - States across the U.S. will be urged to eliminate lawn care pesticides at day care facilities and school grounds - following the model of a law recently adopted in Connecticut; and
Safe Lawns Certification Program - A nationwide realty partnership program will be launched to inform home buyers of houses that have child- and pet-safe organic lawns.
In addition, the rally will offer details of a Safe Lawns Challenge for consumers who want to make the transition to organic lawn care in their own yards.
HGTV personality and SafeLawns Foundation founder and spokesperson, Paul Tukey states that, "We see the writing on the wall about the future of lawn care in North America. Americans are spreading millions of tons of toxic materials and wasting enormous amounts of fossil fuels, all in the name of having a beautiful lawn. Our mission is to show people that you can have a beautiful lawn without the toxic and wasteful side effects."
Shepherd Ogden, president of SafeLawns Foundation believes that, "If people want to have a major impact on the environment, they can literally start in their own backyard - an organic lawn also eliminates health risks for themselves, their children and pets. "Eliminating environmental and human threats from pesticides and synthetic fertilizers is now possible as many forward-thinking garden centres, home improvement stores and commercial lawn care companies offer organic products and information for consumers.
The SafeLawns.org Mission: To create a broad-based coalition of organizations committed to educating society about the benefits of organic lawn care and gardening and effect a quantum change in consumer and industry behaviour in grounds maintenance.
Website : SafeLawns Foundation
Monday, April 02, 2007
Ecoflex Does the Job for Erosion Management
With the support of an NT Government Environment Grant plus assistance from the Department of Planning and Infrastructure a trail to evaluate Ecoflex as a roadside scour protection on floodways was installed late in 2006. This follows earlier use in the NT in other projects.
The trial is on the Cox Peninsula Road, about 130kms from Darwin, and close to the end of the Delissaville airstrip on the western side of Darwin Harbour.
Local Darwin weather has been relatively quiet since the project was completed in November 2006, with the rain in the period up to late February relatively low, by local standards, and no major storm events. But, over the period March 1, 2007 through 6 March, that changed - with over 500 mm in this period with about 90% falling in the three days 3-5 March. The area flooded, with around 300mm across the road, although relatively slow moving, and the road was closed, except for large 4WD and trucks on Saturday and Sunday.
The Ecoflex has come through the first part of the trial very well, with no apparent damage. This was expected, based on results in temperate Australia, but they do not usually get rain like this! It is early in the length of the trial, but it looks very promising.
Ecoflex is a low cost option in lieu of the conventional use of wire mattress protection, and it uses Ecoflex units produced from truck tyres. It is energy and greenhouse gas saving AND costs less. The performance is at least equal to existing options, and potentially superior in some areas.
A brief report is available on request to office@abovecapricorn.com.au and more details on Ecoflex uses at the web site www.ecoflex.com.au .
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
A Rethink on Palm Oil for Biofuel?
March 27, 2007 — By Arthur Max, Associated Press AMSTERDAM, Netherlands --
Once, palm oil was seen as an ideal biofuel, a cheap alternative to petroleum that would fight global warming.
But second thoughts are wracking the power industry. Can the fruit of the palm tree help save the planet -- or contribute to its destruction?
Environmentalists have long warned that many plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, where 85 percent of commercial palm oil is grown, were planted on cleared rain forest, threatening the home of endangered animals like the orangutan and the Sumatran tiger.
Now, amid global efforts to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, power companies have joined conservationists in calculating the carbon count of producing palm oil fuel -- and found the balance increasingly negative. A few companies have put plans on hold to switch to palm oil.
A report late last year by a Netherlands-based research group claimed some plantations produce far more carbon dioxide than they save. Seeded on drained peat swamps, they unleash a warehouse of carbon from decomposed plants and animals that had been locked in the bogs for hundreds of million years, which one biologist described as "buried sunshine."
"As a biofuel, it's a failure," said Marcel Silvius, a climate change expert for Wetlands International, the institute that led the research team.
The palm oil debate is just one example of cold realism dampening enthusiasm for vegetable oils as substitutes for the fossil fuels that are widely blamed for the gradual warming of the Earth and potentially disastrous changes in climate.
In the United States, where farmers have diverted corn and sugar crops to ethanol production, food prices have soared. Environmentalists say the high energy cost of making ethanol, coupled with the degraded land and polluted water from heavily fertilized fields, have put a large question mark on its value as a biofuel.
Palm oil is an ingredient in cooking oil, cosmetics, soaps, bread, chocolate -- in fact, in about one in every 10 products on the supermarket shelf. It also is used as an industrial lubricant.
It is attractive for bioenergy because it is relatively abundant, cheap at about US$557 (euro419) per ton in mid-March, and more easily integrated into existing power stations than most other alternative fuels. Unlike carbon-rich fossil fuels, production is considered carbon neutral, meaning the carbon emitted from burning palm oil is the same as that absorbed during growth.
But the surrounding environmental cost is becoming increasingly apparent.
The four-year study in Southeast Asia by a team from Wetlands, Delft Hydraulics and the Alterra Research Center of Wageningen University said 600 million tons of carbon dioxide seep every year into the air from drained peat swamps. Another 1.4 billion tons go up in smoke from rain forest fires deliberately set to clear new land for plantations, shrouding much of Singapore and Malaysia in an impenetrable haze for weeks at a time.
Together, those 2 billion tons of CO2 amount to 8 percent of the globe's fossil fuel emissions, the report said.
Friends of the Earth called the report "astonishing," and said it shows that harvesting palm oil for fuel is counterproductive. "It undermines the whole project," said a climate specialist for the environment group, Anne van Schaik.
Wetlands' figures could not be independently verified by the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, Germany, by the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C., nor by academic experts. But all said the research appeared credible.
Deforestation is the No. 2 cause of greenhouse gas emissions after the burning of fossil fuels, said Jeffrey Dukes, a biologist at the University of Massachusetts, and clearing peat swamps for plantations is "a double whammy."
It not only releases carbon trapped over many millennia, Dukes said, but destroys the most efficient ecosystem on the planet for sucking carbon from the atmosphere and storing it underground. "By converting these forests, we are essentially taking that buried sunshine and wasting it," he said. "It's a terrible decision. Whether or not it's consciously made, it's society going in reverse."
Next month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative U.N. network of 2,000 scientists, will publish its second in a series of four reports on the likely causes and potential impact of global warming.
Silvius, of Wetlands, said awareness of the vast amounts of carbon released from degraded peat lands is so new that the problem was not included in an early draft of the IPCC report. The group was pushing to include it in the final report and put it on the environmental agenda.
The first report, released in February, said with more certainty than before that mankind was responsible for global warming.
That report galvanized European leaders to approve a bold plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 -- and increase that to 30 percent if other countries join. Part of that goal would be achieved by converting at least 10 percent of Europe's energy supplies to biofuels.
Despite pressure to replace coal, oil and gas with cleaner fuels, major power companies in Britain and the Netherlands have scrapped plans to partially convert electricity generation to palm oil.
"We spent more than a year investigating the sustainability issues with palm oil," said Leon Flexman, of RWE npower, Britain's largest electricity supplier. The company decided against palm oil because it could not verify all its supplies would be free of the taint of destroyed rain forest or peat bogs, he said. The Dutch power company Essent also announced in December it had suspended the incineration of palm oil until it can trace and verify the sources.
Biox, a Dutch startup, said it plans to go ahead with the construction of three 50 megawatt power stations exclusively burning palm oil -- generating enough electricity to light all the homes in Amsterdam.
"Until this report came out, peatlands was not an issue because we hadn't heard of it. Nobody had heard," said Biox executive Arjen Brinkmann. "We have to take this on board as a criteria, together with the other sustainability criteria."
So far, the industry's reservations do not seem to have affected the market. Crude palm oil production rose 6.6 percent last year and will increase another 5.5% this year to 37 million tons, according to Fortis Bank. Prices have risen 35 percent in the last year and are still going up, it said. With concerns mounting over sourcing, plantation owners joined forces with processors, investors and environmentalists three years ago to form the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil with the aim of monitoring the industry and drawing up criteria for socially responsible trade.
But the RSPO has yet to create a foolproof system to verify the supply chain.
Flexman, of the British utility, said his company may still opt for palm oil in the future if the ecological issues can be resolved. "We think RSPO is the way to go in setting up verification system," he said.
Source: Associated Press
Darwin has a biodiesel plant fuelled by palm oil from SE Asia, with the company planning to build another in Singapore / Johore Bahru. And yes, the pollution from the peat and forest fires is VERY bad in most of Malaysia and Singapore during the dry season, and this originates from Indonesia. But most palm oil is expected to come from well established plantations in peninsular Malaysia at present, many of which are not on peat soils but on undulating clay soils. Not always a clearcut [ no pun intended] issue. There are also issues of local livelihood, with many thousands of rural people earning a living in the palm oil planatations.
Authors of the studies above are very credible institutions, so it should not be taken lightly. But then we already use a large volume of palm oil in other areas - is that also bad? Why has it not been raised previously if it is so serious, as palm oil cultivation has been a major feature of Indonesia and Malaysia for many, many decades? Or is this western world guilt denying a decent agricultural existence for LDC's again?
Maybe biodiesel does not rock after all. Watch this space............there will ,no doubt, be more!
Once, palm oil was seen as an ideal biofuel, a cheap alternative to petroleum that would fight global warming.
But second thoughts are wracking the power industry. Can the fruit of the palm tree help save the planet -- or contribute to its destruction?
Environmentalists have long warned that many plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, where 85 percent of commercial palm oil is grown, were planted on cleared rain forest, threatening the home of endangered animals like the orangutan and the Sumatran tiger.
Now, amid global efforts to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, power companies have joined conservationists in calculating the carbon count of producing palm oil fuel -- and found the balance increasingly negative. A few companies have put plans on hold to switch to palm oil.
A report late last year by a Netherlands-based research group claimed some plantations produce far more carbon dioxide than they save. Seeded on drained peat swamps, they unleash a warehouse of carbon from decomposed plants and animals that had been locked in the bogs for hundreds of million years, which one biologist described as "buried sunshine."
"As a biofuel, it's a failure," said Marcel Silvius, a climate change expert for Wetlands International, the institute that led the research team.
The palm oil debate is just one example of cold realism dampening enthusiasm for vegetable oils as substitutes for the fossil fuels that are widely blamed for the gradual warming of the Earth and potentially disastrous changes in climate.
In the United States, where farmers have diverted corn and sugar crops to ethanol production, food prices have soared. Environmentalists say the high energy cost of making ethanol, coupled with the degraded land and polluted water from heavily fertilized fields, have put a large question mark on its value as a biofuel.
Palm oil is an ingredient in cooking oil, cosmetics, soaps, bread, chocolate -- in fact, in about one in every 10 products on the supermarket shelf. It also is used as an industrial lubricant.
It is attractive for bioenergy because it is relatively abundant, cheap at about US$557 (euro419) per ton in mid-March, and more easily integrated into existing power stations than most other alternative fuels. Unlike carbon-rich fossil fuels, production is considered carbon neutral, meaning the carbon emitted from burning palm oil is the same as that absorbed during growth.
But the surrounding environmental cost is becoming increasingly apparent.
The four-year study in Southeast Asia by a team from Wetlands, Delft Hydraulics and the Alterra Research Center of Wageningen University said 600 million tons of carbon dioxide seep every year into the air from drained peat swamps. Another 1.4 billion tons go up in smoke from rain forest fires deliberately set to clear new land for plantations, shrouding much of Singapore and Malaysia in an impenetrable haze for weeks at a time.
Together, those 2 billion tons of CO2 amount to 8 percent of the globe's fossil fuel emissions, the report said.
Friends of the Earth called the report "astonishing," and said it shows that harvesting palm oil for fuel is counterproductive. "It undermines the whole project," said a climate specialist for the environment group, Anne van Schaik.
Wetlands' figures could not be independently verified by the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, Germany, by the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C., nor by academic experts. But all said the research appeared credible.
Deforestation is the No. 2 cause of greenhouse gas emissions after the burning of fossil fuels, said Jeffrey Dukes, a biologist at the University of Massachusetts, and clearing peat swamps for plantations is "a double whammy."
It not only releases carbon trapped over many millennia, Dukes said, but destroys the most efficient ecosystem on the planet for sucking carbon from the atmosphere and storing it underground. "By converting these forests, we are essentially taking that buried sunshine and wasting it," he said. "It's a terrible decision. Whether or not it's consciously made, it's society going in reverse."
Next month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative U.N. network of 2,000 scientists, will publish its second in a series of four reports on the likely causes and potential impact of global warming.
Silvius, of Wetlands, said awareness of the vast amounts of carbon released from degraded peat lands is so new that the problem was not included in an early draft of the IPCC report. The group was pushing to include it in the final report and put it on the environmental agenda.
The first report, released in February, said with more certainty than before that mankind was responsible for global warming.
That report galvanized European leaders to approve a bold plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 -- and increase that to 30 percent if other countries join. Part of that goal would be achieved by converting at least 10 percent of Europe's energy supplies to biofuels.
Despite pressure to replace coal, oil and gas with cleaner fuels, major power companies in Britain and the Netherlands have scrapped plans to partially convert electricity generation to palm oil.
"We spent more than a year investigating the sustainability issues with palm oil," said Leon Flexman, of RWE npower, Britain's largest electricity supplier. The company decided against palm oil because it could not verify all its supplies would be free of the taint of destroyed rain forest or peat bogs, he said. The Dutch power company Essent also announced in December it had suspended the incineration of palm oil until it can trace and verify the sources.
Biox, a Dutch startup, said it plans to go ahead with the construction of three 50 megawatt power stations exclusively burning palm oil -- generating enough electricity to light all the homes in Amsterdam.
"Until this report came out, peatlands was not an issue because we hadn't heard of it. Nobody had heard," said Biox executive Arjen Brinkmann. "We have to take this on board as a criteria, together with the other sustainability criteria."
So far, the industry's reservations do not seem to have affected the market. Crude palm oil production rose 6.6 percent last year and will increase another 5.5% this year to 37 million tons, according to Fortis Bank. Prices have risen 35 percent in the last year and are still going up, it said. With concerns mounting over sourcing, plantation owners joined forces with processors, investors and environmentalists three years ago to form the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil with the aim of monitoring the industry and drawing up criteria for socially responsible trade.
But the RSPO has yet to create a foolproof system to verify the supply chain.
Flexman, of the British utility, said his company may still opt for palm oil in the future if the ecological issues can be resolved. "We think RSPO is the way to go in setting up verification system," he said.
Source: Associated Press
Darwin has a biodiesel plant fuelled by palm oil from SE Asia, with the company planning to build another in Singapore / Johore Bahru. And yes, the pollution from the peat and forest fires is VERY bad in most of Malaysia and Singapore during the dry season, and this originates from Indonesia. But most palm oil is expected to come from well established plantations in peninsular Malaysia at present, many of which are not on peat soils but on undulating clay soils. Not always a clearcut [ no pun intended] issue. There are also issues of local livelihood, with many thousands of rural people earning a living in the palm oil planatations.
Authors of the studies above are very credible institutions, so it should not be taken lightly. But then we already use a large volume of palm oil in other areas - is that also bad? Why has it not been raised previously if it is so serious, as palm oil cultivation has been a major feature of Indonesia and Malaysia for many, many decades? Or is this western world guilt denying a decent agricultural existence for LDC's again?
Maybe biodiesel does not rock after all. Watch this space............there will ,no doubt, be more!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Will it rain? or....... it will rain soon!
I am using a very interesting article on the potential for drought prediction in Southern Australia., rather than writing something myself........this is definitely worth a read! In the North, this wet season is currently VERY wet, with March rainfall generally well above average in most northern areas, so drought is not present. But the dry season will come soon enough, and there will be no rain for many months. Southern Australia is very very dry, with both stock and even househoold water often in short supply.
As a guide, current SOI is +1.4. Positive and staying there, even increasing slightly. The SOI is the Southern Oscillation Index commonly used as an indicator for predicting dry or wet conditions. See www.bom.gov.au for a lot more information.
Start of wetter cycle underway: new research
Australia Tuesday, 20 March 2007
The worst drought in a century could end this year, according to a scientist who has linked the cycle of sunspots and the "looping" of the sun's magnetic field to Australia's weather patterns. Associate Professor Robert Baker, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, says the rhythmic pattern in the sun's energy output strongly influences weather patterns. The rhythms apply especially in the southern Hemisphere and in eastern Australia under the influence of the huge size of the Pacific Ocean. The two key, related sun rhythms are:
• The sun's poles which switch every 11 years
• The sun's magnetic emissions which peak, every 11 years also, in periods of increased sunspot activity.
On earth, periods of high sun magnetic activity coincide with periods of high rainfall, according to Prof Baker's data, using records of observations made as far back as 1876. Periods of stable magnetic activity coincide with dry periods. The fluctuations appear to impact on the earth's upper atmosphere, which, in turn, contributes to changes in the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) - and a consistently positive SOL is linked to wetter years, a negative SOI indicates dry years. About half of the variations in the SOI can be attributed to the sun's magnetic rhythms.Prof Baker said the current stage of the cycle, since the last "flip" in 2001, meant that the eastern half of Australia could look forward to 18 months of heavy rain and then a 10-year "window" of average rainfalls. "The sun's magnetic field is now in a similar position to what it was in 1924 and 1925, when eastern Australia had particularly good rainfall," Prof Baker said. "If this tracking continues, we can expect average to heavy rainfall for eastern Australia within six months. "Then the wet cycle should continue into 2008." Prof Baker said sunspot activity was currently increasing as it normally did in this part of the sun's magnetic cycle, which has been an historic pointer to above-average rainfall.
While long-range weather prediction, using the sun or any other measure, was problematic, Prof Baker said his own theory pointed to 2009 as the next period of potential drought in Australia. In the longer term, an even worse drought could await the country in the 2020s. The most intense droughts tend to occur about a year after the sun flips its magnetic poles, every 22 years.
Prof Baker said his system of analysis simply complemented other methods of weather prediction and did not take into account the effects of carbon emissions on climate change. "If this coming cycle of predicted rainfall does not occur, it will be undeniable that carbon emissions are impacting on our climate in a very profound way," Prof Baker said. "In using this system, as opposed to other methods of long-range weather prediction, I'm trying to be as transparent as possible." "This is a very useful tool - this is the engine that drives the whole climate system."
But Prof Baker said even if his predictions were borne out and Australia received solid rainfall over the next 18 months, government and water consumers should not rest on their laurels. "We will simply have a 10-year window of opportunity to get our act together," he said. A paper on this research has been submitted to the journal Solar Terrestrial Physics.
SOURCE: AAP and FarmOnline
As a guide, current SOI is +1.4. Positive and staying there, even increasing slightly. The SOI is the Southern Oscillation Index commonly used as an indicator for predicting dry or wet conditions. See www.bom.gov.au for a lot more information.
Start of wetter cycle underway: new research
Australia Tuesday, 20 March 2007
The worst drought in a century could end this year, according to a scientist who has linked the cycle of sunspots and the "looping" of the sun's magnetic field to Australia's weather patterns. Associate Professor Robert Baker, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, says the rhythmic pattern in the sun's energy output strongly influences weather patterns. The rhythms apply especially in the southern Hemisphere and in eastern Australia under the influence of the huge size of the Pacific Ocean. The two key, related sun rhythms are:
• The sun's poles which switch every 11 years
• The sun's magnetic emissions which peak, every 11 years also, in periods of increased sunspot activity.
On earth, periods of high sun magnetic activity coincide with periods of high rainfall, according to Prof Baker's data, using records of observations made as far back as 1876. Periods of stable magnetic activity coincide with dry periods. The fluctuations appear to impact on the earth's upper atmosphere, which, in turn, contributes to changes in the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) - and a consistently positive SOL is linked to wetter years, a negative SOI indicates dry years. About half of the variations in the SOI can be attributed to the sun's magnetic rhythms.Prof Baker said the current stage of the cycle, since the last "flip" in 2001, meant that the eastern half of Australia could look forward to 18 months of heavy rain and then a 10-year "window" of average rainfalls. "The sun's magnetic field is now in a similar position to what it was in 1924 and 1925, when eastern Australia had particularly good rainfall," Prof Baker said. "If this tracking continues, we can expect average to heavy rainfall for eastern Australia within six months. "Then the wet cycle should continue into 2008." Prof Baker said sunspot activity was currently increasing as it normally did in this part of the sun's magnetic cycle, which has been an historic pointer to above-average rainfall.
While long-range weather prediction, using the sun or any other measure, was problematic, Prof Baker said his own theory pointed to 2009 as the next period of potential drought in Australia. In the longer term, an even worse drought could await the country in the 2020s. The most intense droughts tend to occur about a year after the sun flips its magnetic poles, every 22 years.
Prof Baker said his system of analysis simply complemented other methods of weather prediction and did not take into account the effects of carbon emissions on climate change. "If this coming cycle of predicted rainfall does not occur, it will be undeniable that carbon emissions are impacting on our climate in a very profound way," Prof Baker said. "In using this system, as opposed to other methods of long-range weather prediction, I'm trying to be as transparent as possible." "This is a very useful tool - this is the engine that drives the whole climate system."
But Prof Baker said even if his predictions were borne out and Australia received solid rainfall over the next 18 months, government and water consumers should not rest on their laurels. "We will simply have a 10-year window of opportunity to get our act together," he said. A paper on this research has been submitted to the journal Solar Terrestrial Physics.
SOURCE: AAP and FarmOnline
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Is converting organic waste to fuel oil the best option?
Tropical soils are almost invariably low in organic matter. Add warmth, water and energy from sunlight and microbiological processes that break down organic matter work just that much faster. So in the tropics, organic matter in soil tends to reduce quite quickly.
The strange "terra petra" soil of the Amazonian - black soils in an otherwise red landscape - now are believed to have been created by adding high levels of carbon, possibly from burnt organic matter AND they are fertile.
Australian soils in general need added carbon.........with organic residues seen as the prime source of this material, along with practices such as green manuring, cover crops and related practices. It works, with a good story in a post a few days back.
Turning organic matter into energy often deprives soils of the materials they need most. Some biomass to energy processes are inefficient, yet using pyrolysis [ see www.dynamotive.com] may be an option which leaves the important residual carbon still available for use in rural soils. This is a different situation in comparison to burning or gasification of the biomass, which uses a lot of the carbon. This is a common practice for energy production in Europe, but often the system produces low heat values suitable for district heating with hot water, and gets rid of a lot of waste volumes, with smaller residues going into landfills.
A recent Productivity Commission report on waste management has clearly shown that highest economic efficiencies occur with using landfills, and they argue, we still have plenty of space. So why look for any alternative, even composting? Or at least that was their argument, in 2006.
With the pyrolysis system, the carbon remains as char, which is, in effect, concentrated carbon that is cheaper to move in transport and on farm distribution systems. Logistics has been a crucial issue in getting compost, mulch and related products moved from generation areas in Australia - commonly large urban agglomerations - back to high volume users in rural areas.
Adelaide has some advantages, with relatively close high value vineyards that can be a sink for aerobically converted or composted organic products. And they are relatively commonly used. But many other urban areas are not so lucky to have agriculture and horticulture so close, so highly concentrated carbon sources may have some advantages.
It is true that other microbiological processes that convert organic residues into soil incorporated organic matter have other important attributes such as disease suppression, weed and nematode reduction. There may be a place for both types of products.
Added soil carbon appears to have a lot of scientific credibility in enhancing soil productivity. Australia needs to develop improved means of getting it where it is needed. Sure, conservation tillage has helped with improved soil carbon balances in many areas, but there are many areas where adding soil carbon is still a critical issue. Better soil carbon balances also enhance soil moisture capacity, a very critical issue improving plant and crop performance
Is there then a place for both converting organic matter to fuel oil with an added benefit of carbon as char, as well as direct composting of the materials? Or is it just another hot air story like so many other "talk is cheap" biomass to energy conversion scams that have been a feature as money disappearing black holes in the last 10 years in Australia and elsewhere? Some have cost investors a LOT of $$ with nothing to show..........and in some cases the $$ seem to have disappeared overseas.
The strange "terra petra" soil of the Amazonian - black soils in an otherwise red landscape - now are believed to have been created by adding high levels of carbon, possibly from burnt organic matter AND they are fertile.
Australian soils in general need added carbon.........with organic residues seen as the prime source of this material, along with practices such as green manuring, cover crops and related practices. It works, with a good story in a post a few days back.
Turning organic matter into energy often deprives soils of the materials they need most. Some biomass to energy processes are inefficient, yet using pyrolysis [ see www.dynamotive.com] may be an option which leaves the important residual carbon still available for use in rural soils. This is a different situation in comparison to burning or gasification of the biomass, which uses a lot of the carbon. This is a common practice for energy production in Europe, but often the system produces low heat values suitable for district heating with hot water, and gets rid of a lot of waste volumes, with smaller residues going into landfills.
A recent Productivity Commission report on waste management has clearly shown that highest economic efficiencies occur with using landfills, and they argue, we still have plenty of space. So why look for any alternative, even composting? Or at least that was their argument, in 2006.
With the pyrolysis system, the carbon remains as char, which is, in effect, concentrated carbon that is cheaper to move in transport and on farm distribution systems. Logistics has been a crucial issue in getting compost, mulch and related products moved from generation areas in Australia - commonly large urban agglomerations - back to high volume users in rural areas.
Adelaide has some advantages, with relatively close high value vineyards that can be a sink for aerobically converted or composted organic products. And they are relatively commonly used. But many other urban areas are not so lucky to have agriculture and horticulture so close, so highly concentrated carbon sources may have some advantages.
It is true that other microbiological processes that convert organic residues into soil incorporated organic matter have other important attributes such as disease suppression, weed and nematode reduction. There may be a place for both types of products.
Added soil carbon appears to have a lot of scientific credibility in enhancing soil productivity. Australia needs to develop improved means of getting it where it is needed. Sure, conservation tillage has helped with improved soil carbon balances in many areas, but there are many areas where adding soil carbon is still a critical issue. Better soil carbon balances also enhance soil moisture capacity, a very critical issue improving plant and crop performance
Is there then a place for both converting organic matter to fuel oil with an added benefit of carbon as char, as well as direct composting of the materials? Or is it just another hot air story like so many other "talk is cheap" biomass to energy conversion scams that have been a feature as money disappearing black holes in the last 10 years in Australia and elsewhere? Some have cost investors a LOT of $$ with nothing to show..........and in some cases the $$ seem to have disappeared overseas.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Javan pond heron visits Darwin
Quite a surprise visitor over the last week, with the sighting of a Javan pond heron in Darwin. This was sighted near Casuarina Beach, a Darwin suburb, in a large stormwater drain. Really caused quite a twitter among twitterers [ those people who MUST see new birds] who have come from all over Australia who check it out. It is presumed to have been blown off course by the strong west and north west air flows of the past few weeks including strong airflows from recent cyclones.
Today is a wet Sunday, so why not see for myself? And yes, located quite easily, and almost no one there either. And I have photos to prove I WAS THERE!
The sighting has made major news items in Darwin [ was it a slow news week.....not sure?], and now seems quite content among the gum leaves.
There are some fantastic images on Google of the Javan pond heron, albeit from within its normal habitat of SE Asia, particularly Indonesia.
But its presence once again also highlights the closeness of north Australia to Asia, and potential vulnerabilities to incursion by pests and diseases of that region. There are sentinel flocks of chickens around the Top End that are regularly checked for antibodies related to some insect borne diseases that are carried on the NW air currents in the wet season. These problems have been known since the mid 1970s, but regular vigilance helps with knowledge and detection. There is a vigorous program within AQIS to manage these risks, for these air borne diseases, as well as plant and animal pests, weeds and diseases.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200703/1873464.htm?darwin news story on the Javan pied heron in Darwin
Friday, March 16, 2007
Ethanol sucks - Biodiesel rocks
Many pundits as well as scientists and economists believe that for most countries, ethanol production from grain is NOT energy efficient nor economically efficient. And most current ethanol production comes from grain with the general exception of Brazil, where sugar is the base material.
http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12338 link to Brazil and ethanol
The "holy grail" for ethanol production which would almost certainly change the economics of production and use, is whole biomass conversion via microbiological processes, suitably scaled up via engineering to large scale. While some serious amounts of dollars are now being spent / planned to be spent on this type of technology, this is currently not a viable option - technically or for large scale operations.
In Australia, several recent publications indicate a reasonable proportion of vehicles could never use ethanol above the approximate level of 10%, and even some not at all. With car turnover slow, that situation is unlikely to rapidly change. The report 'Setting a Quality Standard for Fuel Ethanol' dashed hopes of a high ethanol blended fuel in the Australian fleet for the near future and reinforced the current 10% ethanol cap introduced in July 2003, claiming only specially-designed flexible fuel vehicles could use ethanol in higher percentages. The government research also showed that only about 60% of cars currently on Australian roads, some 7.6 million, are compatible with the 10% ethanol blend. Despite the low ethanol blend and the potential unpopularity of the fuel, the Queensland Government still plans to introduce an ethanol mandate by 2010.
This lack of ethanol compatibility may prove a boon for the biodiesel industry whose product can supplement petroleum diesel 100% – but the industry has been struggling against government policy in order to effectively reach the market.
One then has to question why there is such a rush to develop ethanol production. However.............biodiesel, well that is a different situation, except that the federal government is rapidly DECREASING subsidies and assistance to this potential new industry, while INCREASING assistance to ethanol production.
To add to the equation, the recent Scientific American magazine [ March 2007] clearly shows the pathway to clean diesel engines, and with rapid improvements already in place in Europe, and more smaller cars having a newer style clean diesel engine, often turbocharged to give excellent performance, why is Australia ignoring this trend? Australia has also recently mandated low sulfur diesel fuel. As well, the real use of transport fuel is for trucks, small and large in both long distance and surburban delivery / trademan / contractor use - and I am sure their presence is very evident on any day, with the weekend slack being taken up by diesel 4 x 4 or similar vehicles. Other major uses of diesel - and potentially biodiesel - involve electricity generation, diesel electric locomotives, heavy industry and similar industrial uses.
Sure, light vehicles have used and will continue to use petrol or maybe petrol / ethanol blends, not to mention the recent free kick to vehicle LPG use by the federal government. BUT the real sleeper is the very high use of diesel in many trucks, and potentially increasing use in light vehicles too. There are some great diesel powered small cars.
Yet, government assistance is being removed at a time when increasing use of biodiesel is a real opportunity. A new biodiesel production facility has opened in Darwin recently, and even backyard production is relatively easy. And Australia can produce crops such as canola, peanuts, soybean and several other oilseed types, with most of the grain or seed potentially suitable for biodiesel. Esterification of fats, tallow etc can also make biodiesel. And we have available large volumes of crop products such as palm oil, even coconut oil in the region.
One has to seriously question the logic behind govermment decisions that favour ethanol over biodiesel.
So as I started out ........ethanol sucks and biodiesel rocks...........except with government it seems.
http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12338 link to Brazil and ethanol
The "holy grail" for ethanol production which would almost certainly change the economics of production and use, is whole biomass conversion via microbiological processes, suitably scaled up via engineering to large scale. While some serious amounts of dollars are now being spent / planned to be spent on this type of technology, this is currently not a viable option - technically or for large scale operations.
In Australia, several recent publications indicate a reasonable proportion of vehicles could never use ethanol above the approximate level of 10%, and even some not at all. With car turnover slow, that situation is unlikely to rapidly change. The report 'Setting a Quality Standard for Fuel Ethanol' dashed hopes of a high ethanol blended fuel in the Australian fleet for the near future and reinforced the current 10% ethanol cap introduced in July 2003, claiming only specially-designed flexible fuel vehicles could use ethanol in higher percentages. The government research also showed that only about 60% of cars currently on Australian roads, some 7.6 million, are compatible with the 10% ethanol blend. Despite the low ethanol blend and the potential unpopularity of the fuel, the Queensland Government still plans to introduce an ethanol mandate by 2010.
This lack of ethanol compatibility may prove a boon for the biodiesel industry whose product can supplement petroleum diesel 100% – but the industry has been struggling against government policy in order to effectively reach the market.
One then has to question why there is such a rush to develop ethanol production. However.............biodiesel, well that is a different situation, except that the federal government is rapidly DECREASING subsidies and assistance to this potential new industry, while INCREASING assistance to ethanol production.
To add to the equation, the recent Scientific American magazine [ March 2007] clearly shows the pathway to clean diesel engines, and with rapid improvements already in place in Europe, and more smaller cars having a newer style clean diesel engine, often turbocharged to give excellent performance, why is Australia ignoring this trend? Australia has also recently mandated low sulfur diesel fuel. As well, the real use of transport fuel is for trucks, small and large in both long distance and surburban delivery / trademan / contractor use - and I am sure their presence is very evident on any day, with the weekend slack being taken up by diesel 4 x 4 or similar vehicles. Other major uses of diesel - and potentially biodiesel - involve electricity generation, diesel electric locomotives, heavy industry and similar industrial uses.
Sure, light vehicles have used and will continue to use petrol or maybe petrol / ethanol blends, not to mention the recent free kick to vehicle LPG use by the federal government. BUT the real sleeper is the very high use of diesel in many trucks, and potentially increasing use in light vehicles too. There are some great diesel powered small cars.
Yet, government assistance is being removed at a time when increasing use of biodiesel is a real opportunity. A new biodiesel production facility has opened in Darwin recently, and even backyard production is relatively easy. And Australia can produce crops such as canola, peanuts, soybean and several other oilseed types, with most of the grain or seed potentially suitable for biodiesel. Esterification of fats, tallow etc can also make biodiesel. And we have available large volumes of crop products such as palm oil, even coconut oil in the region.
One has to seriously question the logic behind govermment decisions that favour ethanol over biodiesel.
So as I started out ........ethanol sucks and biodiesel rocks...........except with government it seems.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Watch out for beef from South America
South America's beef challenge escalates By VERNON GRAHAM - Australia, Tuesday, 13 March 2007
Brazil, the world's leading beef exporter, and neighbouring Argentina will emerge as major competitors in the lucrative Japanese and South Korean markets within a decade.That was the thrust of a chilling message delivered to last week's Outlook Conference in Canberra by Uruguayan meat industry chief and former Agriculture Minister, Roberto Vazquez Platero.
He told an audience that included Meat and Livestock Australia chairman, Don Heatley, that Brazil, in particular, was gearing up its beef industry to first gain full access to the US market which would then open a path to high-value Asian destinations. He said the five major South American beef exporters - Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile - grabbed 45pc of the world beef export market last year and their share would soon increase to more than 50pc.In contrast, Australia's share was static at about 20pc. He said the five countries had a total herd of 280 million (including Brazil's 200m) which dwarfed Australia's 28m. Brazil's beef production had rapidly climbed to nine million tonnes and was poised to reach 13 million tonnes during the next 10 years. This would make it the world's largest beef producer ahead of the US. Mr Platero said Brazil's beef exports were likely to reach three million tonnes during the next decade, which would include significant shipments to the key Australian markets of Japan, the US and South Korea. He said the South Americans were getting on top of Foot and Mouth Disease which had excluded them from the best export markets for some years. Argentina was also likely to reverse policies that virtually stopped exports in favour of domestic consumers.
These policies have reduced average steer prices to a paltry US76 cents per kilogram liveweight compared with $1.35 in Australia and $1.87 in the US. Argentina has the potential to export up to 2.5m tonnes of high-quality beef a year. At least Australia and South America will be fighting over a larger beef export pie. Mr Platero predicted world consumption would grow by 24 million tonnes by 2020 from the present level of about 60m tonnes. Most of the increased demand would come from cashed-up consumers in developing countries. MLA chief, Don Heatley, said Australia was ready to compete vigourously to protect its crucial export markets.
SOURCE: Extract from report in The Land, NSW, March 8.
Northern Australia needs to rapidly and cogently develop and improve links with these powerhouse agricultural countries of South America. Brazil especially, with great beef herds, a vibrant agricultural sector producing soybean, cotton and most major warm temperate or tropical crops could offer much to north australia - Senator Heffernan should maybe take note of this with his "develop the north" committee! Genetically, an argument could be made that select areas of South America may even have superior genetics in the beef herds now.
Twenty years ago soybean genetics from Brazil showed great potential in the Top End region, but before their potential was realised, the demise of the ADMA project scheme in the NT stopped further research. While currently being reassessed with newer genotypes, it takes time for the material to be grown and developed to a necessary volume to be tried at a realistic scale. Lets get it right.......or we will not have our markets in future - even our regional markets, as these South American countries rapidly develop.
Brazil, the world's leading beef exporter, and neighbouring Argentina will emerge as major competitors in the lucrative Japanese and South Korean markets within a decade.That was the thrust of a chilling message delivered to last week's Outlook Conference in Canberra by Uruguayan meat industry chief and former Agriculture Minister, Roberto Vazquez Platero.
He told an audience that included Meat and Livestock Australia chairman, Don Heatley, that Brazil, in particular, was gearing up its beef industry to first gain full access to the US market which would then open a path to high-value Asian destinations. He said the five major South American beef exporters - Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile - grabbed 45pc of the world beef export market last year and their share would soon increase to more than 50pc.In contrast, Australia's share was static at about 20pc. He said the five countries had a total herd of 280 million (including Brazil's 200m) which dwarfed Australia's 28m. Brazil's beef production had rapidly climbed to nine million tonnes and was poised to reach 13 million tonnes during the next 10 years. This would make it the world's largest beef producer ahead of the US. Mr Platero said Brazil's beef exports were likely to reach three million tonnes during the next decade, which would include significant shipments to the key Australian markets of Japan, the US and South Korea. He said the South Americans were getting on top of Foot and Mouth Disease which had excluded them from the best export markets for some years. Argentina was also likely to reverse policies that virtually stopped exports in favour of domestic consumers.
These policies have reduced average steer prices to a paltry US76 cents per kilogram liveweight compared with $1.35 in Australia and $1.87 in the US. Argentina has the potential to export up to 2.5m tonnes of high-quality beef a year. At least Australia and South America will be fighting over a larger beef export pie. Mr Platero predicted world consumption would grow by 24 million tonnes by 2020 from the present level of about 60m tonnes. Most of the increased demand would come from cashed-up consumers in developing countries. MLA chief, Don Heatley, said Australia was ready to compete vigourously to protect its crucial export markets.
SOURCE: Extract from report in The Land, NSW, March 8.
Northern Australia needs to rapidly and cogently develop and improve links with these powerhouse agricultural countries of South America. Brazil especially, with great beef herds, a vibrant agricultural sector producing soybean, cotton and most major warm temperate or tropical crops could offer much to north australia - Senator Heffernan should maybe take note of this with his "develop the north" committee! Genetically, an argument could be made that select areas of South America may even have superior genetics in the beef herds now.
Twenty years ago soybean genetics from Brazil showed great potential in the Top End region, but before their potential was realised, the demise of the ADMA project scheme in the NT stopped further research. While currently being reassessed with newer genotypes, it takes time for the material to be grown and developed to a necessary volume to be tried at a realistic scale. Lets get it right.......or we will not have our markets in future - even our regional markets, as these South American countries rapidly develop.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Compost - a real success story with Australia's poor soils
Compost – Bringing Age Old Practices into Modern Farming Systems
Why, might you ask, have leading farmers such as John Emerick of Mulgowie Farming Company in Queensland’s Lockeyer Valley and Ashley Keegan of FABAL, a large SA wine grower become interested in compost as part of their farming practices? John and Ashley are not alone: farmers nation wide are increasingly using compost as part of their crop nutrition and soil health programs. Despite this increased interest, Australia, on the whole, has been slow on the uptake of using compost products. In the USA, in excess of 80% of all compost is used in agricultural and horticultural operations. By contrast, less than 10% of all compost in Australia is used in this sector.
We look at a case study from FABAL:
A Case Study From Viticulture - Ashley Keegan of FABAL, a large SA wine grower, uses composted mulch in their wine grape growing operations to improve vine quality and produce more in their blocks. To establish the baseline on crop vigor Keegan uses Infrared Remote Sensing Imagery, a technology that is now readily available (either via satellite or air fly over) at costs between $5 and $25/ha depending the area you have surveyed. Remote sensing imagery provides a visual map of exactly which parts of the crop have high, medium or low vigour.
To work on this variability FABAL experimented with composted mulch by applying it to the worst blocks and monitoring effects through satellite imagery. The low vigour areas virtually all disappeared. They found that composted mulch applied banded under the vines at 100 cubic metres per hectare turned a low vigour semillon block into a high vigour block after 14 months.
Composting has come a long way. There has been a shift in the motivation for using compost from a ‘feel good’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ perspective. Farmers across a broad range of areas are now recognising that real compost products can deliver a clear commercial cost-benefit return on investment within an acceptable business risk profile. This development has been underpinned by a range of research and development projects, several of them still under way, that demonstrated the agronomic and economic benefits of compost use.
With Compost Australia driving new certification guidelines to increase the quality of composts produced and the increase in the production of tailor-made compost products are set to become an integral part of modern soil health and farm management programs.
Above Capricorn Technologies has significant tropical experience in the broad area of compost production with many different forms of production from sophisticated in-vessel systems to open windrow. We have used compost and pasteurised mulch in horticulture, agriculture and even turf in the tropics with great success. Peter Harrison the CEO of Above Capriocrn Technologies has represented the Northern Territory on the national board of Compost Australia.
Using organic mulches can also significantly reduce water use, a topical issue in almost all areas of Australia.
The major benefit arises from improved carbon levels sequestered in the soil, and while you might not get a cash $$ benefit from the greenhouse gas savings - you will be helping!
More information at a national level is available on www.compostaustralia.com or contact Above Capricorn Technologies, office@abovecapricorn.com.au .
[story partly sourced from Compost Australia]
Why, might you ask, have leading farmers such as John Emerick of Mulgowie Farming Company in Queensland’s Lockeyer Valley and Ashley Keegan of FABAL, a large SA wine grower become interested in compost as part of their farming practices? John and Ashley are not alone: farmers nation wide are increasingly using compost as part of their crop nutrition and soil health programs. Despite this increased interest, Australia, on the whole, has been slow on the uptake of using compost products. In the USA, in excess of 80% of all compost is used in agricultural and horticultural operations. By contrast, less than 10% of all compost in Australia is used in this sector.
We look at a case study from FABAL:
A Case Study From Viticulture - Ashley Keegan of FABAL, a large SA wine grower, uses composted mulch in their wine grape growing operations to improve vine quality and produce more in their blocks. To establish the baseline on crop vigor Keegan uses Infrared Remote Sensing Imagery, a technology that is now readily available (either via satellite or air fly over) at costs between $5 and $25/ha depending the area you have surveyed. Remote sensing imagery provides a visual map of exactly which parts of the crop have high, medium or low vigour.
To work on this variability FABAL experimented with composted mulch by applying it to the worst blocks and monitoring effects through satellite imagery. The low vigour areas virtually all disappeared. They found that composted mulch applied banded under the vines at 100 cubic metres per hectare turned a low vigour semillon block into a high vigour block after 14 months.
Composting has come a long way. There has been a shift in the motivation for using compost from a ‘feel good’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ perspective. Farmers across a broad range of areas are now recognising that real compost products can deliver a clear commercial cost-benefit return on investment within an acceptable business risk profile. This development has been underpinned by a range of research and development projects, several of them still under way, that demonstrated the agronomic and economic benefits of compost use.
With Compost Australia driving new certification guidelines to increase the quality of composts produced and the increase in the production of tailor-made compost products are set to become an integral part of modern soil health and farm management programs.
Above Capricorn Technologies has significant tropical experience in the broad area of compost production with many different forms of production from sophisticated in-vessel systems to open windrow. We have used compost and pasteurised mulch in horticulture, agriculture and even turf in the tropics with great success. Peter Harrison the CEO of Above Capriocrn Technologies has represented the Northern Territory on the national board of Compost Australia.
Using organic mulches can also significantly reduce water use, a topical issue in almost all areas of Australia.
The major benefit arises from improved carbon levels sequestered in the soil, and while you might not get a cash $$ benefit from the greenhouse gas savings - you will be helping!
More information at a national level is available on www.compostaustralia.com or contact Above Capricorn Technologies, office@abovecapricorn.com.au .
[story partly sourced from Compost Australia]
Friday, March 09, 2007
Will the Australian Government PAY for Environmental Stewardship??
Australia Thursday, 8 March 2007
Farmers could soon be paid 100pc of the cost of managing their own land for the environment under a new "stewardship" program which has just been given a tick by the Federal Government.
This week's announcement comes after years of lobbying by the farm sector for government and public recognition that there is a high cost of managing farm land to a high environmental standard for "the public good". It represents a "fundamental shift" in environmental management in Australia, from a regulatory approach to an incentive-based regime.
Federal Minister for Agriculture, Peter McGauran, told this week's ABARE Outlook conference in Canberra that Cabinet has approved the scheme. It is now going through the final budget allocation process before being formally unveiled in May. The NFF is welcoming the announcement, but is cautious, given a similar government endorsement for a stewardship scheme prior to last year's budget. Mr McGauran said it was essentially a "purchase of environmental services". He emphasised this stewardship program was not in the same vein as the European farm payment environment subsidy program. Nor would it be compensation for the productivity losses incurred by farmers due to State-imposed native vegetation or land clearing restrictions. It will be a scheme in addition to existing environmental programs and existing partnerships, such as Landcare, National Heritage Trust funding. Mr McGauran said, "This is the government and the community purchasing these environmental management services. It's not about the farmer deriving the benefit."Farmers would retain freehold title ownership of the land, as long as a contract existed between the government and the farmer for a specific portion of property set aside for conservation. "It's a fairly straight forward, simple payment for property that needs to be conserved but he or she can't afford to, or there are some practices needed on a property which can't be afforded, and the community will pay to do that. "NFF natural resources manager, Vanessa Findlay, said this was not a "lock up and leave it" concept. It would not mean erecting a fence and walking away to leave it to weeds and feral animals to take over. She also explained that while this was for public good, the conservation areas would not become public property, or national park.
SOURCE: Rural Press weekly agricultural papers March 8, updated daily on FarmOnline.
This has monumental implications for many areas of northern Australia, eg wetlands throughout arid Australia on pastoral lands and many other sites potentially involving some joint management objectives and much, much more, especially on larger pastoral properties as well as others, even magpie geese in mangoes [ afterall, magpie goose numbers are in decline, although the photo does not really show that]. The scheme may well provide a real incentive in $$$ for land owners. BUT.......the devil will be in the detail, and how many $$ are going to be available.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Be water efficient and economically efficient too - use drip irrigation
Australia has had a VERY serious drought over the past 7 years which has resulted in drastic reductions in irrigation water availability for temperate regions in southern Australia. Many irrigation areas in temperate Australia were established over 70 years ago, using irrigation technology that is now considered water inefficient. In the northern areas where irrigated agriculture is common in the dry winter months [ April through October] water efficient irrigation systems are very common - T-tape, drip irrigation lines, water efficient under tree sprinklers and so on, mainly due to the need for prudent water use, and more recent establishment of the farms.
While some southern farmers have retro fitted water efficient improvements, this story is a clear cut example of what can be achieved in water efficiency, if you try.
Drip irrigation a 'quality investment' Thursday, 1 March 2007
Converting from overhead sprinklers to drip irrigation has proved a quality investment for Riverland grapegrower Tom Petch in coping with this season's 60pc River Murray water allocation. Mr Petch and sons Clinton, Tim and Ben, transferred to an automated control drip system on the majority of the family's seven vineyards, totalling 89 hectares, in Loxton North from 2001 to 2003. "All the mains lines were new so we just had to change sub mains, electronic controls and valves," he said. "It cost about $2500/ha plus the cost of the filter. "The result has been a 30pc reduction in water use in what Mr Petch describes as "a season underlying the importance of accurate irrigation". "Even when watering conservatively with overhead sprinklers, you need 7-8 megalitres/ha but with drip you can water quite well at 5mL/ha or less," he said. A 60pc allocation means the Petches have to irrigate at an average of 5.2mL/ha, factoring in 4ha of vines which remain on overhead sprinkler systems.
SOURCE: Extract from Shay Bayly article in the February issue of National Grapegrowers magazine, a Rural Press publication.
While some southern farmers have retro fitted water efficient improvements, this story is a clear cut example of what can be achieved in water efficiency, if you try.
Drip irrigation a 'quality investment' Thursday, 1 March 2007
Converting from overhead sprinklers to drip irrigation has proved a quality investment for Riverland grapegrower Tom Petch in coping with this season's 60pc River Murray water allocation. Mr Petch and sons Clinton, Tim and Ben, transferred to an automated control drip system on the majority of the family's seven vineyards, totalling 89 hectares, in Loxton North from 2001 to 2003. "All the mains lines were new so we just had to change sub mains, electronic controls and valves," he said. "It cost about $2500/ha plus the cost of the filter. "The result has been a 30pc reduction in water use in what Mr Petch describes as "a season underlying the importance of accurate irrigation". "Even when watering conservatively with overhead sprinklers, you need 7-8 megalitres/ha but with drip you can water quite well at 5mL/ha or less," he said. A 60pc allocation means the Petches have to irrigate at an average of 5.2mL/ha, factoring in 4ha of vines which remain on overhead sprinkler systems.
SOURCE: Extract from Shay Bayly article in the February issue of National Grapegrowers magazine, a Rural Press publication.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Trash Old Medications with Cat Litter or Coffee Grounds
The US government is offering a new idea -- so here's a safety tip from your government: Trash those unwanted prescription drugs with kitty litter or coffee grounds to keep them from falling into the wrong hands -- and mouths.
New federal prescription drug disposal guidelines recommend mixing unused, unneeded or expired drugs with undesirable substances -- like cat litter or coffee grounds -- and tossing them in the trash in nondescript containers. Doing so should curb prescription drug abuse and protect lakes and streams from contamination, the White House and government health and environment officials said.
"Following these new guidelines will protect our nation's waterways and keep pharmaceuticals out of the hands of potential abusers," Environmental Protection Agency administrator Stephen L. Johnson said Wednesday.
Drugs should be flushed down the toilet only if the label says it's safe to do so, according to the guidelines. Some pharmacies also collect drugs for safe disposal. The government warned that abuse of prescription drugs is increasingly common among teens and young adults. Often those drugs are taken from the medicine cabinets of relatives or friends.
While flushing drugs down the toilet can stem that sort of abuse, it also can create environmental problems.
Recent U.S. Geological Survey studies have shown that a wide range of pharmaceuticals and other compounds survive wastewater treatment and later are discharged into lakes, streams and other bodies of water across North America. The USGS research found antidepressants and their byproducts, for example, are being released into the environment at concentrations that may affect aquatic life. As well as these products, it is also common that birth control prescription drugs can be flushed, or disposed of via the sewer system, as well as oestrogen enhanced urine, affecting the quality of wastewater, and there are some research studies that see this as a serious issue, due to environmental persistence of the chemicals . These results mirror similar results from Europe, and could be expected in some areas of Australia.
Be safe................do not flush old drugs down the loo........mix with an absorbent [ that is a critical issue] and into the garbage can, and ultimately the landfill. there are even some studies that say....save your urine too [ another story, another day] for the garden!
------
White House prescription drug abuse information: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/prescr--drg--abuse.html
New federal prescription drug disposal guidelines recommend mixing unused, unneeded or expired drugs with undesirable substances -- like cat litter or coffee grounds -- and tossing them in the trash in nondescript containers. Doing so should curb prescription drug abuse and protect lakes and streams from contamination, the White House and government health and environment officials said.
"Following these new guidelines will protect our nation's waterways and keep pharmaceuticals out of the hands of potential abusers," Environmental Protection Agency administrator Stephen L. Johnson said Wednesday.
Drugs should be flushed down the toilet only if the label says it's safe to do so, according to the guidelines. Some pharmacies also collect drugs for safe disposal. The government warned that abuse of prescription drugs is increasingly common among teens and young adults. Often those drugs are taken from the medicine cabinets of relatives or friends.
While flushing drugs down the toilet can stem that sort of abuse, it also can create environmental problems.
Recent U.S. Geological Survey studies have shown that a wide range of pharmaceuticals and other compounds survive wastewater treatment and later are discharged into lakes, streams and other bodies of water across North America. The USGS research found antidepressants and their byproducts, for example, are being released into the environment at concentrations that may affect aquatic life. As well as these products, it is also common that birth control prescription drugs can be flushed, or disposed of via the sewer system, as well as oestrogen enhanced urine, affecting the quality of wastewater, and there are some research studies that see this as a serious issue, due to environmental persistence of the chemicals . These results mirror similar results from Europe, and could be expected in some areas of Australia.
Be safe................do not flush old drugs down the loo........mix with an absorbent [ that is a critical issue] and into the garbage can, and ultimately the landfill. there are even some studies that say....save your urine too [ another story, another day] for the garden!
------
White House prescription drug abuse information: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/prescr--drg--abuse.html
Friday, February 16, 2007
Slowdown tropical turf growth and save money
While many turf managers might remember the old growth regulators..........when they wore off, the grass then grew rapidly and caught up.........some newer products are very important to cost effectively manage turf growth and sward structure.
Probably most important among them is Primo [ trinexapac-ethyl] which is sold in several forms world wide, but only as a liquid, Primo Maxx in Australia.
With grasses growing VERY rapidly in the wet and hot months in the tropics, it is possible to use one or several sprays with Primo to improve growth management. Rates that can effectively provide 4-6 weeks growth reduction are economic, with possibilities of eliminating up to four or more weekly mowings, or if mowing is required for other reasons, the clippings can be markedly reduced. Primo is most effective if cutting height is low, rather than medium or high, and mowing one week after a spray also seems to offer improvements. Technique would seem to be:
1. Allow some leaf regrowth - 2-4 days
2. Spray
4. Mow again after approx 7 days
It must be said that best results come from areas with a reasonably uniform single species turf, so often some effort into weed management is required. Rates vary depending on the turf species, with couch and zoysia requiring much less than Bahia or carpet grass.
Several factors in the sward are affected, with height reduction accompanied by a more prostrate and denser appearance common plus improved root density and growth. This can improve nutrient uptake. Often a slightly darker green appearance is seen as well. As importantly, seedhead suppression is common, and as seedheads often drive the need to mow because of appearance, this alone can be a real winner.
Mowing in wet, boggy conditions is damaging to the turf and unpleasant for staff........using a product such as Primo allows a lot more management options, and can save $$.
We have had over 12 years experience with this growth regulator and can offer management assistance to implement a cost effective program.
Contact office@abovecapricorn.com.au or phone 08 8948 1894
Probably most important among them is Primo [ trinexapac-ethyl] which is sold in several forms world wide, but only as a liquid, Primo Maxx in Australia.
With grasses growing VERY rapidly in the wet and hot months in the tropics, it is possible to use one or several sprays with Primo to improve growth management. Rates that can effectively provide 4-6 weeks growth reduction are economic, with possibilities of eliminating up to four or more weekly mowings, or if mowing is required for other reasons, the clippings can be markedly reduced. Primo is most effective if cutting height is low, rather than medium or high, and mowing one week after a spray also seems to offer improvements. Technique would seem to be:
1. Allow some leaf regrowth - 2-4 days
2. Spray
4. Mow again after approx 7 days
It must be said that best results come from areas with a reasonably uniform single species turf, so often some effort into weed management is required. Rates vary depending on the turf species, with couch and zoysia requiring much less than Bahia or carpet grass.
Several factors in the sward are affected, with height reduction accompanied by a more prostrate and denser appearance common plus improved root density and growth. This can improve nutrient uptake. Often a slightly darker green appearance is seen as well. As importantly, seedhead suppression is common, and as seedheads often drive the need to mow because of appearance, this alone can be a real winner.
Mowing in wet, boggy conditions is damaging to the turf and unpleasant for staff........using a product such as Primo allows a lot more management options, and can save $$.
We have had over 12 years experience with this growth regulator and can offer management assistance to implement a cost effective program.
Contact office@abovecapricorn.com.au or phone 08 8948 1894
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Is your dam water valuable?
Is your dam water valuable?..... Stop it evaporating, before you use it with one of several new products that finally seem to be showing some cost effectiveness in open water storage.
The products are generally suitable for both domestic [including public utilities dams] and stock / irrigation water, in both large and small areas.
Aquatain is a silicon based product that is a silicone liquid and applied initially, then around every 2 weeks as a small top up, but this is partially weather dependent, while the other product Watersavr is a powder, normally applied daily. Aquatain forms a thin silicone layer on the surface, effectively preventing evaporation while the Watersavr also forms a monomer layer which binds at the surface that can break and reform.
Results from both indicate some real $$ savings in evaporated water from storage areas, with figures from Aquatain showing a gain of about 8 times the cost for the application. This will also be dependent on the value of the water saved, or the cost of replacing it, for example if used domestically and water needed to be carted in, as is the case in some areas of southern Australia.
While this is the wet season and water is plentiful, it is not always that way by August or October. These products may or may not be cost effective in the NT, as our water costs are rarely as high as many other areas. But they will be an option to ensure water lasts a bit longer in a paddock dam and that might just ensure better feed utilisation in the paddock.
Details of both products are on the internet at the following links:
Aquatain
http://www.ultimatefertilisers.com.au/Aquatain.pdf
Watersavr
http://www.flexiblesolutions.com/products/watersavr/effectiveness_tests.shtml
As agricultural advisors we can assist you with developing a sensible water management program with either product.
The products are generally suitable for both domestic [including public utilities dams] and stock / irrigation water, in both large and small areas.
Aquatain is a silicon based product that is a silicone liquid and applied initially, then around every 2 weeks as a small top up, but this is partially weather dependent, while the other product Watersavr is a powder, normally applied daily. Aquatain forms a thin silicone layer on the surface, effectively preventing evaporation while the Watersavr also forms a monomer layer which binds at the surface that can break and reform.
Results from both indicate some real $$ savings in evaporated water from storage areas, with figures from Aquatain showing a gain of about 8 times the cost for the application. This will also be dependent on the value of the water saved, or the cost of replacing it, for example if used domestically and water needed to be carted in, as is the case in some areas of southern Australia.
While this is the wet season and water is plentiful, it is not always that way by August or October. These products may or may not be cost effective in the NT, as our water costs are rarely as high as many other areas. But they will be an option to ensure water lasts a bit longer in a paddock dam and that might just ensure better feed utilisation in the paddock.
Details of both products are on the internet at the following links:
Aquatain
http://www.ultimatefertilisers.com.au/Aquatain.pdf
Watersavr
http://www.flexiblesolutions.com/products/watersavr/effectiveness_tests.shtml
As agricultural advisors we can assist you with developing a sensible water management program with either product.
GM crops - new studies
Impacts of GM/GE Crops Assessed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two recent in-depth studies broadly assess the impacts to date of genetically modified/engineered crops: the first, from Switzerland, takes an ecological perspective, while the second considers the approaches of economic studies of GE crops as conducted in developing economies.
The Swiss Expert Committee for Biosafety commissioned a far reaching, science-based study that resulted in a comprehensive paper published in late 2006 examining and documenting "Ecological Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops, Experiences from Ten Years of Experimental Field Research and Commercial Cultivation."
Authors O. Sanvido, _et al_, primarily utilized peer-reviewed materials from scientific sources in an effort to address questions about GM crop impacts and effects on non-target organisms, soil ecosystems, gene flow from GM crops to wild relatives, GM crop invasiveness, impacts on management on pest organisms, and ecological benefits of GM crop cultivation.
Overall, the study concluded that available data do not provide any scientific evidence for harm to the environment attributable to commercial cultivation of GM crops. A minority of the Committee dissented from the study's conclusion.
Additionally, the study's authors state that, "the real choice is between GM crops and current conventional pest .... management practices, all possibly having positive and negative outcomes," and that a truly precautionary policy requires comparing "the risk of adopting a technology against the risk of not adopting it."
The 108-page document can be freely downloaded as a PDF file from http://www.agbios.com/docroot/articles/06-346-001.pdf or ordered from:
ART, Reckenholzstr. 191, CH-8046 Zurich, SWITZERLAND.
The second large study, also published in late 2006, is "Parables:
Applied Economics Literature About the Impact of Genetically Engineered Crop Varieties in Developing Economies." This work undertook an analysis of the methods employed to arrive at economic findings, as the methods themselves are clearly seen as influencing factors.
Published by the International Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI) as EPT discussion paper 158, the study concluded that, "findings of current case studies should not be generalized to other locations, crops, and traits" due to the relative short time frame of most analyses. Authors M. Smale, _et al_ note that "any particular variety, even if widely adapted, will perform with considerable variation across location and time."
The 102-page study concludes that, "the net economic impact of new crop varieties on society is not easily measured" in that no single method can sufficiently measure change, particularly where so many markets, production environments, and policies can dramatically shift from one year to the next.
Institutional and social contexts of technology introduction, the authors note, often have greater significance on impact direction and magnitude than the technology itself. Future studies on technology impact need to more critically assess effects in terms of labor, health, environment, equity, and poverty, the study's authors assert.
At http://www.ifpri.org/divs/eptd/dp/eptdp158.asp download the full study, or order a copy from: IFPRI, 2033 K St., NW, Washington, DC 20006-1002, USA. Fax: 1-202-467-4439. Phone: 1-202-862-5600.
Both studies are a cold, factual examination of the issues and worth a read - skeptics and believers alike!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two recent in-depth studies broadly assess the impacts to date of genetically modified/engineered crops: the first, from Switzerland, takes an ecological perspective, while the second considers the approaches of economic studies of GE crops as conducted in developing economies.
The Swiss Expert Committee for Biosafety commissioned a far reaching, science-based study that resulted in a comprehensive paper published in late 2006 examining and documenting "Ecological Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops, Experiences from Ten Years of Experimental Field Research and Commercial Cultivation."
Authors O. Sanvido, _et al_, primarily utilized peer-reviewed materials from scientific sources in an effort to address questions about GM crop impacts and effects on non-target organisms, soil ecosystems, gene flow from GM crops to wild relatives, GM crop invasiveness, impacts on management on pest organisms, and ecological benefits of GM crop cultivation.
Overall, the study concluded that available data do not provide any scientific evidence for harm to the environment attributable to commercial cultivation of GM crops. A minority of the Committee dissented from the study's conclusion.
Additionally, the study's authors state that, "the real choice is between GM crops and current conventional pest .... management practices, all possibly having positive and negative outcomes," and that a truly precautionary policy requires comparing "the risk of adopting a technology against the risk of not adopting it."
The 108-page document can be freely downloaded as a PDF file from http://www.agbios.com/docroot/articles/06-346-001.pdf or ordered from:
ART, Reckenholzstr. 191, CH-8046 Zurich, SWITZERLAND.
The second large study, also published in late 2006, is "Parables:
Applied Economics Literature About the Impact of Genetically Engineered Crop Varieties in Developing Economies." This work undertook an analysis of the methods employed to arrive at economic findings, as the methods themselves are clearly seen as influencing factors.
Published by the International Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI) as EPT discussion paper 158, the study concluded that, "findings of current case studies should not be generalized to other locations, crops, and traits" due to the relative short time frame of most analyses. Authors M. Smale, _et al_ note that "any particular variety, even if widely adapted, will perform with considerable variation across location and time."
The 102-page study concludes that, "the net economic impact of new crop varieties on society is not easily measured" in that no single method can sufficiently measure change, particularly where so many markets, production environments, and policies can dramatically shift from one year to the next.
Institutional and social contexts of technology introduction, the authors note, often have greater significance on impact direction and magnitude than the technology itself. Future studies on technology impact need to more critically assess effects in terms of labor, health, environment, equity, and poverty, the study's authors assert.
At http://www.ifpri.org/divs/eptd/dp/eptdp158.asp download the full study, or order a copy from: IFPRI, 2033 K St., NW, Washington, DC 20006-1002, USA. Fax: 1-202-467-4439. Phone: 1-202-862-5600.
Both studies are a cold, factual examination of the issues and worth a read - skeptics and believers alike!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Carpet grass control - Monument does work - maybe
Monument herbicide has been used - probably for the first time in the NT - as a control option for sedges, carpet grass and annual grasses - on the main oval of a private school, and it has been very successful, so far.
Conditions for spraying were excellent, about 48 hours after mowing, with good soil moisture, and about 48 hours between spraying and first rain. The Monument was followed up by a DSMA spray in about 12 days. After three weeks carpet grass control was over 85%, although some was suppressed rather than killed outright. What remained was a few plants in formerly large patches, suitable for spot spraying or sprayed with a overall spray of further DSMA in a few weeks. Almost all sedges, annual grasses and many other perennial grasses including Chrysopogon acidulatus have been mostly eliminated. A follow up is often used, but may not be needed.
Because of the regular emergence of Mullumbimby couch, almost all year round, periodic use of DSMA will be needed to continue to reduce infestations to a lowered level, and so this will also continue to provide a good option to further reduce the carpet grass "spots" remaining, and any remnant grasses. Hopefully this will be able to be discontinued by the early dry season.
So........Monument may be a good option. Trials locally [ see photo - 8DAT showing the damage to narrow leaf carpet grass, the yellowish patch] have been impressive as a single pass option for weedy grasses in couch, as well as sedges. Locally, it is true that sedges tend to emerge most months of the year on irrigated areas, although peaking in the wet season. Get those wet season weeds, and big improvements can be made to reduce sedge levels, as there is much less emergence after April.
While not a perfect solution, using Monument has made a fantastic improvement to carpet grass in couch on this oval!
Conditions for spraying were excellent, about 48 hours after mowing, with good soil moisture, and about 48 hours between spraying and first rain. The Monument was followed up by a DSMA spray in about 12 days. After three weeks carpet grass control was over 85%, although some was suppressed rather than killed outright. What remained was a few plants in formerly large patches, suitable for spot spraying or sprayed with a overall spray of further DSMA in a few weeks. Almost all sedges, annual grasses and many other perennial grasses including Chrysopogon acidulatus have been mostly eliminated. A follow up is often used, but may not be needed.
Because of the regular emergence of Mullumbimby couch, almost all year round, periodic use of DSMA will be needed to continue to reduce infestations to a lowered level, and so this will also continue to provide a good option to further reduce the carpet grass "spots" remaining, and any remnant grasses. Hopefully this will be able to be discontinued by the early dry season.
So........Monument may be a good option. Trials locally [ see photo - 8DAT showing the damage to narrow leaf carpet grass, the yellowish patch] have been impressive as a single pass option for weedy grasses in couch, as well as sedges. Locally, it is true that sedges tend to emerge most months of the year on irrigated areas, although peaking in the wet season. Get those wet season weeds, and big improvements can be made to reduce sedge levels, as there is much less emergence after April.
While not a perfect solution, using Monument has made a fantastic improvement to carpet grass in couch on this oval!
UPDATE - 24 February 2012
Carpet grass is Axonopus compressus or broad leaved carpet grass; narrow leaf carpet grass is Axonopus affinis just to ensure readers understand the issue.
Many curators / superintendents in north Australia still use glyphosate as a solution; metsulfuron may also be useful, especially on couch which is very tolerant of higher rates. It is a REAL issue in the wet tropical regions and especially broad leaved carpet grass thrives in wet soil / higher rain conditions, so better controlled irrigation management at a lower but adequate level can be part of the holistic management needed to get it under contol.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
New and Old Herbicides - Tropical Turf
At last...............two new herbicides are available for use in tropical turf areas, especially zoysia turf. They may need to be purchased directly from national suppliers, as unlikely to be stocked in the NT.
The first is Drive - quinclorac is the active ingredient. Been around for a while, starting life as a crop herbicide with the name Facet. Active as both pre and post emergent, so will knock off emerged weeds and add a follow on pre-emerge control. Great for many annual grasses, and a few perennials too. Relatively few trials in the tropics of Australia, but some coming soon. Expect will be useful to control Bahia grass in both couch and zoysia, annual grasses and some hard to manage grass weeds. Will NOT control carpet grass.....period! Currently it is expensive, and in my opinion, very overpriced for an old product. BUT.......for some needs it is a great product and very effective. Has a lot of potential for widespread use in both zoysia and couch areas.
Next is Monument - a sulfonyl urea - and also reasonably pricey, but with the advantage of controlling both sedges and annual grasses in one package, it may be a suitable option. Work locally so far, shows fair results for carpet grass, with medium term suppression and some kill only, but excellent results for sedges and annual grasses. Rates are low - medium, depending on required outcomes, with higher rates required for grasses. Seems promising for tropical Australia.
Old herbicides do not get the advertising $$ once they are out of patent, but they can be effective. The products DSMA and MSMA are still effective for grass weed management in couch ovals or sporting arenas. BUT they need repeated applications, and unfortunately in the tropics it is never cool enough or [ for an oval] dry enough to fully eliminate the grass weeds it seems. They are also relatively poor options for carpet grass control, as they just cannot do the job!
Others though such as diuron and some of the triazenes can be a useful tool, at suitable rates. Be careful though, as some turf species do not tolerate these products.
Asulox will control carpet grass, but rates for use in turf are still to be worked out. It is a sugarcane product and known to have some potential. High rates will kill turf........it will be a balancing act to get rates correct. Currently Asulox is not registered for turf use
Ronstar - oxadiazon - is a very useful but expensive product for weed management while establishing couch or zoysia. Can be effective in Bahia grass, where grass contol options are more limited. Another oldie, but still goodie! Pity prices are still toooooooo high!
A good source of information is www.pestgenie.com.au . A great Australian web site focussing on agrochemicals for the Australian rural scene.
Take care with all agrochemicals and watch out for rain. Remember that in many areas, a good ally is the Met Bureau web site and the local radar. Quickly spots any likely storm clouds. For the Darwin area the link is www.bom.gov.au/weather/nt and go to radar image. Similar links are available in many other areas.
The first is Drive - quinclorac is the active ingredient. Been around for a while, starting life as a crop herbicide with the name Facet. Active as both pre and post emergent, so will knock off emerged weeds and add a follow on pre-emerge control. Great for many annual grasses, and a few perennials too. Relatively few trials in the tropics of Australia, but some coming soon. Expect will be useful to control Bahia grass in both couch and zoysia, annual grasses and some hard to manage grass weeds. Will NOT control carpet grass.....period! Currently it is expensive, and in my opinion, very overpriced for an old product. BUT.......for some needs it is a great product and very effective. Has a lot of potential for widespread use in both zoysia and couch areas.
Next is Monument - a sulfonyl urea - and also reasonably pricey, but with the advantage of controlling both sedges and annual grasses in one package, it may be a suitable option. Work locally so far, shows fair results for carpet grass, with medium term suppression and some kill only, but excellent results for sedges and annual grasses. Rates are low - medium, depending on required outcomes, with higher rates required for grasses. Seems promising for tropical Australia.
Old herbicides do not get the advertising $$ once they are out of patent, but they can be effective. The products DSMA and MSMA are still effective for grass weed management in couch ovals or sporting arenas. BUT they need repeated applications, and unfortunately in the tropics it is never cool enough or [ for an oval] dry enough to fully eliminate the grass weeds it seems. They are also relatively poor options for carpet grass control, as they just cannot do the job!
Others though such as diuron and some of the triazenes can be a useful tool, at suitable rates. Be careful though, as some turf species do not tolerate these products.
Asulox will control carpet grass, but rates for use in turf are still to be worked out. It is a sugarcane product and known to have some potential. High rates will kill turf........it will be a balancing act to get rates correct. Currently Asulox is not registered for turf use
Ronstar - oxadiazon - is a very useful but expensive product for weed management while establishing couch or zoysia. Can be effective in Bahia grass, where grass contol options are more limited. Another oldie, but still goodie! Pity prices are still toooooooo high!
A good source of information is www.pestgenie.com.au . A great Australian web site focussing on agrochemicals for the Australian rural scene.
Take care with all agrochemicals and watch out for rain. Remember that in many areas, a good ally is the Met Bureau web site and the local radar. Quickly spots any likely storm clouds. For the Darwin area the link is www.bom.gov.au/weather/nt and go to radar image. Similar links are available in many other areas.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Marrara Football Stadium - Home for NT Football with Zoysia Turf
Partially completed in December 2006 - grandstand and main pitch plus an aerial view [ from Steve Allen] in late November 2006.
Football in the Northern Territory is finally getting it’s own home ground!
Football NT has been working with the NT Government over a number of years to develop the funding and concept for a specific football facility. As elsewhere in Australia, Northern Territory football has a huge junior playing base, and has sought to develop high quality playing facilities. The main stadium in the Marrara sporting precinct – Marrara Oval – already has a superb ‘Legend” couch domed oval, perched water table profile, playing surface. This facility has hosted international daylight cricket and AFL games in both daylight and at night, and is leased to AFLNT for the local Australian Rules competition. This precludes regular use by soccer, although with corporate boxes, extensive media facilities and an international grade playing surface, it still may be used for major matches by football.
The new football facility to meet a regional demand, will initially comprise two full size pitches [and enough space for additional satellite pitches over the next few years], plus a large covered grandstand with the usual facilities below the seating decks for team dressing rooms, officials facilities, some administration areas and refreshment facilities, rest rooms etc. There is also development of car parking, access and fencing. The main pitch is lit to enable night matches.
The one thousand seat grandstand will have a translucent roof, an unusual option, to reduce shading of the grass on the pitch. The two main pitches are oriented north-south which avoids most issues with unsighting of players due to the sun. The main pitch is also protected from the setting sun in the west by the bulk of the grandstand. This N-S orientation in the low latitude tropics [where the sun travels overhead from tropic to tropic] avoids issues of shade affecting grass growth, as there are no structures north or south of the grassed areas. There are raised areas around the pitches giving good viewing for non grandstand spectators.
The concept of the pitches are that they will allow soccer play within about an hour following a major storm event of 100mm of rain falling within one hour, rather than allowing play under virtually all conditions. In relation to the historical storm frequency locally in Darwin, this effectively means that only the very heaviest storm events would delay any match.
The pitches are designed as sand profiles, with a 300mm profile depth over a 4-6mm angular gravel underlay of 75mm deep. Below that are a series of gravel lined 150mm wide and 300mm deep slot drains with 100mm diameter agricultural drainage pipe cores. The drains were cut into the laterite surface, and link into a much larger drainage system of both pipes and gravel drains. Extensive investigations on the characteristics of the local sand sources were carried out during the design phase, to ensure suitable profile characteristics. Darwin is isolated, and does not have the luxury of access to high quality quartz sand, making the development of the profile more difficult than usual. To complicate the issue, major sand suppliers [normally supplying the construction industry] radically modified production processes between design and construction phases of the project. This caused further extensive sand testing and profile adjustment during the construction phase to ensure a suitable sand structure of the profile, to meet infiltration, particle size and performance criteria. The final profile design has been a blended mix of 90% coarse and 10% fine sand, and adjusted with 12% cocopeat to provide adequate moisture capacity, while still allowing a high infiltration rate. The need to hold moisture in the profile is an absolute must – with daily evaporation rates of 7-10mm per day common for 9-10 months of the year, except the cooler months of June and July.
Sand was blended off site, kept damp and laid with low profile flotation tyre construction machinery over the gravel layer. The sand profile was kept to a low 1% final slope to each side, from a central midline along the long dimension, a flatter surface better suited to soccer than the usual domed multi- purpose oval. Micro laser technology was used to fix the final grades.
To provide initial stability, and after the sand was laid, a fibre matrix was blended into the top 150mm of the profile. This was considered a desirable option with a high percentage of the softer, coarse sand in the profile to ensure infiltration in heavy rain, for what is essentially a soccer playing surface, requiring a degree of ball bounce not commonly needed for most other football oval surfaces.
The turf is zoysia……….
The turf species for top line ovals in the low latitude tropics has traditionally been couch grass. It is not always the best option agronomically with couch often suffering from poor performance due to low light levels in wet, overcast conditions, and slow regrowth in the shorter cooler days of the dry, cool season. The majority of FIFA World Cup 2002 pitches in Korea / Japan were seeded zoysia turf, and intensive development of zoysia turf for horse racing and golf in Singapore as well as the major National Stadium in Vientiane, Laos which are all zoysia, influenced the thinking that a seeded zoysia would be cost effective and successful, and the original choice was to seed “Compadre” [formerly Companion] zoysia. It is believed that this would be the first significant zoysia turf pitch development on a stadium in Australia.
During construction, the builder sought a change to a vegetative zoysia variety, and the pitches were eventually sprigged with “Empire” zoysia, at considerable extra cost, in comparison to a seeded zoysia, although the argument was made that development of the surface may be quicker. Full surface development to playing condition is expected to take 12 – 16 weeks from establishment.
Sprigging was a major exercise, and completed on both pitches in December 2006. November and December in Darwin in 2006 were both dry and hot, without much rain until late December 2006, which brought lower temperatures and a relief from the difficult high temperature establishment conditions. The sprigged grass was slowly greening up by January 2007.
Irrigation is using overhead pop up sprinklers, and unfortunately will have to be with potable water from the main Darwin supply. This is likely to be a problematical issue, especially the cost, as all other stadia in the precinct currently use low cost recycled effluent, supplied via a dedicated system to the precinct area from local effluent treatment ponds. However the holding dam cannot adequately cope with the additional demand and so the new soccer pitches had to be reluctantly designed with using a potable supply for dry season irrigation. Using recycled effluent may be feasible in future years.
The facility will be operated by Football NT and first major events on the playing surface are expected to be the soccer matches of the Arafura Games in early May 2007. The NT Football Association hopes the modern facility can attract teams for national tournaments and acclimatization training, while allowing development of local soccer on a first class, purpose built, soccer pitch.
Project details
Project tendered cost - $6.55 million, but final cost likely to be greater
Builder – Sitzler Brothers , Darwin
Architect – Jackman Gooden Architects, Darwin
Landscape Architects – Clouston and Associates, Darwin
Irrigation – Allied Irrigation, Pslmerston
Pitch Designer – Above Capricorn Technologies – Agricultural & Environmental, Darwin
Landscape Contractor – Paradise Landscaping, Berrimah, NT using specific sub-contractors Maneuver Mow for profile development; Evergreen Turf for the fibre matrix.
Football NT has been working with the NT Government over a number of years to develop the funding and concept for a specific football facility. As elsewhere in Australia, Northern Territory football has a huge junior playing base, and has sought to develop high quality playing facilities. The main stadium in the Marrara sporting precinct – Marrara Oval – already has a superb ‘Legend” couch domed oval, perched water table profile, playing surface. This facility has hosted international daylight cricket and AFL games in both daylight and at night, and is leased to AFLNT for the local Australian Rules competition. This precludes regular use by soccer, although with corporate boxes, extensive media facilities and an international grade playing surface, it still may be used for major matches by football.
The new football facility to meet a regional demand, will initially comprise two full size pitches [and enough space for additional satellite pitches over the next few years], plus a large covered grandstand with the usual facilities below the seating decks for team dressing rooms, officials facilities, some administration areas and refreshment facilities, rest rooms etc. There is also development of car parking, access and fencing. The main pitch is lit to enable night matches.
The one thousand seat grandstand will have a translucent roof, an unusual option, to reduce shading of the grass on the pitch. The two main pitches are oriented north-south which avoids most issues with unsighting of players due to the sun. The main pitch is also protected from the setting sun in the west by the bulk of the grandstand. This N-S orientation in the low latitude tropics [where the sun travels overhead from tropic to tropic] avoids issues of shade affecting grass growth, as there are no structures north or south of the grassed areas. There are raised areas around the pitches giving good viewing for non grandstand spectators.
The concept of the pitches are that they will allow soccer play within about an hour following a major storm event of 100mm of rain falling within one hour, rather than allowing play under virtually all conditions. In relation to the historical storm frequency locally in Darwin, this effectively means that only the very heaviest storm events would delay any match.
The pitches are designed as sand profiles, with a 300mm profile depth over a 4-6mm angular gravel underlay of 75mm deep. Below that are a series of gravel lined 150mm wide and 300mm deep slot drains with 100mm diameter agricultural drainage pipe cores. The drains were cut into the laterite surface, and link into a much larger drainage system of both pipes and gravel drains. Extensive investigations on the characteristics of the local sand sources were carried out during the design phase, to ensure suitable profile characteristics. Darwin is isolated, and does not have the luxury of access to high quality quartz sand, making the development of the profile more difficult than usual. To complicate the issue, major sand suppliers [normally supplying the construction industry] radically modified production processes between design and construction phases of the project. This caused further extensive sand testing and profile adjustment during the construction phase to ensure a suitable sand structure of the profile, to meet infiltration, particle size and performance criteria. The final profile design has been a blended mix of 90% coarse and 10% fine sand, and adjusted with 12% cocopeat to provide adequate moisture capacity, while still allowing a high infiltration rate. The need to hold moisture in the profile is an absolute must – with daily evaporation rates of 7-10mm per day common for 9-10 months of the year, except the cooler months of June and July.
Sand was blended off site, kept damp and laid with low profile flotation tyre construction machinery over the gravel layer. The sand profile was kept to a low 1% final slope to each side, from a central midline along the long dimension, a flatter surface better suited to soccer than the usual domed multi- purpose oval. Micro laser technology was used to fix the final grades.
To provide initial stability, and after the sand was laid, a fibre matrix was blended into the top 150mm of the profile. This was considered a desirable option with a high percentage of the softer, coarse sand in the profile to ensure infiltration in heavy rain, for what is essentially a soccer playing surface, requiring a degree of ball bounce not commonly needed for most other football oval surfaces.
The turf is zoysia……….
The turf species for top line ovals in the low latitude tropics has traditionally been couch grass. It is not always the best option agronomically with couch often suffering from poor performance due to low light levels in wet, overcast conditions, and slow regrowth in the shorter cooler days of the dry, cool season. The majority of FIFA World Cup 2002 pitches in Korea / Japan were seeded zoysia turf, and intensive development of zoysia turf for horse racing and golf in Singapore as well as the major National Stadium in Vientiane, Laos which are all zoysia, influenced the thinking that a seeded zoysia would be cost effective and successful, and the original choice was to seed “Compadre” [formerly Companion] zoysia. It is believed that this would be the first significant zoysia turf pitch development on a stadium in Australia.
During construction, the builder sought a change to a vegetative zoysia variety, and the pitches were eventually sprigged with “Empire” zoysia, at considerable extra cost, in comparison to a seeded zoysia, although the argument was made that development of the surface may be quicker. Full surface development to playing condition is expected to take 12 – 16 weeks from establishment.
Sprigging was a major exercise, and completed on both pitches in December 2006. November and December in Darwin in 2006 were both dry and hot, without much rain until late December 2006, which brought lower temperatures and a relief from the difficult high temperature establishment conditions. The sprigged grass was slowly greening up by January 2007.
Irrigation is using overhead pop up sprinklers, and unfortunately will have to be with potable water from the main Darwin supply. This is likely to be a problematical issue, especially the cost, as all other stadia in the precinct currently use low cost recycled effluent, supplied via a dedicated system to the precinct area from local effluent treatment ponds. However the holding dam cannot adequately cope with the additional demand and so the new soccer pitches had to be reluctantly designed with using a potable supply for dry season irrigation. Using recycled effluent may be feasible in future years.
The facility will be operated by Football NT and first major events on the playing surface are expected to be the soccer matches of the Arafura Games in early May 2007. The NT Football Association hopes the modern facility can attract teams for national tournaments and acclimatization training, while allowing development of local soccer on a first class, purpose built, soccer pitch.
Project details
Project tendered cost - $6.55 million, but final cost likely to be greater
Builder – Sitzler Brothers , Darwin
Architect – Jackman Gooden Architects, Darwin
Landscape Architects – Clouston and Associates, Darwin
Irrigation – Allied Irrigation, Pslmerston
Pitch Designer – Above Capricorn Technologies – Agricultural & Environmental, Darwin
Landscape Contractor – Paradise Landscaping, Berrimah, NT using specific sub-contractors Maneuver Mow for profile development; Evergreen Turf for the fibre matrix.
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