Biofuels May Be a Problem - UN Report

May 09, 2007 — partially by Nicole Winfield, Associated Press ROME

Biofuels like ethanol can help reduce global warming and create jobs for the rural poor, but the benefits may be offset by serious environmental problems and increased food prices for the hungry, the United Nations concluded Tuesday in its first major report on bioenergy.

In an agency-wide assessment, the United Nations raised alarms about the potential negative impact of biofuels, just days after a climate conference in Bangkok said the world had both the money and technology to prevent the sharp rise in global temperatures blamed in part on greenhouse gas emissions.

Biofuels, which are made from corn, palm oil, sugar cane and other agricultural products, have been seen by many as a cleaner and cheaper way to meet the world's soaring energy needs than with greenhouse-gas emitting fossil fuels.

European leaders have decided that at least 10 percent of fuels will come from biofuels like ethanol by 2020, and the U.S. Congress is working on a proposal that would increase production of biofuels sevenfold by 2022. With oil prices at record highs, biofuels have become an attractive alternative energy source for poor countries, some of which spend six times as much money importing oil than on health care.

But environmentalists have warned that the biofuel craze can do as much or more damage to the environment as dirty fossil fuels -- a concern reflected throughout the report, which was being released Tuesday, May 8 in New York, by U.N.-Energy, a consortium of 20 U.N. agencies and programs. While saying bioenergy represents an "extraordinary opportunity" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it warned that "rapid growth in liquid biofuel production will make substantial demands on the world's land and water resources at a time when demand for both food and forest products is also rising rapidly."

Changes in the carbon content of soils and carbon stocks in forests and peat lands might offset some or all of the benefits of the greenhouse gas reductions, it said. "Use of large-scale monocropping could lead to significant biodiversity loss, soil erosion and nutrient leaching," adding that" investments in bioenergy must be managed carefully, at national, regional and local levels to avoid new environmental and social problems some of which could have irreversible consequences."

This major report noted that soaring palm oil demand has already led to the clearing of tropical forests in southeast Asia. In addition, the diversion of food crops for fuel will increase food prices, putting a strain on the poor, as evidenced by the recent steep rise in maize and sugar prices, the report said. "Liquid biofuel production could threaten the availability of adequate food supplies by diverting land and other productive resources away from food crops," it said, adding that many of those biofuel crops require the best land, lots of water and environment-damaging chemical fertilizers.

While bioenergy crops can create jobs in impoverished rural areas where the bulk of the world's poor and hungry live, creating biofuels favors large-scale production, meaning small-scale farmers could be pushed off their land by industrial agriculture. It suggested that farm co-ops, as well as government subsidies, could help small-scale farmers compete.

Such concerns have been raised by Greenpeace International and other environmental groups worried that the biofuel fad is being driven by big agricultural interests looking for new markets.
"More and more, people are realizing that there are serious environmental and serious food security issues involved in biofuels," Greenpeace biofuels expert Jan van Aken said. "There is more to the environment than climate change," he said. "Climate change is the most pressing issue, but you cannot fight climate change by large deforestation in Indonesia."

Individual U.N. agencies have previously issued small-scale reports on biofuels, but they were largely optimistic and did not highlight negative consequences because they were not yet known, said Gustavo Best, vice chair of U.N.-Energy and a biofuels expert at the Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

But with the surge in interest by the private sector, the rise in commodity prices and an awareness of the strain on water supplies that has resulted from biofuel production, "we now have to raise the red flags and say 'be careful, don't go too fast,'" he said in an interview.
"There are winners and losers," he said.

That the report exists is something of a miracle, since there has long been opposition among U.N. member states -- including OPEC, nuclear and other energy lobbies-- to have any kind of international dialogue on energy. There is for example, no U.N. Millennium Goal for energy, and recent U.N. working documents on sustainable development continue to be very fossil-fuel oriented, Best said.

The document is intended for governments to help them craft bioenergy policies that maximize the potential but minimize the negative impacts -- even as the technology continues to change. "We can't cross our arms and wait to have better data or better methodologies," Best said. "We need to contribute to the discussion, but in a balanced way".

It is also worth noting that biodiesel does lend itself to local production and can be made with quite simple chemicals from freshly pressed or used vegetable oils. Indeed, backyard production of biodiesel is quite common in many regions of the developed world, aiding in the removal from the waste stream of used cooking oils. Surely this approach could be used in many developing areas for simple local production of biodiesel for essential areas of use such as tractors and generators. No, it does not solve the world energy problems.........but it might just solve more immediate ones at a local level, most of whom could not give a #### about "world energy" or "greenhouse gases" as getting water, food and shelter a more immediate need.

This report follows on from recent reports emanating from the Netherlands about energy costs both economic and environmental through use of palm oil.

There are many comments in the media on this report, from all sides of the spectra, and many from well recognised energy commentators.

So the jury is still out..........and squabbling still!

Access the full report, about 64pp, at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1094e/a1094e00.pdf

The full title is "Sustainable Bioenergy - A Framework for Decision Makers".

Microfinance and rural development

The provision of microfinance on reasonable terms has been a driver of small scale rural development and poverty relief in many developing countries. It is not a panacea, and other structural issues still need attention, but it definitely plays a significant role in aiding the transition to a decent life for many financially disadvantaged people mostly in developing countries.

Recently it has been reported by the International Herald Tribune that Morgan Stanley - a major international financier - is selling collateralized loan obligations that finance Peruvian shopkeepers, Cambodian rice farmers and Nicaraguan potters. The giant securities firm has said that it was seeking to raise USD 108 million through the sale of collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs, which are securities that package underlying loans and use the income to pay investors.

The money raised will go to institutions that lend to 70,000 low-income borrowers in 13 developing countries, according to a statement released last week by Morgan Stanley and the microfinance asset manager BlueOrchard Finance in Geneva. Morgan Stanley is widening the number of institutions that can invest in small loans to the developing world by putting the debt in securities with credit ratings as high as Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, and the drug maker Eli Lilly. This arrangement allows many institutions who could not [ often due to restrictions on the quality of debt or investment grade taken on] or would not provide direct finance, to have a more secure vehicle with much superior credit ratings as the financing institution.

Morgan Stanley is building on a microfinancing industry pioneered by Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his work lending to impoverished people in Bangladesh, where he was instrumental in developing the Grameen Bank. This model has been followed in many other areas.

This is a very very significant move that will potentially make much greater finance - ie cash - available for this burgeoning micro finance sector, a major area especially in the developing regions. This form of micro finance has been a huge success with very minimal loan defaults, as well as the huge personal and lifestyle gains by many local people, often women and poor farmers contributing to improved living conditions. There are many success stories in Asia.

Good one!

Compost Awareness Week - Australian actions

Here in Australia individual compost and mulch products will be certified to ensure they meet a set of quality assured criteria guaranteeing the standard of compost products. The Compost Products Certification Brand was launched today.

The Compost Products Certification Scheme, which is being launched as part of International Composting Awareness Week, has been developed by Compost Australia, the National Association for the Organics Processing and Recycling Industry and Sustainability Victoria.

Building on the existing Australian standards, the new scheme is set to hit the Australian market in August and will enable users to identify quality compost products that are specifically designed to meet their requirements. Certified products will carry a distinctive leaf logo.

Participating products will be independently certified through a process requiring fully documented quality management systems for compost production, registration of application-specific products, independent auditing of composting processes, and laboratory testing of compost products.

Compost Australia national projects manager Angus Johnston said compost delivered a range of positive environmental outcomes, including saving water, improving soil health, reducing fertiliser use, reducing soil erosion and improving nutritional balance. "Until now the recycled organics industry has been distracted by the important challenge of getting organic materials out of landfill," he said. "In this new paradigm, product demand will drive recycling and the environmental benefits that go along with it." Johnston said developing markets for compost, a carbon rich resource, can prevent a significant amount of greenhouse emission each year due to the diversion of organic waste from landfill, as well as increasing the uptake of carbon dioxide by soils. "In NSW alone the (compost) processing and application of composts saved approximately half a million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2006," he said. He added it was estimated that NSW saved 1.7GL of water in 2006 by the addition of compost products to urban and agricultural soils.

This scheme is somewhat contrary to the Darwin Council attitude who wish to turn all their compost production into oil. Whether current production at the Shoal Bay landfill meets or goes close to meeting these criteria is unknown. Critical to the process is open and quality record keeping for all materials, as well as auditing.

International Compost Awareness Week 6-12 May 2007

Dig In! Support Compost Awareness Week

Participate - Annual International Compost Awareness Week May 6, 2007 to May 12, 2007

This year's theme is "The Possibilities are Endless ... Compost!"

For more info, go to: http://compostingcouncil.org/section.cfm?id=25

Compost and more compost means more soil carbon - better soil health; sequestrated carbon in soil means less greenhouse gases; compost adds to soil structure, positively impacts improved soil moisture storage, reduces evaporation from soil..............the possibilities are endless!

Critically important in Australia with our generally poor ancient soils - both structurally and in mineral composition. Also have a look at the Compost Australia website.

Compost adds to shallow carbon storage, not usually to deep storage of carbon which normally comes from plant root direct breakdown in the soil.

BUT..............compost! Its a verb AND a noun.

GM Sorghum May Offer Potential for Biofuel in the Tropics of Australia

Scientists Display Modified Sorghum Crop

May 02, 2007 — By Michael Graczyk, Associated Press COLLEGE STATION, Texas.

Texas A&M University scientists showed off to state and federal officials Tuesday a genetically engineered crop of sorghum they believe will be a more efficient and economical option to corn in drier parts of the country as the nation pushes for alternative energy sources.

Sorghum, which as a plant resembles stalks of corn, is a centuries-old grain common around the world but used more in the United States as a livestock feed. At Texas A&M, researchers have been working over the past several years to extend its growing season, allowing it to double its height to more than 10 to 15 feet [3-4m], thicken its stalk and be even more drought tolerant.

The genetic changes make it ideal to raise in the South and Southeast where the growing season already is longer than in northern sections of the country. The climate also makes it more suitable than growing corn, which has emerged as a biofuel alternative used in ethanol production, particularly in the Midwest.

The cellulose from one version of the sorghum and sugar from another version similarly can be processed for fuel. Researchers said energy yields could top those from corn and at a more reasonable cost, making it an economic windfall for farmers.

"It's really a matter of national security if we can lessen our dependence on imported oil and turn to those we can trust, and that is our nation's farmers," Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said after a briefing and tour of A&M agriculture and biofuel labs. "For decades we have depended on what's below the ground for our nation's energy and now we can turn to what's above the ground. With the yields that are being forecast, with the continual growing season in certain parts of Texas and in particular the lower water usage, it offers great promise." "Agriculture already has been highly successful in providing this nation and the people with an abundant supply of food, feed and fiber," said Undersecretary of Agriculture Gale Buchanan, who also participated in the half-day briefing. "I'm equally convinced it will be just as successful adding energy to that portfolio."

Some of the new crop could allow for as many as three harvests annually in areas like the Texas Rio Grande Valley. Texas, with 1.3 million acres harvested in 2005, and Kansas are the nation's leading sorghum-producing states. A&M researchers said they've been working with their counterparts at Kansas State University in developing sorghum for ethanol use. About 15 percent of the domestic grain sorghum crop already goes into ethanol production, according to the National Sorghum Producers, an industry trade group. Bill Rooney, an associate professor and coordinator of the A&M sorghum breeding and genetics program, said he hopes to have the genetically engineered crop commercially available in three years. Petrochemical companies already have been to College Station to discuss their interest.

Brett Cornwell, commercialization services director with the Texas A&M System, touted the economic benefits of the sorghum project for farmers.

"If a farmer's breaking even, they're not going to grow our product," he said. "What we're looking at with the sorghum is a solution that works in the right places with the right farmers and delivers to the farmers. They're not just in the game for God, America and apple pie. They will make money." Cornwell said sorghum could be a "regional solution that works in the Southeast and may work in California." "The reality of the bio-energy program in the U.S. is, it's not going to be a silver bullet. There's going to be regional solutions. Corn works in Iowa. Obviously, it's where the feedstock is."

Buchanan agreed, saying he believed a key to energy independence "is each part of the country has got to focus on what it can grow and use, and clearly this is sorghum country," he said. "I think that's a reflection of what we've got to do throughout the country."

Source: Associated Press

----------------------------------------------
A bit of thinking for the recently announced Northern Development Task force. Biotechnology in sorghum may also offer similar solutions suitable for north Australia, capitalising on the biomass production potential rather than grain.

Sorghum has been a marginal crop in much of north Australia, although grown with mixed success for many years for grain. BUT......a change of focus to biomass production utilising the adequate rainfall, rather than relying on the normally erratic end to the wet season that markedly impacts on grain yields could see higher and more regular biomass production well suited for local biofuel production. This would complement proposed biofuel production from vegetable oil, and with a huge effort developing in the US to improve conversion of plant cellulose to ethanol, any breakthroughs in that area could lead to use in this high cellulose yield tropical crop.

The three year further development program at Texas A&M allows time to seriously examine the possibility. And, afterall, Texas A&M is one of the same universities that have been at the forefront of sorghum research for over 50 years, developing many iconic breeding lines used by commercial companies as well as hybrid varieties in that period

While this journalistic report is produced for "media style" consumption, it is for real! Lets see how the science magazines and journals report the same issue. Definitely looks impressive so far.

Clean Energy from Beer Manufacturing Wastewater

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.

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?

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.

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?

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

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!

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 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

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..........

• 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.

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SafeLawns Launches Nationwide Consumer Program on National Mall April 04, 2007

By SafeLawns Foundation

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

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 .

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!

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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]

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.

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.

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!
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White House prescription drug abuse information: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/prescr--drg--abuse.html

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

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.

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!

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!

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.