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Project Overview

Water quality improvements in the GBR catchments require the adoption of improved land management practices – with prioritised nutrients from cane, and sediments from grazing critical agricultural sources. Estimates of the relative cost and effectiveness of improved Best Management Practices (BMPs) are becoming available for some practices across some regions. However, information has had limited consistency and may not represent the diversity of farm enterprises across land types, operating structures, or transition costs.

This project has delivered a set of integrated research deliverables that has greatly enhanced and extend cost effectiveness estimates across diverse regions, including enterprise diversity, appraise cost effectiveness, and incorporate cost drivers such as physical constraints like land types and barriers to change such as transition costs. This analysis has been integrated into decision support information that can be used by NRM regions to identify the most cost effective mix of practice changes to invest in, and by individual landholders to explore the cost and profit implications of BMP adoption for their farm.

This Project Will Deliver

• Identification of the differences in BMP adoption between regions and across different farm types (e.g. large – small).
• An understanding of the impact of BMP adoption on farm economics for regional agriculture.
• Improvement in identifying the best investment options and their consequences for Reef Rescue targets (at regional and Reef-wide levels).
• Information for landholders and regions that will support farmer decisions about practice change and investment by regions in delivering those changes.

PROGRESS UPDATES for this project are summarised here

Study Areas

Workshops in NRM regions (Wet Tropics, Dry Tropics, Mackay Whitsundays and the Fitzroy Basin) to identify success stories/failures in BMP adoption (Nov 2011 - Nov 2012). Workshops in NRM regions to test, revise, finalise most useful form of outputs (April 2013).

Associated Reef Rescue R&D Research

Learning, improvement, data sharing:

• RRRD056 – input data on A class practices
• RRRD004 – input data on cane practices
• RRRD010 – input data on cane practices
• RRRD011 – input from collation of historical data sets
• RRRD024 – input data on grazing land condition
• RRRD032 – input data from grazing practices

Related External Research

Paddock to Reef Program

• Management practice adoption component – link to landholder surveys.

Reef Rescue WQ Grants

• NQDT, Reef Catchments, Terrain NRM, FBA & BMRG

Project Catalyst

• Wet Tropics, Burdekin & Mackay Whitsunday sites

Reef Protection Research and Development Program

• Wet Tropics, Burdekin & Mackay Whitsunday data

Publications from this Project

This project has generated a series of reports. The following reports from RRRD039 are available for download from the Final Report pages.

Harvey, S., Rolfe, J., Taylor, B. and Whitten, S. (2014). Regulations versus voluntary mechanisms to improve adoption of best management practices in GBR catchments. Report to the Reef Rescue Water Quality Research & Development Program. Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited, Cairns (27pp.).

Edwards, B., Star, M. (2013). Land regeneration in rangelands grazing: exploring the economic implications. Component Two of RRRD039: Integrated assessment of BMP cost-effectiveness and decision tool for regions and landholders. Report to the Reef Rescue Water Quality Research & Development Program. Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited, Cairns (26pp). ISBN: 978-1-925088-71-7.

Star, M., Rolfe, J. Whish, G. and East, M. (2012). Predicting economic costs of improving grazing management in the Herbert, Burdekin and Fitzroy Catchments. Component Two of RRRD039: Integrated assessment of BMP cost-effectiveness and decision tool for regions and landholders.Report to the Reef Rescue Water Quality Research & Development Program. Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited, Cairns (51pp). ISBN: 978-1-925088-70-0.

van Grieken, M., Poggio, M., Smith, M., Taylor, B., Thorburn, P., Biggs, J., Whitten, S., Faure, C., and Boullier, A. (2014). Cost-effectiveness of management activities for water quality improvement in sugarcane farming. Report to the Reef Rescue Water Quality Research & Development Program. Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited, Cairns (85pp.). ISBN: 978?1?925088?30?4.