The Burdekin CCI is developing a Water Quality Improvement Plan which will include region-specific support for the adoption of improved sugar land and grazing land management practices.

The aim is to reduce amount of sediment and agricultural pollutants that enter the Burdekin waterways from grazing and sugar lands.

The Burdekin CCI, together with key partners DPI&F and ACTFR, are developing Best Management Practice (BMP) Guidelines for improving water quality within the Burdekin grazing lands.

This activity involves broad consultation with graziers through the Landcare organization and industry workshops as well as other BDT stakeholders in the region. Graziers have extensive knowledge and experience that is frequently not captured in scientific studies and sharing this knowledge is of vital importance to the project.

Similarly, the Burdekin CCI, with support from ACTFR, CSIRO, BSES,BBIFMAC, DPI&F and the Sugar Advisory Group,   is developing Best Management Practice (BMP) to improve the quality of water leaving irrigated sugarcane farms for the Burdekin region.  

The outcomes to both the Grazing Land and Sugar Lands BMP projects will contribute to our current knowledge of sustainable grazing land and sugar farming management practices and how these affect water quality and will improve the flow and delivery of information to these important land user groups.

Meeting with graziers to discuss grazing BMPs.  Photo: Tom Coughlin.	Meeting with sugar growers to discuss BMPs held at BSES, Brandon.  Photo:  S. Connor

Part of this project is to identify incentives which will best lead to the adoption of these BMPs in order to achieve improved water quality.