THOSE in the cane industry have also fallen victim to attacks by green activists on numerous occasions in recent years. Another recent attack from the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) again pointed the finger at “polluted run-off from agriculture”. However those most closely associated with the industry can point to significant change in practices which not only serve to protect the natural environment but also produce better outcomes for growers.CANEGROWERS Chairman Paul Schembri said the progress by the farming sector is undeniable. He says the sugar industry has undergone a revolution, implementing a number of broadscale changes including green cane harvesting and trash blanketing; precision application of ag chemicals and nutrients right to the root zone, redesigning the slopes of paddocks to manage the speed of water; and inserting recycling tail water dams which catch water running off so it can be pumped back up to the top and used as irrigation, just to name a few of the many innovative practices.“Just 18 months into the sugar industry’s best management program, Smartcane BMP, we’ve already had 959 cane-growers accounting for 146,584 hectares complete one or more modules right up to the self-assessment stage. Now word is spreading about the program, we are expecting another 20% of growers to get involved in the next year,” Mr Schembri said.He told media that there was no question that cane growers were invested in making real change.“Over the past two decades they’ve channelled large sums of money and huge amounts of time and manpower to bring the latest technology and practices online as soon as they can. We wouldn’t have made all those changes - all that time, energy and money – unless we were convinced it is making a real difference. Australia’s sugarcane farmers remain focused on staying ahead of the game. After all, we compete in the competitive world market. We have to be leaders in innovation and finding that balance between productivity, profitability and sustainability. We’ve been working on creating systems to help growers with being able to show evidence of practices, such as a BMP record keeping phone app,” he said.The new app allows growers to enter notes into the phone as they complete tasks around the farm. CANEGROWERS says that the best thing about the app is that you can whip out your phone and quickly make the notes while you’re still in the paddock. The data is automatically uploaded to your online BMP and counts towards the record keeping and evidence collection requirements.