Project Catalyst

Improving water quality through innovation

Project Catalyst has been funded through The Australian Government Reef Trust, WWF and The Coco-Cola foundation (through Catchment Solutions), and most recently, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

Project Catalyst aims to reduce the environmental impact that the sugarcane industry has on Queensland water ways and the Great Barrier Reef. Spanning three major sugarcane growing regions: Mackay and Proserpine, the Burdekin and the Wet Tropics, growers involved in Project Catalyst are provided with support to develop and trial innovative ideas to improve production and reduce their nutrient and chemical losses in off-farm run off.

Farmacist is pleased to be able to deliver the on-ground components and support to Catalyst growers in the Mackay and Burdekin regions.

Mackay region:

Low cost telemetry and soil moisture system to improve irrigation efficiencies
Biological soil additives
Trickle irrigation in sugarcane
Reducing fertiliser rates following a green manure legume crop
Development of low cost, automated variable rate application maps
Development of herbicide strategies based on spatial location of weed pressure
Mixed varieties on Sodic Soils

Burdekin Region:

Enhance Efficiency Fertilisers
Banded Mill Mud
Low-cost telemetry
Monitoring ground water nitrates
Mixed Species Fallows
Reducing fertiliser rates on nitrogen-efficient sugarcane varieties
Using crop sensors to determine nitrogen content of young sugarcane crops
Remote soil moisture sensing and telemetry
Alternate row irrigation

Project Catalyst trials include:

Project Catalyst is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government's Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and the Coca-Cola Foundation with support from WWF-Australia.