AgForce’s recent decision to delete its members’ Best Management Practice records in anticipation of the Queensland Parliament passing the State Government's Reef Bill has raised questions for CANEGROWERS members and particularly those involved in Smartcane BMP.

This Bill, if passed, could force organisations to provide government with information related to:
•    the sale of a fertiliser product or agricultural chemical;
•    the application of a fertiliser product or agricultural chemical;
•    soil tests; or
•    crop yields.

CANEGROWERS wants to allay any concerns members may have by explaining what information is collected and stored by both CANEGROWERS and Smartcane BMP.

• The CANEGROWERS membership database and the Smartcane BMP database are two completely separate and unrelated entities.

• Neither the CANEGROWERS membership database nor the Smartcane BMP database records any individual farming data, such as fertiliser and chemical application rates

• The Smartcane BMP database holds no information whatsoever on farming businesses not registered with the program.

• Farming businesses registered with the program are recorded on the Smartcane BMP database as operating at, below or above industry standard only.

• All records on fertiliser sales and rates used are held by the individual farming business and/or any advisory firms or resellers engaged by the grower. Smartcane BMP facilitators and auditors may view this information, but no copies are taken or stored.

• CANEGROWERS and Smartcane BMP are committed to keeping all grower data confidential.

 
The data being targeted by the Queensland Government’s proposed Environmental Protection (Great Barrier Reef Protection Measures) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 is that information being held by farming businesses, advisory organisations and companies, resellers and mills - particularly in relation to fertiliser application rates and yield. Read more about the Reef Bill on the Grower Information page.
 
CANEGROWERS is seeking legal advice in relation to the proposed Bill and any impact it may have on individual growers and the industry more widely.