Great Barrier Reef water quality is set to improve with an investment of $7.6 million into research to help graziers and cane farmers improve land management activities, Environment Minister Vicky Darling and Member for Townsville Mandy Johnstone announced today.

Ms Darling said today that the $7.6 million would fund 32 new research and support projects over the next three years.

"These projects will identify how soil, fertiliser and pesticides are lost from cane farms and cattle properties - and then identify management practices which will improve both reef water quality and farm profitability," Ms Darling said.

"This includes a new tool to help graziers calculate the right number of cattle to graze in a paddock and prevent soil erosion - this will show how pasture levels have changed in response to rainfall on different land types.

"Better maps will also be provided for ground-cover and fire management using up to date aerial imagery.

"Nutrient trials will also continue to give growers more confidence in understanding how much fertilisers needs to be applied to maintain productivity while reducing costs and the risk of excess nutrients entering the reef.

"Specifically, $3 million will directly support the improvement of grazing land management systems to reduce soil loss and land degradation.

"$2 million will extend the current research into cane growers' losses of nitrogen fertiliser and pesticides in the Wet Tropics, Mackay Whitsunday and Burdekin regions.

"This investment delivers on the Bligh Government's commitment to the cane and cattle industries to match Reef Protection Package regulatory funding with investment in research and extension to support better land management.

Ms Johnstone said the Bligh Government had committed $50 million over five years to the Reef Protection Package, with funding split between regulation and research, extension and monitoring.

"More than $10 million has been committed to research and development into nutrients trials in cane, and improvements into water quality and production across the regulated catchments," Ms Johnstone said.

"We have already implemented a $2.5 million research program to research fertiliser loss pathways and to determine the optimum amount needed to grow cane productively.

"This will further inform education and extension programs and how to improve land management practices.

"The 32 research and development projects were selected following extensive consultation with leading experts, scientists and representatives from the cane and grazing industries as well as water quality scientists to determine where which projects would benefit most from funding.

Ms Darling said research and development projects include mapping products to better target pollution mitigation activities, improvements reef-related extension services to land managers and tools for land managers to support their decisions about production and water quality management.

"We consulted with industry bodies and regional natural resource management groups to identify key projects determine research goals and how to enhance support for cane growers and graziers.

"Officers will continue to talk with stakeholders over the next six months to scope additional research projects based on advice from land managers and industry representatives, as well as collecting data on management practice change.

"A $2 million dollar project will collect and integrate data from the Reef Protection Package work with the Paddock to Reef monitoring and modelling program - led by DERM in partnership with CSIRO - identifying where pollutants that impact the reef are coming from, and how they should be managed.

"This is a significant investment in research and the improvement of the scientific evidence base which demonstrates this government's commitment towards protecting the Great Barrier Reef, a Queensland icon."

Environment

The Honourable Vicky Darling

18/11/2011