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Flood Update for NSW and Qld |
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Wednesday, 01 February 2012 15:32 |
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The Land
WILLEMIEN PHELAN, WEATHERZONE
HEAVY rain is causing widespread flooding in QLD and northern NSW and there is more rain to come. The heavy rain has caused widespread flooding with warnings in force for over 20 rivers.
This is falling over an already-saturated ground. Over the past week an accumulated total of 400mm had been recorded in the Mid North Coast. The overnight totals of 100-150mm will bring this over the half-metre-mark.
At Coffs Harbour rainfall rates reached 14mm in 10 minutes, with 155mm falling in twelve hours. This represents three quarters of the February average and it is the heaviest daily total in 3 years.
Many nearby locations exceeded 100mm, including:
- Bellingen 150mm
- Bowra Sugarloaf 156mm
- Grafton 129mm
Across the border in QLD the trough triggered heavy rain in the Maranoa and Warrego district, including 102mm at Munnaweena and 51mm at Mitchell.
This deluge is due to a slow moving low pressure trough, triggering rain out of the saturated atmosphere.
This widespread, heavy rain follows on from a very wet week and has resulted in multiple flood warnings, including major flood warnings along the Darling river.
Unfortunately for flood-prone locations, there is much more to come before dryer conditions prevail. Today and tomorrow could see back-to-back 50-100mm falls over the same region.
The trough will weaken into the weekend with much drier weather during the weekend, providing a much needed relief for stressed river-systems.
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Tuesday, 31 January 2012 13:20 |
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The Land
BEN CUBBY AND SEAN NICHOLLS, SMH
A KEY election pledge by the state government to fence prime farmland off from mining interests is in danger of collapse, with the minerals and gas industries refusing to concede that any part of the state is off limits.
Confidential documents leaked from within the negotiation process show that the farming, resources and environmental groups that are developing the policy for ''food security'' zones are locked in stalemate.
The peak coal seam gas body, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, wrote to the government last month saying it did ''not support blanket 'no go' areas, as such an approach is subjective and is not based on justifiable evidence, scientific assessment of agricultural and conservation values, and nor does it have regard to economic considerations''.
The NSW Minerals Council also does not accept that some areas should be set aside from mining.
''NSWMC does not believe that outright exclusion zones were intended to be part of strategic regional land use plans, nor are they an appropriate level at which to reject certain classes of development from broad areas,'' the council said in a submission to the government last month.
Both groups told the Herald they were focused on positive outcomes from the negotiations and rejected the idea that they would not compromise. But they confirmed they would not support the idea that areas should be off limits to mining or gas drilling.
The impasse means the government, which is understood to be divided on the issue, must overrule the industry or abandon the central plank of its election promise.
The Planning Minister, Brad Hazzard, would not comment yesterday.
''The government promised in the lead-up to the election to place sensitive areas of the state off limits to mining and gas operations,'' said the chief executive of the Nature Conservation Council, Pepe Clarke.
''If the government's not prepared to say no to the mining and gas industries now, when will they be prepared to say no? The farmers and environmental groups are willing to negotiate but the mining industry has refused to give up one single square inch of the state.''
The president of the NSW Farmers Association, Fiona Simson, said the importance of quarantining parts of the state from coal seam gas exploration and mining would certainly be ''a deal breaker''.
''We need a scientific process that rules land in or out,'' Ms Simson said. ''That's the government's policy and we expect the government to follow its policy''.
The Total Environment Centre, which is also involved in the negotiations, has written to the government saying that some farming, water catchment and wilderness areas should be ruled off limits, based on experience of the damage minerals exploration has done to rivers and underground water tables.
The debate is being followed closely in the state's food bowls, such as the Liverpool Plains and the Hunter Valley.
Kate Davidson, who runs a cereal, legume and sorghum farm with her family on the flood plains near Gunnedah, said her community would like to see the districts' rich farmland set aside solely for food production.
''There was a certain amount of scepticism in the community as to whether that would actually happen or not, but that's what we're still hoping for,'' Ms Davidson said.
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The Land
GREGOR HEARD Stock and Land
EXCITING new research has found a way of non-chemical control for problem weeds, with good control of both the plants and the seed bank, with no side-effects.
The novel solution? Microwave energy.
Graham Brodie, senior lecturer at Melbourne University’s Dookie campus and an expert in agricultural engineering, said initial trials had found very positive results in terms of control of summer weeds.
“We are also confident it will work on autumn weeds prior to sowing, but the timing just meant we have worked on summer weeds so far.”
He said some prototypes had been assembled, featuring four modules.
“It’s still relatively small, but once get the proof of concept sorted we will work on bigger versions.”
It uses about eight to eleven kilowatts of power, or about the same amount as ten household microwaves, with five emitters in five rows.
The machine works on overheating the actual weeds and seeds in the top level of the soil.
“It will sterilize seed down to as much as five centimetres deep.”
Once the soil has cooled down, there is no further impact from the treatment, meaning it is safe to go in and plant.
“It is purely heat-based, which makes it better than fumigants in terms of with-holding periods.”
Mr Brodie said he expected the major application to be in horticulture at this stage, but added there was a lot of interest from the broadacre sector.
“With increased reports of weed resistance to chemicals, a method of controlling weeds without using chemicals will be very popular.”
While the initial usage will most likely be as a knockdown and a summer weed control, Mr Brodie said it may be possible to use the product in-crop.
He said trial work of using the microwaves in a precision agriculture system had shown promising results.
“You can irradiate individual rows without harming the crop in the other row.”
“You’d probably need equipment capable of an accuracy of five centimetres or better and have the appropriate shielding.”
He said the next step would be getting a product to the market that is economic to use.
“We’ve got to determine the interest in the market, but you can see it having a great future in the short-term with applications such as controlling weeds at a golf course, where with fumigants you have to wait a month before replanting.
“With the microwaves, you could be back out there virtually immediately.”
He said the research was progressing well, thanks to funding input from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC).
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Heavens Overload Northern Rivers |
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The Land
SAFFRON HOWDEN, SMH
PERSISTENT rainfall has sliced the town of Bellingen in half, dumped almost 340 millimetres over the region in just two days, and promises an anxious week for residents and holidaymakers on the north and mid-north coast.
As night fell yesterday, the Bellinger River had burst its banks and caused moderate flooding in the south-west of Coffs Harbour, while there was moderate flooding around the Nambucca River and minor inundation along the Orara River between Coffs Harbour and Grafton.
The Bureau of Meteorology and State Emergency Service were monitoring the Tweed, Richmond and Wilsons rivers further north, as well as the Clarence, Macleay and Hastings river systems for signs they, too, could spill into surrounding countryside.
''Our part of the world is accustomed to flooding,'' the Bellingen Shire mayor, Mark Troy, said last night as the rain set in again. ''But each flood does bring its new challenges. There's a bridge dividing the town. It's a relatively low-level bridge [and] it's been out all day. The town itself is essentially cut in two.''
Yesterday afternoon, the Bellinger River at the Bellingen Bridge had peaked at around 7 metres, short of the 8.2 height that constitutes major flooding.
Mr Troy said locals - including those already isolated by floodwaters out of town - were worried what the morning may bring. ''Even though it pulled up short of a major flood [on Tuesday], any more significant rainfall will take it up to major flooding,'' he said.
The SES had hundreds of volunteers on standby in the flooded region yesterday and more were expected to join them today. One caravan park near Bellingen was evacuated yesterday, 12 people isolated by floodwaters were rescued near Urunga, and a further two people were rescued from a vehicle caught in floodwaters at Murwillumbah, the NSW SES Commissioner, Murray Kear, said.
''There's severe weather warnings all the way from Taree to the Queensland border,'' he said. ''On top of what's already been heavy rainfall … we're expecting 50 to 150 millimetres overnight. We have a lot of resources … preparing for further evacuations.''
North of the border, weather forecasters have renewed warnings for heavy rainfalls across most of south-east Queensland into today, with rainfall of 200 millimetres likely. SES workers were standing by to evacuate residents, who only last January endured serious flooding.
Moreton Bay Regional Council told residents of Dale Street in Burpengary, north of Brisbane city, and the immediate surrounds to leave their homes as there was significant risk of flood damage to low-lying properties.
''It's fair to say it's going to be a long night,'' the Moreton mayor, Allan Sutherland, said.
A trough moving south over the Northern Territory and Queensland was causing the heavy rainfall in the region and the first sign of it clearing is Sunday.
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Delungra's 45,000 Dollar Record Ram |
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ANDREW NORRIS
SELLING six head of sheep for a grand total of $78,000 isn't a bad day's work, particularly when one ram alone makes a record breaking $45,000.
This new Australian record – which eclipses the $41,000 record set at the 2006 Dubbo national for Red Rock A46 – was set by the two-time national champion ram Terraweena 9239 Loftus.
Loftus – the only Dorper or White Dorper ram to win back-to-back Australian national championships (in 2010-11) – was offered for sale in the Burnett-Smith family's stage one stud flock dispersal, with stage two on February 8 and stage three in September, said stud manager Angus Burnett-Smith.
Mr Burnett-Smith, who runs a farm at Delungra,operates the stud with his wife Lara and his parents Celia and Geof, who are based at Cambooya in Queensland.
The group of six White Dorpers, including Loftus, were sold to Brazilian Dr Carlos Raul Consonni, who runs the Fazenda Bonfim farm in Bonfim Paulista, Sao Paulo.
Dr Consonni was a manufacturer of automotive parts who had decided to expand his agricultural interests,said Mr Burnett-Smith.
Also among his purchases were the sire Terraweena 7091 Stefaans, which he bought for $12,000; the 2011 national champion White Dorper ewe for which he broke another national record at $7000 (the previous record was $6750 for an Amarula ewe set in 2011), and the 2009 national champion ewe for $5000.
Loftus had also broken a record at Terraweena's 2011 on-property sale in October at $170 per semen straw.
The shipment of six animals has already entered quarantine and is expected to leave for Brazil in the coming months.
Mr Burnett-Smith Loftus attracted about eight tenders, several of which were close to the top money.
From six rams and 450 ewes offered in the first stage, two rams and 80 ewes sold, with the remainder to be re-offered in stage two.
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