Cane

This social monitoring data presents the opinions of cane farmers engaged in practice change projects to reduce sediment, nutrients and pesticides being lost to local waterways.

During 2019–2020, many growers engaged in practice change projects, with over 160 growers responding to surveys about their practice change journey.

The below graphs present data from projects that provided surveys at the start and at the end of a project in 2019–2020.

Not all cane farmers completed both surveys, so the graphs may represent different respondents and are not directly comparable.

Attitudes

“I think this farming practice is a positive thing to do on my farm.”

Before

Response	Number of responses
Strongly agree	72
Agree	59
Neither agree nor disagree	11
Disagree	2
Strongly disagree	1
Don't know	8
No response	0

153 cane farmers answered this question at the start of their project, in relation to their particular practice (e.g. changing my fertiliser management ).

After

Response	Number of responses
Strongly agree	61
Agree	38
Neither agree nor disagree	14
Disagree	4
Strongly disagree	1
Don't know	0
No response	4

122 cane farmers answered this question at the end of their project, in relation to their particular practice (e.g. changing my fertiliser management).

Confidence

“I feel that this farming practice is easy to do on my farm.”

Before

Response	Number of responses
Strongly agree	56
Agree	72
Neither agree nor disagree	8
Disagree	10
Strongly disagree	0
Don't know	6
No response	1

153 cane farmers answered this question at the start of their project, in relation to their particular practice (e.g. changing my fertiliser management).

After

Response	Number of responses
Strongly agree	49
Agree	59
Neither agree nor disagree	6
Disagree	6
Strongly disagree	0
Don't know	1
No response	1

122 cane farmers answered this question at the end of their project, in relation to their particular practice (e.g. changing my fertiliser management).

Motivations

“What were your main reason/s for implementing this farming practice?”

Before

Topic	Number of responses
Government funding	12
Increased profitability	99
Increased production	53
To save money	39
To save time	31
To comply with regulations	102
Benefit local water quality	17
Benefit the environment	40
For my family	4
Other landholders	0
No reasons to change	2
Other	13
I don't know	1
I'd prefer not to answer	0
No response	0

153 cane farmers answered this question at the start of their project, in relation to their particular practice (e.g. changing my fertiliser management). Respondents were asked to choose up to three options.

After

Topic	Number of responses
Government funding	15
Increased profitability	76
Increased production	44
To save time	14
To save money	25
To comply with regulations	82
Benefit local water quality	7
Benefit the environment	22
For my family	3
Other landholders	1
No reasons to change	1
Other	21
I don't know	0
I'd prefer not to answer	0
No response	0

122 cane farmers answered this question at the end of their project, in relation to their particular practice (e.g. changing my fertiliser management). Respondents were asked to choose up to three options.

Barriers

“What were your main challenge/s in relation to implementing this farming practice?”

Before

Topic	Number of responses
Worried about production	60
Worried about profitability	55
I do not have the time	7
I need more information	23
It costs too much	13
No water quality benefit	15
It is not the way I manage my farm	4
Weather and seasonal issues	21
Lack of family support	2
Past failures	0
Constrained by contractors	3
No challenges/difficulties	7
Other	33
I don't know	3
I'd prefer not to answer	4
No response	0

153 cane farmers answered this question at the start of the project, in relation to their particular practice (e.g. changing my fertiliser management). Respondents were asked to choose up to three options.

After

Topic	Number of responses
Worried about production	56
Worried about profitability	47
I do not have the time	4
I need more information	16
It costs too much	5
No water quality benefit	7
It is not the way I manage my farm	2
Weather and seasonal issues	36
Lack of family support	5
Past failures	2
Constrained by contractors	1
No challenges/difficulties	14
Other	34
I don't know	1
I'd prefer not to answer	1
No response	0

122 cane farmers answered this question at the end of the project, in relation to their particular practice (e.g. changing my fertiliser management). Respondents were asked to choose up to three options.