ISSCT XXVIth CONGRESS Durban, South Africa 29th July - 2nd  August  2007

MANAGEMENT COMMISSION Papers & Posters Titles     MANAGEMENT PAPERS   MA1 Managing research: lessons from Australia E.S. Wallis, P.G. Allsopp and R.F. Gilmour  - Australia   MA2 Miller/grower relations at the local mill area Mill Group Board level in South Africa: an empirical investigation A.T. Wynne and B.J. Milford  - South Africa   MA3 Cane quality payment incentives to optimize the production of sugar, ethanol and cogeneration A.T. Wynne - South Africa   MA5 Catalysts for change and engines of growth for the modern sugar industry L.D. Mamet - Mauritius   MA6 A report on the first ISSCT Management Workshop, July 2006 A.T. Wynne and R. Rivalland - Mauritius   MA7 Setting up of a Greenfield Sugar Project in Africa: A practical approach V. Bhardwaj, E.Y. Alloo and I.Y. Alloo - Zambia   MA9 Development of a new research strategy for the SMRI J. Dewar and S.B. Davis  - South Africa   MA14 Cooperative systems in practice: implementation of value chain management strategies in the mackay sugar industry G.F. Fleming, J.A. Crane and J.A. Markley - Australia   MA15 Response to sugarcane smut in eastern Australia B.J. Milford, P.G. Allsopp and C. Adriaansen - Australia   MA16 Sugarcane cultivation on ecologically sensitive sites in Southern Africa: profitability and conservation issues .A. Cartwright, R. Perkins and C. Von Der Heyden  - UK   MA19 Introduction of laboratory information systems as an aid to managing factory processes S. King and C. Von Pannier - South Africa   MA20 Evaluating regional net benefits of whole crop harvesting to maximise co-generation P.J. Thorburn, A.A., Archer, P.A. Hobson,A.J. Higgins, G.R. Sandel, D.B. Prestwidge and G. Antony - Australia   MA21 Fast track implementation of one of the world’s largest and most complex sugar factory projects A.R. Jansen and M. Wade GO TOP MANAGEMENT POSTERS     MAP1 an airborne imaging system for mapping spatial variability in sugarcane V. Lebourgeois, A. Bégué, S. Labbé and B. Roux - France   MAP2 Sugarcane fertilisation management in island regions of japan and its impact on production: a case study of Kitadaito Island K. Kikuchi, M. Ueno, Y. Kawamitsu,L. Sun, E. Taira and K. - Japan   MAP4 Predicting lost mill processing time due to rain for the Burdekin, Australia Y.L. Everingham, C.C.M. Chen and B. Edwards  - Australia   MAP5 Cost control for cane sugar manufacturers D.H. Mallalieu - Canada GO TOP MANAGEMENT PAPERS ABSTRACTS MA1_abstract MANAGING RESEARCH: LESSONS FROM AUSTRALIA By E.S. WALLIS, P.G. ALLSOPP AND R.F. GILMOUR BSES Limited, PO Box 86, Indooroopilly, Australia 4068 ewallis@bses.org.au  KEYWORDS:  R&D Management, Consultation, Strategic Plan, Industry Needs  Abstract  Research, Development and Extension plans are crucial to effective use of industry resources and need to be developed through interactions between researchers, extension officers and industry participants to ensure that the plans effectively address industry needs.  This paper describes a consultative process with the Queensland sugar industry to identify their views of the products and services offered by BSES Limited and how those views were used to shape BSES’ strategic plan.  A three-stage process was used.  In stage 1, BSES established a framework for the study.  Stage 2 was a qualitative phase, involving an independent consultant working with millers and growers through one-to-one interviews, or through focus groups of cohorts of 8-12 people.  These discussions considered the participants’ general perceptions of BSES and the value it delivers to industry, current funding of BSES, future funding solutions, and how these options could be implemented.  Stage 3 was a quantitative survey of 400 Queensland cane growers conducted by consultants using a computer-assisted telephone interview process.  Questions covered the awareness and value of BSES services, funding principles, support for increasing the service fee, general attitudes to change and innovation, and general demographics.  The study identified five issues critical to successful R,D&E management in organisations such as BSES: collaboration; succession planning; external funding; commercialisation of R,D&E; and change management.  BSES’s strategic plan sees the company contributing to the goal of an internationally competitive and environmentally sustainable sugarcane production system for the reliable supply of raw sugar and diversified products from Australia.  It defines seven high-priority actions that must be undertaken to achieve the goal and groups these under three delivery vehicles.  The paper then describes the key lessons that the authors (with a total of over 50 years of R,D&E management) have learnt in managing the industry based R,D&E program conducted by BSES. GO TOP MA2_final MILLER/GROWER RELATIONS AT THE LOCAL MILL GROUP BOARD LEVEL IN SOUTH AFRICA: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION By A.T. WYNNE1 and B.J. MILFORD2 1South African Cane Growers Association, PO Box 888 Mt Edgecombe, 4300, South Africa E-mail: awynne@canegrowers.co.za 2CANEGROWERS, GPO Box 1032 Brisbane, 4000, Australia E-mail: Bernard_Milford@canegrowers.com.au  KEYWORDS: Change, innovation, leadership, legislation, relationship, mill group board  Abstract  Increasing global competition, technological innovation and resource scarcity are some of the signs of worldwide change. Within the context of the South African sugar industry, potential future change events such as income diversification require innovation in sugarcane supply arrangements.  Much of this change would need to be overseen by South Africa’s fourteen Mill Group Boards (MGBs), bodies comprising millers and growers at each mill area. The first part of this research examined local miller / grower structures in Australia and South Africa to compare and highlight possible enhancements that can be made to facilitate innovation. Examination shows that deregulation in Queensland has the potential to lead to innovation in contracts, but that other antecedents of change are required for this to be effective. The South African MGB appears to implicitly protect the status quo. The second part investigated current leadership skills within MGBs and ways of fostering necessary skills. Questionnaire responses were analysed from members of five MGBs. An OLS regression showed respondent perceptions of creative MGB leadership were largely characterised by a competitive win / lose negotiating attribute, which was typified by a communication style that favours withholding information and an adversarial relationship between millers and growers. Changing this mindset amongst the MGB leadership will require an appropriate leadership development program. However, the most immediate changes required include: conferring of appropriate authority and accountability to MGB leadership to improve communication with outside stakeholders, enabling better application of MGB rules, improving the MGBs strategic vision, initiating leadership training, and mitigating sectional interests. GO TOP MA3_abstract CANE QUALITY PAYMENT INCENTIVES TO OPTIMIZE THE PRODUCTION OF SUGAR, ETHANOL AND COGENERATION By A.T. WYNNE1 1South African Cane Growers Association, PO Box 888 Mt Edgecombe, 4300, South Africa E-mail: awynne@canegrowers.co.za  KEYWORDS: cane payment, division of proceeds, pricing, incentives  Abstract  The price consumers are willing to pay for renewable energy is increasing given the combination, amongst others, of rising crude oil prices and climate concerns. Sugarcane is a highly efficient converter of sunlight energy into biomass and is ideally positioned to participate on a large scale in the energy markets of the future. Brazil and a number of other countries already produce large quantities of fuel grade ethanol from sugar streams as well as cogenerating electricity from bagasse for export to the national electricity grid. Furthermore, exciting technological developments on the horizon suggest that ethanol and electricity yields per tonne of sugarcane processed will increase significantly (e.g. fermentation of cellulose and Fischer-Tropsch biomass to liquids). In sugar industries that have a revenue sharing partnership between millers and growers for primary products, a transparent mechanism still needs to be developed to (1) fairly and equitably channel revenue derived from multiple primary products through the sugarcane payment system and (2) create associated sugarcane payment incentives to optimise sugarcane quality and value addition. This paper unpacks the background and workings of traditional cane payment approaches and explores a possible alternative, “contribution pricing”, that has been designed to facilitate the inclusion of ethanol, cogeneration and possibly other primary products into a cane payment system. A major challenge includes negotiating the division of proceeds percentages, which ideally would need to be mill area specific but for expedience, could be negotiated centrally. Another challenge is determining transparent primary product prices, which is best done on an industry scale; e.g. the establishment of an “exchange” inclusive of futures contracts, which may require significant set up costs that need to be spread over a large product volume. A “political will” on the part of miller and grower leadership is the catalyst required to make “contribution pricing”, or variation thereof, a reality. GO TOP MA5_abstract CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE AND ENGINES OF GROWTH FOR THE MODERN SUGAR INDUSTRY By L.D. MAMET Regional Training Centre, Réduit, Mauritius ldmamet@intnet.mu     KEYWORDS: Best practices, capacity development, human capital, modern sugar industry, Regional     Training Centre Abstract  The sugar industry is often focused on equipment, processes and products rather than on human capital. In the transformation from a labour intensive, low skilled industry to a modern, capital intensive, highly skilled industry, there is an urgent need to concentrate on optimizing the human value of the enterprise. The skills needed to succeed in the industry are changing significantly as technologies are evolving and organizational structures are adapting to new economic parameters. The modern industry calls for individuals who are able to acquire, adapt, apply and transfer their knowledge to different contexts and under varying technological conditions, and to respond independently and creatively. This paper reviews the work of the Regional Training Centre (Mauritius) and describes the importance of capacity development at all levels in the sugar industry.  Examples of better management practices, technical re-skilling and up-skilling as well as workforce training will be described.  Competent human resources are regarded as catalysts for change and engines of grow GO TOP MA6 A REPORT BACK ON THE FIRST ISSCT MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP, JULY 2006 By A.T. WYNNE1 & R. RIVALLAND2 1South African Cane Growers Association, PO Box 888 Mt Edgecombe, 4300, South Africa E-mail: awynne@canegrowers.co.za 2Societe Usiniere Du Sud (Suds), Savannah, Mauritius  Rrivalland@Suds.Intnet.Mu  Abstract  The Executive and Council of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists (ISSCT), prior to the XXV Jubilee Congress in Guatemala 2005, set up a “Management Commission”. Its intention was to enlarge the role of senior industry managers in the ISSCT, with particular reference to integrating management aspects into research and technological initiatives with a view to further enhance overall efficiencies. The first ISSCT Management Workshop was held in Durban, South Africa in July, 2006 and was attended by 41 delegates from 10 countries. The workshop objectives were to (1) attract delegates from wide ranging fields of expertise to provide specialist inputs, and (2) facilitate discussion focused on improving efficiencies and sustainability. Each of the four workshop sessions comprised three presentations that were intended to initiate discussion around a particular theme, enabling delegates to interactively participate in defining their contextual problems and to jointly take part in finding solutions. The respective themes were (1) managing research and development, (2) managing the supply chain, (3) the role of sugarcane in 2020 and (4) market demands and dynamics. One of the challenges for future workshops will be how to attract managers into the forum. In this regard senior managers from the various research organisations and other sugar industry related organisations should be targeted. Some of the main topics recommended for future workshops include the management of (1) technology transfer, (2) environmental impacts, (3) water scarcity, (4) the implementation of GMOs, (5) health, safety and human resource related issues, (6) benchmarking the costs of production, (7) integrating industry and research strategies, (8) optimising the mix between managers, researchers and technicians, (9) the incorporation of bio-energy production into sugar industries, and (10) international cooperative research initiatives. GO TOP MA7_abstract SETTING UP OF A GREENFIELD SUGAR PROJECT IN AFRICA: A PRACTICAL APPROACH by Vivek Bhardwaj, E.Y.Alloo, I.Y.Alloo Consolidated Farming Limited(CFL), Lusaka, Zambia vbhardwaj01@yahoo.com, cfl@zamnet.zm  KEYWORDS: Zambia, Africa, Greenfield Sugar Project, Plantation White Sugar   Abstract   Zambia is a landlocked country with plenty of unutilized land, abundant availability of surface water and favourable agro-climatic conditions for sugarcane cultivation. Increasing sugar demand in the region and lucrative policies of the Government of Zambia provided an incentive for the setting up of a greenfield sugar project. Looking at the market conditions, a sugar plant to produce plantation white sugar with provision to produce off-white sugar, along with a facility for Vitamin-A fortification was chosen. Lack of appropriate infrastructure and shortage of trained manpower in Zambia were two of the challenges that were tackled successfully by using solutions that were appropriate and practical. GO TOP MA9 DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW RESEARCH STRATEGY FOR THE SMRI By J. DEWAR AND S.B. DAVIS Sugar Milling Research Institute, c/o University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa jdewar@smri.org KEYWORDS: SMRI, strategic direction, innovation, research, management  Abstract  This paper discusses the new Research Strategy of the Sugar Milling Research Institute (SMRI) and the recent changes that have taken place in how the SMRI’s annual Research Program is developed.   Traditionally, the Research Program was rather short-term in focus and was often developed by means of a “bottom up” approach whereby the SMRI, through interaction with the mills, developed projects that were designed to address factory problems and improve the operational efficiency.  This approach often lacked strategic focus.    Using a “top-down approach”, the strategic needs (not wants!) of our members have been assessed.  It is clear that the South African sugar industry is a mature industry, showing signs of decline.  To remain competitive and sustainable into the future, step-change, and not merely incremental change, is required.  As such, it is clear that radical technological innovation is required.    This has resulted in the creation of SMRI Strategic Research Thrust Areas and the move to a more medium-to-long term research focus.  Research projects are now developed within the Thrust Areas and evaluated in terms of several criteria, including alignment with industry strategy and probability of implementation success.  The SMRI is also managing its research investment in terms of Risk versus Reward using a Portfolio Management approach.  The authors are of the opinion that the SMRI’s investment is now aligned with the South African milling industry’s strategic objectives, and there is a shared common vision of the technical priorities of the industry. Recent initiatives with the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the South African government’s Department of Science and Technology to build the resources required to deliver the necessary outcomes are discussed. GO TOP MA14_abstract COOPERATIVE SYSTEMS IN PRACTICE: IMPLEMENTATION OF VALUE CHAIN MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN THE MACKAY SUGAR INDUSTRY By G.F. FLEMING, J.A. CRANE and J.A. MARKLEY Mackay Sugar Cooperative Association Limited g.fleming@mkysugar.com.au   KEYWORDS: value chain, information technology, cane payment  Abstract  In response to adverse market and climatic conditions in recent years, Mackay Sugar has developed value chain management strategies to drive change and increase profitability across the local industry. These strategies and a technological framework to implement them were embodied in the Cooperative Systems model, developed in 2003-2005.  This paper first discusses some prerequisites for successful implementation of value chain management strategies. It then describes three implementations in the Mackay Sugar Cooperative: a new cane payment system that changes the division of proceeds and shares the risks and rewards of diversification; a harvesting information system to facilitate and manage harvesting contracts based on best practice; and the introduction of service level agreements for cane transport with a mobile delivery tracking system to monitor performance.   In each case, the paper explains the shortcomings of previous systems with respect to value chain management; the way that strategies developed in the Cooperative Systems project have been implemented to address these shortcomings; and the impact and effectiveness of these strategies to date.  The implementation of these strategies in Mackay Sugar has increased the awareness of whole of industry management issues across all sectors. The Cooperative has been encouraged by the results to date, and the paper mentions other initiatives that are planned or in progress for further change and deregulation of the Mackay industry towards a more competitive, market‑driven future. GO TOP MA15 RESPONSE TO SUGARCANE SMUT IN EASTERN AUSTRALIA By B.J. MILFORD1, P.G. ALLSOPP2 AND C. ADRIAANSEN3 1. CANEGROWERS, Brisbane, Australia 2. BSES Limited, Indooroopilly, Australia 3. Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Brisbane, Australia Bernard_Milford@canegrowers.com.au   KEYWORDS: Sugarcane smut, Ustilago scitaminea, Response Plan, Incursion Management  Abstract  The detection of sugarcane smut (Ustilago scitaminea) in the Bundaberg-Childers region of eastern Australia triggered a comprehensive and united response from BSES, Queensland Government and CANEGROWERS.  The response to sugarcane smut in the Bundaberg-Childers area was the first test for the Emergency Plant Pest Deed, an agreement between Australian governments and plant industries to facilitate a response to a plant pest incursion.  The response under the deed was facilitated by the response template provided by the deed, by industry’s preparedness in development of its own biosecurity plan, by activities of BSES to have resistant varieties and pathology and diagnostic expertise available, and by the expertise and significant resources of QDPI&F in dealing with the logistic, legislative and practical tasks of mounting a significant response.  Areas covered in the response were quarantine of the affected area, quarantine and movement controls, surveillance and tracing, disposal of affected material, removal of infested cane, and provision of resistant planting material.  These were supported by scientific input, communications, information services, industry liaison, and general program management activities and a cost-benefit analysis.  The response was curtailed by the discovery of the disease in a second area in Central Queensland.  On-going activities centre around surveillance and spore trapping throughout eastern Australia, enhanced breeding to fast-track the provision of new, high-yielding, smut-resistant cultivars, epidemiology to better understand the progress of infestations, whole-farm variety management to allow growers to make better choices about resistant cultivars, and coordinated communications. GO TOP MA16_abstract Sugarcane cultivation on ecologically sensitive sites in Southern Africa: profitability and conservation issues [1] By A. CARTWRIGHT1, R. PERKINS2, C. VON DER HEYDEN3 1Econologic anton@econologic.co.za 2WWF rperkins@wwf.org.uk 3Pegasys - Strategy for Development Consulting  KEYWORDS: sugarcane, conservation, profit, wetland, hill-slope Abstract  Increasing the financial returns to conservation represents a pressing challenge, particularly in developing countries where agriculture and conservation efforts can compete for natural resources. This study aimed to identify the scope that conservation agencies might have in appealing to the financial interests of sugarcane growers to prevent the cultivation of ecologically sensitive hill-slopes and wetlands in Southern Africa.     Financial analyses were conducted at dryland and irrigated sugarcane sites in KwaZulu Natal (KZN), South Africa and Kafue, Zambia respectively. Evidence of unprofitable cane was found at both locations. At Kafue, losses were incurred on heavy wetland soils that were ecologically sensitive. In contrast, in KZN, low-lying ephemeral wetlands and streams that represented sensitive habitats were often the most profitable sites for cane cultivation, and only those hill-slopes that were north facing and on shallow soils were found to be financially unprofitable.   Whilst the study did identify sites on which conservation and farming interests share an incentive to reconsider cane cultivation, this was not the case for all ecologically sensitive hill-slopes and wetlands. As such, appeals to financial rationale in advancing conservation mandates would first have to identify those sites that were both financially sub-optimal and ecologically sensitive. Such efforts would also have to acknowledge the constraints, particularly information constraints, under which land-use decisions are exercised. [1] This paper was based on research commissioned by WWF. The data used in this paper were gathered by the authors and are contained in the WWF report: The Economics of Marginal Land-Use in the Cultivation of Sugarcane: South African and Zambian case studies (December, 2006) GO TOP MA19_abstract INTRODUCTION OF LABORATORY INFORMATION SYSTEMS AS AN AID TO MANAGING FACTORY PROCESSES By S. KING, C. von PANNIER Private consultant, InfoWave Holdings Ltd selking@yebo.co.za  KEYWORDS: laboratory, management, information systems, LIMS  Abstract  Information about the chemical control in a factory is always important to management. This information comes from the laboratory and must be accurate, reliable and readily available to allow key decisions to be made regarding the factory process. But it has become much broader than this. This paper serves to provide insight into the need for information technology to assist factory managers and business leaders to succeed in the sugar world as it is today, as well as going into the future.   Globalisation, combined with significant advancements in information technology over the past decade, provides the platform for software to be designed in a way that was previously impossible.   The aim of the software vendor is to leverage these improvements to provide benefit to its customers. The benefit to the business environment is that it becomes increasingly more cost-effective as the lessons learned across the client base are assimilated into the software, thereby providing improvements to all the clients. This systematically increases the use of information technology within the business environment over time.    The concepts within a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) are discussed, and some common problems encountered when implementing a LIMS at a sugarcane factory are included for the purpose of aiding a potential new LIMS user.   The case is made that, for the necessary advancement of the industry and the ability to meet the future demands of the industry, information technology and the dissemination of information, both internally and externally, becomes one of the key components of the factory environment in the sugar business. GO TOP MA20_abstract EVALUATING REGIONAL NET BENEFITS OF WHOLE CROP HARVESTING TO MAXIMIZE CO-GENERATION By P.j. Thorburn1, A.a. Archer1, P.a. Hobson2, A.j. HIGGINS1, G.R. Sandel3, D.B. Prestwidge1, G. ANTONY1 1CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Brisbane 2Sugar Research and Innovation, Brisbane 3Harvesting Solutions, Mackay E-mail: Peter.Thorburn@csiro.au  KEYWORDS:  trash, bagasse, value chain, whole crop harvesting, multi-agent modelling   Abstract   There has been substantial interest in maximising electricity cogeneration in Australia in response to Government policy that created a market for renewable energy. Cogeneration of electricity can be maximised by harvesting the whole crop, i.e. using the additional fibre in tops and trash to fuel cogeneration. However, whole crop harvesting will have complex and interacting impacts on the whole value chain; growing, harvesting, transport and milling. These impacts will be very difficult to predict a priori. We developed and applied a novel value chain modelling framework that included the main biophysical and economic aspects of the production of raw sugar and co-generated electricity to determine the biophysical feasibility and financial attractiveness of whole crop harvesting in three areas. In the model, income from electricity is weighed against not only the costs of constructing the co-generation facility, but also the costs associated with loss of trash from the field, harvesting the whole crop and transporting it to the mill, separation of trash from cane, and the impact of increased extraneous matter on sugar milling. In general, the impact of losing trash from the farming system was greater than anticipated, while the impacts in the harvesting and transport sectors were less than expected because of increased efficiency that could be achieved in these sectors and the overestimation of volumes of trash and tops used in previous analyses of the problem. The analysis thus provides a more complete understanding of the possible impacts of whole crop harvesting than previously available. It also illustrates the advantages of taking a comprehensive modelling approach to assess changes to the whole value chain. GO TOP MANAGEMENT POSTERS ABSTRACTS MAP1_abstract An Airborne imaging system for mapping spatial variability in sugarcane  By V. LEBOURGEOIS1, A. BÉGUÉ2, S. LABBÉ3, AND B. ROUX4 1CIRAD, UPR Systèmes Canniers, valentine.lebourgeois@cirad.fr 2CIRAD, UMR TETIS, agnes.begue@cirad.fr 3Cemagref, UMR TETIS, sylvain.labbe@teledetection.fr 4L’Avion Jaune, bruno.roux@lavionjaune.fr   KEYWORDS: sugarcane, NDVI, surface temperature, water, nutrient   Abstract  In order to develop a low-cost and easy to implement technical solution to map inside-field spatial variability and to explore its relationship with nutrient and water conditions of the sugarcane crop, an experiment was conducted, based on the use of an ultra-light aircraft, equipped with visible, near infrared and thermal infrared cameras. Very high resolution images were acquired above an experimental field in which irrigation and nitrogen treatments were controlled and measured for three different sugarcane varieties. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the surface temperature (Ts) of the experimental plots were calculated and used to interpret spatial variability in the field, in terms of growth responses to nitrogen and water treatments. The preliminary results indicate that the techniques used can produce qualitative maps showing areas of variable cane growth conditions as influenced by nutrient and water in sugarcane fields. A next step will involve combining canopy thermal and spectral properties to produce maps of the nutrient and water status of the crop, to enable the delineation of management zones inside the fields, and as a decision support tool to allow adjusting fertilization and water applications to the actual needs of each management zone. GO TOP MAP2_abstract sugarcane fertilization management in island regions OF JAPAN and its IMPACT ON production: A case study of Kitadaito Island By Koh Kikuchi, Masami Ueno, Yoshinobu Kawamitsu, Liya Sun, Eizo Taira, Kenjiro Maeda (Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan) kkikuchi@agr.u-ryukyu.ac.jp Key words: Production, Fertilization management, Work efficiency Abstract               Okinawa Prefecture, located in the northern limit of the Tropics, consists of a large number of small islands. Sugarcane is grown as the major crop and, as land suitable for cultivation is limited, production can only be increased by increasing the yield. However, production and area under cultivation have both tended to decrease year after year. To compensate for the decrease in area under cultivation, there is an urgent need to increase yield. The main reason for the current low yield is believed to be inappropriate fertilization management.               Kitadaito Island was chosen for a case study to verify this hypothesis and to identify methods to improve the current situation. The average area under cultivation for each grower on Kitadaito Island is about 4 ha, and is larger than that on other islands in Okinawa Prefecture. The study was carried out for the benefit of growers, sugar factories and agricultural co-operatives. The validity of fertilization management on each farm was evaluated on the basis of farm production. The cause of low unit crop production became clear when the appropriateness of fertilization management was examined. The means by which each grower could improve the management were then established.               Farmers on Kitadaito are willing to improve fertilization management to increase yields. This motivation should be harnessed to speed up the application of new cultivation techniques. GO TOP MAP4_abstract PREDICTING LOST MILL PROCESSING TIME DUE TO RAIN FOR THE BURDEKIN, AUSTRALIA By Y.L. EVERINGHAM1, C.C.M CHEN1, B. EDWARDS2 1 James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia 2 CSR Sugar, Townsville, Australia yvette.everingham@jcu.edu.au KEYWORDS: SOI, forecast, CART, regression, lost time Abstract An early warning about lost mill processing time due to rain for the season ahead would assist industry managers implement better planning operations during the harvest. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how a simple regression model was built to predict lost time due to rainfall from 1988 to 2005. This model which had an R-squared value of 0.72 was then used to estimate lost time from 1889-1987 given today’s constraints of crop size and harvest area. The extrapolated and actual lost time record from 1889-2005 were merged, and later supplied to a climate forecasting model that used phases of the southern oscillation index (SOI) to produce an early system indicator of the risk of lost time for the coming season. Results showed the risk of lost time was lower in years when the August SOI phase was consistently negative and higher in years when the August SOI phase was consistently positive or rapidly rising. GO TOP MAP5_final COST CONTROL FOR CANE SUGAR MANUFACTURERS By D.H. MALLALIEU D. H. Mallalieu and Associates Ltd. des.mallalieu@sympatico.ca  KEYWORDS: Sugar industry planning and control                                                                                                 Abstract  This program was designed in response to Managers’ needs for a system that will create a framework to record all activities in the full sequence of cane production and sugar manufacture.  It should be flexible, adaptable, simple to operate, and must provide timely selected data for Management action, and respond to all information queries from Management.  The program should provide a system for estimating all operating costs; report on actual expenditures, and show performance against the estimates and productivity benchmarks of the industry “best practices”.  Scheduling of activities and the allocation of resources and monitoring of progress against the schedule are necessary features.  The system must be able to investigate all alternatives in the short and long-term planning of operations, and evaluate all possible scenarios.. The enterprise is sub-divided into main activities: cane production, sugar manufacture, major co-products such as co-generation and alcohol production, and services. Each activity is sub divided into production and maintenance. Activity planning to the basic levels is provided.                     The program has been designed with the objective of being readily understandable, practical, and of maximum use to managers at all levels. The program is an Excel application with Microsoft Project as an alternative and fulfils these needs. A Microsoft Access database supports both these programs GO TOP   Return to Programme