Applications of industry information in sugarcane production systems

The Australian sugar industry collects, during normal commercial operations, data on the production of sugarcane, although the nature and extent of the information varies considerably between regions. These data have become increasingly accessible to researchers who, through various analytical methods, have shown that this information can be used for a range of purposes. Examples include the development of regional models to predict CCS in response to rainfall, the estimation of genetic gain over an extended period across many regions, the development of alternative options to improve the efficiency of cane supply to the mill, the assessment of trends in productivity (including intra-regional spatial and temporal productivity trends), and the identification of attributes of the production system that affect productivity. Experience has shown that, while they are essentially empirical in nature, these analyses can be used to define problems within the industry and either initiate or complement more traditional agronomic and genetic research necessary to solve these problems. This paper reviews the different ways that industry information has been used to facilitate decision-making and their value in the identification of problems such as a chronic decline in CCS in the wet tropics. The merits of expanding this type of approach in the sugar industry more generally are also discussed.