Wetter-than-normal conditions in  recent years have highlighted a potential certification challenge with aerial spraying, and one that Sustainable Grain Australia (SGA) is working to clarify. SGA, in conjunction with CBH in Western Australia, acts on behalf of Australian growers and traders to help manage certification requirements and expectations.

While different certification systems exist, SGA chair Rosemary Richards told the GRDC aerial spray application webinar that efficiencies existed when traders all adopted the same system.

“The globally recognised International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system was identified as the most suitable scheme,” Ms Richards said.

“For example, all Australian canola is now exported to the European Union under ISCC certification, with the number of accredited growers increasing in recent years. The cost of participating in this scheme is incurred entirely by commodity trading companies.”

Ms Richards explained that with the ISCC, about half the requirements centred on good agricultural practice and 44 per cent related to meeting Australian legislative requirements, including those of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) regulator.

“The takeaway message is that ISCC certification validates Australian good farming practices as well as compliance with laws and regulations,” Ms Richards said. Usually, the ISCC requirements fit well with normal Australian operating standards, until recent wet conditions meant more aerial spraying.

One important consideration is the requirement for a blanket 500-metre buffer zone to anything the ISCC classifies as a water body or waterway. Note, however, this restriction only applies to pesticides that are classified 1a, 1b and 2 by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Ms Richards said the blanket approach to both buffer zones and to definitions of ‘waterway’ was a significant departure from the evidence and risk-based approach taken by the APVMA when it limited how a product was used through label requirements.

“SGA in collaboration with CBH has been working to try and address some of the issues that the ISCC’s requirement for buffer zones raise for farmers,” Ms Richards said.

“The APVMA does not apply a blanket approach to all chemicals. Different requirements are reflected on different labels. That’s the approach we advocated for in our submission to the ISCC.”

She stressed that the ISCC system was open to providing exceptions. For example, in April 2024, CBH applied for and received an exception with regards to certain WA water bodies. The exception relates to “WA farm dams and salt lakes belonging to the category of low ecological value”.

The situation for the east coast, however, is more challenging. From a risk-based perspective, the key buffer zone issue relates to the potential for run-off affecting interconnected waterways. This is the issue within the Murray–Darling Basin.

In response, SGA is working with leading hydrologists to better understand the aerial spraying risks associated with the way water moves in eastern Australian landscapes  and ecologies.

As conversations with ISCC continue, the push is towards more risk-based approaches and greater acknowledgement that unique features of Australian ecological systems – including ephemeral water bodies and water ways – is incongruent with  blanket requirements. In the meantime, the SGA has launched a portal to streamline the upload and retention of data by growers, resulting in a common declaration system that allows the grower to engage all traders.

The SGA portal can be accessed here.

Growers take to the skies

The operation of aircraft, spray drones and a new option – on-farm automated drone docking stations – were covered in a recent GRDC webinar.

A better understanding of aerial applications has been raised at several National Grower Network meetings.

More information: To view the webinar, go to GRDC past online events.

Read also: The future is here – automated drone docks coming to a farm near you and Getting the most from aerial spraying.

Read more: about the European biofuel market for Australian canola in the European canola market fact sheet.

A range of support materials on aerial application are available to agronomists and clients from the Aerial Agricultural Association of Australia (AAAA) website, including the ‘Agronomists’ Guide to Aerial Application’ which can be downloaded for free as an E-Book.