Mid-Autumn stubble burning update – Fires out by 2pm.

The Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia (RGA) together with Griffith City Council, Leeton Shire Council, the Irrigation Research and Extension Committee (IREC), and Murrumbidgee Irrigation (MI) encourage all farmers to seriously consider the impacts of their crop residue fires on their neighbors and the broader community. During autumn the weather conditions dramatically increase the risk of smoke being locked-in close to ground level leading to poor air quality. 

The RGA’s Policy and Projects Manager Neil Bull said, “Farmers have ready access to weather data to guide them of the appropriate conditions to burn stubble. The easiest way to access this data is to download the Stubble Burning App from the App stores, (available for both Android and Apple phones). The alternative is the Bureau of Meteorology MeteEye site. Here you need to enter your nearest town, check the time of day, first check the wind conditions, and then check the mixing height.

“As we move further into autumn we recommend starting burning as soon as the dew has dried and aiming to have fires out by 2pm. Only burn dry crop residue and be organised to complete the burn in the shortest possible time. Early burning under appropriate conditions will mitigate the risk of poor air quality”. 
 
For more information about best practice and alternatives to burning farmers should refer to the Responsible Stubble Management details on the RGA website.