The funding, under Caring for our Country, will help more sugarcane growers to improve the quality of water flowing from their farms into the Great Barrier Reef.

Minister for the Environment Peter Garrett and Minister for Agriculture Tony Burke jointly announced today the $200 million Reef Rescue program aimed at reducing the amount of nutrients, pesticides and sediments impacting on the Reef.

“The Wet Tropics region has a significant influence on overall Reef water quality, with improvements in this area critical to building the resilience of corals to rising sea temperatures and other climate change effects,” Mr Garrett said.

Mr Burke said the funding builds on the $4.27 million already announced by the government to help ensure the sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef.

“Reef Rescue-funded projects are helping farmers use new technology to continually improve land management practices in horticulture, grazing, dairy and the sugarcane industry,” Mr Burke said.

“Sugarcane farmers have been proactive in adopting new techniques to increase sustainability and profitability, delivering wins for both the reef and the industry."

The Terrain Natural Resource Management group have been working to deliver Reef Rescue projects in the Wet Tropics.

Mr Burke and Mr Garrett praised sugarcane growers for embracing Reef Rescue so enthusiastically.

In the call for applications for the first Reef Rescue funding round in September 2009, more than 70 per cent of applications to Terrain NRM were from the cane industry.

So far this year 82 sugarcane farmers in the Wet Tropics have received water quality grants.

This additional $420,000 in funding will allow a further 16 projects from this round to go ahead.

* For more information on sustainable land management in the Wet Tropics visit www.terrain.org.au

* For more information on Reef Rescue visit www.nrm.gov.au