Industry News
NSW Sugar Season Wraps Up
In what has been a tumultuous year across the globe, the sugar industry in NSW has successfullymanoeuvred its way through a crush season filled with challenges and opportunities. Despite the many hurdles presented by the COVID pandemic, the cane growing and harvesting communityof the Northern...
Elders and Maize Australia working on battling Fall armyworm threat
AS the threat of Fall armyworm continues to trend south, agronomists and industry bodies are exploring ways of limiting the pest's potential damage. Elders is among those on the frontlines and has enlisted the help of Toowoomba-based technical services manager Maree Crawford to help find an answer...
Cane farmers told to demolish sheds twice in 30 years to make way for Bruce Highway upgrades
https://www.youtube.com/embed/7sHD9erYx-k An Edmonton family has been told to vacate sheds on their property for the second time in less than 30 years to make way for upgrades to the Bruce Highway. Ken Hardwick, 86, knows the price of progress, having farmed cane on the southern outskirts of...
MSF Sugar’s Maryborough mill closes down
MSF Sugar's Maryborough mill has crushed its last cane with the company announcing it was decommissioning the facility. Instead, contracted sugar cane will be crushed elsewhere from 2021. The decision comes after Rural Funds Management purchased 5409 hectares of MSF Sugar's cane growing land in...
Sugar mills crush out for 2020
More than 29 million tonnes of sugar cane has been crushed in Queensland this year with the season set to close this week. The last bins will be tipped at Mackay Sugar's Farleigh, Marian and Racecourse mills, signalling an end to the 2020 season. While weather conditions have varied across growing...
Grower Floor Price Contract
QSL's new Grower Floor Price Contract is now available within the QSL Direct portal and QSL App. This new grower-managed pricing option gives QSL growers the best of both worlds – letting them lock in a sugar price with the potential for higher returns should the market rise...
After 82 years, Mackay’s Bonaventura family harvest the last cane field
As his cane fields went up in flames for the final time, Mackay councillor Laurence Bonaventura reflected on 82 years of his family's farming legacy. "It's a bit of a sad occasion, but it's about knowing when is a good time, and I believe this is the time to finish cane growing," Cr Bonaventura...
Local Cairns family plans 162-unit retirement village for site of sugarcane farm
Plans have been submitted to develop the retirement village in Gordonvale, a small town approximately 25km south of central Cairns. The plans were submitted by Gilvear Planning on behalf of the family of the late Rose Straguszi, a prominent Gordonvale resident who passed away late last...
New TAFE course focuses on cane farm profitability
CANEGROWERS are being encouraged to participate in a TAFE Queensland course aimed at improving farm profitability. The new course aims to develop the skills and understanding necessary for growers to make informed decisions about sugar pricing. Canegrowers chief executive officer...
North Queensland sisters Jess and Emily Garland follow in dad’s tracks as train drivers
Amid the high-vis, hard hats and machinery at the Plane Creek Sugar Mill in Sarina, south of Mackay, two young sisters are showing they're not afraid to get behind the controls of a sugarcane train. It's all in the family for Jess and Emily Garland, who both got their...
Australia’s complaint against Indian sugar subsidies to be heard at World Trade Organisation
Two-and-a-half years after lodging a complaint to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against India, Australian sugar cane growers will finally have their concerns heard in the international court. The formal dispute against India was initiated by the Australian, Brazilian and Guatemalan...
Threat of further Indian subsidies weighs on sugar price
The Global Sugar Alliance has called on India to drop its controversial sugar subsidies, adhere to international trade rules, and meet the obligations and commitments it has made as part of its membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The Global Sugar Alliance, which represents 85% of the...
World events conspire to squeeze sugar profits from NSW milling co-operative
This year's annual general meeting of the NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative, held at Ballina on Friday, was a puritan affair thanks to COVID-19, with social distancing measures in place and no refreshments available of any kind - not even a cup of sweet tea. It set the mood for a sober assessment of...
Raising Burdekin Falls Dam could create environmental disaster, say expert and farmer
Queensland Government plans to raise the Burdekin Falls Dam could have a drastic effect on the environment and threaten vital habitats, an oceanography expert has warned. But a lack of replenishing sand reaching the Coral Sea from the nearby Burdekin River means erosion is threatening the bay's...
Episode 3: Chris O’Kane – East Feluga Cane Farmer
Chris O’Kane is a third-generation cane farmer and looking after the land is in his blood. His late father Bernie was a true innovator and “wasn’t afraid to try new things.” He’s a forward thinker too – “the farming techniques we’re doing now will leave the farm in a better condition for our...
NSW DPI urged to implement fall army worm management plans after sightings at Hillston
Farmers across the state are being urged to be on the lookout after recent sightings of fall army worm. The warning comes after two moths trapped at Hillston were this week confirmed as FAW and...
Fall Armyworm Continuity Plan released to assist farmers
New resources have been developed to help farmers defend their crops against fall armyworm. The invasive pest has spread across the country and made its way to a number of key cropping zones since its first detection on the mainland at Bamaga in February. The Fall Armyworm Continuity Plan is...
Mill decision heralds changes for Maryborough
CANEGROWERS Maryborough says the announcement from MSF Sugar that it will stop operating the Maryborough Mill and instead arrange for contracted sugarcane to be crushed elsewhere ends six months of uncertainty and speculation for growers. “While today’s news about the mill is disappointing for us...
Maryborough sugar mill to close as stakeholders move to secure the industry’s future
After 126 years of operation, the Maryborough sugar mill will not crush again, with local stakeholders moving quickly to ensure the future of the industry. Maryborough Canegrowers chairman Jeff Atkinson said, after several months of speculation, mill operator MSF Sugar had sent a memo stating...
AquaTill High Pressure Water Tillage System Update
https://youtu.be/oNwcM0oes8o SRA's Regional Coordinator for the Southern Region, James Ogden-Brown talks us through an update on AquaTill's performance in the Sugar Cane farming system.