The 2021 Sweet Days, Hot Nights Festival welcomed more than 6000 visitors, held over three events to celebrate the start of the Burdekin sugar cane crushing season.
More than 2000 people attended the first cane fire of the season at the Home Hill Showgrounds on the Thursday night, kicking off the festival.
It marked a return of the physical festival, which was delivered in a virtual format in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tully’s Stuart Gilbert took out the Australian Hand Cane Cutting Championships, continuing a family tradition of excelling at the event.
Over 55 Cane cutter winner Bill Matthews with Peter Maddern and Alsemo Felesina.
Cr McLaughlin said the impressive turnout was testament to the hard work of staff and volunteers.
“I want to thank the more than 6000 people who joined us in the Burdekin over the course of three big days for the first fire, Burdekin Cultural Fair and Australian Hand Cane Cutting Championships,” Cr McLaughlin said.
“The Sweet Days, Hot Nights Festival begins with the very first sugar cane fire of the season, and finishes with the most experienced cutters from across the country showcasing their skills and harvesting that cane by hand.”
The 2021 Sweet Days, Hot Nights Festival kicked off an earnest in the Burdekin, with more than 2,000 people attending the First Fire at the Home Hill Showgrounds on Thursday night.
The signature event marked the start of Burdekin Shire’s annual sugar cane crushing season, with the first crop of cane in the region set a light.
The festival continues with the Burdekin Cultural Fair on Friday night and the Australian Hand Cane Cutting Championships on Saturday.
Burdekin Shire Council Mayor Lyn McLaughlin said the support from surrounding regions was overwhelming.
“Tonight, the Burdekin welcomed our largest crowd ever to the First Fire, with more than 2,000 people through the gates of the Home Hill Showgrounds,” Ms McLaughlin said.
“Council has been inundated with calls and messages from our neighbours in Bowen and Townsville over the past week checking what time the First Fire would start to ensure they made it here after work, and I want to thank them all for their support of one of North Queensland’s signature destination events.
“Cane fires are symbolic of the Burdekin and North Queensland lifestyle, with the Festival itself named after the sweetness of some of our key agriculture including sugar cane, melons, honey, achacha and lychee, and the hot nights of sugar cane being burnt during the crushing season.”
The 2021 Sweet Days, Hot Nights Festival will continue with the Burdekin Cultural Fair from 5:30pm this Friday at Rugby Park, Ayr and the Australian Hand Cane Cutting Championships from 10am- 4pm on Saturday at the Home Hill Showgrounds.
For more information, visit sweetdayshotnights.com.au.
The NSW Sugar industry will kick off the 2021 crushing season with an outlook that can only be described as sunny.
The three sugar mills across the Northern Rivers; at Condong, Broadwater and Harwood; will fire into action from the 8th of June, following an intensive off-season maintenance program.
The estimate for the overall crop tonnage is still uncertain following a very wet but warm growing season
that including some flooding. The feeling amongst growers is buoyant, with the prospect of their cane price for the season being as high as $37 to $38 per tonne, depending on CCS (sugar content).
Chairman and cane grower, Mr Jim Sneesby said: “The news of a significant lift in cane price, is definitely instilling a positive feeling within the local sugar industry.”
Almost 100% of the planned sugar make is already locked into the Sunshine Sugar sales program, with customer orders in place Australia-wide.
Sunshine Sugar’s CEO, Mr Chris Connors recently addressed cane growers to share the positive news, not only in regard to cane price, but also to give an update on the commercial developments made across a number of diversification projects, including botanical water and a gourmet mushroom product – both of which will utilise assets within the cane stalk to produce alternate products and new income streams.
“This is an exciting time for our local sugar industry;” commented Mr Connors. “Agriculture is seeing a surge in interest and the NSW sugar industry can demonstrate a proven track record in being sustainable, providing long-term returns to its growers and a solid plan for future growth; making it an appealing proposition for farmers and investors alike.“
Queensland’s cane crop is now tipped to reach almost 30 million tonnes, with the 2021 harvest and crush to start next week.
Australian Sugar Milling Council chief executive officer David Pietsch said 29.96mt was expected, exceeding the 29.33mt crush in 2020.
Queensland’s sugar mills manufactured 4.1mt of sugar last year.
“In February, ASMC was sceptical about the prospects for the 2021 crop to be bigger than 2020 with variable seasonal conditions, but we are now confident the crop will beat the 2020 and 2019 seasons and finish closer to 30 million tonnes,” Mr Pietsch said.
The tonnages remained well short of the Queensland milling sector’s crushing capacity of about 35 million tonnes.
“The improved crop signals somewhat of a recovery in industry confidence and highlights the ongoing importance of work across the sugar industry to improve productivity and continually drive efficiency through the production chain,” Mr Pietsch said.
“The 2021 crop forecast is good news for farmers, harvesters, transporters, suppliers, and for our sugar mill employees crushing the cane and manufacturing the sugar.”
The ASMC regional forecasts project:
– 6.72mt in the northern region (including Tableland, Mossman, Mulgrave, South Johnstone and Tully mill areas).
– 12.35mt in the Herbert-Burdekin region.
– 8.24mt in the Mackay-Proserpine region.
– 2.65mt in the southern region (including Bundaberg, Isis and Rocky Point mill areas).
Mr Pietsch said it was the first time in more than 125 years that neither the Bingera mill at Bundaberg or the Maryborough mill will be operating.
“Like other Queensland industries and businesses, the sugar industry had had to contend with the impact of COVID-19 on its local production and global markets,” he said.
“However, the sugar industry has hung tough and our relative stability now comes at a time of great uncertainty around sugar production among other global producers such as Brazil, India and Thailand.”
Government red tape needs to be slashed to increase Australia’s sugar production, with canegrowers and millers alike calling for a reduction of regulations.
The Australian Sugar Milling Council and Canegrowers have both taken aim at Queensland government red tape in recent days, with ASMC focusing on an industry revitalisatation strategy while Canegrowers continues to home in on reef regulations.
The ASMC has presented a comprehensive case to the Queensland government for
reducing regulatory overload to support the sugar industry’s revitalisation.
The push comes off the back of government red tape reduction plans, including the establishment of the Office of Productivity and Red Tape reduction within Queensland Treasury, and the release of the Queensland Productivity Commission’s Improving Regulation research paper.
ASMC Director, Economics, Policy and Trade David Rynne said the revitalisation agenda was based on three key pillars – increasing sugarcane and sugar yields while decreasing operational costs, increasing or at least maintaining canegrowing area and increasing revenue from complementary, diversified, value-added products.
“ASMC’s analysis of government regulatory interventions and cost impositions on the sugar industry make a compelling argument that cumulatively, domestic regulation is stalling industry revitalisation and a more sustainable future for the regional communities it supports,” he said.
Meanwhile Canegrowers has created an animation, available on YouTube, to explain the sugarcane industry battle against reef regulations.
“We have 80 per cent of sugarcane growers voluntarily engaged in a program, that is recognised internationally, to improve sustainability as well as cane farm productivity and profitability,” Canegrowers CEO Dan Galligan said.
“But government reef-focused reporting ignores that effort and tells the industry it’s failing – it’s no wonder growers are up in arms. It would appear growers are being set up to fail no matter what they do and how hard they work.”
Home Hill canegrower Owen Menkens said reef regulations were probably the biggest concern for most growers, with water and electricity prices also key issues.
“The reef regulations have definitely made it hard for a lot of growers to produce the best crops, especially where they are cracking down on nitrogen use whereby growers are reducing rates below what is profitable and productive,” he said.
“We’ve been calling on the government to look at reef regulations and electricity for a long time, so I hope they do and they take it seriously.”
AUSTRALIA’s sugar production could be significantly increased to create jobs, generate better economic outcomes, and produce cleaner energy if government red tape was reduced.
That’s according to the Australian Sugar Milling Council, which has delivered a comprehensive case to the Queensland Government for reducing regulatory overload to support the revitalisation of the sugar industry.
ASMC economics, policy and trade director David Rynne said the industry was currently in a state of “regulatory overload”.
“Over the past 15 years the sugar industry has been subject to significant policy uncertainty and additional regulation and charges from a range of agencies and government-owned corporations,” Mr Rynne said.
In ASMC’s Sugar Policy Insightspublished this week, Mr Rynne said the sugar industry’s revitalisation was based on three key pillars:
Increasing cane and sugar yields, decreasing operational costs.
Increasing, or at least maintaining the area where sugarcane is grown.
Increasing revenues from complementary, diversified, value-added products.
“ASMC’s analysis of government regulatory interventions and cost impositions on the sugar industry make a compelling argument that cumulatively, domestic regulation is stalling industry revitalisation and a more sustainable future for the regional communities it supports,” Mr Rynne said.
“Revitalising the sugar industry will involve working closely with government departments across eight key areas including water and energy charges, access to capital, self-regulation incentives, improved land protections in state planning policy, revenue diversification incentives, better understanding the industry’s viability, and ensuring access to human capital.”
Mr Rynee said the industry was committed to supporting the Queensland Government’s red-tape reduction ambitions.
These have demonstrated by the establishment of the Office of Productivity and Red Tape reduction within Queensland Treasury, and the Queensland Productivity Commission’s publication of its Improving Regulationresearch paper, he said.
