2024 mid season snapshot Sharing sugarcane with the city Call for arbitrator to step in
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Adrian and Phillipa Bush happily call Tully home nowadays so their three children can enjoy growing up on the farm Photo credit: Renee Cluff Read more on page
The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) Leaders Summit was held in Canberra on Wednesday 21 August. The program offered a forum for farm sector leaders to engage with policy makers and promote ideas to enhance agriculture and regional Australia.
The NFF CEO Tony Mahar discussed the progress of the 2030 Roadmap goal of $100b in farmgate output by 2030, while keynote speeches and panel sessions included discussions on growing sustainability which links to market access, unlocking innovation in agriculture, how to work with communities and unlock the potential of the agricultural workforce, natural capital and gaining value from sustainability credentials and ESG, including risk and capital in farming.
Peter Dutton, Leader of the Opposition and the assistant Minister for Agriculture
Senator the Hon Anthony Chisholm addressed the forum on their work with NFF as well as issues like energy generation, live sheep export, ag visas and export markets. The evening session offered networking with farming and political leaders including a speech from David Littleproud , Leader of the Nationals and Shadow Minister for Agriculture, and it concluded with the Canberra Premiere of the film ‘Just a Farmer’ which focused on farmer mental health.
Many sugarcane growers may have heard that the APVMA has proposed restrictions on the use of paraquat. This is an issue of great concern to CANEGROWERS , as it could have a negative impact on growers.
That’s why CANEGROWERS is working closely with Sugar Research Australia
and other organisations to review the justification put forward by the regulator.
CANEGROWERS will also be communicating to the regulator the consequences of such a decision, including impacts on productivity, farm costs, soil management (a return to more tillage), and the environment.
Check out the new look CANEGROWERS website www.canegrowers.com.au, this user-friendly website provides resources for growers, industry and the public.
The member login button heads to the online portal for members. Once inside members have access to tools specifically designed for growers such as the Cost of Production Tool, Sugar Price Ready Reckoners, legal articles, transport guides and marketing information updates. Access is via an email invitation so please contact your local district office or info@canegrowers.com.au for more details.
CANEGROWERS is calling on Wilmar Sugar and unions representing mill workers to prove they are serious about resolving their long-running pay dispute by getting out of the way and letting the independent umpire decide a fair and reasonable outcome.
After many months of fruitless and increasingly bitter negotiations, it’s time for both parties to step aside and let the Fair Work Commission decide, CANEGROWERS Chairman Owen Menkens said.
“It’s clear that the parties involved are either unable or reluctant to reach an agreement, despite the damage it’s doing to farming families, the sugarcane industry, or their own communities,” Mr Menkens said.
“We have said repeatedly that workers deserve to be represented and achieve a fair pay deal and milling companies must be financially viable. But this dispute has become increasingly hostile and there is no sign of a compromise on the horizon.
“ CANEGROWERS has taken strong action already. Our representatives have had several meetings with Wilmar officials and union senior officials. The response to these discussions has been parlous with rumour, inconsistent communication and often misinformation infecting the confidence of the whole industry and hurting people in the community.
“Enough is enough we have written again to Wilmar and the unions’ leadership, calling on them to apply to the Fair Work Commission to commence an arbitration process so that the strikes can stop and a deal can be struck so that farmers and contractors can have certainty.
“What we’re saying is, you’ve had your chance to reach a compromise acceptable to both sides and you’ve failed. This can’t continue indefinitely. It’s impacting the harvest, it’s impacting growers and contractors, it’s impacting families, it’s impacting the industry, and it’s impacting communities.
“It’s time to admit you’ve reached an intractable stalemate, step aside and let an independent third party decide the issue.”
“The Fair Work Commission exists and has the ability to step in and arbitrate in such circumstances and that is clearly what has to happen now. Even then that process will take some time and a resolution is needed NOW, so stop the bickering and make a deal.
“The current rolling stoppages at Wilmar mills, which crush about fifty percent of Queensland’s sugarcane, have already cost growers and contractors dearly, not just financially but also in terms of the stress and anxiety they’re experiencing.
“It’s already a difficult season, and if we’re to have any chance of success we need to start pulling in the same direction, working together to make up ground, not continuing to be hampered by strike action.
“For everyone’s sake, either do a deal now, or engage the Fair Work Commission, let them resolve the issue that you are clearly unable to. Let’s get this crop off and try to make the 2024 season a success.”
With just a few months until crushing is scheduled to come to a close in most cane growing districts, we check in to see how the season has fared so far.
*statistics reflect the week ending 17 August 2024.
We started late due to transport issues with getting our sugarcane trucked to Mulgrave Mill following the closure of Mossman Mill. There have been quite a lot of teething problems with getting the cane unloaded and through the mill. We’ve also had some breakdowns and a lot of wet weather that have held up mill operations. We’ve lost a few drivers during rain stoppages because if they can’t work, they tend to go elsewhere.
There were some hiccups at the start, but it’s definitely getting better. More recently, things have started to ramp up. Each week is better than it was the week before, but it’s still very slow and I’m not sure if we’re going to get the crop off yet. Trying to keep the growers’ spirits up has been a bit difficult. It’s been an extremely tough year for everyone.
The Tableland mill commenced crushing in the last week of May 2024 with an anticipated crop estimate of 890,000 tonnes. This comprises of approximately 860,000 tonnes of Tableland cane and 30,000 tonnes of former Mossman Mill contracted cane grown in the Julatten area, which has now been contracted to Tableland Mill.
This would have been the largest crop to be crushed at Tableland Mill since its opening in 1998 and would present some challenges to crush in a reasonable season length.
However, as the crush has progressed, disappointingly we are seeing a significant drop in the forecast crop estimates (10–15 %) , which may alleviate the pressure of a very late end to the season’s crush. This decline in yield is believed to be because of the great amount of rain (almost twice the average annual rainfall at 1500mm) received during Cyclone Jasper and the remainder of the wet season, which caused a large amount of waterlogging in many paddocks.
The estimate has now been revised down to 851,000 tonnes and an estimated end of crush date of 13 December. Tableland Mill has been performing quite well to date with an availability of 97%, which I believe is the highest in the state.
Our main concern at the moment is that the weather stays relatively dry through to the end of December so that we can take the whole crop off without the risk of any standover cane.
It hasn’t been a perfect year, far from it and we are very much behind because of persistent, annoying rain. It’s held up the planting as well, which will affect next year’s season.
Harvesters are having trouble keeping up when the Mulgrave mill is running. Mill performance has generally been good, but the mill has had ongoing issues with number 7 boiler.
The Cairns district got hit by flooding from ex TC Jasper in December, and then there were waterlogged fields from February on,
which has affected the crop, you can’t deny it. It’s 15 to 20 per cent down on other years, so it is actually the perfect season to be also crushing Mossman’s cane. Growers are doing their best and when it’s fine, they’re focused on getting their planting done and looking forward to next year.
After a less than average season last year, growers were looking for a prominent season this year. The rainfall from ex TC Jasper in December didn’t help and 2024 has turned into a disaster.
Not much cane has been cut, not much area has been planted and wet weather from February to June was less than ideal. Tonnes per hectare and CCS are below average.
Hopefully growers can soldier on through it, but it’s going to take a huge effort on behalf of the mill, the harvesters and the growers for a turnaround in 2025.
The tropical north has endured an unusually wet year. Even though the total amount of rain for the calendar year has exceeded 4400mm, it is the number of days of recorded rain that has been most problematic. Tully is known for its rainfall, but up to 13 August there was 160 days of recorded rain out of 266 days.
The season started on 18 June, which is three days after the traditional start date of
15 June. In the previous two years, we were fortunate enough to be able to start in the last week of May. Early season start dates tend to assist next year’s crop, particularly if the season is going to proceed past the last week of November.
To finish the season in a reasonable time frame, we are going to have to have everything on our side, including favourable weather and mill availability. The current estimate is 76.81 tonnes per hectare, down from 86.43 tonnes per hectare from the original estimate. The mill has the potential to process the entire 2024 crop, which will probably finish up between 2,100,000 and 2,200,000 tonnes.
It has been a challenging season so far, but farmers remain optimistic about the rest of the year. As daylight hours get longer and warmer, the ground will dry out more rapidly and allow farmers to get some paddock work done.
The crush started very slowly. Between the impacts of wet weather and industrial action, we are way behind where we should be.
After this last rainfall event, it’s going to take a while before we can get to full crushing capacity and continued industrial action only exacerbates the problem.
We need minimal delays from here on in to get our crop off. We’ve talked to the unions and Wilmar management and tried to impress on them that there is a thirdparty knock-on effect of their actions, which impacts our whole district.
We had a wet start to the crush and then we have had industrial action as well. The industrial action has cost us more than a week and it is still not resolved.
“Pioneer and Invicta mills were running poorly, which has extended the crush as well. We are working with Wilmar to transfer cane to equalise the end date as best as we can.
Unfortunately, the Burdekin received widespread heavy rain on 11 and 12 August, leading to a two-week stop of the crush which is very concerning. The other issue is now the cane will grow on, so the crush is now on track for a late December finish.
It’s been a frustrating start to crushing, which was delayed for two weeks because the mill was not ready on time.
Since then, crushing has been slow, hampered by industrial action, poor mill performance and two weeks lost so far due to wet weather. The delays are frustrating growers and harvesting groups alike.
The crush finish date is pushing out to midto-late December at this stage.
After a bumpy start, Racecourse and Farleigh mills have settled into a good crushing rate, but Marian Mill continues to be a real problem. It’s the biggest mill in the area and it’s crushed the least amount of cane due to mechanical issues.
We’ve had a few wet weather stoppages, including a three-day stop in August, but the reason we are so far behind is milling performance, especially at Marian. It’s been a real problem child.
CCS content is high, and the crop is currently at 106.8% of the original estimate, but we expect that to fall off during the back end of the year.
It’s been a very disappointing start to the Plane Creek crushing season. It’s been one thing after another including the rolling industrial dispute. This has been exacerbated by several rain events early in the crush, and the reality that the mill was not mechanically ready, with repeated breakdowns occurring and delaying processing. It’s been a very rough start.
It’s looking more and more like this will be the fourth year in a row we’ll leave standover cane. The crop is larger than initial estimates and further rain will only see this increase. Current estimates would add another two weeks to the crush, which is already behind by about 20–25%.
Milling capacity and reliability are integral to grower confidence and seeing these rectified would give growers the assurance they need to further invest in the industry. It’s frustrating that it’s been such a disappointing start, given that sugar prices are still at a reasonable level.
We’ve had a good start and there has been good mill performance. Bundaberg Mill did some pre-season cane before the core season started which ironed out some of the bugs.
CCS was a bit ordinary to begin with, and we had a damp start. More recently we’ve had cool, fine weather that’s brought the CCS up and things are progressing okay.
There are some growers who are keen to start the crush earlier because it fits in with their overall farming program.
We’ve had a slow start with abnormally high mill breakdowns mixed with wet weather. Unfortunately, harvesting stopped mid-August for just over a week with reports of over 120mm of rain across the region.
It’s a reasonable sized crop with Maryborough and Isis sugarcane combined.
It would be good to get an uninterrupted crush moving forward.
We’ve actually got quite a good crop in Rocky Point this year. Probably 35% of that crop was standover. We had a lot of rainfall in the early part of 2024, which in some cases was detrimental to the smaller cane and low lying areas. We did lose some cane to flooding across the district. About 1 or 2 per cent of the total crop was affected by the continual wet weather and in some cases cane was completely lost.
The season was scheduled to start on 1 July but it was too wet and it was rescheduled for a start on the 15 July. The mill then advised us a couple of days prior that they were not ready to start, and it was put back to 22 July. It was very frustrating for growers to not actually get up and running – our start date is written into the CSA and they should have been ready on 1 July. We
lost a whole week of dry weather. When we actually got going, we had two weeks of dry conditions, but the mill was only crushing at about 50% available time and they had multiple breakdowns.
In the second week of August 100 millimetres of rain fell across the district which ceased harvesting for nine days. When we got going again, we started up under very wet conditions and a lot of the growers were not able to harvest their preferred crop. Growers actually harvested one-year-old cane instead of two-year-old cane in most cases.
Conditions have since dried out and most growers have now re-entered the paddock cutting two-year-old cane but on average the crop is probably tending down slightly from original estimate. CCS is tracking at 13.7.
I am concerned that we will be leaving standover in the field again unless the mill reduces its lost time. We have a long way to go.
Sugarcane has once again proved to be one of the Royal Queensland Show’s sweetest attractions, with up to ten thousand people passing through the industry stand during last month’s Ekka in Brisbane.
Hosted by CANEGROWERS , with strong support from Sunshine Sugar, Sugar Research Australia, and the Queensland Farmers’ Federation, the sugarcane industry stand has gone from strength to strength since making its long-awaited Ekka return in 2022.
Even heavy rain mid-week couldn’t dampen spirits, with CANEGROWERS Chairman Owen Menkens amazed by the positive feedback from visitors.
“I had the privilege of working on the stand one afternoon and witnessing firsthand how interested and enthusiastic people are about the industry,” Mr Menkens said.
“It’s amazing to realise how many people have a connection to sugarcane, whether through family or friends, working in the industry, or having visited cane-growing regions as children.
“So many people just wanted to come to the stand and reflect on their positive experiences with our industry.”
A virtual reality journey through the industry was a huge drawcard again this year, with people of all ages and walks of life enjoying the immersive experience.
“We had new state-of-the-art headsets and a brand new 360-degree VR video
that took people on a journey through the industry, from planting and growing through to harvesting, milling, and exporting raw sugar,” Mr Menkens said.
“I’m really pleased to see the significant efforts CANEGROWERS is going to every day, working harder to get the positive stories about agriculture out to the whole community.”
BY DAN GALLIGAN, CEO, CANEGROWERS
Last month in the magazine I spoke of the power of collaboration in advocacy.
Not only is it powerful, it is necessary. The more we work together the greater the outcomes. However collaboration does take time, money, effort and willingness to not win at all costs nor to be “seen” to be the best, but instead see the longer-term outcome. Not all organisations are willing to do this, but to be successful organisations and professional advocates need to first agree to the principle behind collaborative advocacy.
One month on, CANEGROWERS has delivered on several powerful examples. The industry is on the cusp of a potential new horizon of economic activity with emerging developments in the bioeconomy, particularly in relation to biofuels – sustainable aviation fuel and biodiesel.
It is work we started on in 2021 with other industry groups and our development of the Sugar Plus road map. This has spring boarded us to be working most recently with other members of Bioenergy Australia in the Renewable Fuels Meet Queensland Parliament briefings and events with Queensland politicians from all parties over the past month.
In addition, just the week before this magazine was published, we have worked with new and old partners, GrainGrowers, a fellow member of National Farmers’ Federation and the Australian Sugar Milling Council (ASMC) to jointly call for a national biofuels feedstock strategy. We believe that if we are to see a domestic biofuels industry established, we need supporting policy that encourages investment in production and demand for biofuels. However this alone only builds demand and markets and does not guarantee supply of core product.
A national biofuels feedstock strategy would look at this emerging industry from a holistic approach to ensure there is sufficient feedstock, adequately aggregated and appropriately managed through either existing or new transport infrastructure. Finally, the strategy must ensure farmers are recognised in the supply chain and their resources supported in land use planning, farm management practices and associated environmental standards and conditions.
With a national strategy we can achieve our ideal goal of a complimentary biofuels supply chain that provides diversification for our great and successful existing sugar industry.
Our collaboration with GrainGrowers and ASMC has brought national attention to the major missing piece in the development of the biofuels industry – the management and support for primary producers.
The potential benefits of this emerging industry are profound for Queensland’s regional communities. But for these benefits to be shared it will only happen if there is acknowledgement of all primary producers and their contribution to this future success.
For this reason, CANEGROWERS will continue to work patiently but diligently and strategically with like-minded organisations that share our objectives.
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CANEGROWERS gathered some of the newer Brisbane-based based staff and embarked on an industry familiarisation tour to the Wide Bay region last month.
The three-day tour covered production aspects from planting through to export, with an overview of one-eye set planting by Bundaberg Sugar Services and a tour through the Millaquin Sugar Mill. While in Bundaberg there was an extensive tour through the Bundaberg Sugar Terminal with views at the weighbridge, within the sheds, above the sugar mounds, below the shed conveyers, and also on the dock.
Staff received a crash course in the very important cane analysis program from Sarah Standen from CANEGROWERS Cairns Region.
Moving onto Childers the staff saw the harvest in action with father-and-son team Tony and Mitchell Russo, and enjoyed the opportunity to board the harvester with Mitch to see first-hand how the cane is cut. Then onto a visit to the trans-loader to observe the transfer of Maryborough cane from vehicle to rail.
CANEGROWERS staff and directors from Bundaberg CANEGROWERS and CANEGROWERS Isis were invaluable in organising the tour.
BY RENEE CLUFF
New data shows Queensland’s sugarcane sector recorded a bumper value season in 2023/24.
The State Government’s AgTrends figures show the gross value of sugarcane crops exceeded $2-billion last financial year, while more than a billion dollars was added to the industry’s total through sugar processing.
Those figures are well above the five-year average and outstrip each season’s data dating back to 2008.
2024/25 gross value for the sugar industry is lower but remains well above average.
“The rise in gross value is due to high world sugar prices and a relatively low exchange rate giving a sugarcane price of about 50% higher than the 10-year average,” said CANEGROWERS Senior Manager for Industry, Burn Ashburner.“
Sugarcane
June
June
This has been driven by a world deficit of sugar in the last five years mostly due to reduced crops in Brazil and Thailand.”
Sugarcane remains among the state’s highest value commodities, beaten only by cattle + calves and meat processing in 2023/24, which contributed $5.71-billion and $2.4-billion respectively to Queensland’s economy.
Bundaberg, the Burdekin and the Cassowary Coast are in the top five highest value Local Government Areas (LGAs) for agricultural production.
To view the raw data, go to data.qld. gov.au/dataset/agtrends-data
BY OWEN MENKENS, Chairman, CANEGROWERS
I was in Canberra recently for the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) Leaders summit.
This biennial event is a gathering of all the agricultural leaders to engage with and discuss the future direction of NFF. The program was centred around the NFF 2030 roadmap and its five pillars which are customers and the value chain, growing sustainably, unlocking innovation, people and communities and capital risk management.
As farmers we need to work together to get better outcomes from the government and our customers to continue to enhance and grow our businesses. It is interesting to talk to other agricultural representatives about the struggles they face which are like ours.
We are working with NFF on the proposed changes to rules around the use of paraquat which could have a massive impact on cane farmers. Paraquat is used regularly in the grains industry as well so going to the regulators with a united argument will help our chances going forward.
Canberra is not a particularly big place, but it is full of industry organisations and lobby groups like the NFF all looking to influence the direction of government policy. Over 80% of people in Australia live in capital cities that means that 80% of the politicians come from the cities. Therefore, we have to work extra hard to get our point across. I had a good opportunity to talk with many politicians as well while there as parliament was sitting.
The banning of live sheep exports shows we need to be on the frontline when it comes to our social licence to operate otherwise the extremist elements in the community can force government to shut you down. Advocacy is a team sport so all of agriculture needs to come together to get our message across.
I also had an opportunity to visit our CANEGROWERS stall at the EKKA on 12 August. The EKKA is a great opportunity to inform the Brisbane residents of the importance of our industry. The Brisbane office along with SRA and QFF worked very hard to keep the stall staffed over the 9-day period. They handed out over 5,000 information packs on the industry as well as talking to well in excess of 10,000 people who visited the stall.
This program is all part of our plan to keep positive messages about our industry and its importance to the Queensland economy. We also have done a lot of work in the education sector by providing curriculum material for both primary and high school teachers and students. This program is all about making sure our industry is known and respected both as an important part of the economy and great place to have a career in.
Keeping our industry at the forefront both in Brisbane and Canberra is fundamental to our long-term viability. We are a strong organisation in the agricultural sector. We should be proud of that and leverage it to our best best advantage for the future.
BY KIRILI LAMB AND JOHN EDEN CANEGROWERS MACKAY
The Mackay Irrigation Project (MIP) has run for the past four years, delivered by CANEGROWERS Mackay and led by the district’s Agricultural Economist John Eden. The project has shown that bang for buck – when it comes to profitability and environmental outcomes – lies with using technology to getting both the quanta and timing right.
The MIP has worked with a group of 12 growers to develop better irrigation strategies that would not only increase productivity and profitability but have an enduring positive impact on water quality by improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). The project area was assessed over 2,757 hectares of harvested cane on average, over 3 years. The project achieved a yield increase of 20% and an estimated saving of applied N of 19%. NUE improvements across all hectares and averaged over 3 years was reduced from 1.68kgN/tc to 1.39 kgN/tc. Critical, also, is the fact that the return on investment (ROI) across all projects averaged 105%. Increased efficiencies amounted to $231,870 and the total increase in revenue from improved efficiencies as well as crop income was $1,262,000.
Importantly, the project has had multiple aims, of demonstrating productivity benefits as well as environmental outcomes. In a time where there is social and scientific pressure to improve water quality in reef catchments and the shared GBR lagoon, it is critical that the industry is proactive in finding solutions that meet a triple bottom line, delivering economic, environmental and social benefits.
“The project was fortunate to be included in the Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Program, funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great
Barrier Reef Foundation, who were prepared to look outside the square to support the project’s research and aims,” said John Eden.
The project sought to implement the following strategies to achieve its goals. These included:
Re-define soil hydrological/ chemical characteristics to better define soil/crop water requirements through data collection and analysis of 33 soil cores.
Meeting crop demand for water economically via scheduling tools using a combination of soil moisture probes and the IrrigWeb and IrriSAT modelling platforms. Defining Plant Available Water (PAW), Readily Available Water (RAW) and Effective Rooting Depth (ERD) based on farm variabilities. Generic industry data is not sufficient.
The soil moisture probes include Volumetric Ion Content (VIC) sensors which allows the ability to track nutrient solutes down the profile. This data was verified using the APSIM model and related literature including previous Reef Trust work by Rohde et al.
Interrogation of the data gleaned from the above work gave the project the information to create irrigation strategies that would improve irrigation management. Namely, apply the right quantum of water at the right time to ensure
improved crop growth and the timing of nutrient solute extraction for not only improved NUE but for environmental benefits.
Improve systems efficiencies and performance via on farm irrigation audits and funding for upgrades or implementing recommendations.
Ensuring that by meeting crop demand for water that there is an increase in profitability.
The MIP has demonstrated that it is about applying the right quanta of irrigation at the right time.
“By using available technologies, we are able to get the right balance of soil moisture and apply the right amounts of water at the right time,” John said. “Overwatering will induce runoff and deep drainage and reduce crop growth. Underwatering will restrict WUE and reduce crop growth and hence yield and increase losses to the environment.”
Improving crop quality has also been a key aim of the project in determining dry down strategies and strategies to improve extraction rates by the sugarcane plant. The ability to manipulate scheduling to achieve aerobic conditions is also important
but this is not always possible and leads to the realm of really fine-tuning irrigation strategy for improved soil health and reducing both volatilisation and denitrification of N.
“NUE calculations show potential savings of approximately 25kg/ ha of nitrogen, reducing losses to runoff, drainage, volatilisation and denitrification,” Mr Eden said. “So, in my mind there is better bang for buck by increasing yields and improving NUE as opposed to cutting nitrogen rates beyond scientific consensus.”
“Unexpectedly, results over the duration of the project demonstrated improved ratoonability, increased yields from older ratoons, improved ratoon longevity, particularly where the strategies were adhered to. Again, adherence is not always possible due to a host of factors, including mill reliability and the weather.”
Homebush grower Wayne Simpson has been involved in the project, and said: “I was particularly impressed with how well the older ratoons performed and have let them run for another year.”
Wayne has a management unit of 26ha with ratoons ranging from 6-8th ratoon and still averaging 109t/ha.
In Mackay and Plane Creek districts, dryland systems remain the norm, which is driven not just by accessibility to irrigation water, but by factors such as the cost of inputs like electricity and water. Efficiencies play a major role.
Peter Doyle from Marian said working with the MIP helped resolve some of his issues in making the most of irrigation. He reduced pumping costs from $142/ML to $110/ML and instigated upgrades and optimisation of equipment as well as telemetry technology enabling a 200ML/annum increase in water usage and saving $10,500/annum on labour costs.
“The problem was, previously, I could not get enough water on quickly enough and it was labour intensive impacting my other farm management tasks,” said Peter. “It’s not just about growing extra cane, irrigation also gives you a somewhat guaranteed income.”
Evening out production and farm income has been at the crux of the project.
“Total rainfall and especially rainfall distribution patterns have an enormous impact on the volatility of cane production,” John Eden said.
“Apart from crop diseases Orange Rust in 2000 and Smut in 2008, and tropical cyclones Ului in 2010 and Debbie in 2017, the major contributor to reduced yields in the Mackay/Plane Creek area is crop water deficit.”
Nuances within soil types and within management units need to be quantified.
“Irrigation is not an exact science as there are many variables at play. The more information that can be provided from technology (hardware and software, the greater the understanding and impact.”
Wayne Vickers from Marian set out to prove that the irrigation strategies promulgated would increase growth rates. Wayne judiciously measured stalk growth rates through the season and by comparing these rates to soil moisture content and the timing of irrigations proved the point.
“Sometimes it’s just a simple case of ensuring that the irrigation systems have the ability to apply the water at the right time,” said John.
Ross Williams from Bakers Creek spoke about strategies to meet postharvest water demand.
“One of the major issues under a centre pivot is attempting to reestablish the ratoon crop as quickly as possible but harvesting operations impact on the ability to do that. By cutting the Pivot into four management units you are better able to achieve this. Sometimes you can lose a whole month of growth before cutting an area out,” said Ross.
While the project has formally concluded, some workshops will be run in coming months, and longer term, it would be positive to see the industry extend on the project’s investigations and learnings.
“There is still a lot to learn, verify and quantify, especially the link between NUE and WUE, but the MIP has made a good start to the practical improvement of irrigation management,” said John.
If you are interested in reviewing MIP case studies and Fact Sheets, please go to mackaycanegrowers.com.au/ farm-economics
This project was a part of the Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Program, funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
Growers Ross Williams (centre) and Wayne Simpson (top right) both have irrigation storages connected to Mackay’s Rural Water Reuse scheme
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By Elliott Apel, Assistant Manager Trading & Risk
The latest harvesting data from Centre South Brazil showed 332 million tonnes of cane had been harvested and 20.7 million tonnes of sugar produced as of 1 August, indicating the world’s largest sugar producer is now more than 50% of the way through their current season. The sugar mix again disappointed the market, tracking at 49.16% for the season, while cane yields are showing signs of decline due to drought conditions. Should Brazil produce 40-40.5 million tonnes of sugar as expected and complete harvesting significantly earlier than last year, it is likely that supply will be tight in the first quarter of 2025.
There has been much ambiguity around Indian production for the upcoming 2024/25 Season following aboveaverage rainfall in the key cane-growing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Market consensus is forecasting 30-31.5 million tonnes of sugar will be produced, however, some outliers are forecasting more than 33 million tonnes. Reportedly an anonymous government source has stated that the Indian government is not interested in exporting sugar anytime soon in order to protect domestic stocks and its ethanol ambitions, despite the Indian Sugar Millers Association’s (ISMA) lobbying efforts.
The monsoon season in Thailand has provided beneficial rainfall for many key cane areas with 50-100mm recorded in early August and further widespread heavy rain forecast. Sugar production is expected to increase by approximately 20% from last year’s disastrous crop to 10-11 million tonnes of sugar.
A non-sugar macroeconomic meltdown caused by US recession fears saw most commodity and equity markets dragged lower in early August, with ICE 11 speculators selling off to a 62,000-lot net short position. As of 13 August, some speculators had begun to buy back their positions and held a reduced position of 45,775 lots net short.
The Australian Dollar (AUD) experienced extreme volatility in August, falling rapidly, albeit briefly, to lows of 63.50 US cents early in the month as a wave of US recession concerns overcame markets. As these fears eased, the AUD traded back above 67 US cents. The Fed is expected to commence rate cutting now that inflation has returned to below 3% for the first time since 2021. In contrast, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) do not have the luxury of considering cutting interest rates as inflation remains sticky.
The outlook ratings above are in relation to AUD/tonne sugar prices. A bullish outlook is considered positive. A bearish outlook is considered negative.
The highest grower-managed pricing levels achieved across all growing regions using QSL products to date (all gross price actual/tonne) are:
• 2024 Target Price = $840 / IFC $870 (Jul24)
• 2025 Target Price = $735 / IFC $735 (Oct25)
• 2026 Target Price = $685 / IFC $690 (Jul26)
• 2027 Target Price = $650
• 2028 Target Price = $550
Key Dates:
• 20 September: Any unpriced tonnage allocated to the ICE 11 October 2024 contract through the Individual Futures Contract and Self-Managed Harvest Contract that is not rolled by this date will be priced by QSL at the next market opportunity.
• 20 September: Any 2024-Season Target Price Contract tonnage not priced by this date will automatically have its pricing window extended and roll costs may apply.
It is with sadness that we heard of the passing on 25 July of former Koumala grower and long-serving grower representative Serg Berardi, after a determined fight against cancer.
We extend condolences to Serg’s wife Sandy and family, and to his many friends.
“ CANEGROWERS Mackay board, staff and members pay our deepest respects to the man, acknowledging Serg’s years of dedicated service to the grower community of Plane Creek and Mackay,
and with CANEGROWERS Mackay,” said MCL Chairman Kevin Borg.
From 1980, after a trip to Italy with family, Serg connected with his farming roots, after working in mining. Farm work allowed him to be closer to his fiance, Sandy, and they eventually became farmers in their own right, Serg having also partnered with family in growing and harvesting operations.
Mr Berardi had served as a valued representative since 1994, on Plane Creek Mill Suppliers and Area Committees, stepping up fill a vacancy following the retirement of Allan Millington and on the Mackay CANEGROWERS Ltd Board twice, in 2000, then returning in 2004 to serve until his retirement from farming and from grower representation in July 2021, moving to Brisbane.
In November 2020, in a Billet profile story. Mr Berardi spoke of his love of farming and his experience as a grower representative: “I feel privileged to be serving on CANEGROWERS . Growers need industry-wide representation. By remaining united, the industry can achieve great things,” he said.
Kevin, who also started his representative career in Plane Creek in the same year as Mr Berardi. remembered his friend Serg fondly, recalling his committment and reliable support in grower meetings and in grower representation.
Mr Berardi remained an Associate Member of the organisation in retirement. His service, friendship and camaraderie will be long remembered.
More than 5,000 people flocked to the little town of Harwood on the banks of the Clarence River in northern New South Wales on Sunday 25 August to celebrate a key milestone for the Harwood Mill.
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Visitors looked back on the history of the Harwood sugar mill, explored the community influences in the region, and compared the changes from the days of hand-cutting cane with tugboats towing barges of cane along the river to the current high-tech logistics of today’s industry. The region is known for its resilience and stoicism, and the community came together to celebrate 150 years of the mill’s operations with a festive passion for their industry.
Sunshine Sugar’s Operation Manager Scott Thompson told ABC radio the factory has come a long way since its humble beginnings back in 1875.
“We have a fleet of nine trucks at the moment going 24/7delivering the cane from all the farms,” Mr Thompson said.
The celebrations used themilestone to promote the resilience of the industry, which has endured floods, fires and droughts.
BY RENEE CLUFF
Adrian Bush has returned to the family farm near Tully, where he’s progressing his father’s legacy.
Following a distinguished stint in the fast-paced, high-pressure mining sector, mechanical engineer Adrian Bush is putting his knowledge and expertise to good use in the sugarcane industry and honing new skills along the way.
Adrian grew up on the family property in the mountain-fringed, picturesque Kennedy Valley, before his mining career took him to Central Queensland and Orange in New South Wales.
The latter role included leading a team of 500 at one of Australia’s largest underground mines. “It was great fun, it was full-on, and I loved it,” Adrian said of the experience. “I had a really big role in a huge operation which was full of energy, it was exciting, and suited me well. We were pulling 32-million tonnes per year from 1.5 kilometres underground which was challenging every day.”
It was a busy 15 years in mining, during which he also married his wife Philippa and together they had three children: Nine-year-old Jackson, sixyear-old Evelyn, and Liam, who is about to turn three.
“Taking the job in Orange was the best move we ever made, it was lifechanging,” Adrian said. “The kids would make snowmen in the front yard every year, so it was an experience you’d never get here.
“In the same way, the decision about the time to come home was unreal as well.
“The kids are at the right age and they love the farm. I had the best life growing up on a farm.
While it was always the plan to return to Far North Queensland, the timing of the move two years ago was prompted
“You can never get a better upbringing than being on a farm”
by his father’s ill health. Geoff Bush, a stalwart of the sugarcane and banana industries, died late last year and Adrian cherishes the 12 months he was able to spend with his father.
A passion project the pair shared was Adrian’s acquisition of a former, unsuccessful teak plantation. Adrian now views the parcel of land as a legacy he can leave for his own children. After being cleared and drainage works completed, the blocks were planted with sugarcane for the first time this year. It was an emotional milestone for Adrian.
“Dad saw the potential and I’m now seeing it through,” he said. “It’s a new challenge and an opportunity. You’ll never get another parcel of land in this area of a decent scale that the kids can also own and continue on.”
Another farm deep in the Kennedy Valley that Adrian purchased with his father a decade ago will now be the location of the family’s new home. A driveway has been marked out and house pad established ready for the build.
In all, Adrian and Philippa now have 380 hectares under sugar and they’ve hit the ground running, even taking out the prestigious Mangrove Jack award at the Tully Productivity Awards last season for best practice farming. The honour recognises sustainable farming that is also productive and profitable.
Initiatives that helped secure the award include the nitrogen (N) reductions through legume fallow cropping, optimised drainage design to reduce sediment run-off and fine-tuned nutrient management planning, which is aided by Adrian’s sister, agricultural consultant Charissa Rixon.
“When it comes to nutrient management planning, it’s data and being an engineer, I really enjoy data,” Adrian said. “There’s lots of stuff I want to trial. I’ve already transitioned from non-GPS – everything’s now run under GPS so we’re running a lot more controlled traffic during the farming cycle.
“My other focus is around variety selection. A huge opportunity is transitioning some of the older varieties and optimising some of the newer varieties in combination with the high-performing older varieties and being smart about soil choice versus variety and harvest cycles. You can spreadsheet the world out of that but in the end, you’ve got to have some experience.
“The challenge for me is not having too many varieties. If you have too many, it becomes an unnecessary challenge. If I can have six or seven varieties, the reality is each year, I’m planting probably two or three varieties and
I’m going to have clean seed from the previous year developed to plant out.
“I’m also strong with my legume crops, I’ll always preference fallow over replant. You can see the benefit in the soil.
“At the end of the day, you’re trying to maximise the return from your dirt – that’s what we do”
Adrian plants a mixture of sunn hemp, cowpea, dolichos lablab and soybean directly drilled in the mound. He’s also planted sunflowers, mainly for the aesthetics.
“Jackson and Philippa love flowers and we had endless flowers on the table, so that’s exactly why I did it,” he said. “They’re not a bad provider of green manure and N but they’re not the same as your sunn hemps for example.”
While Adrian has brought new skills and experiences from his mining
background to his farming endeavours, he says the path has been made smoother through the generosity of his neighbours in sharing their knowledge, time and even equipment.
Cousin Graham Bush and neighbour David Singh received special mentions.
“You can’t ask for better neighbours,” Adrian said. “They are always willing to share knowledge or lend me equipment to get the best out of my farm, they just go above and beyond. It is so refreshing to be in a farming area where everyone works together and helps one another out.”
But it hasn’t all been sunflowers and rainbows. One of main challenges they’ve faced as a collective is cane grubs.
“This is an area that’s prime for them because they like the lighter, softer soils that don’t get waterlogged,” Adrian said. “But even some of our heavier soils are also getting some damage.”
A targeted approach to imidacloprid applications has been vital.
“You’ve got to make sure you put it in the right location, the right depth at the right time,” Adrian explained. “Grub pressure comes in very late in the year and if you’ve applied it early in that July/August period, the efficacy can drop out by the time you really need it around January/February, when the grubs are really starting to do damage.
“I’m looking at different application methods to try to get it on later in the ratoons, rather than having to do it when I stool split. For instance, in the corn industry they side dress with a little cultivator and a spray nozzle. It’s definitely economically smart to do something, because I’ll be around 1500 tonnes down this year and I’m definitely not the worst.
“There are a few factors we need to understand better, and it’s no good me doing something here and the neighbour not doing it – you’ve got to work it as a collective and we’re all definitely focused on it because we’re all being impacted.”
Already, Adrian’s had a win on his Dallachy Creek farm.
“It’s a 75-hectare block and I planted 65 of it, so there were only 10 hectares left that hadn’t been affected by grubs over the previous two years,” he outlined. “I made sure when I filled it in, I applied the imidacloprid. Historically, that application would happen at plant but through some of the advice from Sugar Research Australia and CANEGROWERS meetings, it was very apparent that the later you apply it, the better.
“At this stage, we’ve got minimal damage there, so applying the imidacloprid far later and separate to when we planted has been effective. I changed my practice in the nick of time to be honest, otherwise it would have had serious damage.”
As for future farming goals, Adrian has his eye on honing precision management within blocks.
“If I use the mining metaphor, there are many drill holes in an ore body, and I know where the highest grade is and it has to be precise because it’s so expensive to manage,” he said. “In the same way, putting large volumes of fertiliser on a low production area doesn’t make a lot of sense. When it comes to improving areas, gypsum’s a very expensive product when you’re putting a lot on, but you may only need it in a certain area to get the yield potential versus spreading it across the whole paddock.
“We’ve got all the variable rate application gear now, but we just need to be able to overlay that with the actual yield data and then I can make more targeted decisions.
“In the wheat and other broadacre industries, it’s just a given. In the sugarcane industry, we just haven’t had that information placed into a useable, practical format yet by the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers).
“It’s coming.”
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BY KATE REARDON
The productivity of our crops is primarily governed by how much water can be accessed to meet the requirements of the crop.
In some situations, like the Wet Tropics, too much water can be the problem, but well over half of the Australian sugarcane crop relies on full or supplementary irrigation, and its management is a major driver of crop yield. However, not all growers who irrigate have access to enough water to meet the full requirements of each crop, and those with limited amounts of water need to time its use for maximum benefit.
Irrigation systems are designed and managed to meet crop demand for moisture as closely as possible, capitalising on rainfall when it can and achieving production outcomes. The most common irrigation systems used include furrow, overhead lowpressure systems, including centre pivot or lateral move, and overhead high-pressure systems, including
water winches and travelling booms. However, emerging technologies such as drip irrigation are being seen as a new way to irrigate as they conserve water and lower energy inputs.
The Smartcane BMP Irrigation and Drainage Management module focuses on the three core values; productivity, profitability and sustainability, recognising how growers manage the timing, amount and efficiency of water application to their crops. This includes accounting for the soil’s water holding capacity, the current soil water level and crop water requirement, and the efficiency of the application system.
During a certification audit, a grower’s drainage map, a sample of their scheduling records, and the farm’s irrigation systems are sighted. Growers who supplementary irrigate, defined as an average application of 1-4ML/ ha applied annually across all farms, need basic irrigation records for a representative collection of blocks to show when and where the water was
used for the greatest benefit. Growers applying more than 4 ML/ha need a complete set of irrigation records for a representative collection of blocks that shows how the applications were scheduled to meet crop needs.
Smartcane BMP has a team of locally based facilitators who can support growers to obtain their Smartcane BMP certification including what documentation is required during an audit. Becoming Smartcane BMP accredited is very straightforward, get involved by contacting your local facilitator to arrange a time for a pre-audit.
CANEGROWERS delivers the Smartcane BMP project (20222026) with funding from the Queensland Government’s Reef Water Quality Program and CANEGROWERS
July’s rainfall surpassed the monthly average by 58% with 106.1mm.
While not excessive rainfall, it was sufficient to stop Mulgrave Mill several times during the July – August period. The transfer of cane to Mulgrave from Mossman has been slow and not without its issues.
Constant communication has been required between harvesting contractors, Bray’s Transport and Mulgrave Mill. After 8 weeks of supply only around 31,000 tonnes of cane had been supplied and there are legitimate concerns that we will not get more than half the estimated crop delivered by the end of crushing, which for Mulgrave is currently the second last week of November.
The lack of data transparency is also of concern to growers who are finding it hard to reconcile the tonnes cut to the tonnes at the delivery point as there is only one reference point and that is after the trucks carrying the cane are unloaded. In mid-August we went to three harvesters during the day and two harvesters at night, with one day harvester on multi-lift only. It has been a continuous struggle to keep truck drivers, so truck numbers varied significantly day to day during periods in August.
Weekly transport hookups allow stakeholders to discuss ongoing and new issues, and this has been working well.
On the Tableland the Mossman growers delivered 4,467 tonnes over the first six weeks of their crushing.
The cane display was held at the Mossman Show and we congratulate all the winners for 2024: Class 1 – 3 sticks of an approved variety 1st Robert Porta; Class 2 – 3 sticks of 3 varieties 1st Anthony D’Addona; Class 3 – 6 heavy sticks of one variety 1st Brie Brie Estate; Champion Exhibit – Brie Brie Estate and Most Successful Exhibiter – Anthony D’Addona.
In early August we had a quick debrief with the Mossman Mill Liquidator – no buyer had been announced and the appointed Auction House were cataloguing lots for sale. We met with MSF Sugar on 7 August about the transport system and access to better data and cross-checking of tonnes.
On 14 August we met with the Katter Party to talk about the Mossman and Shire situation, they continue to commit to agitate where possible to make sure government action continues as planned. That same day we also met with the Mayor and CEO of the Douglas Shire Council to talk about the government funding and the allocation of the $5.9M. The funds had not been allocated to Council at that point and it had been agreed that State would appoint and work with the Consultants and Program Manager to develop
and produce the Mossman Transition Plan.
On 16 August we also met with the CEO and local representatives of the Rural Financial Counselling Service, who are available to help growers with both financial assistance and business coaching and wellness issues.
The weather gods have been good to the Tableland District in the last month with a total of less than 5mm.
Growers need to irrigate, as opposed to most other regions where wet weather has being interfering with harvest.
The Tableland Mill crushing rate has been averaging 170 tonnes/ hour, being less than the 200 tonnes/hour that had been set as the target. This has been attributed to many factors, cane supply, grub damage, transport issues and limited factory issues.
Fine weather has finally arrived with harvesting and planting is now in full swing across the region.
Unfortunately, up to this point the weather has not been conducive to farming across most of the catchments. The weather forecasts are still fickle, so the pressure is on to get the planting achieved in a timely fashion. Cooler nights
Grower representatives from both CANEGROWERS and Mossman Ag services started a questionnaire seeking information from growers that will assist us in advocating for growers and seeking out what it is they feel is needed to assist them with moving forward.
With the reduction in the crop size estimate from 896,000 to 850,000 the finish date would be the beginning of December. This is inclusive of Julatten cane.
A Pilot/Escort for Oversize loads course was held at the CANEGROWERS Tableland office. There were eight participants who attended. SmartAg QLD agreed to subsidise 75% of the cost of a pilot/escort course and this course was run by MotorSchool.
have been reflected in the CCS however the ongoing effects of Cyclone Jasper and the associated extreme weather are clearly seen in the updated estimates.
It is that time of year again for growers to start thinking about fallow crops for this rotation. Keep an eye out for the annual bean order form and we encourage you to order early.
Directors and staff members have prioritised their time while attending and updating on a cross section of matters, including Regional Planning Workshops, the Scientific Consensus Statement and Reef 2050 Plan. Elected representatives on the various management committees as per the Cane Supply Contracts have continued to engage with MSF Sugar on multiple issues relevant to the local industry.
CANEGROWERS members are reminded that across both the Mulgrave and South Johnstone Contracts, CANEGROWERS employ two very experienced Cane Analysis Auditors to ensure the integrity of all members payments pertaining to weights and CCS. Our auditors (employed by CANEGROWERS Cairns Region and CANEGROWERS Innisfail respectively) are Glenn Pope and Lyn Macdonald who
The on-again-off-again crushing season continued throughout August due to persevering rain events.
The official crop estimate has been revised, with below average yields coming off the back of ex TC Jasper’s deluge and the extended wet season that followed.
On a more positive note, CANEGROWERS Innisfail is managing two new projects to assist growers increase their productivity. Funding has been secured from the Commonwealth Government and MSF Sugar, through the National Feral Pig Management
bring a wealth of experience to the CANEGROWERS teams. Feel free to reach out with any queries.
Congratulations to all those who entered cane in this year’s Cairns Show Sugar Cane Competition. MC Dillon, Hesp Farming, JM&HR Amadio were all prominent in the winner’s circle with V Rossi and Sons being the overall winner and also being awarded the Champion Exhibit a Cane Knife Trophy sponsored by CANEGROWERS Cairns
Region. A big shout out to Matt Hessian and his team from MSF Sugar for stewarding the event.
enterprise-specific prioritisation and action planning tool.
CANEGROWERS Innisfail would also like to extend its thanks to colleagues in the Herbert River and Tully districts for recently hosting the Cassowary Coast Reef
Smart Farming project team. The inter-district knowledge sharing events included an insight into farm management practices on Chris Bosworth’s farm in Ingham, as well as an inspection of demonstrations established by Tully’s Variety Management Group.
The first 13 days of August recorded rain on 12 of those days, accumulating to 228mm on top of the 4200mm received in the calendar year.
Coordinator Program managed by Australian Pork Limited, to improve the effectiveness of best practice feral pig management and monitoring techniques for the Wet Tropics sugar industry. The cost of feral pig damage in the region was recently highlighted in a CANEGROWERS podcast involving three Innisfail district growers.
The second project, The Sugarcane Practice Change Program, is funded through the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program. It will improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency on sugarcane farms via an
Not much has changed since the end of the wet season, with rain recorded 160 days out of 226 days for the calendar year, which equivalates to 70.8% of the year up to 13 August. This figure does not include cloud covered days where no rain was recorded.
The yield continues to deteriorate compared to the initial estimate of 86.43 tonnes per hectare, to the current actual yield of 76.79 tonnes per hectare. As at 13 August, 568,717 tonnes or 24.63% of yield estimate has passed through the rollers, covering 21.72% of estimated area. Total estimated area for this year is 30,070 hectares.
The five dominating varieties supplied to the mill this season so far are in the following order, Q208 -163,500 tonnes, Q253 –154,500 tonnes, Q240 – 82,200
tonnes, QK228 – 62,300 tonnes, Q250 – 37,500 tonnes.
The top five varieties are currently contributing to more than 86% of the entire supply. Total varieties supplied to date is approximately 35. Current CCS is 12.82, which is relatively high considering the amount of rain and rain recorded days. The extended wet days are still impacting the planting, with reports of pockets of planting being done in the traditionally drier areas of the Tully milling district.
Feral pigs continue to terrorise the agricultural industry, particularly the cane industry and banana industry. Farmers are doing the best they can with the available resources. The compounding factor to the problem of feral pigs in the Cassowary Coast region is the percentage of National Parks. Cassowary Coast Council area is 4,688 square kilometres, with 70% of total area being a feral pig haven, with little or no threats from human intervention. Rats are impacting the fringe areas of paddocks, particularly where there is a water supply.
The 2024 season has been challenging for Herbert River growers.
Adverse weather conditions, ongoing industrial action, mill issues, and transport disruptions have significantly impacted operations. These factors combined have contributed to a less-than-ideal harvest season, affecting both productivity and morale within the sector. After week 8 the Herbert River mills have crushed 928,503 tonnes with a season to date CCS average of 12.6 CCS.
In response to recurring delays in the delivery of bins to sidings, CANEGROWERS Herbert River has implemented a text service for growers and contractors. This service aims to streamline
By this time of year, we should be over the halfway mark, but at the time of writing the district had only cut 30% of the crop and there is a lot of cane to get through and the clock is ticking.
The Burdekin temporarily ceased crushing on 12 August after receiving 60mm – 130mm of rain which stopped the district crushing for two weeks. The factories recommenced crushing again on 25 – 26 August and when the rain from June/July and stoppages for industrial action are taken into account, it is likely we will be crushing into the third week
the reporting process for late bins, an issue that has persisted for several seasons without resolution. By collecting real-time data on these delays, we hope to gather sufficient evidence to address this time-wasting issue and push for actionable solutions with the mill management.
Derailments have become an increasingly common occurrence this season, further complicating an already difficult harvest. According to the mill, the cause of these derailments is a combination of bin and line issues, as well as driver error. We are in active discussions with the mill to address these problems, particularly in the field sector, and are working towards solutions that will reduce these disruptions.
with better mill performance out of Invicta and Pioneer Mills.
Unfortunately, the Enterprise Agreement dispute between Wilmar and the Unions rolled on into August and remained unresolved at the time of writing and the Burdekin crushing continues to be impacted by industrial action which has escalated.
It was an active month for water issues with CBL attending meetings for updates with; Sunwater Community Advisory Committee, Burdekin Water Plan Working Group and QCA Price Path workshops.
We are truly blessed in the Burdekin for our water
in December which has all the makings of a disaster for the region.
The equity positions across the four mills also requires addressing as Invicta (29%) and Pioneer (26%) Mills are well behind the currently better performing mills of Inkerman (34%) and Kalamia (34%).
CBL asked Wilmar to transfer cane to Inkerman and Kalamia Mills and Wilmar have devised a transfer plan that will provide some assistance over time. Whilst it is positive Wilmar are doing some cane transfer and reallocation of tonnages, their preferred position is to try and catch up the affected factories
resources which provides growers with the ability and confidence to grow the best crop they can.
CBL attended the BPS AGM and it was a very informative meeting and we are grateful to the BPS team for the great job they do on behalf of the local Burdekin sugarcane industry.
CBL members featured prominently in productivity awards and our congratulations go to the following members for their hard work and dedication to the quality of their farming businesses:
• Sugar Producer of the Year: Aaron and Joe Linton who achieved 22.56 Tonnes Sugar/Ha.
• Highest Tonnes Cane/Ha Inkerman: Brad Hanson 160 TC/Ha
• Highest CCS Invicta: Tom Lewis, Jaswel 16.62CCS, and
• Highest CCS Inkerman: Chris Mann 16.13CCS
With late rains continuing to impact on harvesting through the middle of August, only 416,800 tonnes had been crushed by 18 August (25%).
The impact of strikes and mill performance had also contributed to the poor crush with the expected end date moving into December. Average CCS was close to 13.6 which remained just over half a unit below the Interim CCS of 14.16. A very disappointing start to what should have been a good crop and season for growers.
Weekly mill audits continued with the recently installed LIMS system. This reduced the need for paper records and hopefully user error, particularly given the number of new staff at the mill.
CANEGROWERS Proserpine met at various times with QCGO and other regions regarding ongoing industrial action. Further investigations were initiated for updating impact statements which had previously been used to highlight the economic losses faced by both growers and harvesting groups.
Along with significant wet weather interruptions, the lack of agreement between Wilmar and Unions had significantly increased the risk of standover cane for Proserpine growers.
Strategic meetings with the Whitsunday Regional Council and Wilmar continued with an MOU being tabled for agreement. This included data sharing arrangements with Council and other longer term development planning. It was also good to see that Council had reduced rates in the dollar by between 29% and 51% depending on sugarcane property category. Despite this reduction, there remained the potential for significant rates rises for those that had received excessive valuation increases. Fortunately, the Council had placed a 20% cap which helped in many of the more extreme cases.
CANEGROWERS continued to lobby Council on drain and road challenges including load limits placed on key Kelsey Creek bridges. These limits had cut off the ability to supply inputs and harvesters to 1,300ha of cane land. There was also a meeting held with the local MP to discuss access to water allocations under the Whitsunday Water Plan. This would be key to the expansion of irrigation and cane productivity moving forward.
SSP/CANEGOWERS BBQ and Beers get-together
Additional Central Region growers accessed the QRIDA Drought Preparedness Grant with the assistance of QCGO and CANEGROWERS
Proserpine. With increased business plan requirements, the process had become a bit more onerous, but the 25% (max $50,000) monetary grant had proved well worth the effort. QCGO also continued to provide legal support to growers who had yet to receive payment from a baling company.
To-date only half of the growers had received payment. There also remained outstanding bale collections which had impacted on some growers who had yet to invoice the company.
CANEGROWERS Proserpine continued to assist members with STL Share Transfers and had hosted two Pilot Training courses in early August that was organised by QCGO and subsidised by the QFF SmartAg Qld project. September also saw the first SSP/CANEGOWERS BBQ and Beers session. An opportunity for growers and key industry experts to interact and discuss the challenges of the day. This is an event that would be repeated moving forward given it being well received.
With progress through the crush challenged by mill reliability in Plane Creek and at Marian, and the ongoing industrial dispute at Plane Creek, the areas are well behind where we would like to be at this point in the year.
Grower representatives are continuing to push grower concerns with the millers and working towards finding solutions.
Show season in Mackay-Plane Creek wrapped with Sarina Show across 3-4 August. Show cane again provided an energetic focus, with many members seeing strong success in the various classes.
CANEGROWERS Mackay once again sponsored the event and congratulate all winners and entrants on the positive representation they have made of our industry in the local community.
CANEGROWERS Mackay supports cane comps at all three of our regional shows. It offers a great deal of value
for the growing community, offering a chance to come together socially in a spirit of camaraderie and competition, but also informs the community about what the industry is doing. At the CANEGROWERS Mackay stands at any of the shows we get all sorts of questions about how it is grown, what makes one stick or stool better than the next in terms of judging, how the supply chain works. We encourage growers to think about next year. The committees are great groups of growers, and always need an extra set of hands, and the competitors are showing our sector’s capacity. It is a fun, tangible point of connection between our industry and our community!
Any growers requiring assistance with any issues are encouraged to call 4944 2600 to get the ball rolling on a solution. Keep an eye on our Facebook page, The Billet and weekly District Manager Updates for emerging training and industry opportunities.
At the time of writing we are stopped due to wet weather after approximately 80-100mm fell across the district.
Whilst the rain was welcome for other crops and ratoons, we will lose approximately 1 week while we wait for the ground to dry out enough to commence harvesting again. Hopefully the impact to CCS won’t be too severe and we will review base CCS as required. Bundaberg Sugar has processed 475,099 tonnes season to date. The average CCS for week 13 was 13.49 and the season CCS average for Bundaberg Sugar Mill is at 12.84 CCS.
A number of our growers were successful in their applications to the Energy Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises – Round 2.
This will see upgrades to lighting, switchboards, motors, pumps and VSDs that may not have otherwise been achievable without the cash injection. If you were successful and require assistance with the next
stage of your project, please contact the office.
At the end of July, we welcomed staff from the CANEGROWERS Brisbane office to the district for an industry familiarisation tour. Brisbane staff started the tour with an on-farm talk by Mark Pressler and Matthew Leighton where they discussed the mixed cropping operation as well as showing staff various machinery including a cane harvester.
Unfortunately a cane fire couldn’t be found that evening so staff found themselves on top of the Hummock to see an overview of the Bundaberg district and a spectacular sunset. The tour also visited the Bundaberg Sugar Services Limited One-eye Sett shade house facility as well as a tour of Millaquin Mill, the Cane Analysis lab and a tour through the Bundaberg Sugar Terminal.
On Wednesday 7 August we hosted the first of the SmartAg training programs for the district which saw 14 participants undertake Pilot/ escort training for oversized and over massed loads.
We hope to hold another of these courses, plus other training when we have enough interest. If you are interested in undertaking training relevant to your farming enterprise, such as a pilot/escort course, chemical accreditation or forklift training, please contact the office to register your expression of interest.
In July the Reef Regulation compliance team visited the district and we were able to assist approximately 12
growers with their compliance interview. Whilst there was room for improvement with some growers, most were deemed on their way to compliance and as far as we’ve been made aware, there were no infringement notices issued.
If you require assistance with meeting your Reef Regulation requirements or are just looking for further information about what is required, please contact Matthew Leighton on 0418 891 783
Wet weather and mill breakdowns are at a level which are unprecedented across Isis District which has also hampered planting preparation.
Isis Productivity generally commence clean seed plant distribution during the first week of September which maybe delayed.
At the time of writing Isis Mill had crushed just over 445,000 tonnes with a season average CCS of 12.92 almost 1 unit lower than is expected for time of the year.
If the current trend of wet weather and mill breakdowns continues we are uncertain as to whether we will be able to harvest the whole crop.
We have spent much of our time monitoring the implementation of the cane analysis program and the allocations for delayed cane.
We are working closely with the Auditor and Mill management to ensure growers are not being significantly disadvantaged and paid in accordance with the cane supply agreement.
We recently attended a QCA water pricing review workshop
and were pleased to hear the QCA will be recommending Sunwater retain the existing annuity approach to recover renewal and refurbishments and that a $20,000,000 saving was identified in the proposed billing system renewal.
Wet weather has been and gone with well over 100mm of rain received across the supply area.
Week 10 ended with 145,022 tons supplied, year to date and CCS creeping up to a season average of 12.79. The loss of time for wet weather will put pressure on all harvesters to find areas that can be accessed as soon as possible to retain equity position with the growers in the north.
The trip to Brisbane to meet with Logitrix and better understand their operations some went ahead on 9 August with eight delegates making the trip. It was a good open discussion on a range of topics including farm mapping, harvester scheduling and movement, fleet management
Growers Tony and Mitchell Russo recently treated QCGO staff to an infield experience of harvesting with staff taking turns onboard the harvester and haul-out. Tony and Mitchell were thrilled to share this experience with staff and appreciated the visit.
fill the last three rail bins and is susceptible to derailment on the trip back to the mill.
Our Pilot or Escort training course was fully booked 8
and trailer movement. Discussions identified a few system issues that delayed reassignment of loads if not accepted by the first driver it is assigned to.
Real time assessment of area being harvested is improving accuracy of trend assessments for farms this year but a concerted effort to update farm maps is needed between 2024 and 2025 seasons to improve accuracy of data compared to the maps.
With all the focus early in the season on loading without spillage, the discussion moved to identify that loads are now becoming too light and causing loading problems at the transloader when transferring to rail. Often the two back bins on B doubles are not able to
The Rocky Point harvest kicked off on 31 July 2024. The mill has crushed a total of 17,789 tonnes of cane at an average CCS of 13.76 (as of 11 August 2024, or week 2).
It was very disappointing to have dry conditions from 15 July, but the Mill was not ready for crushing. We have approximately 30% of the crop as stand over and ready for harvest, showing strong CCS.
The Mill/Cogen has had numerous breakdowns in the first few weeks of the crush with available capacity around 50%, and also some teething problems with the new harvest allocation system, contracted to Logitrix/LMS.
In the first two weeks of the crush, equity between harvest groups has been handled poorly, and CANEGROWERS
August with 15 attendees working through the course. Preplanning for a haulout operator course is also being prepared for early 2025. More details to come as this develops.
is concerned how equity can be restored in a reasonably short period of time without having a detrimental effect on the large harvest groups.
CANEGROWERS asked the Mill to restore equity on a weekly basis, but the Mill has endorsed a review every three weeks.
CANEGROWERS directors have been inundated with calls from unhappy growers/harvest operators, with the major concern group equity! Harvest group equity must improve to restore harvesting sector confidence.
The district received between 50-100ml of rain from 12 to 15 August, causing the Mill to stop the crush for the entire week.
Sugar Research Australia provided Rocky Point with a harvester sterilizer in August, to trial whether it can assist with a reduction of transmission of RSD through the district.
Nitrogen Risk Insurance is now available for the 2024 cane harvest season
Visit our website via the QR code to receive a free quote or www.wtwco.com/en-au/insights/campaigns/nitrogen-risk-insurance
ADVERTORIAL
Global insurance broker
WTW is once again offering Nitrogen Risk Insurance to help sugarcane growers optimise their nitrogen fertiliser management. Russell Mehmet from WTW explains more.
Russell, what is the history of Nitrogen Risk Insurance?
To help growers, WTW developed this unique product, underpinned by 20+ years of sugarcane production research from the CSIRO.
It was first offered to growers in 2022. At that time, nitrogen fertiliser prices were very high. But there are many other reasons growers might want to optimise the nitrogen management.
What are the benefits from WTW’s Nitrogen Risk Insurance?
We’ve already seen growers who insured their crops receive a claim payout. This was done automatically if their policy was triggered at the conclusion of the harvest season, without the need for an assessor to visit the property.
There are many other benefits. Peace of mind! Immediate financial benefits when the savings on fertiliser costs can exceed the cost of insurance. And positive environmental impacts on the Reef, from reduced nitrogen run-off.
How does Nitrogen Risk Insurance work?
In essence, growers can insure their crops against a modelled estimate of any reduction in yield that may result from reducing nitrogen fertiliser applications below the original or conventional rates. The program covers ratoon crops harvested from June to December. This year, the insurance is available in sugarcane growing regions from Northern Cairns to Southern Tully, Herbert and Mackay.
BY MICK QUIRK
It is surprising how little effort is placed on doing credible assessments of the profitability of changes in farm practice. It is therefore refreshing to see a newly-released report from the Qld Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QDAF) on the economic merit of a range of sugarcane practices.
This report is particularly informative as the practices include those that have been deemed a priority by the Australian and Queensland Governments through their Reef water quality policies and programs over the past 15 years.
We have consistently pointed out the lack of alignment between the Reef programs’ version of ‘better’ practices and those within Smartcane BMP, especially in relation to nitrogen management.
So, having additional economic information is useful, although it would have been really game-changing 15 years ago when Government Reef policies and programs were being formed.
With respect to nitrogen management of crops, the QDAF report confirmed that adoption of the Reef version of ‘best practice’ significantly reduces farm profits. This simply confirms what industry knew and was also clearly quantified in a CANEGROWERS analysis completed in 2019 – that using the spurious ‘block-yield’ method reduces N rates below industry best practice and penalises profits.
Growers will recall that previous Reef report cards have harshly judged the merit of growers’ farming practicesusing widespread adoption of the ‘block-yield’ method as the required standard. The injustice of these report cards is already widely understood by growers.
But the real value of the QDAF report is its assessment of a wide range of other practices that can affect both profits and water quality. For example, they identify practice changes which can significantly boost profits, e.g., improved scheduling and precision of irrigation management.
And it also identifies cases where the economic benefit of practice change may be modest or small, e.g., precision technology for management of weeds, and the transition of a farm to controlled traffic and zonal tillage. In these cases, the relative advantage of making practice changes likely varies between farms and depends on the scale of operation and access to capital.
Other factors, such as perception of risk, also affect adoption of practices. So, it is unrealistic to expect uniform levels of adoption across every type of practice change. This is why we have a two-level structure in the Smartcane BMP program, with both ‘Industry Standard’ and ‘Above Industry Standard’ practices:
Industry Standard describes the farm and crop practices that all growers can benefit from, regardless of factors such as farm size, soil types, climate, and access to capital. Examples include the SIX EASY STEPS program for nutrient management.
Above Industry Standard represents those practices that may generate additional benefit to growers, while recognising that these opportunities can have variable merit and priority for different farms. For example, automated management of furrow irrigation helps realise the full potential of scheduling tools like IrrigWeb, but there are significant costs involved and the benefits are hard for the grower to trial at a small scale.
So, it is important to recognise that best practice is not about recipes that fit every farm. Rather, it’s about following principles and practices that have proven benefits for farms, and that are adopted and implemented according to the particular characteristics of each practice and the characteristics of each farm business.
We hope that governments and other stakeholders can see that working with industry using a single, agreed, and evidence-based practice framework is the most efficient and effective way to help build a more sustainable and profitable industry.
BY BURN ASHBURNER
Queensland Farmers Federation has funding for a project called SmartAg Queensland.
SmartAg Qld is a workforce training project that aims to deliver industry-relevant training in partnership with the Queensland government. It will subsidise Queensland based accredited, non-accredited and micro credential training and skill sets with the goal of assisting the agricultural industry and growers in attracting, training and retaining a skilled and diverse workforce. The goal is that training is delivered in a way that supports the growers, is cost effective and available to regional, rural and remote communities. The project will focus on subsidising training across business, technology, safety and production.
CANEGROWERS have completed a Workforce and Training Needs analysis based on the survey of attendees at the sugar cubed conference and a survey of district managers. Not surprisingly the needs analysis found that
There was a risk that the workforce shortage could lead to cane not being harvested in the future
Haulout driver training was identified as the most needed training followed by harvester drivers, truck/heavy vehicle licensed drivers and WHS training
That most districts would see a good turnout for training.
The needs analysis also looked at grower knowledge and training requirements as business managers
Growers typically had a good grasp of most practical farming activities
The main need was for education in sugar pricing, new technology and farm management
The most critical knowledge gap was business management followed by WHS.
Through SmartAg CANEGROWERS has delivered heavy vehicle pilot/escort training to all districts at 75% of the cost with 98 people completing the course. This is a good outcome and should go a long way to allow for sufficient pilots required for the movement of oversized agricultural equipment.
CANEGROWERS is also expanding on the successful haulout course run by CANEGROWERS Mackay for many years. This will be offered to at least 4 districts between February and May 2025 training some 40 to 50 drivers. One of the challenges is to attract the right participants who will become good drivers and retain them, so they return for many seasons. This will be heavily subsidised by SmartAg so the cost should not be an issue.
CANEGROWERS has offered Business Essentials for a number of years with over 300 growers attending and there is the opportunity to continue with Future Drought Fund resilience funding until 2029. This has provided a great start to strategic thinking on risk management and a process to manage sugar pricing risk. The attendees have been overwhelming positive about the course and there are still some 3,000 odd growers who can benefit from this professional development opportunity.
CANEGROWERS through SmartAg Queensland is planning further training opportunities and growers need to keep an eye out for these through their district offices in the next few years.
BY MATT KEALLEY
The Next Ratoon mentoring program held its graduation wrap-up meeting on 8 and 9 August 2024 in Brisbane.
Six months have flown by since the program kicked-off in February with seven eager growers from across the sugarcane growing districts of Queensland putting their hand up for the program.
The mentees in the 2024 program were Rebekah Pace from Herbert River, Dylan Wedel and Anthony Deguara from Mackay, Liam Wallace from Tableland, Bessie Orr and Justin Blair from Proserpine and Mark Barbagallo from the Burdekin. They are our future leaders be it at CANEGROWERS , in their own business or in the circles they move.
Being first is not always easy, so it was wonderful to see these younger growers fully embrace the six-month program put together by CANEGROWERS and Pragmatic Thinking.
Mentoring is an effective way to develop new leaders and Next Ratoon wouldn’t run without the support of the mentors. CANEGROWERS was very fortunate to have these experienced business leaders willingly offer their time to support our mentees on their journey.
Our mentors were Greg Fraser former CEO of Plant Health Australia and current board member of Citrus Australia; Jodie Knowlton a charted accountant and Partner –Business Services at BDO Australia; Paul Schembri grower from Mackay and former Chair of CANEGROWERS , Peter Arkle founder of Applebox Insights, former CEO of NSW Farmers’ Federation; Tracy Henderson non-executive director at Food Agribusiness Network; Michael Murray the General Manager of Cotton Australia and Susan Bengston, board member of CANEGROWERS Isis and director of Gin Gin Community bank.
Taking the first step in anything new brings excitement and trepidation.
At the beginning of the program, CANEGROWERS asked the mentees what they would like to achieve from Next Ratoon.
The common thread was a desire to contribute to the industry through leadership and advocacy for positive impact.
The program started with an engaging meeting on 27 and 28 February 2024, followed by a six-month mentoring program from March and August 2024 that allowed the mentor/ mentee pairs to work on the mentee personal development goals and plans. The monthly mentoring sessions, online learning modules and regular check-ins were supported by Alison Hill and Chris Van Hoof from Pragmatic Thinking.
The graduation and wrap-up meeting brought the 2024 cohort together to celebrate their participation in the program, hold their final mentoring session and offered further inspiration and tools to support their continued personal growth.
The meeting included speeches from Dan Galligan and Owen Menkens followed by a Q&A session on the future of the industry and CANEGROWERS role in leading that future. The facilitated sessions encouraged feedback from the mentees and mentors on their journey and reflections of the program. Lifelong relationships have been forged and plans made on how they will stay connected over the coming years.
This was followed by the presentation of graduation certificates to the mentees and thank you gifts to the mentors.
Expressions of interest for the 2025 Next Ratoon program will open in September 2024.
At Delmade, we know that one size doesn’t fit all and that the ever evolving needs of our farms means we need adaptable equipment.
That’s why we developed the Delmade 75 Series Offset Disc – with larger spacing for better trash clearance and deeper soil penetration.
With 10.5” disc spacing, more organic matter is incorporated back into your soil, enhancing soil structure and fertility. Larger disc plates mean your fields will benefit from a deeper cut, freeing up soil and incorporating nutrients otherwise unavailable to plant roots.
But soil productivity is just one piece of the puzzle.
Understanding the pressures of weather, tight sowing windows, and limited hours in the day, we know you need a tough and reliable machine. Heavy Duty frames, available in both Rigid and Folding models, ensure there is something in the range to suit operations of every size. Oil bath bearings minimise downtime and scrapers prevent time lost unblocking trash.
The entire manufacturing process is controlled in house – from Design and Engineering to Powder Coating and Assembly – ensuring a premium, proudly Australian-made product.
So, if you want to positively increase soil fertility and farm productivity, consider adding a Delmade Offset Disc to your machinery line up. 1800 335 623 or visit www.delmade.com.au
There has been no lost time due to break downs... I would recommend them to any person or company who are looking to invest in a new set of o sets.
BY CHRIS COOPER
In a recent decision in the Dalby Magistrates Court, an agricultural business was fined $40,000 plus court costs of $1,101.40 in respect of three charges under the Work Health and Safety Act.
In a summary of the decision by the Office of Work Health and Safety Prosecutor, it was reported that the Magistrate stated that in some instances the agricultural industry can be left behind or not taken as much notice of when it comes to incidents and that they likely occur possibly more than people think, especially when machinery is involved. Her Honour highlighted that it was important that employers ensure the safety of workers and other persons.
The case concerned the use of a loader in spreading of manure on paddocks by the defendant contractor. Whilst moving paddocks the loader rolled and the driver was injured including bruising, multiple lacerations and a full thickness tear to his right ear requiring stiches and a one-night stay in hospital. The defendant did not notify the WHS regulator until some 4 days after the incident and by that time had recovered the loader and removed it from the property. An inspection of the loader disclosed several defects and lack of maintenance issues in the braking systems.
The defendant was charged with failure to comply with the general duty to ensure the safety of workers and exposing a worker to risk of serious injury, failure to notify the WHS regulator of a notifiable incident and failing to ensure that
a notifiable incident site was not disturbed. The actual injuries suffered were not life threatening, but they could have been, and the worker required medical attention and an overnight stay in hospital.
Lessons to be learned.
1. Rural businesses have the same WHS obligations as other businesses.
2. WHS prosecutor will usually investigate incidents on farms.
3. There is an obligation to notify of any notifiable incident. A notifiable incident includes death or dangerous incident. It also includes a serious injury or illness, and those terms have a very wide definition including a stay in hospital as an inpatient and serious lacerations.
4. The scene of the incident must not be interfered with.
This article contains general advice only. The particular facts and circumstances of each case always need to be taken into account.
The comments in this article are general in nature. For further free advice and information about this topic or other legal matters, members should contact their local CANEGROWERS office or please contact CANEGROWERS Legal Adviser, Chris Cooper on Free Call 1800 177 159
Rural plant is essential for modern agricultural business operations but can be dangerous. There are significant work health and safety risks associated with using rural plant in a workplace.
To improve work health and safety across Queensland’s agricultural sector, the Office of Industrial Relations (OIR) has updated the Rural plant Code of Practice.
The Rural plant Code of Practice 2024 commences on 23 September 2024. The purpose of this new Code is to help reduce the risk of injuries and fatalities by providing guidance on working safely with rural plant. Updates to the Code are expected to have significant positive impacts on work health and safety outcomes on Queensland farms.
The Code will also support the agricultural industry to meet its
work health and safety legislative obligations.
The Code was updated through a Steering Group comprised of agricultural industry representatives, worker representatives, external health and safety experts and internal OIR specialists. The group ensured that the Code is not only practical and accurate, but also reflects the latest in safety best practices tailored specifically for Queensland’s agricultural industry.
The updated Code incorporates the feedback of workers, key agricultural industry representative bodies and technical experts and meets the needs of the end users.
As part of the update, the Rural plant Code of Practice 2024 incorporates all tractor safety content. As tractors are rural plant and a common source of fatalities and serious injuries on farms, they are now comprehensively covered under the new Code. This means the Safe design and operation of tractors
Code of Practice 2005 has been revoked and all relevant tractor content has been consolidated into the new updated Code.
Other key updates to the Code include:
guidance on technology including the use of drones, quad bikes and side by side vehicles
modernised content to remove outdated information (such as references to discontinued Australian Standards) and to include new diagrams and pictures
guidance on
how to consult, cooperate and coordinate activities with other duty holders
requirements for high risk work licences for certain plant.
For more information visit worksafe. qld.gov.au/laws-and-compliance/ codes-of-practice/ruralplantof-practice-review or email safe@oir.qld.gov.au
FIRST 5 LINES FREE* FOR CANEGROWERS MEMBERS!
Book online 24/7 at www.canegrowers.com au or email us at ads@canegrowers.com.au
Next deadline is 18 September 2024
2012 John Deere 7200R tractor PTO, 3PL with quick hitch, 4 sets of remotes, front weights, front tyres 540/65R34, rear tyres 650/85R38, 4,510 hrs. In good condition. $160,000 + GST Ph: 0427 976 416
John Deere 31-40 turbo $24,000 + GST negotiable, Fergie TE20 $1,500 + GST. 2 x 400L poison tanks, price negotiable. Ph: Ces 0428 514 779 Innisfail.
10ft galvanized superior slasher in good order Ph: 0457 255 961
Howard Rota Vator HR51 Rota. Ph: 0457 255 961
John Deere 4450 row crop spray tractor with 1150 litre chemical saddle tanks, included TPL 1150 litre Croplands electronic controlled spray tank with 11.5 metre hydraulic spray boom. Very good condition work ready. $44,000 plus GST. Ph: 0427 030 063
Terranova rotary hoe 120" Bonel 4 disc plough square. Ph: 4056 1474 Mulgrave area.
One pair 21L-24 Armour earth moving/quarry tyres, currently on a backhoe. Good condition. $700 each tyre plus GST. Ph: 0419 150 350
2 x 440/65 R24 tractor tyres $1,100 inc GST each. 2 x 540/65 R34 tractor tyres $2,100 inc GST each. All four types as new only done 500 hrs. Ph: 0427 665 759
36 plate case 770 offsets, 30 inch discs
$40,000 and HBM plant cutter with topper $4,400. Ph: 0448 345 139
Billet planting equipment. 1990 Toft 7000 Trac. Underslung B-Box. Rubberised rollers and optmised. New Ifit 2blade diff chop. New steel hood line. 2 1990 elevator Austoft powerhauls. HBM single row billet planter, new dip, chains and drive shaftes and bushes, rear axle steer, staines fert boxes, 2 cameras. 2 500L and 2 100L tanks and and frame. 1PTO pump. All equipement in good condition and ready to work. Photos available. $150,000 (plus GST.) Ph: 0428 682 886
Massey 4608 excellent condition 2,000 hrs. Ph: 0418 972 705
6 Cyl. Perkins turbo-charged motor, mounted on trailer to Kelly & Lewis water pump
$5,500; 6T Newton bulk fertiliser bin $2,500. Please call after 7pm or txt 0402 686 714 / 0407 144 637
* As a FREE service to CANEGROWERS members, Australian Canegrower will print suitable classified advertisements UP TO 5 LINES FREE, FOR ONE ISSUE ONLY. A charge of $5. 50 will apply for each extra line or part thereof. A charge will apply for advertising of non-cane growing activities. Advertisements must relate exclusively to cane farming activities, such as farm machinery, etc. Advertisements from non-members are charged at $11 per line incl GST. Only prepaid ads will be accepted.
1997 Cameco CHT 2500 full track cane harvester for sale $50,000 inc GST Ph: 0432 150 364
3 tonne fertiliser stool splitter stainless steel box 1.5–1.8 metre spacing $25,000 (+GST). Ph: 0429 912 135.
2006 Case IH JX109OU in good condition. Always serviced – 6,800 hrs $24,200 (inc. GST) Ph: 0427 665 759 Tully area.
Tractor TE20 good condition $3,300 GST inclusive. Tractor AV International 130 with fertiliser equipment and scarifier $3,300 GST inclusive. Tractor AV International 140 with spray equipment $3,500 GST inclusive. Ph: 0428 183 307
Howard CH 2000 rotary hoe 4.2m wide, hyd 5 tyne ripper hillers new blades. $45,000 plus GST. Ph: 0429 912 135.
2016 John Deere R4023 self propelled sprayer 1,500 hrs, 2200L tank, 85 foot boom, GPS ready. $235,000 plus GST. Ph: 0429 912 135
Great Plains 6m 3PL planter, currently set up for zonal planting however have all units for solid planting, $20,000 + GST. Ph: Peter 0427 976 416
10 blade Faggy chopper box for 3510/3520. $6,000 + GST. Ph: 0437 434 280
2021 Tatu heavy duty offset disc, 25 plate, 34 inch disc, brand new condition. $45,000. Ph: 0439 965 921
Power Harrow / airator for soil – fits on a rotary hoe $900. 2 old fertiliser box implements – each $300. 186 Ross Road Deeral. Ph: 0412 968 434.
Harvester for sale. Babinda area. 2010 JD 3520 track harvester, 10,000 frame hrs. 1,200 hrs since engine rebuild. 10 blade Twyford choppers. Base cutter box, turn table and chopper box, 300 hrs use. D5 tracks. Ready to go. $180,000 & GST. Ph: 0439 676 186
Valley centre pivot 8 span all running gear tires and rims $1,000 gearboxes $750.00, electrical motors & gear boxes $1,000 each ONO. 6 Irvin spray legs $80 each, 2x torsion axles v-shape 2,200kg each $500 ONO. Ph: John 0418 198 177.
As new John Deere O Turn Z 720E, 350 hrs, 54" cut – $8500 ONO. 1,300L Gal fire fighting trailer – $1,500 ONO. Case 580E front backhoe bucket – $500 80″ rotary hoe set up for min till – $500 ONO. Mulgrave area. Ph: 0407 675 361
Cane stripper $500; Newton 4T Tipper Bins $4,000 each; Hardi spray rank 850L, 3-point linkage $5,000. All plus GST. Ph: 0429 653 461
2012 Case 8800 fulltrack cane harvester fitted with Trimble GPS and new walking gear. All in good condition. Near new 6t side tipper. Mulgrave area. Ph: 0407 160 673
Kubota zero turn ZG 222 with catcher 48" cut. Fiat 980 2WD-3,500 hrs, Fiat 1000 2WD –5,000 hrs, John Deere 4040 2WD – 3,600 hrs, Chamberlain JD 4080 2 WD – 5,000 hrs, Case 2590 2WD – 5,700 hrs, 6 tonne tipper bin, Silvan Euro Spand CX2 spreader, Bunning Lowlander Mk 40-60 Ag spreader (near new), complete tracks to suit cane harvester, and fuel trailer tank. Mulgrave area.Ph: 0407 160 673
1980 Ford 7710, 4WD, 4 cyl, canopy, 5,323 hrs, $21,000. 1960 Inter tractor 574, 2WD, 4 cyl, canopy, $9,500. 1960 Inter tractor 574, 2WD, 4 cyl, canopy, 4891 hrs, $7,950. 1975 Cat D3 dozer, angle tilt blade, 4 cyl, hyd tow hitch, root rake blade, 4,836 hrs, $51,900. 2010 Kubota ME9000, 4WD, cab with trimble with GFX-750 GPS, 5,031 hrs, total for both $47,900. 2018 Kubota, 4WD, M7040, 4 cyl, canopy, 482 hrs, $46,900. Ph: Mark 0427 017 717
1968 International Farmall 756, 2WD, tricycle, 6 cyl, 5,560 hrs, $5,950. 1993 140″ Howard rotary hoe, crumble roller, serial 060301095, $24,500. 2006 Case iH 7700 full track harvester, Iveco 10.3L 6 cyl motor, 2912 hrs, $156,000. 1976 rear feed whole stick planter, s/s fertiliser boxes and chutes, 2x200L spray tanks with 4 sprays, hydraulic ram trailer hitch, $4,250. 1990 8-ton bulk fertiliser bin, 3 easy chute doors, 4 stands for storage, $5,150. Ph: Romy 0467 198 700
Fertiliser bin M.S.W, double row, 4 tonne stainless bin, with double compartment and 4 cutters $25,000 (inc. GST). Ph: 0400 729 457
Heavy duty two tines (legs) to suit rotary hoe $1,000 inc GST. Ph: 0438 988 858
2022 Case 9900 cane harvester. Ph: Craig 0436 332 044
Liquid fertiliser applicator croplands rate controler, adjustable centres and new pump. Ph: Craig 0436 332 044
Hydraulic spraying machine – High rise diesel motor, 1,600L stainless steel tank $25,000 + GST. Ph: Tim 0428 183 307
Bonel whole stick harvester / Double fan cane stripper / Four trailers. Ph: 07 4056 1742
Service unit/fuel tanker, flat 115-90 4wd tactor set up with hitch & brakes. 4,500L diesel fuel tank. 2,000L aluminium water tank, many more extas. Phone for more details. Ph: Craig 0436 332 044
Hodge bulk bag lifter – $500. Ph: 0439 965 921
Olympic 20.8.42 65% $500+ GST; front end loader with 4 in 1 bucket, blasted and 2pac painted, resembling required $4,500+GST Ph: 0437 434 280
Babinda area – 2006 Case 7700 track harvester. 10.3Lt Iveco motor 3,500hrs. Very good condition. Ph: 0467 198 700 AH: 4067 1498
2012 Case 8800 fulltrack cane harvester fitted with Trimble GPS and new walking gear. All in good condition. Near new 6t side tipper. Mulgrave area. Ph: 0407 160 673.
Rotocult 1 shot cultivator $7,000 ONO + GST Ph: 0149 988 158
Hodge reversible 6 row plough – $1,000, nobili BNE 210 Mulcher – $4,000. Ph: 07 4776 5114
Massey Ferguson 165 tractor. Runs well, draw bar, roll bar, P.T.O works well. Steering needs repairs. $1,700 ONO. Ph: 0429 771 209
BT D6 dozer, high lift, angle and tilt blade, five roller, 14" tracks, make an offer. Ph: 0438 743 685
3 point linkage international plough, 4 furrows, 1 drag plough – 3 furrows, self lift, make an offer. Ph: 0438 743 685
John Deere 4450 row crop spray tractor with 1,150L chemical saddle tanks, included TPL 1,150L Croplands electronic controlled spray tank with 11.5 metre hydraulic spray boom. Very good condition work ready. $44,000 plus GST. Ph: 0427 030 063.
Hi-rise spray tractor MF35x. Unfinished project comes with 1,200L S/S tank, boom and droppers are made but not fitted 5 rows or 7 over the top. Has power steering not fitted and a new ROPS, canopy and seat. Lots of other extras included. $18,000 plus GST ONO. Heavy duty frame with Coulters off the old Aqua-Ammonia applicators. Could easily turn into ripper coulter implement. $500 plus GST. Ph: Jason 0417 622 129 caruzin@bigpond.com
Herbert River 4 tonne Newton tipper hooked to 4280 Chamberlain tractor. Will separate if required. Ideal for billet planting. Ph: 0416 174 014
Moore Scoopy LD3 4 wheel drive, fair condition, make an offer. Ph: Reno on 4777 6148 after 6pm.
Case Magnum 315 2012 dual tyres front and rear with weight pack, Trimble GPS, UHF and quick hitch 210,000 plus. Howard rotary hoe CH 2000 4.7 meters with crumble roller $40,000 plus. Ph: Gavin 0408 782 419
2017 Isuzu dmax dual cab with alloy tray, 67,400km, new tires, RWC, one owner in VGC. $43,000 ONO. Ph: 0438 821 683
1997 Fiat Agri Genius 190. Good condition, one owner, Hyd toplink, hubs for dwels –5,200 hrs. Ph: 0419 666 544
LD3 Moore Scoop 4WD in fair condition, runs good, brakes need help. Ph: after 6.30 pm 07 4777 6148.
Schneider Star Delta starter $1,900 ONO Ph: 0447 733 366
Case IH JX 110 tractor 110hp, 2021 model. Air-conditioned cab. 580 hrs. Farm sold, no longer needed. Immaculate condition. $63,800 inc. GST. Negotiable. Located in Mackay area. Ph: 0427 752 376
97 full track harvester, new factory motor; Komatsu 125; done 10 hrs; pumps have new bearings, and Vortex fan elevator has new wear strips. Price on application. Ph: 0438 421 217
Massey Ferguson 2640, 2WD, air cab, 4,600 hrs, good condition, surplus to needs, $18,000. ONO. Ph: 0438 545 251
1973 Ford 5 thousand 2-wheel drive Y series tractor for sale, 75 horsepower, with power steering, new ROPS, new seat, one set of remotes, 8430 tyres. 90% rubber on front and 80% on back and 3-point linkage. Always sheded, kept neat and tidy, always serviced and oil dropped every 100 hrs. Ph: 0459 596 782 for price.
Case Maxxum 140Hp tractor with front end loader with 4-in-1 bucket and forks/jib. Near new condition 168 hrs. $140,000 ONO inc. GST. Howard 7ft slasher, good condition. $11,000 inc. Ph: 0418 770 218.
John Deere 4450 row crop spray tractor with 1150L chemical saddle tanks, included TPL 1150L Croplands electronic controlled spray tank with 11.5m hydraulic spray boom. Very good condition work ready. $44,000 plus GST Ph: 0427 030 063
GPS autosteer kits and base station can be fitted to any tractor, FJ Dynamics brand, $14,000 excl GST. Ph: 0401 847 162.
185 Altas Copco compressor on towable trailer, just had new turbo fitted and cup link between motor and compressor, cost $6,000 to repair. Ready to go – $8,500. Good unit for blowing down harvesters or sandblasting. Sandblasting unit also available and hoses –$2,500. Ph: 0488 605 722
Hodge side dresser fertiliser box – with 4 front fertilizer coulters, 2 centre rippers with crumble rollers and centre drawbar at rear. Also can be used as a soil buster. Dimensions 1.7m to 2.05m. G.C. In the Mackay area. $9,000 + GST. Ph: 0408 874 974 or 0418 874 974.
USED/NEW MACHINERY FOR SALE
SECONDHAND 8970
JOHN DEERE TRACTOR
NEW CYCLONE SLASHER/MULCHER
All machines located in Ingham.
DIESEL FITTER POSITION AVAILABLE
PARTS MANAGER POSITION AVAILABLE
Contact us via phone or email for further information.
SNG Machinery Sales
90 Origlasso St, Ingham 07 4776 6003 (Parts) 07 4776 1066 (Sales) admin@sngmachinerysales.com www.sngromano.net.au
L & L Wilkinson Haulage Pty Ltd widening drop deck and A trailer; transporting cane harvesters; farm machinery; farm implements; pilot. Ph: Lee Wilkinson 0427 474 064
Massey Ferguson 178 tractor with multi-power wet brakes, low hour fully reconditioned engine, good tyres all round. 800L Hardy boom spray tank. Ph: 0417 612 883 for price.
Ford 8310 4wd cab tractor. With autofarm A5 GPS System. New dash. 70% rubber $30,000+ GST. Ph: 0417 158 656
2 x planting 2.5t tipper bins $3,000 each ONO. Ph: 0437 649 296
Massey Ferguson 8110 4-wheel drive with cab, 135hp, only 2,636 hrs in good condition. $55,000 inc. GST. Celli Tiger spike hoe, 2.5m wide with hydraulic crumble roller and oil cooler. VGC. Don Mizzi 741 model on Fiat 750 special turbo plus MF102 half-tracks to suit. 12t self-propelled 6x6 elev infielder. VGC. 6t side tipper on Leyland tandem. GC. Mackay. Ph: 0438 606 578
6 rear wheel weights for New Holland TM155. Ph: Keith on 0448 057 574 or Brock Shailer on 0439 113 511
2 Tractor tyres 18-4-38, 75% rubber – $600 each. 1 plant cane or return grubber 14 tine 1200. A Hodge plant cutter & two fan blower – $1,000. 1 Yedder 6 wheel on 3-point linkage frame for plant cane. $1,800. Ph: 0448 605 722
125mm Southern Cross hard hose irrigator in good condition. 350m hose. $30,000 incl GST. Ph: 0428 768 533
2x new Trelleborg TM800 high speed 480/65R24 tyres, 1,000L home-made trailable steel fuel tank, 1,000L steel fuel tank Ph: 0458 121 546
John Deere 6520se fwd 5,100 hrs, new ac power quad. Tyres 70%. Presents as a very clean and tidy tractor price. $60,000 inc GST neg. VGC. Ph: 0438 424 538
Trailco 110 x360m hard hose irrigator $23,000 inc GST. Ph: Koumala 0429 027 377
Pegorano power harrow 100 inch. $3,500 incl GST. Ph: Koumala 0429 027 377
Various farm implements: Hodge 4-furrow reversible plough. 3 row McLeod multi weeder rake. Two tyres & rims to suit fiat 1000 and 1300. Agri/Master; CB538 Size 24.5/32R/1 12 ply. Ph: 0417 612 883 for price.
T7040 New Holland 8,200 hrs and 16 tonne Aus quip elevator air/ hyd controls. Farm sold. Ph: Cameron 0427 378 526
60HP Western Electric motor, foot & flange $2,750. Ph: 0417 158 656
Double row McLeod fertiliser box with various sprockets for various applications. Ph: 0417 612 883 for price.
Massey Ferguson harvester 102 base cutter box. Ph: 4954 1174 for price.
Elevator chains for 102. Ph: 4954 1174 for price.
Pegoraro 120 inch rotary hoe in good condition. Ph: 0417 542 783 for price.
4,000L of 50/50 diesel/petrol mix suitable for Firebug burners or parts washing. Ph: 0411 196 860
Water meter never used Siemens brand (no before or after the meter pipework required) 150mm flanged, table D/E Ph: 0411 196 860
3 point linkage cane topper. Ph: 0417 542 783 for price.
6 and 8 inch cast iron flanged gate valves. New never used. Ph: 0411 196 860
2 fan stripper $500. Moller single chain planter $4,000. Roberts 6T goose neck trailer $5,000. Grubber & box $300. Hodge upright planter $3,000. Ph: 0408 776 336 OR 4959 1765 after 7pm.
Rotary hoe 90 degree blades to suit Maschio G Series rotary hoe. Brand new. These normally sell at $20 each new but are for sale at $6 each. There are currently 72 left hand and 72 right hand blades available. Ph: 0402 993 500
Peanut fluffer – KMC 6 row folding wing peanut fluffer, VGC, always shedded. $30,000 + GST. Ph: 0422 118 466
Gessner 1.5t stool splitter good condition; $33,000. Toft J150 whole stick harvester modified to load onto planter trailers; $5,500. Bonel Trash stripper fan always shedded good condition; $660. Don whole stick trash planter has fert boxes, water tanks (may need some repair) and suscon applicator, no trailers;$1,100. Croplands $1,100 tank and frame no pump or boom; $4,400. Prices include GST. Ph: 0427 769 086
2 Farmall AMD tractors, tin work is no good engines have been open to rain, have 1 good engine to go with or separately; best offers. International B 414 engine open to rain; best offers. Volvo BM 4400 front end loader. Good brakes and hand brake 14,000 hrs works well + spares; $38,500. Prices include GST. Ph: 0427 769 086
Komatsu PC 228 US-3 22T Excavator 8,000 hrs tilt hitch lots of buckets, hammer etc, some rust and panel damage. Mechanically sound has been used for contracting; $66,000 for machine and 1 bucket. Extra buckets by negotiation. White Road Boss air bag rear suspension in excellent condition; $44,000. Drake low loader with top deck. Elevator stand, non widening, 17.5 rims. Excellent condition. Could use paint; $44,000. Prices include GST. Ph: 0427 769 086
White Centurion Center point suspension bogey tipper 2 way tailgate and electric tarp. Excellent condition. $44,000. JD cotton picker 4,000 hrs with rear wheel assist, was going to use for a sprayer; Offers. Prices include GST. Ph: 0427 769 086
Plant cane cultivator 2 x 1.6m row w/ 3 weeder rakes and tines $1,320 inc GST. Land plane w/ 4m hyd. blade $3,300 incl GST. 2x1.6m row cultivator w/ 10 x 30ml tines $1,320 inc GST. 4 wheel trash rake $1,110 inc GST Ph: 0408 761 463
New Holland T6070 tractor, $185,000 neg Challenge FEL, quad remotes, excellent condition, 450 hrs. Ph: Justin 0415 626 715
2011 John Deere 3520 Trac harvester. Machine has new tracks, new elevator chain and floors, 2 x new plastic extractor hoods. Some pumps rebuilt and some replaced. Engine rebuilt and plantary hubs replaced. Machine repainted –very tidy machine. Ph: 0413 584 728
7485 MF Tractor Tier 3 with Dyna VT transmission and hi lift double 6T side tipper. Ph: 0413 698 922 or 0427 561 072. Located Bundaberg.
102 Massey Ferguson cane harvester $1,500. C670 Chamberlain 4 ton HPM tipper bin $5,000. Ford 5000 Tractor $6,000. Hodge fert. bin $1,000 Ph: 0403 064 708
Massey Ferguson anniversary 105 harvester $7,700 (incl. GST); trash incorporator $7,700 (incl. GST); Bonel 3-row cutaway $6,600 (incl GST); 3-point linkage offset 16 plate $2,300 (incl GST). Ph: 0419 577 110
Quinco side dresser fert. box, Bonel side dresser fert. box, Croplands boom sprayer, Bonel plant cutter, Don stick planter, 3 row folding cultivator frame, 3 row plant cutaway, 5 row plant marker 1.8 ctrs. Ph: 0473 989 961
Brand new Howard AH4000/255 2.5m heavy duty rotary hoe w/wheels $44k inc GST. Rocky Point. Ph: Greg 0421 277 126
Trash incorporator and a coulter ripper in reasonable working condition. Tully area. Ph: 0419 644 352
6 rear wheel weights for New Holland TM155. Ph: Keith on 0448 057 574 or Brock Shailer on 0439 113 511
HBM billet planter. Ph: 0429 651 233
2 off JD rims (flange type 16in x 42in) with or without tyres. Size 480/80 R42 to suit JD7520 12 bolt 855PCD cast centre. Ph: 0407 963 040 Mareeba district.
Rotary hoe 120 inch to 140 inch, prefer Howard. Spray unit with Irvin boom or similar 600L plus. Ph: Roger 0419 788 376. Maryborough area.
Wanting 100 to 120 hp 6 cylinder 4x4 tractor. Eg, (Ford tw 20., Fiat, case ih, basic old tractor. Mossman, Herbert, Mackay (for Ingham) Ph: Lloyd 0439 375 301
7 tyne Hodge ripper with 1 inch tynes and bolt on points. Ph: 0400 743 314
Shredder topper suit John Deere or Case or Toft loader. Any condition. Ph: 0413 584 728
2.5 tonne or similar tipper bins suitable for billet planter. Ph: John 0427 563 318 Mulgrave area.
18.4-38 tyre/s. Ph: 0458 121 546. Plane Creek area.
Double or Triple tipper bin for NSW planting season. Happy to transport from QLD for the right unit. Contact: mildon.park@bigpond.com or Richard 0412 156 622
Ferguson TE 20 with V8 Ford flattop engine, ½ tracks to suit Ferguson tractor, TE 20 Ferguson with reduction gearbox, Chrighton whole stick harvester with or without tractor Ph: 0427 565 511. Mulgrave area.
1996 to 2004 Toft/Case 7000, wheeled cane harvester. Ph: 0420 600 943
Austoft/Case wheel harvester 1995 to 2006 model – any area. Ph: 0417 193 385.
4.5" Layflat hose in good condition. 200-250m. Ph: 0419 952 119
New Holland 8970 tractor suitable for wrecking. Contact 0419 710 280 or tctownley@bigpond.com
All panels for Fiat 780. Ph: 0438 421 217 Mackay / Sarina area.
1x Ford 6600 or Ford 7600 two-wheel drive tractor. Ph: 0439 591 455
6 FT 3 Point linkage grader blade in reasonable condition. Ph: 0478 228 375. Area Bundaberg.
Hi-clearance spray tractor. Must be a trike and must have air con cab. Send photos and information to 0407 639 985
Tractor with FEL 100-140 HP up to $50k. NQLD area. Ph: Peter 0427 760 449
Cane farm Halifax total area 217 ha, CPA 126.4 ha. 2 minutes from Taylors Beach & 20 mins from Ingham CBD. Includes large machinery shed which has 3 phase power & water plus 2 smaller sheds. Price $1.62 million. For inspections contact Felix Reitano Real Estate on (07) 4776 5007 or email felix@reitano.com.au
288 acres 35 minutes south of Maryborough 200 acres under cane. Permanent creek with underground mains 4 bedroom timber home 12x9m shed with 3 phase power. Ph: 0407 398 852
Want to buy farm in Victoria Plains, Eton, Pleystowe area. Ph: 049 00 29 387
Wanted permanent purchase Lower Mary River water allocations on Mary River, Tinana Creek and channel pipeline sections of the scheme. Ph: 0427 930 696
