From The Paddock To The Verandah

A Proper Christmas For Growers

By Joseph Borg, Chairman, CANEGROWERS Mackay

It is that time of year again; we are in the lead-up to the most anticipated time of the year, that being Christmas. A time when it is most important to spend time with those people you hold dear. A time of rest, a time of reflection, and most importantly - Santa Claus making his way around the district.

One difference this year is that Santa won’t have to be worried about weaving his way through sugarcane harvesters, haul-outs, and cane train crossings. For the first time in about five years, the harvest in both the Mackay Sugar and Plane Creek areas will have been completed at least 10 days before Christmas Day. This means that people in the growing, harvesting, and milling sectors will hopefully be able to celebrate Christmas at home on the verandah rather than in the workplace, which has been the case over the last few years.

Although this is a positive, of course, it must be remembered this is the result of a reduced crop size in both areas, which takes the gloss off what has been a slightly improved factory performance. That performance has not reached expectations but is an improvement all the same. The problem is that any gains in this sector have been handicapped by massive logistical shortfalls in cane transport. This has resulted in a tremendously difficult and trying year for harvesting contractors in particular, but also the wider industry.

With the crushing season now concluded, Mackay Sugar has recorded a total harvest of 4.76 million tonnes with a seasonal CCS of 13.6. This is surprisingly close to the five-year average considering the amount of standover cane processed, given that standover cane usually lowers CCS levels due to lower sugar content. Plane Creek Mill ended up crushing about 1.332 million tonnes of cane with a CCS for the season of 13.87, which was also impacted by a significant amount of standover cane.

On behalf of Mackay Canegrowers and the wider growing sector, we would like to thank the wider Mackay community for their patience in this past harvesting season. Those of you who grew up in this district have become accustomed to haul-outs on roads and cane trains amongst others. For the newer residents, it is probably a surprise to see a tractor driving down a major arterial road or even through a subdivision, but these are the logistical challenges the industry faces.

We hope that everyone has a restful, safe, and enjoyable Christmas and New Year with those whom they hold dear. We hope that 2026 dawns brighter and more prosperous for all who live in this wonderful wider Mackay region.

There is no doubt that Mackay truly is the Sugar City.

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Plane Creek Harvester parks up after finishing the crushing season for 2025. Photo credit: Jason Borg.

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