The Race Is On To Save The Crush

By Kevin Borg, Chairman, CANEGROWERS Mackay
There is a rule of thumb that by Father’s Day, the crop should be 50 per cent crushed, but this year we saw that day come and go with about 65 to 75 per cent of the crop still sitting in paddocks across the district.
If you are in the Mackay Sugar milling area, abysmal performance at Marian mill has left growers up the Pioneer Valley far behind in removing their crop, with attempts to restore equity by increasing Marian cane through Farleigh and Racecourse. While some of those growers are far behind others, overall the miller is 10-15 per cent behind, with the miller and harvest sector is working hard to catch up. The CANEGROWERS Mackay Area Committee has been likewise working hard to address equity and grower cash-flow concerns with Mackay Sugar and sugar marketers. It was good to see Mackay Sugar management and grower directors come to engage on this issue with a large number of growers attending the CANEGROWERS Marian branch meeting last week.
While it was positive mid-September to finally see a resolution to the protracted industrial dispute between unions and Wilmar Management over their Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, it was unfortunate that we have seen industrial unrest across all Wilmar Mills including Plane Creek impacting the first three months of the 2024 crush
The long-winded dispute has impacted crushing to the extent that the huge losses to the industry will never be recovered. Wilmar operate eight of the 21 Australian mills, alongside other refining and distillery operations. It is a massive chunk of the Australian Sugar industry.
As severely impacted as growers have been, they, along with the supply chain including the harvest sector, are a third party to the dispute. CANEGROWERS was vocal in the community and media, but it was difficult to make representation beyond Statements of Impact to the Fair Work Commissioner, given the dispute was only between the two parties.
This meant that apart from attempting to convince the parties to get on with a resolution – including via an online petition, from the outside there was not much that could be done to help resolve the issue, and exacerbated growers’ frustration. It has bought to an end a period of great uncertainty, anxiety and delays.
Hopefully now with this behind us, the Central District will now be able to get on and finalise the crush without further disruption. Weather and mill performance permitting. Thankfully, sugar content (CCS) is holding at present, so there is an opportunity yet to make good on the 2024 season and current good prices.
On that note, I commend sugar marketer Queensland Sugar Limited (QSL) for taking a lead and responding to the issues with cash flows for growers across the industry by increasing its Standard Advance Rate Default Payment in September by $17. It is that kind of industry responsiveness that will help the grower and harvest sector manage through a challenging year. CANEGROWERS Mackay, along with other sugarcane production district areas, was vocal in articulating the difficulties growers have faced, and we thank QSL for listening.
The delays of the season mean that most likely we will be harvesting into the Christmas season again, well past the mid-November finish that is best for best farming practice and for sugar make. Although Mackay Sugar is touting an 18 December finish, but this is down to the line of the Heavy Vehicle Christmas Curfew that commences on 19 December through to 2 January. Wilmar looks set to proceed past Christmas should weather hold.
Once again, CANEGROWERS is liaising with the appropriate authorities in an attempt to get exemptions put in place for the Christmas period, just in the case we need them, and will likewise work with members and their contractors to assist them to secure their permits.

Photo credit: Kirili Lamb

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