Workers With A Cane-Do Attitude Needed

By Joseph Borg, Chairman, CANEGROWERS Mackay

In the current economy, one of the major challenges facing all industries is finding suitably skilled workforce to complete the required tasks for day-to-day operations.

The sugar industry is, likewise, not immune to this scenario. All sectors of the supply chain must work extremely hard - and think outside the square- to compete with other Industries to find the human resources required to operate and function, particularly in the crush season.

The factories require operational and maintenance staff, cane train operators as well as numerous other positions.  On top of this are associated supply chain sectors servicing the sugarcane growing industry. For example: mechanics, repairs and maintenance contractors, tyre fitters, fuel suppliers, trucking companies, agronomic and a multitude of other businesses which require extra staffing across the busy harvest season.

Of course, it then goes without saying that the growing and harvesting sector also require large numbers of extra and seasonal staff during this period, which presents its own challenges.  Haulout and harvester operators, as well as general farm workers are in high demand throughout the crush season.  We are fortunate that there are many employees who love their jobs in the sugar industry and continue to come back year after year, to complete the various tasks required of them but new people are always required to fill all available positions.

We see grey nomads, backpackers as well as locals who seasonally will climb into a haul out and experience the harvesting season.  To help facilitate this filling of vacancies in the harvesting sector, CANEGROWERS Mackay conduct two fully funded Cane Haul-out driver training courses in May every year. In the past, it had been one course, but thanks to support from Queensland Agricultural Workforce Network (QAWN) CQ Officer funding for a second course and demonstrating the need for more places, it has since been two courses delivering 20 workers to industry. The course is funded through the Queensland Government Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative. CANEGROWERS is proud to be recognised and funded under the program as a community-based organisation delivering quality training.

These courses have been fully-subscribed for many years: putting forward a new injection of talent in the sector and is invaluable in providing the required skills to new employees to the sector.  As well as this, CANEGROWERS Mackay have advertised for workers nationally and internationally across digital platforms to help mitigate the shortfall in these areas with a varying degree of success. There is competition not just across all ag sectors, but across all industries.

And we need to see full employment across the entire supply chain, from paddock to port, to see our product successfully off to market. It’s also important for our regional economy, with every one dollar spent in the sugar industry multiplying to $6.10 across the Mackay-Isaac regional economy.

As this goes to print and all things going well, all four factories across Mackay/Plane Creek milling areas will have begun crushing for the 2025 crush season.  Sarina’s Plane Creek Mill was the first to kick off. However, it was delayed a few days by an unpredicted rainfall event across the mill area. Falls of up to 40mm across already moist paddocks resulted in a Saturday commencement of crushing, then experiencing a shaky start with limited cane supply owing to continued wet paddock conditions and some start-up issues.  In Mackay area, Farleigh was first to fire up, with first cane through the rollers at 10 am on 10 June.

Let us hope that the weather is kind to us throughout the harvest season to attempt to maximise the prime harvesting period and combined with hopefully improved and more consistent factory performance to help make the most out of the harvest season for all areas of our industry.

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2025 Haulout driver training, Course Two. Photo credit: Chris Finlay.

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