FROM THE CHAIR

By Paul Schembri, Chairman CANEGROWERS

HARVEST ON A KNIFE EDGE

The 2021 sugar cane harvest is coming to a close, with half of Australia’s 21 sugar mills having completed their crush by the end of November.

For growers in those mill areas that have completed harvesting there will be a huge sense of relief and satisfaction that the crop has been cut and crushed. Unfortunately, for those growers with cane still in the paddock, the race is now on to get their crop harvested before the wet season begins in earnest.

Recent widespread rain across many of those areas has put extra pressure on farmers get their crop off. In the last few day, in some cane growing regions, phenomenal rainfall has been recorded resulting in substantial flooding. With the Bureau of Meteorology recently declaring a La Niña event, it looks like we’re in for a lot more wet weather.

All we do now is look to the sky and hope the weather gods are on our side, and that the coming rain events hold off long enough for the paddocks to dry out and the remaining crop to be harvested and crushed.

Mill Performance

Wet weather hasn’t been the only factor behind the late finish in some areas. Milling performance has also been unacceptable in some milling regions. We know from experience that the sugar industry thrives when crops are crushed in an economic season length of 20 to 24 weeks.

When crops come off quickly the farmer wins, and the mills reap the reward in the next season of increased productivity. When I joined CANEGROWERS in 1983, I recall one industry leader who often said, “shorter seasons makes for happy growers who grow more cane”. So true!

World sugar prices in recent years have taken a heavy toll on mill cashflow and profitability. Obviously, maintenance and capital works budgets have been under pressure as well.

But, while the mills’ economic circumstance has been challenging, so too has the economic circumstance of growers. Unless milling performance improves and season lengths are shortened, cane production and productivity will continue to suffer.

We must phase out these longer harvest seasons or risk a production decline.

Life cycle analysis

The debate around climate change dominates just about every discussion these days. Regardless of whether you believe climate change is real or overstated, one fact is inescapable – the climate change policies of governments, both here in Australia and internationally, will impact our industry.

The Australian sugar industry is being proactive on this complex issue, commissioning a life cycle analysis to better understand and measure our carbon footprint.

This methodology is widely used as a means of auditing an industry’s carbon footprint. It measures an industry’s carbon emissions, then analyses how the industry offsets those emissions through things like the production of biofuels, clean energy, and carbon sequestration.

The last life cycle analysis undertaken, around seven years ago, found the industry to be net carbon positive. In fact, the sugarcane plant is one of the greatest crops for carbon capture and sequestration.

Far too often in these debates around climate change it is implied that industry, particularly the resources and agricultural sector, are the major source of C02 emissions. We will have the result of the latest analysis in early 2022.

Hopefully it proves that the sugar industry is net carbon positive and far more environmentally friendly than some might think.

Climate change is a complex issue and we need to respond in a measured and objective way. We have a lot at stake, both in terms or our economic livelihoods and our reputation. 