3 minute read
CRUSHING IT!
2022 SUGARCANE HARVEST KICKS OFF
The sound of cane harvesters roaring to life around Tully heralded the start of Queensland's sugarcane crush, with the first bin of the 2022 season tipped at Tully Mill on 27 May.
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Rain delayed the start in a number of districts, while commissioning issues and staff shortages also hampered the commencement of crushing at some mills.
However, by late-June most of Queensland's 19 sugar mills had fired up, with Rocky Point being the last cab off the rank with an expected start date of 1 August.
With an estimated crop of almost 30 million tonnes, growers will be hoping the predicted return of La Nina doesn't eventuate and there is no reoccurance of mill performance problems that plagued some districts in 2021.
CANEGROWERS Chairman Owen Menkens said growers are hopeful the late summer and autumn rain will push the crop above the pre-season estimate to help them meet rising fuel and fertiliser bills.
“It’s always a relief to get the season underway and this year is no different after flooding and storm damage in some regions,” Mr Menkens said.
“The official season estimate is close to 30 million tonnes of sugarcane which is higher than the 2021 crop of 28.47 million tonnes. We’re cautiously optimistic this year it will cut even higher.
“While that may sound like a windfall season, we are feeling significant pain from rising input prices. My fertiliser costs this year are double what they were last year and with diesel at more than $2.00 a litre, turning on the tractor and harvester is expensive.
“These increases have to be absorbed into our businesses because, at the end of the day, we are price takers and can’t demand any more for our sugar than the world market price.
“The sugar price is good at the moment so we need the weather and milling performance on our side to help us make the most of our crop and balance our books.”
Growers in some districts were frustrated in 2021 by a series of technical and mechanical issues that pushed the season beyond Christmas.
“Mill performance and reliability last year was less than ideal, particularly in my home area of the Burdekin, and the Mackay and Herbert River regions,” Mr Menkens said.
“Maryborough growers also had significant problems with a cane transfer process in what was their first year supplying the Isis Central Mill at Childers.
“We need to get our crop off at the optimum time to maximise the benefit of its sugar content and seeing delay after delay, like we did in 2021, was frustrating and cost money." ■
To celebrate the start to the 2022 season, CANEGROWERS put out a call for photos that showcased Queensland's cane harvest. The result was a plethora of photos supplied by the budding photographers in the CANEGROWERS Facebook community.
