CONSTANT VIGILANCE ON BEHALF OF GROWERS

BY DAN GALLIGAN CEO CANEGROWERS

We continue to see announcements about the strong potential for our industry to evolve and participate in the emerging bioeconomy. There is growing awareness that our industry can be the backbone of what the Queensland Government suggests could be a $3 billion sustainable aviation fuel industry. Yet there are many more existing and potential projects afoot.

As Chairman Owen Menkens and I travel the state, meeting with growers and district Boards, we are explaining the CANEGROWERS strategy to make these opportunities a reality.

Importantly, though, we are not naïve. Opportunities do not materialise if we ignore the current issues.

So, as we all shift focus to the amazing logistical feat of taking 30 million tonnes of sugarcane from paddock to packet, CANEGROWERS will continue to be vigilant, ensuring that we have growers covered when it comes to addressing the needs of the here and now.

There are plenty of examples of the day-to-day operations CANEGROWERS staff undertake on behalf of growers.

Our district and Queensland Cane Growers Organisation staff have just finished a range of meetings with the crucially important cane auditors.

We have also held a series of workshops with transport regulators and operators, while our insurance team have met with service providers and underwriters.

At the district level, CANEGROWERS has completed complex discussions around cane supply and agreed performance measures with some mills.

Now that the harvest is underway, many of these same staff will shift focus to be ready to help growers with permitting arrangements, mill bin delivery, and harvest equity arrangements.

At QCGO our policy managers are working on issues that underpin and, in some cases, could threaten farm profitability. With the predictions of an El Nino and associated drying conditions, we are concentrating resources towards responding to current water and electricity price reviews. While harvesting conditions may improve, the need for increasing energy and water usage to irrigate valuable cane for next season will also come under pressure.

Trade remains our best bang-for-buck policy area and while the UK Free Trade Agreement comes into force, we are also working on the EU negotiations to provide even more market access opportunities for Australian sustainable sugar. The strategy to be able to certify and trace sustainable sugar from Australia is gaining momentum and this year we will continue to work to turn this into a hip pocket outcome for growers.

And, literally while the harvesters are traversing the paddocks across Queensland, our staff and industry colleagues will be telling the story of the industry at the Ekka in Brisbane and in the development of new curriculum-aligned school resources. Grower support for CANEGROWERS is what gives us strength as an advocate and the resources to try to solve the challenges growers face in the current season, while also crafting solutions that may not be realised for years, possibly decades to come. The ability to work across the immediate and long term is a remarkable feature of CANEGROWERS.

So, as you harvest this year’s crop, I hope you feel assured that your organisation is there to support your efforts not just today, but also your plans for the future. 