CEO Comment

KEEPING AN EYE ON THE BASICS

CANEGROWERS enjoys a strong membership base, encompassing a range of cane-farming enterprises, from small family-run farms to large corporate-owned operations.

Because of this we have a unique but significant responsibility to work on whole-ofindustry issues. To realise the industry’s potential, we believe that strong, collaborative leadership is required.

While CANEGROWERS spends a considerable amount of time taking the traditional advocacy approach to government, almost as much effort is going into collaborative work across the industry.

We are working closely with milling companies, researchers from SRA and universities, logistics operators at QSL and STL, and with prospective investors who are looking to know more about the industry.

With a long history of grower representation and a strong foundation of having growers at the heart of our priority setting and decision making, CANEGROWERS is in a great position to participate in industry-wide discussions with a strong focus on the needs of growers.

Of course, we are not the only industry voice. But this is not about being the biggest or the loudest, it is about looking at issues from the perspective of what is important for growers and bringing others along with us to improve the profitability of growers.

While this longer-term work is important, we are not going to forget about the basics.

CANEGROWERS is just as focused on the here and now profitability drivers for growers. Thinking and planning while acting on the here and now risks is an important part of our work as your industry body.

For many growers, the impact of pigs on the productivity of their farms is significant.

Feral pig control in many of our districts is costing growers a lot of time and money, as well as impacting current and future yield, and in almost all cases it is causing real stress and anxiety.

Our district companies and local grower reps are as close to the action as you can get on this issue – as it is affecting them too. Based on their feedback and insights, we are focusing more efforts on finding real solutions to this awful problem.

Sadly, the cost of protecting your crop can be lost when someone selfishly uses your farm to dispose of their waste.

The issue of illegal dumping is alarmingly common across many districts. The reality of farming near the urban environment, the escalating costs of legal waste disposal, and the innate selfishness of some people is resulting in a costly and dangerous situation for growers.

In some respects, the State Government has recognised this through clean-up grants, but CANEGROWERS will continue to do more to highlight the issue on behalf of impacted growers.

The approach we will continue to take at CANEGROWERS is to think long-term, while taking any action possible in the short term.

We want to see the industry grow, but that will not happen without securing our existing and basic capacity to farm now.