South Johnstone/Mulgrave/Tully

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in the original forecast area due to the dry weather. For the cane that has been planted it has been a relativity good growing period with a dry start and just enough light showers to help keep it going – hopefully we will receive a decent amount of rain to really help kick it along. Most farmers have now shifted their focus to starting their fertiliser and spraying routines.

If the dry weather continues reducing the need for major weed control and farmers are on top of their fertilising programs the signs are there for another decent crop on the coast for 2020.

All in all, the 2019 crush has been below expectation and the Mossman/Tableland regions are hoping for an increased crop for next year.

n By Michael Camilleri,

Northern Director Summer 2018–19

It was extremely dry towards the end of last year and the weather forecast predicted it would remain mostly dry through the Christmas Holiday period. And then the rain arrived!

Unable to finish their crop preparation work, farmers were disappointed with the onset of an early wet season that caught everybody by surprise. It leaves you to question the value of modern-day weather forecasting technology when they totally miss the mark.

The Monsoon dumped a heap of rain on North Queensland. Ayr, Giru, Townsville, Ingham Mossman and the Daintree all flooded with everywhere in between receiving heavy rains. The Daintree River peaked at 12.6 metres, exceeding the previous record which was 11.8 metres in 1996. When the rain forces you indoors, there is no better time to maintain and repair machinery and harvesters.

We lost a lot of sunlight with the monsoonal cloud cover. But the new crop seemed to be shaping up well despite the long dry spell and early onset of rains.

Autumn 2019

It’s raining again. Or rather it hasn’t stopped raining. We did get about 4 dry days which allowed Tully Mill to crush for two days but then we had to stop again due to the wet weather.

An old timer told me that if it rains on the day of the equinox its likely to rain on and off until the next equinox. There are two equinoxes each year – one in autumn and one in spring – and it was raining during the 2019 autumn equinox.

Some varieties had fully arrowed while others were just beginning – the likelihood of a high CCS seemed optimistic.

Planting was held up and some fallow crops still had legumes to be harvested.

Mulgrave and South Johnstone Mills were busily repairing bridges, some receiving a re-decking treatment while others got their pylons repaired.

The rest of us were chomping at the bit to get out of the season gate to prepare for next year’s crop and take advantage of an increasing sugar price.

Winter 2019

The mills started in the middle of June but the crush was repeatedly delayed by rain. The few fine days we experienced were overcast and bleak, further delaying drainage from the blocks.

Planting contractors and farm supply businesses were under enormous pressure to service their clientele in the limited fine weather days available.

October–November 2019

Indian sugar exports, campaigns opposing sugar consumption, reef regulations, extremely wet weather and mill breakdowns at start-up have all left growers feeling unappreciated for their effort. As custodians of the land, growers are accused of doing the wrong thing to the point of affecting our individual livelihoods and lowering community morale.

South Johnstone Mill to date has an average CCS of 12.60; Mulgrave Mill has a CCS of 12.50 and Tully Mill has a CCS of 13.00. It is extremely unusual for Mulgrave Mill to have a lower CCS than South Johnstone Mill. This has been happening roughly since both mills combined crushing areas to share the workload, and it appears to be getting worse.

MSF Sugar in their wisdom decided to change the pool nomination dates without consultation with grower representatives. The new date was October 31, two months earlier