Almost one third the way through harvest NSW Sugar Milling co-operative is well on track to collect nearly 1.9m tonnes of sugar cane off Northern Rivers’ paddocks.
Wet weather held up the start of the season in early June but it hasn’t rained since and dry paddocks mean a higher sugar concentration. A firm footing for machinery also speeds up the harvest, with Harwood, Broadwater and Condong all crushing 98,500 tonnes last week alone bringing the year’s total to 540,965t.
Commercial Cane Sugar (CCS) concentrations have spiked in recent weeks as the rain stays away rising to 11.99 last week up from the year’s average of 10.8.
But spare a thought for cane producers growing their crop on the fringes of Murwillumbah. After the record flood on April fool's day all sorts of rubbish was washed into the towering cane, hiding it from view until the harvesting co-gangs cleared a way through the washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, drums and fuel tanks. Mud-coated cane also required more time to process, slowing the crush to some degree.
While an unprecedented 1.4m of water above the previous record trashed Condong mill to the tune of $4m and created a slow start to the season on the Tweed, now there are new pumps, brightly painted, and the place is humming along nicely with no breakdown issues. Morale is strong, efficiency is greater says Sunshine Sugar CEO Chris Connors.
Sugar co-operative delegate John Harbison, Mooball on the Tweed, farms land developed by his great grandfather and says he struggled a bit with the speed of the floodwaters, which scoured roads and cane loading pads.
Mr Harbison said the season was going well, with flood relics hampering farmer management more than anything, demanding that growers walk ahead of the harvester clearing logs and debris.
“Timber’s the worst, especially sawn-off chunks one foot long,” he said. “A harvester can be badly blocked. While a lot of flood debris is burnt along with the cane, there is a lot that isn’t,” he said.
Broadwater mill has been affected by the loss of cane on the Bungawalbyn during three floods in March, down to 700,000 tonnes off 760,000 harvested last year.
Meanwhile the reward paid to canegrowers is not as sweet as it seems, with prices rising after falling back from last year’s highs. Mr Connors said the price rise had been more than offset by the rise in the Australian dollar. Future success would rely on the co-operative securing alternative markets for its product.
Already NSW Sugar is investing in the second stage of a boutique rum distillery at Condong, but more commercial projects with sweet potential are in the pipeline.
Mr Connors said niche marketing better suited the small co-operative. “Bulk markets are dominated by big players. You can get into them but they will hurt you on the way through.”