2023 dry spell yields sweet success for Isis Central Sugar Mill

Bundaberg’s cane growers have gone from one extreme to the other with recent dry weather making for a bumper 2023 season, however the lack of rainfall has many concerned.

Isis Central Sugar Mill fires on all cylinders achieving impressive hauls this year's crush season.Photo Brittany Cook / Isis Town & Country

The dry end to 2023 has provided a bumper result for Bundaberg’s cane growers, reporting a better result than previous years.

The 2022 crushing season across the region and much of Queensland was dampened by heavy rains, causing damage to the rail network and leaving undesired stand over crops with the crushing season pushed out to 31 weeks.

While many came into the 2023 season with concerns for uncut crops which had been sitting in water, the dry end of 2023 brought a much more efficient cutting season.

Crushing across the Bundaberg region came to an end last week, with Millaquin Mill emptying its last bin on November 7 and the Isis Central Sugar Mill doing the same the following day.

More agriculture news:

Big players in the Queensland sugarcane industryBundaberg sugar to sell for $600 million

The hard work of the farmers and crushing crews across the region has proven a success with the Isis Central Sugar Mill reporting a year-to-date CCS (sugar content) of 16.69 units, 3.89 units higher than the 2022 result of 12.80.

Chief executive officer Peter Hawe said the result only added to the sweet success of the 1084 tonnes of sugar cane crushed at the mill.

“We await the final results from other mills, but we are optimistic our CCS will be the highest in the Wide Bay Burnett region for 2023,” he said.

The results already appear to be shared across the region, as reported by Bundaberg Canegrowers Chairman who in his newsletter on October 31 said the highest test for the season had returned a 19.3.

However the downside to the 20-week crushing period being the driest in recent years is that it has left many concerned for the future of local sugar.

“Rainfall across the region was almost non-existent during the 2023 season, with most suppliers reporting rainfall figures of less than 50 mms across the 20 weeks,” he said.

“Rainfall is key to us having a successful season, so we remain hopeful we will receive some decent rain in coming weeks to support our 2024 crop.”