Cane farmer Ross Farlow to appear on Farm to Plate TV show

‘It was a great day of showing the world what cane farmers do,’ says the fourth-generation farmer who will soon appear on television screens around Australia.

Maclean cane farmer Ross Farlow with the Farm to Fork television crew who filmed a segment on his property.

The Clarence Valley’s thriving sugar cane industry will soon be thrust into the national spotlight.

A Channel 10 television crew visited fourth-generation Maclean cane farmer Ross Farlow last week to film an episode of Farm to Fork, a program that features farmers across Australia who share stories about their produce and how it’s grown.

Mr Farlow said the crew were very professional; so much so, he underestimated how long it would take to film his segment.

“I met them here at around 5.20am and didn’t get home until 6pm,” he laughed.

“It was a full day of retakes and walk-throughs just chasing the right shot.”

Maclean cane farmer Ross Farlow cooking with Farm to Fork presenter Courtney Roulston.

Mr Farlow said his segment included sharing his family’s farming history and cooking a dessert using homegrown sugar, along with host Courtney Roulston.

“We caramelised some raw sugar, added some coconut milk and then glazed it over some pineapple skewers,” he said.

“It was a great day of showing the world what cane farmers do and how sugar is made from a small little plant, up to a big crop.”

Mr Farlow’s episode is expected to air in the coming weeks.

Behind the scenes, Mr Farlow, who is chairman of the NSW Cane Growers Council, said this season’s local sugar cane industry has been very positive.

“I’d say there would be a lot of cane growers out there who are fairly upbeat at present,” he said.

“We’re currently enjoying very good prices; the world sugar price has lifted substantially and our growers are enjoying some good returns.”

Although there might have been some concern of crop damage during the March floods, Mr Farlow said the conditions at the time proved in their favour.

Maclean cane farmer Ross Farlow. Photo: Adam Hourigan

“When that flood occurred, we had an off-moon period where there were favourable small tides, offshore winds and low seas so the flood water was able to get away quite quickly,” he said.

“However, soybean growers did lose about 80 per cent of their plant crop on the river.”

With around two weeks left until cane season ends, Mr Farlow said for the next crop, they are hoping for warmer weather in the coming weeks.

“We’ve had a very cool spring this year so the germination of our young plant cane has been quite slow,” he said.

Last year agribusiness bank Rabobank partnered with Farm to Fork to help introduce farmers, such as Mr Farlow, to show producers in order to help promote Australia’s agriculture industry.