Mackay cane farmers work through Christmas Day after Mackay Sugar stoppages

Mackay canegrowers have called the 2021 crushing season one of the toughest in the region’s history with many farmers forced to ditch Christmas lunch for the field.

A Pioneer Valley cane farmer who has been on the land since 1970 spent his first Christmas in the field after one of the “toughest seasons” he ever experienced.

Third-generation farmer Graeme Blackburn had close to 8000 tonnes and a seven-day countdown to harvest it before the next onslaught of rain was predicted to drench the region.

So Mr Blackburn along with his family and four employees doubled down working straight through the Christmas break.

‘I’ve never, ever had to do this before’: Graeme Blackburn.

The farmer said there had been times when he had continued harvesting after Christmas Day — but this was the first time he had been forced to work through the festive holiday.

“I’ve never, ever had to do this before,” Mr Blackburn said.

“Boxing Day was horrendous, we did about 1500 to 1800 tonnes.”

Mr Blackburn said a good day would usually produce between 800 to 1000 tonnes.

He managed to cut the last of the cane at 8pm Monday December 28, less than 24 hours before the edges of a tropical monsoon swept over the region.

“By the forecast, the rain was going to come earlier than it did — we were extremely lucky to get those days in,” Mr Blackburn said.

Had Mr Blackburn not been able to finish his harvest, he said about 4 per cent of his crops would have gone to waste resulting in “significant amount of dollars” lost.

Graeme Blackburn, a Mirani cane farmer.

As it stood, the late harvest meant the CCS of Mr Blackburn’s crops was down between seven and eight per cent meaning there would be less return per tonne.

Mr Blackburn was not alone in his experience, with many other cane farmers who contracted to Mackay Sugar into a similar boat.

The major reason for this was significant breakdowns at mills throughout Mackay putting a hold on production.

Mr Blackburn said he believed the way in which the ‘advantage scheme’ which offered incentives to canegrowers to harvest early had also been flawed, making it a tough season for farmers who were not involved.

“In my opinion the way they did it this year, it was cricket — it wasn’t fair,” he said.

Mackay region cane grower Joseph Borg.

Mackay Canegrowers chairman Joseph Borg is a third generation cane farmer in Pleystowe.

“To put it simply, we’ve had a pretty good crop year and a very good price but a very disappointing milling performance resulting in a season length,” Mr Borg said.

Mr Borg said many farmers had managed to finish the season “by the skin of their teeth”, but not without a price as late harvest crops yielded less sugar.

“It’s cost growers and millers a lot,” he said.

“At the end of the day, the mills have offered no compensation or reparation for what’s happened this year.”

Harry Bruce's take on the season finale for Mackay canefarmers, December 30, 2021. Picture: Harry Bruce harry toon

Mackay Sugar issued a statement saying the season had “presented more challenges than expected” and had been forthcoming with growers and stakeholders throughout the year.

A spokeswoman said multiple interruptions to the milling process throughout the year had been the result of old equipment that had failed.

“We have invested approximately $70m per year into maintenance and capital improvements and this commitment is set to continue to ensure our assets are improved following years of capital constraints,” she said.

The spokeswoman said the maintenance period was now under way, having used recent mill stoppages to get a head start on some important tasks.

The last cane of 2021, Farleigh, 29 December 2021. Picture: Tasman Higgins, Factory Manager, Farleigh

“Most of the equipment needed for the planned capital works has also been ordered and is being manufactured and, in some cases, items are already shipped and on their way to Australia,” she said.

In regards to compensation, the spokeswoman said Mackay Sugar had individual agreements in the form of a Cane Supply and Processing Agreement in place with all their growers and it was these agreements which covered the terms and conditions around cane supply.

The last bin for the season was tipped at 4.20pm on Wednesday December 29.

Mackay Sugar’s season yielded 5.33Mt of cane crushed with preliminary data suggesting an average CCS of 13.7 per cent and 698,000 tonnes of raw sugar being produced.

Originally published as Mackay cane farmers work through Christmas Day after Mackay Sugar stoppages