Insight Focus
The 2025 harvest season has come to a close. Post-harvest clean-up is underway, with dry conditions helping establish well-advanced, promising crops across the farm. Weather uncertainty and low sugar prices continue to challenge the industry, but improved management practices and a strong crop outlook are driving renewed confidence heading into 2026.
What’s happening on the farm right now?
The season is officially done and dusted, wrapping up on November 23, so the pace has shifted from harvest chaos to tidy-up mode. Fertilising is finished, harvesting gear is being cleaned down and parked up, and attention has turned to weed control and general farm hygiene.
With most of the northern mills now closed, it’s very much the wash-up phase — a chance to get jobs finished before the wet season arrives and, importantly, to take a breather without the usual urgency hanging over every day.
How’s the crop looking?
In a word: promising. After several tough years, the crop is looking the best it has in about four seasons. Despite a very dry run following a major rain event in September, the lack of follow-up rain has actually worked in the crop’s favour, helping to establish strong foundations.
There’s some well-advanced cane across the farm, particularly in low-lying floodplain country where the dry conditions have allowed it to thrive. If seasonal rain arrives around Christmas as expected, the crop should be robust enough to handle it — barring any major weather surprises.
The early plant crops are advanced and well established. Q240 is thriving in the recent dry period.
What are the main challenges at the moment?
Weather is always the wildcard. The focus now is on finishing work before the monsoon sets in and keeping one cautious eye on cyclone season, a familiar concern in the tropics.
Beyond that, the bigger pressure point is economics. Sugar prices remain underwhelming, which has taken a toll across the industry. The only real counterbalance is production: grow a strong crop and let volume do what price won’t. Timeliness is everything right now — getting work done, maintaining gear, and being ready for whatever the next few months throw up.
What are you most proud of?
This year has seen a shift in approach, particularly in reducing reliance on residuals in response to heavy rainfall conditions.
It’s still early days, but the signs are encouraging, especially in high-rainfall areas where long-term resilience matters. There’s a quiet confidence in knowing the crop has been given its best possible start, and that the groundwork laid now should pay dividends down the track. After a challenging few seasons, having a crop that genuinely looks strong is something to be proud of — and a reminder that sometimes patience and persistence really do count.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the global sugar industry a very happy and safe festive season, and a prosperous 2026.
After working seven days a week on farm for the last five months, it was time for some leisure time in Brisbane at an AC/DC concert!
