Insight Focus
- We use technology to propagate clean seed, ensuring our sugarcane is disease free.
- Wet weather this month means we’re fertilising to get ready for next season.
- The harvested mill area is at approximately 60%, crush will finish late November/December.
Cz: What are you up to on the farm at present?
Stephen Calcagno: “Due to the wet weather this month we are currently working on fertilising the cane for next year, making sure we get the correct nutrient requirements into the crop.
SC: “On our farm we have one plot where we run a system that propagates clean seed, this means our cane is clean and disease free. We use tissue culture provided by Sugar Research Australia with new varieties and we are currently getting ready to plant the clean seed.”
Cz: What harvesting stage is your sugarcane crop at?
SC: “Disappointingly, the CCS has flattened and isn’t climbing at all, due to the rain and wet conditions. The harvested mill area stands at approximately 60%, and because of the wet weather we believe the crush will finish late November/December. The positive thing we’re focusing on through these trying times has been mill performance. Our mill performance has been outstanding with no issues to date and that is reassuring, especially with the current good global sugar prices. Meaning that when we can harvest, the mills are crushing efficiently.”
Cz: What are you doing differently this year?
SC: “All of the other current concerns are weather dependant, the quicker we can get the crop off the happier growers will be. Our focus is now on growing a good crop for next year.”
Cz: What are you most proud of this year?
SC: “I had the pleasure of meeting the CEO of MSF Sugar on his visit from Thailand. It was encouraging for growers to hear the company reaffirm its commitment to the area, thus continuing to drive the region forward.”
