Insight Focus
Persistent wet weather keeps Far North Queensland growers behind. Harvesting and planting have been severely delayed, with growers only around 40% through planting and facing a race to catch up when conditions improve. Despite the wet conditions, cane quality and sugar content have exceeded expectations, while confidence in local mills and continued investment in farming are providing reasons for optimism.
What’s Happening on the Farm Right Now?
It’s been a pretty challenging month up here, mainly because of the weather. We’re a long way behind with both harvesting and planting because it just hasn’t dried out enough to get a decent run at anything.
We’re only about 40% through our planting, when normally we’d be nearly wrapping it up by now. When it does fine up, we’ll just have to make the most of it, go through the night if we have to, and get as much planted as we can. Missing planting doesn’t just affect this year, it sets you up for the next few years, so we’ll keep chipping away at it.
On the positive side, I’ve never seen the machinery so well maintained. We’ve nearly run out of things to do to it while we wait for the weather! At least everything will be ready to go when we finally get a decent run.
Unfortunately, this has been the view for much of the month, affecting harvesting and planting operations
How’s the Crop Looking?
What we have managed to harvest has been pretty pleasing. We’ve cut some really nice-looking cane, although there are some areas that aren’t going to be as good.
Overall, the crop is holding to the estimate, which is a good result considering the amount of rain we’ve had. The really surprising part has been the sugar. It’s probably half a unit to a unit better than last year, which you wouldn’t necessarily expect with all this wet weather.
What planting that has been done is growing nicely
So, while we’re frustrated about how slowly we’re getting through the crop, what is coming off is giving us something positive to work with.
What Are the Main Challenges This Month?
The weather, without a doubt. It’s wet, wet, wet. Even some of the old blokes around here are saying they’ve never seen it stay like this for so long.
It’s affecting everything. Harvesting is behind, planting is behind, and that flows through to cash flow and decisions growers have to make about whether they’ll get their planting done at all this year. That then has ramifications for production in the years ahead.
The good thing is we’ve got confidence in both Mulgrave and South Johnstone mills. When they’ve been able to run, they’ve been going well, and there’s capacity there. The problem at the moment isn’t really the factories — it’s getting enough cane harvested and in front of them given the weather we’ve had.
Once we finally get a decent run, it’s going to take a big effort from everyone. The mills have the capacity, but we need the harvesting capacity to match it. Everyone is going to have to pull together and get as much crop off as quickly as we can when the weather turns.
That’s probably one of the positives going forward. We know the factories have proven themselves, so if we can get some dry weather and get the harvest moving properly, hopefully we can start making up some of the ground we’ve lost.
What Are You Most Proud Of?
I’m proud that I own raincoats! You’ve got to find something to laugh about after a month like this.
Seriously though, probably the most pleasing thing has been having more of the family involved on the farm. My daughter, Tess, has finished her teaching degree and has about six months before she starts in that industry, so she’s come onto the farm and has been helping me with planting. It’s the best planting crew I’ve had for years.
I had all the kids helping with planting the other day. My wife brought lunch down, and we all sat under a tree together for half an hour. That’s pretty special. There’s a real love of agriculture in our family, and seeing the next generation wanting to be involved is something that makes me very proud.
The Calcagno siblings making it all happen
We also had the chance this month to sit down in the shed with MSF Sugar’s new CEO, Panita Vongkusolkit, for a good, informal yarn about the industry and some of the issues we’re facing up here. I came away from that feeling pretty positive. She was keen to listen, open to ideas and genuinely interested in hearing from growers about what’s happening on the ground.
There was some good discussion about where the industry is heading and how growers and the mill can work together. From my point of view, it gives you confidence when you’ve got someone willing to get out from behind the desk, sit down in the shed, and have those conversations. We’ve all got common issues, so being able to talk openly about them and work in the same direction is a positive thing going forward.
We’ve also recently leased another 70 hectares, so I suppose that shows we’re still pretty invested in the industry. Our philosophy has always been that you’re either in or you’re out, there’s no point being halfway.
Although this new farm is low country with plenty of drains and plenty of crocodiles, so apparently my young bloke Luke gets the hills and I get the crocodiles!
