Harvesters fire up to start the sugarcane crush

Harvesters are firing up across the Tablelands district this week to begin Queensland’s 2025 sugarcane crush. It marks the start of a new season that growers hope will bring better fortunes after a tough run last year.

About 28.5m tonnes of cane are expected to be cut and crushed across 13 districts, from Rocky Point in the south right up to Mossman in the Far North.

The crop is down slightly from last year, with recent widespread flooding across North Queensland causing major losses to plant cane, while prolonged cloudy weather also slowed growth in some districts.

Despite this, growers are hoping to turn the page on 2024, which was one of the most disrupted seasons in recent memory. Unseasonal rain, mill breakdowns and industrial action caused major delays that saw some districts harvesting into January – and around a million tonnes of cane left in the paddock.

CANEGROWERS CEO Dan Galligan said “Growers are eternal optimists’’.

“They’ve done their part, growing the best crop they can under the conditions. Now we will be working together with the rest of the supply chain to make this season work, he said.

While last season’s industrial disputes have been resolved, the reality is, multiple difficult harvesting seasons have had a cumulative impact on the profitability of farmers, Mr Galligan said.

“In the brief break since the last harvesting season we’ve been in urgent talks with the sugar manufacturers, and while we’re seeing a real willingness to tackle the problems and get things back on track, there are no quick fixes, unfortunately.”

Workforce shortages are also creating challenges, especially in regional areas where skilled mill workers, harvester drivers and haulout crews are in short supply.