Could the Amish have the answers for Douglas Ag?
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Fourth generation sugar farmer David Rutherford has joined the chorus of concern for the future of the Douglas district in the wake of the collapse of the sugar industry.
But at age 88, and prompted by the proposal raised by Phil Carlon for biofuel production, David has an out of the blue suggestion taken straight from the play book of the Amish people.
Here’s David’s Letter to the Editor:
I have read with interest your article on the proposal raised by Phil Carlon on the Douglas agriculture future. As a fourth generation local sugar farmer I am one of those who has concerns for the future of the district.
My Great Grandfather settled in Port Douglas when it was in its infancy and one of his sons who grew up in Port went on to win the ballot for the parcel of land which I presently own here in Miallo after taking it over from my father.
Around thirty odd years ago after paying out a marriage I leased the farm and took on wage jobs within the Shire until I was required to take the farm back after the lessees walked off after the closure of the Mill and left me with some 600 tonnes of standing cane and over 60 acres of cane stubble still in the ground which needed removing.
For the whole of my now 88 years I have lived on the property and did so right through the period it was leased as the home site was excluded from the leased area.
Having been left with close on 100 acres of cane and cane stubble along with an almighty crop of weeds this necessitated the purchase of tractors and implements to enable the property to be capable of looking to the future
The active growers in the district were able to harvest some of their cane after the mill closed and were paid compensation for the cane left in the fields the landowners like myself received no financial assistance of any kind even though applications for assistance were submitted to the government authority controlling the Government grant to the district.
Since the closure several public forums have suggested similar fuel formats to Mr Carlon’s but they all entail several years of establishment before any dollars roll in and I don’t think that many farmers have the wherewithal to survive those types of time frames.
One proposal that hasn’t been spoken of that often is the Industrial Hemp industry which in some other countries covers a diverse product range from fuel right through to building material. I do believe that the Amish people in USA are able to convert their industrial hemp to produce the fuel that they require for themselves.
David Rutherford
