Insight Focus
- Sugar Research Australia provided varieties that are outstanding performers.
- Team is four weeks behind schedule, but the crush is forecasted as expected.
- Stephen’s crops in Far North Queensland, Australia are cutting well.
CZ: What are you up to on the farm at present?
Stephen Calcagno: “We are four weeks behind because of the extensive wet weather we had received over the past few months. Finally, the sun is shining and we have beautiful clear skies in the district. Everyone is hard at work in the fields, working long days to catch up on planting and harvesting.”
SC: “It’s great to see growers are hard at work establishing the next crop and the crush is back in full swing and the factories are working exceptionally well. It’s a promising outlook.”
CZ: At what stage is your sugarcane crop?
SC: “With all this fine weather the CCS is rising, and with the current promising sugar price, growers’ confidence is high for the rest of the harvest. The crop is cutting as expected and the district should crush the forecasted 1,174,000 tonnes.”
CZ: What are you doing differently this year?
SC: “There are no real concerns at present except maybe catching up on lost sleep! Everyone in the industry is working hard and spending long days in the fields, vehicles and factories, to put in the big effort to get the crush back on track.”
CZ: What are you most proud of?
SC: “The new Sugar Research Australia provided varieties are outstanding performers and this is very reassuring to growers moving forward.”
