Cutting The Cane With Farmer Lawrence Di Bella

By Victoria Velton

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Welcome to the Cutting The Cane, a column where we have a chat with those supporting the backbone of the local economy: the farmers behind the sugar. This week Lawrence Di Bella of Di Bella Produce and Farming answered our questions about how the season is progressing.

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What stage is your paddock at now?  

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By mid-week I will have just over 60% of my crop harvested. Our estimate is still holding at this stage.

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How are you feeling about the crop this season?  

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For us it will be an average crop, with great CCS this far. Shame about the high fuel and fertiliser prices, because they are not going to leave much in the bank at the end of the season. Lucky the sugar price has risen in the past few weeks, because it was looking very sad to depressing earlier in the season.  

As a farmer you ask yourself- “Why do I work and get nothing in return?”

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How has the cutting season been progressing so far?  

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The drier harvest season has allowed us to get cane off this year without bogging up fields too much in our neck of the woods (only a little bit earlier in the year).

The earlier start to the crush was great because it allowed us to get some cane off earlier, get money in the bank earlier, got ratoons away earlier, and allowed the harvesting and milling sectors time to settle in for the season. It will hopefully allow us to finish earlier (weather permitting).  

It allowed us to apply fertiliser, lime and undertake spraying in a timely manner, allowed us to laser level fallow blocks as required, get cover crops in and give the mill time to commence maintenance before the Christmas New Year break. WIN-WIN for all! And maybe, we will get some time off just after Christmas New Year to recharge our batteries for another year.

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What are you expecting from your crop this year?  

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We will yield slightly more cane than last year and definitely high CCS. The long-wet season and to many cloudy days earlier in the year hampered growth this year.

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Looking ahead to the rest of the season, what are the biggest factors that will determine how it finishes?

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I know some parts of the district are wanting rain, but I would be happy to have it dry until the end of the crush. A good storm or two in October-November would be enough to set us up for next year. A late mild wet season for us who farm in Foresthomeand Victoria Estate areas generally means big crops to harvest that coming season.

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