Left In The Fields Cane, Mud, and Challenges

The 2024 cane season came to an abrupt finish, leaving an estimated 130-140,000 tonnes of standover cane in the fields.

Storms and heavy rains on the evening of the evening of the 17th of December forcing the sugar mills on the 18th of December to receive the last cane for the 2024 season. Numerous fields were unable  to harvested being stood over till the next harvesting season or to be mulched out, to allow farmers to have somewhere to plant in 2025.

Queensland Cane, Agriculture & Renewables (QCAR) Herbert District Manager and Senior Agricultural Officer, Lawrence Di Bella, said towards the end of crushing season the sugar content in the cane was significantly declining due to new shoots (called suckers) coming through.

“These suckers don't have a lot of sugar in them,” explained Lawrence.

“Due to the difficult harvesting condition more extraneous matter being trash, dirt and mud was entering the factory also.”

“It was quite difficult for the mills to process the cane that was coming in because it was laden with a lot of mud, debris and trash; the harvesters couldn't physically clean it because of the wet conditions that prevailed at the end of 2024.”

Lawrence said the crush should conclude in November, but due to wet weather, industrial action, the late mill starting date, and mill performance issues, the whole season was disrupted. All our industry research on season length supports a conclusion to the harvesting season before December annually.

QCAR has already proposed to Wilmar a mill starting date for the 3rd of June (pending weather events) 2025. The early start will allow us to get the crop off in a timely manner, with the mill finishing date to be locked in for early- mid November.

“We should complete harvesting our ratooning cane by around Melbourne Cup and then we could have roughly two more weeks towards mid-November to get the plough out blocks out,” said Lawrence.

“Any cane that we want to ratoon after Melbourne Cup is at a high risk of low yields the following year failed ratoon crops, or having cane left behind in the field because of wet weather; which is what has happened in 2024.”  

“Two important drivers of cane productivity in this district are the 2 W’s. The weather and Wilmar crushing the crop in a timely manner. Getting the crop off before December will give the industry the best opportunity maximise profits, which flows through the whole supply chain and community. It will also allow growers to attend to new crops before the onset of the wet season, while allowing the harvesting and milling sectors ample time to complete maintenance before the start to the next season.”

This is the second time in four years that there have been standover crops left in the field.  

Lawrence said that research clearly shows that significant rain events in November and December set the stage for next year’s crop yields.

“The late finish had a significant ripple effect right through into 2025 to the point that a lot of growers could not finish fertilising their fields into early to mid-January,” said Lawrence.

There was also a shortage of fertiliser and chemicals, due to companies closing over Christmas New Year period; preventing growers from getting vital farm work done.

The combination of a late crush and rains at the end of 2024 harvest season led to many growers having to wait for field conditions to dry up enough to commence work again. Driving around the district on Christmas, Boxing and New Years days, tractors and spraying equipment was in use, while growers took the opportunity to undertake farm work before the next rains.

Lawrence said, “Last year was a challenging season and he is looking forward to a better 2025 cane season. We can’t continue doing the same old thing every year and expect a different outcome. All sectors of the industry need to come together to ensure that we get the crop harvested in a timely manner, year after year.”


“We need to get the crop off at a reasonable time, because what happens is, if you don’t, you end up with these low-yielding crop the following year, then subsequently you then have a short season, it affects your productivity, affects your viability, right through the whole value chain”