sugar cane farming

Sugar cane is a giant tropical grass. Uniquely, and unlike grain crops that store carbohydrates in seeds, sugar cane stores carbohydrate - in the form of a sucrose (sugar) rich liquid - in its stalk. This liquid is extracted by mechanically crushing the stalk and then crystallising the juice into raw sugar.

Following the crushing and extraction process, the raw sugar is transported from the mill to the storage and loading facility located at the port in Townsville. This facility is managed by Queensland Sugar Limited ("QSL"), an industry owned non-profit organisation that manages the export marketing and sale of most of the raw sugar produced in Queensland.

Sugar cane farming follows a seasonal rhythm from planting to harvesting dictated by the tropical climate, plant biology, logistics and economic factors.

PLANTING

The life cycle of the sugar cane plant begins when it is planted. Sugar cane is propagated vegetatively, by planting stem cuttings (called billets) that contain one or more buds. The buds germinate to produce a primary stalk, from which roots and shoots develop. In the Burdekin, planting generally takes place in March or April.  

The pictures below show ACF's dual row planting machines in operation and a recently planted block with the emerging shoots.

growing

After planting the cane grows for between 14 and 16 months prior to its first harvest as "plant cane".  Each subsequent crop known as a ratoon crop is harvested annually thereafter until the cane is ploughed out after five or six ratoons and the ground fallowed prior to planting again. 

ratooning

Once the cane is cut, the plant immediately begins to regrow from the underground root buds known as the stool. The process by which a new crop of sugar cane grows from the stool is called ratooning. Ratooning is triggered by removal of the cane stems and the cane plant is again ready to harvest in the subsequent year.

Typically, five to six annual crops of sugar cane are produced from each sugar cane planting. The first crop known as the "plant cane" and each subsequent years crop known as "first ratoon", "second ratoon" etc.

ACF operates the farms on a portfolio basis, rotating the planting and ratoon profile of the cane as well as the cane variety. This provides effective risk management against pests, diseases and timing of cane maturity.

harvesting

In an identical process to mowing your lawn at home, sugar cane also regrows after harvesting. Harvesting is simply a more industrial version, that involves cutting the stalk about 3cm above ground level. Harvesting operations occur continuously for 5 months commencing June of each year.

The leaves and tops of the sugar cane plant do not contain any significant sugar. As such, and in order to minimise the logistical cost of moving this valueless vegetable matter, all sugar cane farms in the Burdekin burn their cane prior to harvest. This does not damage the cane or the sugar in any way and in fact provides valuable carbon back into the soil and also reduces transport and logistics costs by over 40%.

The cane harvester chops the stalks into 20cm billets, which are deposited into 6 tonne capacity bins carried on trucks following the harvester. There is a network of narrow gauge railways and sidings operated by the mill that efficiently collects all the cane harvested in the region for delivery to the mill. ACF's trucks carry the bins to designated rail sidings for collection by the mill.

The pictures below show a cane burn, the harvest in progress and the bins as delivered to the siding.

processing & marketing

ACF sells all of the sugar cane that it produces to the regional milling company Wilmar Sugar Australia (Wilmar) under a 3-year rolling supply agreement that details the economic relationship.

The economic relationship is complex but the underlying concept is that the mill is paid a fee denominated in sugar for processing cane into raw sugar that is delivered to ACF's nominated export marketing agent at Townsville port.

The outcome is that ACF's revenue stream is based on the sugar contained in the cane and how much the sugar is sold for. This intimate link to the world market for raw sugar is what enables ACF to price its cane based on the transparent NY ICE #11.

The pictures below show the Invicta mill owned by Wilmar, cane being delivered to the mill and raw sugar being delivered to the port in Townsville.