The Start Of The Sugarcane Harvest Season.
Well, the season has started again. The evenings and early mornings will be lit with flickering flames. Long hours and hard work, both in the fields, in the trucks, and at the mill. The landscape will change as the paddocks are harvested. That’s right, it is sugarcane harvesting season. Sugarcane grows for 12 to 18 months and can reach up to four metres tall before harvesting. In the Tweed Valley, harvest season runs between June and December. As locals, from early June, we are on the lookout for signs of the impending harvest.
Cane fires can burn pretty fiercely, so farmers generally wait until dusk to light the fields when the temperatures and winds have dropped. You may be fortunate enough to see a cane fire from your houseboat, which is truly a spectacular sight. If not, here is drone footage of a sugarcane fire near Murwillumbah – you can even see our iconic Mt Warning overseeing the procedure.
Growing up, we couldn’t help but run around and try to catch the “black snow,” usually causing trouble with Mum for bringing the black residue inside. Cane burning frequency has changed significantly with green cane harvesting, so when driving through the valley, we eagerly point out the first signs of a cane fire. If you notice black marks on the decks, yes, we have cleaned them; it is just a little ash left behind after a dusting of “black snow.”
Before harvest, sugarcane is typically burnt to reduce the amount of trash or leaf matter, making it easier on the harvesting equipment. While the burning of sugarcane can be a sensitive topic, Sunshine Sugar, our local milling company, has produced a document on this subject for those interested in more information. The Burning Question Burning_Question.2021.pdf (sunshinesugar.com.au)
Sugarcane has been grown in the NSW Northern Rivers region for over 150 years and has been a stable source of livelihood for hundreds of farming daily and provided thousands of employment opportunities for the local community.
The industry has weathered many challenges but sugarcane is a remarkably resilient crop. This was demonstrated early 2022 when the region suffered through major flooding. The sugarcane fields were inundated under metres of water, in many places only the tips of the cane stalks visible above the flood water, yet despite this, most cane farmers were still able to harvest a crop that season. Other crops in the region did not fare as well.
After harvesting, the stool may be left to reshoot for the next crop. Two or three crops can be grown before the sugar cane need to be replanted.
Condong Sugar Mill commenced operation in 1880 and is still going strong. Even during the off-season, the mill at Condong can still be seen working. This is a result of the 2005 joint venture between NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative and Delta Electricty opening cogeneration plants at Condong and Broadwater mills.
As another string to their bow, in 2021 the Sunshine Sugar started producting botanical water from sugarcane at Condong. Mature sugar cane stalks have more than 60 percent moisture and prior to this that moisture either went out into the atmosphere or into the river. This innovative Australian technology was a world first. The technology also allows any surplus water to be pumped back into the water table. Perha[s ypu have seen some of our loacl sugar products on the shelves when shopping? For some cool links, Check these out:
Sugar cane fire near Murwillumbah, Ever watch a sugar cane fire? It’s a beautiful sight. This drone vision was shot out near Murwillumbah recently. By ABC BrisbaneFacebook | Facebook
