By Sonia Ball
QCAR Central District Manager
At this time of the year our sugarcane farmers would normally have an end date within near sight and be looking forward to a well-earned Christmas break with their families. But that looks unlikely with all Central District mills, at the time of writing, all just nudging or just past the 50-60 per cent mark.
The next couple of months will be telling and will reveal what ‘end’ scenario for the 2024 season will eventuate. Will there be standover? This looks likely, but quoting a definitive amount at this stage would be like trying to squeeze blood from a turnip.
In fact, there is a snowball’s chance in hell that any mill supply areas in the Central District will get to a 100 per cent cutout in what is generally well-accepted (in glorious seasons past) as ‘reasonable time’. But I’m an optimist (which is basically valueless in the face of adversity) and I believe in miracles, until there aren’t any.
Now, if you ask any weatherman, it’s going to rain at some point. We are heading into the wet season so it’s on the cards is my non-meteorologically based theory. The experts unfortunately can’t say when, how much, where or for how long. Hence the difficulties in estimating an outcome.
It is generally and somewhat begrudgingly accepted, we are told, that all mill workers and management are concentrating with everything they have to get to the end of this crushing on whatever day or month the 12th of Never falls.
Meanwhile our members and all sugarcane farmers and contractors are having to think about making decisions that it’s way too soon to make.
The quandary is that every loss or cost has a dollar value and these decisions, after ‘reasonable time’, will all come with one or the other or both. Late finish, late plant, late harvest. Without tough decisions being made from all parties our farmers will all wind up on the same pony with the peeling paint on the periodically broken-down merry-go-round.
Having said that, QCAR is here to help in any way we can short of turning up at the mills with a spanner. If you are having issues with allotments or equity or any other harvesting issues, please don’t hesitate to give your local team a call – that’s what we are here for.
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