Over 68,000 hectares of land is used for the cultivation of sugar cane in the Hinchinbrook Shire, with the total of Cane Production Area being 65,000 hectares. A small proportion of the land is irrigated, with the growers relying primarily on rain feed irrigation. The natural tropical conditions provide the ability to produce high yielding crops of sugar cane. There are 807 individual or family groups that have Cane Production Area which entitles them to supply cane to CSR Herbert River Mills. Most cane farms are run by family groups, a characteristic feature of cane farming throughout Queensland. | 
Cane fields in the Herbert River Valley
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Green Harvesting |
Since 1995, all of the cane has been harvested without burning prior to harvesting, a method better known as 'green harvesting'. Green harvesting involves the cutting of the adult cane stalk, the removal of leaves and unwanted matter, and the covering of the plant's roots with a 'trash blanket' (the leaves and other residue left after harvesting). This assists in the plant's regrowth, and with the addition of fertiliser (urea and potash), ensures the plants produce another crop, often for up to six years. Just over 100 mechanical cane harvesters, many operating on full tracks, and using high flotation in-field transporter units, remove the crops. Since 1994, there has been a move away from conventional transporting systems to large tipper elevator units capable of transporting up to 14 tonnes of cane. The investment in equipment for a single contractor can be as much as \\\\\$1 million. |
The crushing of the cane by the mills commences mid June, and continues through to early November. During this time, sugar cane is crushed continuously by the two local mills - Macknade and Victoria, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The two mills are owned by CSR Limited and operate as one unit - CSR Herbert River Mills. Cane that is supplied by growers can be crushed at any of the two mills with a single Supply and Processing Agreement negotiated between the growers and CSR Herbert River Mills. The Hinchinbrook district has the potential to grow and crush 6.1 million tonnes. The recent combined effect of adverse weather conditions, rat plagues and outbreak of "orange rust" disease which affects the districts' main cane variety, has limited the total tonnes crushed during the year 2000 to just over 2.8 million tonnes.
Victoria Mill
Victoria Mill is the largest sugar mill in Australia, and one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. The mill has the capacity to crush over 4.5 million tonnes of cane and to produce in excess of 500,000 tonnes of raw sugar in a season of about 23 weeks. About 60,000 tonnes of molasses are produced as a by-product.
Harvested cane is transported from the field to bins at cane railway sidings and then hauled to the mill by diesel locomotives over a narrow gauge railway system involving 250km of track and sidings. At the mill the cane is then shredded and crushed in two milling "trains". Each "train" consists of five consecutive mills and can crush over 400 tonnes per hour. Heavy plant is used with each mill roller weighing over 17 tonnes. | 
Hauling sugar cane bins to Victoria Mill
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Macknade Mill is a single "train" millcapable of crushing over 1.5 million tonnes of cane. The cane railway system is integrated with the system covering the Victoria area, and cane is transferred between Victoria and Macknade to maximise the crushing capacity.
Lucinda Jetty | Raw sugar, crystallised from the processed cane juice, is taken by rail in bulk from both mills to the bulk sugar terminal at Lucinda to await shipment to overseas customers. All of the sugar produced in the district is exported. During the past 40 years, the Queensland sugar industry has set the standard in bulk handling technology with innovations such as construction of the 5.76 km jetty at Lucinda (left) which enables Lucinda to receive some of the largest ships used in the raw sugar trade. |
Construction of the jetty was completed in 1979, with a design to withstand cyclones, and to follow the curvature of the earth, by dipping two metres from the initial horizion over its length. A single conveyor belt runs the entire length of the jetty and back, enabling sugar to travel from the storage sheds on land to ships berthed out at sea in about 25 minutes. Almost 600 tonnes of sugar can be carried by the conveyor belt at any one time. Vessels can load cargoes of up to 25,000 tonnes of raw sugar in less than a day. The berth is capable of accepting vessels with a total carrying capacity of up to 50,000 tonnes. Sugar is supplied to the Lucinda terminal by Victoria and Macknade mills, and the three storage sheds have a total capacity of 231,000 tonnes of raw sugar. |
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The cane and sugar industry will continue to play an important part in the continued prosperity of the Hinchinbrook district. Cane farmers are making a conscience effort to ensure that the industry that they are involved in is sustainable. The district’s growers are focused on adopting the Code of Practice for Sustainable Cane Growing, a self regulated set of codes developed by the industry, and to adopt land management practices that fit in with district water management plans. The main concern that most of the growershave is the continuation of the ability to be able to adequately drain land when out of season high rainfall events occur. The growers relay heavy on receiving rainfall to produce a crop of sugar cane but are also faced with hardship if heavy rainfall or flooding occurs at a time when the sugar cane plant is not able to withstand the impacts. Growers in the Hinchinbrook region will continue to adopt new technology and techniques to maintain their position as some of the most cost efficient producers of sugar cane in the world.
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