General News
26 August, 2026
Big blow to cane harvest
UNRELENTING wet weather and overcast conditions across Far North Queensland have dealt a heavy blow to the regional sugarcane harvest, leaving paddocks waterlogged and local crushing figures lagging drastically behind last year’s pace.
Industry figures from MSF Sugar reveal its Mulgrave Mill in Gordonvale and South Johnstone Mill near Innisfail have fallen a combined total of 261,000 tonnes behind their comparative season-to-date output from last year.
At Mulgrave Mill, cumulative processing has reached just 330,000 tonnes – a sharp drop from the 494,000 tonnes recorded by the same time last season.
The massive 164,000-tonne deficit represents a 33% decline in processed cane for the district, leaving the mill running at roughly two-thirds of its comparative output.
South Johnstone Mill is facing a similar uphill battle.
Season-to-date throughput stands at 302,000 tonnes, compared to 399,000 tonnes processed by this date last year – marking a 97,000-tonne shortfall for the area.
While harvesting crews count on clear skies to maintain round-the-clock operations, relentless damp conditions have made ground saturation a primary hurdle for growers.
Canegrowers Innisfail chairman Joe Marano told The Observer that, while weather disruptions aren’t entirely new, the persistent overcast sky has severely hindered paddock recovery.
“Crushing’s down on last year, but we did lose a week and a half in September (2025),” Mr Marano said.
“So there’s the possibility that we can pick up some of it.”
“Now we’ve had rain during the season before, but I don’t think we’ve had as much as we’ve had now, and it’s not really drying much.
“It’s because it stays overcast. I mean, today is really the first day of sunshine in the last week.”
“Nothing we can do about it. At the end of the day, it’s the weather – what happens to the weather – and we just got to work with it and hopefully it clears away soon.”
Beyond current harvesting delays, growers are deeply concerned about how wet paddocks will derail preparation for upcoming crop cycles.
With the standard planting window closing rapidly, many growers have been unable to get equipment onto the ground.
“Importantly, the impact the wet weather now will have on planting for next year because a lot of people still haven’t planted – and whether they do plant,” Mr Marano said.
“Normally we try to have planting finished by the end of September and that’s coming quickly.
“It’s the planting, the impact on next season, and you know, while prices are trending up, you want to have the biggest crop you can.
“Anyway, there’s a lot of unknowns in there, and the major one is the weather, and we don’t control that one – because if I could, I wouldn’t be talking to you, I’d be sitting in the Cayman Islands.”
With substantial volumes of cane still standing, an extension to the crushing season appears inevitable, though lower crop estimates across the region may prevent the run from dragging out indefinitely.
“It’ll go longer than it should have, but we don’t have a big crop to start with,” Mr Marano said, adding that maintaining a practical, positive outlook and hard work will see growers through the backlog.
“Once we get going – I’ve been around long enough to know that – for example, if we did the first half in 14 weeks, we do the second half in the seven weeks. If we do the first half in 16 weeks, we do the second half in eight weeks.”
Read More: Far North