General News
17 March, 2026
Family forges cane future
FOR Tully sugarcane grower Andrew Apap, the greatest reward isn’t measured in tonnes or seasons – it’s watching his children forge their own paths.
“There’s no greater satisfaction than seeing my kids, whatever they choose to do in life, going forward, doing their thing,” he reflected.
That family includes wife Maree, the “other half” of the business, and the couple’s four children Kayla, Luke, Josh and Maddison, and grandchildren Arlo and Zahlia.
Family sits at the centre of every decision Andrew and Maree have made over the past 30 years – and the decision that shaped their future: leaving Sydney and becoming cane and banana farmers in one of the wettest parts of Far North Queensland.
The couple both grew up in western Sydney. Andrew’s family worked in poultry and vegetable crops, and like many Maltese families had strong community links that stretched far.
His grandfather had close Maltese friends, the Formosa family of Silkwood, and the connection regularly pulled the Apaps north.
On one of those childhood visits, a grower gave young Andrew a BSES cane-growing manual – a gesture that proved prophetic. “I was only six or seven and I told him, ‘I’m going to grow cane one day.’ I never thought about it again until I was in my 20s.”
When he married Maree and they holidayed in Tully, something sparked. They bought a cane farm and they learned “everything from scratch.”
Bananas were the backbone of the Apap business, with 150 acres still under bananas just three years ago.
But a shifting industry and rising risks, such as Panama TR4, said the CANEGROWERS Tully director, and his family switched completely to cane in 2022.
Today the operation includes 550 acres on the main farm, 300 acres on another nearby property, and their son Luke’s farm, nestled between the two. All are managed together.
Born in Tully, Luke always had his sights set on a career in agriculture. “I love it,” he said. “All I ever wanted to do when I was young was drive a tractor.”
He seized the opportunity to buy a property when a when a local contractor left the district, just as the family began transitioning to cane. But three consecutive extremely wet years pushed out planting windows. The break finally came in 2025.
The Apaps began investing in productivity improvements, including smarter paddock design (fewer but larger blocks) and better drainage, saving time and money in everything from harvesting to fertilising and cultivation.
Also in progress is a transition of the whole operation to 1.7m rows, which they regard as the sweet spot for Tully conditions – wide enough for machinery and harvester access in wet periods, narrow enough to maintain good stool density without excessive weed pressure.
It’s all about future-proofing, Luke said.
“I’m only 29 – I want to be farming a long time. The only way to beat the challenges is to be more productive.”
Father and son are enthusiastic adopters of clean seed cane through the local productivity board.
“It’s not even new varieties,” Luke said. “It’s getting clean seed of the varieties we already have. It reinvigorates older varieties.”
Andrew agreed: “If you keep using the same stock, they lose their vigour.”
Strict rotation of varieties helps keep disease pressure low.
The Apaps have also been participating in the Smartcane BMP program for around seven years. Thanks to the detailed record-keeping required in bananas, the transition into BMP was relatively seamless. Being located close to the mill, they also benefit from access to mill ash and mud, incorporating it into their nutrient program where possible.
Through all the changes, growth, challenges and triumphs, Andrew is unequivocal about one thing: none of it would have happened without Maree.
“My wife is a large part of the equation and we couldn’t have done it without her,” he said.
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