The 2017 cane crush kicks off at MSF Sugar’s Tableland Mill today, with a poor wet season expected to impact on the crop.
Although the region received storms late in 2016 and early this year, based on overall weather conditions, MSF expects to crush around 730,000 tonnes, down on last year’s crush of 819,152 tonnes.
Tableland Mill Manager Pat Ryan said the factory had been prepared ahead of the crush to ensure a successful start, and following successful steam trials early this month it would start as planned today.
The mill will operate 24/7 until mid-November, with an expected crushing rate of 225 tonnes per hour.
“Normal maintenance has been undertaken and we expect a good startup, the usual high level of reliability and very little plant downtime for the factory during the crush,” Mr Ryan said.
“We are also on track with construction of MSF Sugar’s first Green Energy Power Plant, with project teams now actively working on the site each day.”
Tableland Mill, the most technology-advanced sugar mill in Queensland, is supplied by 65 growers.
Best modern farming practices, including trash blanketing, wide row spacing, minimum tillage and controlled traffic farming techniques are utilised by around 60 per cent of the cane farms in the region.
Mr Ryan said the outlook for next year’s crop was very much dependent on rainfall, with the coming wet season a critical factor.
With Tinaroo Dam at only 50 per cent capacity, irrigators are expecting a reduced water allocation of between 45 and 55 pc for the next crop.
“This may mean a reduction in crop size for next year’s harvest,” Mr Ryan said.