One stand at the Ekka that hasn't stopped since the Brisbane Exhibition grounds threw open its gates on Saturday is the one devoted to sugar production, even though there are no fairy floss treats on offer.
Thanks to virtual reality headsets, visitors are taken on a 'paddock to pack' tour of every stage of sugar's journey, from planting it to harvest and milling.
It's a whole of industry initiative involving Sugar Research Australia, Sunshine Sugar and Canegrowers, aimed at spreading awareness of the versatile uses that the plant is being put to, apart from crystals.
Even so, it was the enormous piles of raw sugar that impressed Brisbane 14-year-old, Callum Bosanko, who said the VR tour had been "awesome".
While they drive past stands of cane at Jacobs Well on their way to the Gold Coast, Callum said he'd learnt a lot about how sugar was made and sold.
"Whenever I have sugar now, I'll think about how it's made," he said.
Among the stand's VIP visitors on opening day were Queensland Governor Jeannette Young and newly-crowned Queensland Country Life Showgirl Sarah Rose, whose father is the chief engineer at the Quandong mill near Murwillumbah.
Sunshine Sugar's Vivienne Miller said the stand was a great opportunity for all sectors to come together as the Australian industry.
"It's little known that NSW has a sugar industry - we have three mills in northern NSW," she said.
"We're trying to educate people about the new things we're doing.
"The VR tour gives us a chance to articulate things, such as how carbon-friendly we are."
According to Ms Miller, cane puts 62 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year into the soil, and she said most mills in the country are energy self-sufficient.
The stand also shared information about mushroom grow bags made from bagasse, and about bottled water, thanks to the amount of water cane contains.
"There's so much plant matter - none of the plant is wasted these days," Ms Miller said.
Canegrowers' Robyn Devine said the trio hadn't stopped all day, and all 15 headsets were constantly in use.
"We go into the potential for the industry in areas apart from crystals - there's a lot of interest in low-GI sugar for example," she said. "There's also bioplastics and fuel."
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