Mossman sugarcane growers are experimenting with alternative crops following the closure of their local mill last year. The factory, which had served the region for over 125 years, shut down, leaving the future of the multi-generational industry uncertain.
This year, growers will transport their cane more than 100 kilometres south to the Mulgrave mill for processing, a short-term solution subsidised by the Queensland government. The government has allocated $12.5 million in the budget to support the transition, with $6 million covering transport costs for this season and the remainder funding long-term projects beyond 2025.
Fourth-generation farmer Don Murday, deputy chair of Queensland Cane, Agriculture and Renewables, is trialling bana grass, a crop similar to sugarcane but used for biofuels. He says the results have been promising and expects this to be his last year growing sugarcane. Bana grass could yield a gross value of $4,000 to $5,000 per hectare with lower growing costs than sugarcane.
Fellow grower Matthew Watson is testing crops including coffee, cocoa, corn, and sorghum. He also sees potential in bana grass, noting it can be planted and harvested with existing sugarcane machinery. However, both farmers are concerned about the lack of a local processor and hope the Mossman factory could be converted into a biomass facility.
Mr Murday estimates it will be 12 to 18 months before commercial quantities of bana grass are available, with a processing facility potentially operational within a year of approval. For now, he is only growing bana grass for propagation. Mr Watson says the uncertainty is challenging, but growers are determined to stay on the land.
