Latest news with #sugarcane
ABC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Book about cane farming creates joy in Queensland and war-torn Ukraine
An artist living in war-torn Ukraine has helped bring to life a new Australian children's book about sugar cane farming in north Queensland. Stay-at-home mum Nikki Townley has written about how her family grows and harvests sugar cane on their farm in Mackay, about 1,000 kilometres north of Brisbane, in her book No Drama Cane Farmer. She said the response since the book's April release had been overwhelming, with families and schools from Australia and overseas ordering about 100 copies per week. "Everyone is just so impressed with how informative it is. "It is 100 per cent based off our life." The book is the product of an unlikely partnership with Ukrainian illustrator Victoria Mikki, who helped create the images from 14,000km away. Townley asked her agency to reach out to Mikki after falling in love with her illustrations. "I chose her because I loved her illustrations," Townley said. "She's obviously a part of something really traumatic and difficult at the moment, and she only had electricity for a certain amount of hours a day [to work on the book]. "She was so efficient and incredible under the circumstances." For Mikki, the project also became a way to feel connected to the outside world, as deadly attacks continued on her home country. "It was a hard period, but I tried to be focused on my work," she said, from her home in Rokyni, western Ukraine. "It's my way to escape, like mentally escape. The illustrator said the experience helped her better understand a place she once considered a mysterious, foreign land. "I was surprised that you have a part of the continent that's really warm, but you can plant cane," she said. "I imagined it like a desert with koalas and crocodiles walking on your porch." Mikki said she did not know much about sugar cane before working on the book, but drew on childhood memories of helping harvest sugar beets. "I remember when I was a child, like 10 to 12 years old, people used to have fields and they grew potatoes and of course sugar beets," she said. "We were on a field and I remember our teachers and parents would give us huge knives. "We chopped the top of the green part of the beet and put it on piles and then helped our parents to throw it to a machine." Townley said for her, watching how her sons learnt helped inspire the story. "So I wanted to write a book that my boys could relate to and that they were interested in." Townley said despite being from different countries and cultures, she and Mikki had connected over the project. "I obviously put my heart and soul into writing the book," Townley said. "It's really special to know that she's put her heart and soul into the illustrations, and it's been an escape for her from what her reality is. "It would have been very different for her to illustrate a book with components in it that are so foreign to her." Mikki said she was now curious to compare the taste of sugar produced from Ukrainian sugar beets to sugar made from Australian sugar cane. "I want to try to find it in our local shops and to see if it [tastes] the same or if there is some difference," she said. Townley said she hoped her new Ukrainian collaborator would eventually be able to taste Queensland-grown cane sugar fresh from the source.
Bloomberg
7 days ago
- Climate
- Bloomberg
Southern China Braces for Heavy Rain as Wheat Belt Drought Eases
Southern China is bracing for heavy rain that's set to replenish soil moisture in some parched agricultural regions, following storms last week that provided relief for wheat farmers in the north of the country. Provinces including Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan are facing torrential rain of more than 250 millimeters (10 inches) from Wednesday through Friday, according to the China Meteorological Administration. Heavy precipitation is also forecast for Guangxi, where drought has parched sugarcane crops.
ABC News
23-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Tully Sugar Mill celebrates 100 years of cane harvesting amid floods and cyclones
Determined not to let back-to-back disasters crush their celebration, Australia's wettest town is preparing for its 100th sugarcane harvest. A sour start to 2025 threatened to overshadow the sweet milestone for Tully in Far North Queensland after successive tropical lows brought months of flooding rain during the peak growing season. Despite a significant reduction in the size of the crop, the growers say they are hopeful there's another 100 years ahead for the Tully Sugar Mill. Over the past two weeks multiple events have been held to mark the occasion, including the development of a historical site and mural. Tully Sugar chief executive Andrew Yu said it was a special time for the town and the industry. "The theme of the celebration is called 'growing together for 100 years'. That's very true because without the community support, without the growers, there wouldn't be a mill." He said every time he heard the factory noise or saw the smoke coming out of the stack it made him excited. For canegrowers like Anthony Silvestro and Hardeep Singh this season is extra special. Even though both are expecting lower yields on their farms south of Tully due to the floods, their spirits remained high. "It's a good legacy what the mill has done for the district and the growers. It's been good to see that it's kept our community going," Mr Silvestro said. Cane growing is an industry used to overcoming extreme weather, like Tropical Cyclone Larry in 2006 and Tropical Cyclone Yasi in 2011. In 1925, Tully received more than 3,600 millimetres of rain. In 2025 it reached that figure in the first five months. That is just 100mm shy of the total for the same period in 1950, the wettest year on record, with 7,898mm. It is the reason the town's famous Golden Gumboot is 7.9 metres tall. Even so, Mr Singh feels confident there are good years to come. "I can see the mill going for 100 more years with the next generation and yeah, it's great to be a part of a good community," he said. Sugarcane has been grown in Tully since 1865, but it was not until November 1925 the town got its own mill. It quickly became successful — by 1927 it was the first Australia sugar mill to crush more than 200,000 tonnes in a season. By 1931 the Tully Co-Operative Sugar Million Association Limited was formed and local canegrowers bought the mill off the government. It remained a grower-owned co-operative until 1990 when it became a public company known as Tully Sugar Limited. In 2011 Chinese agribusiness company COFCO took over the mill which this year expects to crush at least 2.3 million tonnes of cane. The celebration is about more than looking back. For Danielle Skocaj, who joined the industry 20 years ago, it was also about the future. Now principal researcher for Sugar Research Australia (SRA), she said when she first started there were only two or three female extension officers employed by the company. "Whereas now you look at a lot of our advisory staff — not just in SRA but other industry organisations — its researchers, technicians [have] got to be at least 50-50, if not more a female than male ratio," she said. SRA Burdekin district manager Terry Grandshaw said both the people and the technology had come a long way since cutting cane by hand. "We've got to remember our fathers and grandfathers, they made real step change in the industry," he said. "I think it's really important to understand we went from hand harvesting to mechanical harvesting, to trash blanket, to green cane harvesting." Ms Skocaj is thrilled to see the mill continue to thrive today. "The mill is the centre of our town," she said. "It's a large industry, employs a lot of people, and to have withstood the last 100 years for all the different challenges is something definitely worth celebrating."
Free Malaysia Today
12-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
MSM looking to revive sugar cane plantations in Malaysia
MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd is exploring the potential of alternatives such as palm sugar to reduce its sole dependence on sugar cane. (Bernama pic) KUALA LUMPUR : Refined sugar producer MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd (MSM) is planning to restart domestic sugar cane plantations to reduce its complete dependence on imported raw sugar. MSM group CEO Syed Feizal Syed Mohammad said this would also address the increasing global risks such as climate change, geopolitical tensions, and supply chain disruptions. 'Yes, MSM currently depends 100% on imported raw sugar, but in the future, God willing, MSM is conducting studies to restart sugar cane agriculture in Malaysia,' he said on Saturday's Bual Bisnes programme on Bernama TV. Syed Feizal said Sarawak and the northern states of Peninsular Malaysia had been identified as suitable locations for large-scale sugar cane plantations. MSM had operated about 4,000 hectares of sugar cane plantations in Chuping, Perlis, since the 1970s, but operations were halted as the scale was not economically viable. The company is also exploring the potential of alternatives such as palm sugar to reduce its sole dependence on sugar cane. Syed Feizal said this approach could meet consumer needs and taste preferences in the Asia-Pacific region. 'In Europe, sugar beet is used as an alternative raw material source, but it does not suit the taste preferences in this region's markets. 'We may conduct studies on palm sugar from nipah coconut and other sources. Perhaps not on a large scale, but God willing, it will satisfy consumers who prefer the taste of palm sugar,' he said. Syed Feizal added that exploring alternative sources was part of MSM's long-term strategy to enhance supply chain resilience and adapt to changing market trends.
Malay Mail
12-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Sweet comeback: MSM to revive local sugar cane plantations to cut 100pc import dependence
KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — Refined sugar producer MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd (MSM) plans to restart domestic sugar cane plantations to reduce its complete dependence on imported raw sugar. MSM group chief executive officer Syed Feizal Syed Mohammad said this will also address increasing global risks such as climate change, geopolitical tensions, and supply chain disruptions. 'Yes, MSM currently depends 100 per cent on imported raw sugar, but in the future, God willing, MSM is conducting studies to restart sugar cane agriculture in Malaysia,' he said during Saturday's Bual Bisnes programme on Bernama TV. Syed Feizal added that Sarawak and the northern states of Peninsular Malaysia have been identified as suitable locations for large-scale sugar cane plantations. MSM previously operated about 4,000 hectares of sugar cane plantations in Chuping, Perlis, since the 1970s, but operations were halted as the scale was not economically viable. Additionally, the company is exploring the potential of alternatives such as palm-based palm sugar to reduce sole dependence on sugar cane. Syed Feizal explained that this approach could potentially meet consumer needs and taste preferences in the Asia-Pacific region. 'In Europe, sugar beet is used as an alternative raw material source, but it does not suit the taste preferences in this region's markets. 'We may conduct studies on palm sugar from Nipah coconut and other sources. Perhaps not on a large scale, but God willing, it will satisfy consumers who prefer the taste of palm sugar,' he said. Syed Feizal added that exploring alternative sources is part of the MSM's long-term strategy to enhance supply chain resilience and adapt to changing market trends. — Bernama
