The first test of the season

My thoughts are with the communities that were hardest hit by floodwaters, particularly graziers further west who have suffered heavy livestock losses. Even without extreme wind speeds, the rainfall associated with Koji had serious consequences, and those impacts will be felt for months ahead.

For the sugarcane industry, the outcome has thankfully been far less severe. A small number of growers around the Mackay region were impacted by flooding, and for those growers the effects are very real. But with Koji weakening to a Category 1 before crossing the coast, most cane-growing districts avoided major damage.

In many regions, the rain was actually welcome. It arrived at a useful time and gave the crop a solid drink, improving soil moisture and helping set the season up well across much of the industry.

Here in the Burdekin, we didn't need the rain. Consistent falls since Christmas have meant growers have had a break from irrigating so far this year. Even so, the system hasn't caused any harm, which is something growers never take for granted.

It's also worth remembering that we're still only in the middle of cyclone season. The early outlook for the 2026 crop is shaping up very well across most regions, but agriculture always comes with a degree of uncertainty. Like all growers, we'll be hoping the rest of the season passes without incident.

A century in the service of growers

This Wednesday, 21 January, marks an important milestone for our industry - the centenary of the first ever CANEGROWERS meeting.

For 100 years, CANEGROWERS has existed to give growers a collective voice and stand alongside them through the good seasons and the bad.

It's a proud history, and I'm proud to be part of an organisation that has stood up for growers for a century and continues to do so today.

CANEGROWERS will be marking this centenary throughout the year, and growers and community members can learn more about the organisation's history at canegrowers.com.au/cane-to-coast/100.