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05/09/2024
Northern Rivers sugarcane producer, Tim McMahon
The sugarcane stands tall and proud across the rolling Northern Rivers paddocks, as do the region’s farmers and Sunshine Sugar who together help ensure that our Aussie households never go without their sweet treats.
In a unique supply chain collaboration, local farmers co-own the Harwood Sugar Mill - a key part of the supply chain that gets their cane from paddock to pack.
This year, the Harwood Sugar Mill celebrates 150 years of operation, laying claim to being Australia’s second oldest continuously operating sugar mill, having crushed cane since 1874.
With an end product sold under the Sunshine Sugar brand, Alister Smith, Agricultural Extension Officer for Sunshine Sugar, said much of the mill’s longevity can be attributed to the quality and tenacity of its growers.
“Sunshine Sugar, which owns and operates the Harwood Sugar Mill, as well as mills at Broadwater, Condong and a co-located refinery at Harwood, enjoys 100 percent Australian ownership thanks to a partnership between the grower-owned NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative and the Australian family-owned business, Manildra Group.”
The NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative is comprised of around 500 cane farming families in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
“These farmers have proven over the past 150 years that the Northern Rivers industry is strong and viable, with an exciting future ahead, Alister said.”
Life is sweet on the McMahons sugarcane operation
Clarence Valley’s Tim McMahon is one such local sugarcane farmer who believes that Sunshine Sugar provides the local industry with security and peace of mind.
“We feel confident about where our cane is going, and that Australian households are enjoying our quality farm-fresh sugar,” Tim said.
The McMahons have been supplying their cane to Sunshine Sugar’s Harwood Sugar Mill for generations.
The McMahon family, Tim and Joanne with sons Ben, Hayden and Jacob.
Having clean, healthy seed to plant, purchased from the mill, is also critical to their business success.
Tim is the third generation of his family to farm sugarcane, following the well-worn footsteps of his father and grandfather before him.
He lives and works on the farm he grew up on, amongst the familiarity of the Clarence River and the rolling hinterland landscape, and with his wife Joanne and three sons, Ben, Hayden and Jacob, working beside him, it’s a legacy that will prosper well into the future.
Having enjoyed a career in banking and machinery sales before returning home to the farm, he believes there’s no better lifestyle than running a cane farming business.
Cane is planted on the family’s 485 hectare Chatsworth Island farm in September, with planting usually spanning for three months.
As members of the grower-owned co-operative, Tim is buoyed by the fact they always have a secure market for their cane.
Exemplifying the modern sugarcane farmer, Tim and Joanne have adopted a range of recent initiatives to further bolster their on-farm productivity.
The addition of a laser leveller has enabled them to concentrate on efficient drainage, while GPS-guided machinery, from planting through to harvesting, reduces soil compaction and improves ground speed.
The McMahon family has been growing sugarcane for generations, with the next-gen equally committed to its future.
Also contributing to their farming success story has been Rabobank, with Tim describing his local rural manager Kyle McDonald as “more of a mate than a bank manager”.
“He’ll call for a chat, just to see what we’re up to, because he’s interested, and genuinely excited to know what we’re doing on the farm.”
“If I had to rate Rabobank out of 100, I’d give them 250 – Kyle is easy to deal with, honest and reliable, and it’s refreshing having one dedicated manager who is on the same page as us.”
With two sons builders and one an electrician, each ventured off-farm to gain careers, with two now farming their own cane properties.
“We see enormous cause for optimism in the sugarcane industry. We’ve battled some challenging years with floods, but the prices are looking up, as is the season, and we’re really happy to have the security and convenience of the Harwood Sugar Mill close at hand,” Tim said.
From sugarcane farm to shelf, it’s a team effort
From the paddock to the mill, Alister believes that Sunshine Sugar’s collaborative approach ensures the ultimate benefit lies with the consumer.
“With the rise in awareness of nutritional content, provenance and sustainability of food, more people than ever seem to care about the food they eat and want to know how it was grown, harvested, processed and handled,” Alister said.
“Our customers, big and small, look to Sunshine Sugar to feel confident that they are sourcing sugar that is grown by Australian cane growers and sustainably produced.”
“With our growers sharing in the ownership of the milling and refining operations, Sunshine Sugar has a full view of the ‘paddock to pack’ process for every crystal of sugar we make and sell.”
“Locally grown cane is harvested and delivered to the Harwood Sugar Mill where the cane is crushed to extract the juice,” Alister explained.
“Other by-products from the milling process include filter mud, which is returned to growers to fertilise their fields, and bagasse, the fibrous part of the cane, which is used to fuel the boiler that provides the steam to power the mill and refinery, and at our two northern mills, Condong and Broadwater, to generate renewable electricity for the grid.”
The Harwood Sugar Mill
During the refining process this raw sugar is further purified to produce clean, white sugar, which is packaged and enjoyed by consumers across Australia, as well as liquid sugar used by beverage companies.
With a range that now includes low Glycemic Index (GI) sugar, Alister said Sunshine Sugar was always looking to diversify its product range to benefit its customers, end consumers as well as its cane farmer suppliers.
“In recent years we’ve seen a huge increase in demand for caster sugar thanks to the consumer’s engagement in cooking programs,” he explains. “We’re proud to be helping encourage at-home bakers, and as the closest mill to the Sydney and Brisbane markets our product is used extensively in the baking industry.”
Under the cooperative model, the benefits of business diversification are shared with growers on the ground, and Alister explains that the unique model enables growers to be involved across the supply chain, and share in profits all the way along.
“Growers can be involved in the decision-making regarding their produce, and profits are retained in the local community, which we’re very proud about.”
He said the cooperative model also underpinned healthy grower and miller relationships, and with many growers encouraging their young ones to work in the mill, it also benefits local employment.
“Since 1874, the Harwood Sugar Mill has been a proud member of the Northern Rivers community, supporting farming families and local workers living in and around the mighty Clarence River.”
Rabobank supports the sugar industry across the supply chain, from grower to mill
The mill’s connection to community was the foundation of the sesquicentenary celebrations held recently, of which Rabobank was a major sponsor.
Rabobank’s Wes Orr, Kyle McDonald, Charles Hope, Scott Neilson and Alex Kelly at the Harwood Sugar Mill’s 150 year celebrations.
With Rabobank a fellow cooperative, Alister said the support it had provided the Harwood Sugar Mill over the years was greatly appreciated.
“Sunshine Sugar is a long-term client of Rabobank, and it’s thanks to the support that has been provided, in good times and bad, as well as Rabobank’s shared vision for our farmer-led approach, that we’ve been able to continue to support NSW cane growers and at the same time embark on major projects and diversification over the years.”
David Barraclough, Rabobank Head of Corporate Banking, said the bank was proud to be involved in the celebrations for the Harwood Sugar Mill’s 150-year anniversary.
“Since the early 1990s, Rabobank has supported the NSW sugar industry through long-term relationships with cane growers and a 20-plus year relationship with Sunshine Sugar,” David said.
“This partnership reflects our mutual cooperative values, as well as Rabobank’s broader commitment to the Australian sugar industry and continued focus on food and agriculture, and we look forward to continuing our support into the future.”
Rabobank’s Alex Kelly with Sunshine Sugar’s Seth Wreyford and NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative’s John Harbison celebrate the Harwood Sugar Mill.