CaneRise Learning

Cane farming is a huge part of life in the Mackay Whitsunday area. Each year, farmers here grow and harvest more than 100,000 hectares of cane, making more than 1 million tonnes of sugar worth $350 million.That’s about 26% of all the sugar produced in Australia.

To learn more about sugar cane, the things cane farmers need to consider for the health of their farm, and the sustainable practices they can use to protect their local environment, explore the interactive cane farm below. You can click on different features of the farm and click through or scroll down to find more information and resources for community members, activities for upper primary and secondary school students, as well as information and fun activities for even the littlest future farmer.

To learn more about sugar cane, the things cane farmers need to consider for the health of their farm, and the sustainable practices they can use to protect their local environment, explore the sections below. You can scroll down to find more information and resources for community members, activities for upper primary and secondary school students, as well as information and fun activities for even the littlest future farmer.

Sugarcane essentials

Sugarcane is a type of perennial grass, which means that it can be harvested over a number of years. While the plant is native to Southeast Asia, farmers in the Mackay Whitsunday area have been growing, harvesting, and processing sugarcane for more that 100 years. In fact, the first sugar mill in the region was established in 1864. Now, there are five sugar mills in the Mackay Whitsundays.

Sugar cane thrives in warm places with fertile soil, and needs both plenty of sun and plenty of rain to grow. It can reach as tall as 6 metres, with its segmented, sugar-filled stalks leading to long green leaves at the top. Sugar cane crops are usually grown by replanting cut up pieces of cane called billets. Each billet is long enough to include parts of two or more segments of the cane stalk. The new growth comes from a part of the billet called the eye, or bud, which is found where two segments meet. Replanting billets gives cane plants a lifecycle of 5 or more years, and allows farmers to harvest the same plant multiple times.

Sugar cane is what’s known as a C4 plant, which just means it’s really good at photosynthesis. Because it’s so efficient, it can grow faster at higher temperatures and bright sunlight, which is a big advantage for farmers. C4 plants like cane have a special mechanism to capture carbon dioxide even at quite low levels, which in turn minimises water loss and makes cane resilient to harsh conditions.

Harvest season lasts from about June to December each year, and in the Mackay Whitsundays the cut cane is transported by Queensland’s iconic cane trains to mills to be crushed into juice and then evaporated into raw sugar. Cane can be processed into other products like molasses and ethanol fuel.

What is sugar cane?

Cane is a type of grass that farmers plant in long rows. When you look at a cane field from far away, you can see how it looks a bit like a lawn.

Cane needs to live somewhere with rich soil, lots of sunshine but plenty of rain as well. Cane stalks can grow taller than a person! As they grow, the stalks fill with sugar. When it’s time to grow a new field of cane, farmers can use a neat trick – they just plant cut up sections pieces of cane called billets, and new stalks grow up from there! After harvest, the cane farmer can do the same thing all over again – about 5 times for the same plant!

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Plants have a neat trick to turn sunlight into food. It’s called photosynthesis. Cane plants absorb sunlight through their green leafy tops and use a special chemical called chlorophyll to make sugar. This gives them energy to grow. Cane is particularly good at this trick, which is one of the things that makes it such a great plant to farm. The sugar that cane makes with photosynthesis is the same sugar that ends up on our tables!

Every year between June and December, farmers cut down their cane crops. This is called the harvest. They load the cane on long trains, and it is driven to a sugar mill so that the sugar can be taken out. There are other things that cane can be used to make – even fuel for cars!

Healthy soil

Healthy soil is the foundation of a productive farm, and along with sunlight and water, supports crops to grow to their full potential. Soil provides structure for roots to grab hold, space for water to flow through and makes nutrients available. It also houses helpful biological material, from microorganisms like fungus and bacteria to bigger organisms like worms and bugs.

Growing the same crop in the same soil too many times can deplete nutrients and degrade soil structure. Farmers can counteract this by periodically letting some fields rehabilitate. They may choose to rest their fields from sugarcane production, known as a fallow. During a fallow, farmers often plant break crops. These could be something like a legume or a grain, and they not only give farmers the opportunity to harvest another type of crop, but also replace nutrients in the soil and improve soil structure.

Healthy soil is crucial for the environment. Since water flows into more easily, and stays in it more efficiently, heavy rain won’t cause as much runoff into surrounding waterways.

Where does cane live?

Cane grows in the ground, just like other plants like trees and flowers.

Cane needs to live in healthy soil. As it grows taller and taller, its roots spread out and hold the plant strongly in place.

Cane shares its home with other living things. Some are too small to see, but others can be much bigger. You might have even met a friendly worm in a garden before!

Cane farmers regularly need to give their fields a break from growing cane. Instead, they’ll grow a crop like beans or oats, or even just let a field rest – this is called ‘fallow’.

Healthy soil isn’t just good for the cane that lives in it – it’s good for the environment. It can hold onto water, nutrients, and living things so they don’t get washed away.

Activities

Word search Colour me in

Where does cane live?

Cane grows in the ground, just like other plants like trees and flowers.

Cane needs to live in healthy soil. As it grows taller and taller, its roots spread out and hold the plant strongly in place.

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Cane shares its home with other living things. Some are too small to see, but others can be much bigger. You might have even met a friendly worm in a garden before!

Cane farmers regularly need to give their fields a break from growing cane. Instead, they’ll grow a crop like beans or oats, or even just let a field rest – this is called ‘fallow’.

Healthy soil isn’t just good for the cane that lives in it – it’s good for the environment. It can hold onto water, nutrients, and living things so they don’t get washed away.

Activities

Word search Colour me in

The roots of a cane plant, with icons representing nutrients

Nutrient management

Cane farmers need nutritious soil for their crops so that the cane can not only grow large enough for harvest but with a high enough sugar content.

The most important nutrients for cane are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, but there are many other important elements for cane growth and development.

Farmers can use soil and plant tests to determine nutrient levels in their fields. This lets them know their crop requirements for how much they need to fertilise, or how much to adjust nutrient application content after strategies like break crops.

This regular testing and careful nutrient management is key to minimising nutrient runoff into the environment and waterways.

What does cane eat?

Cane plants don’t have mouths or bellies like us, but they still need nutrition to grow like we do!

As well as energy from the sun, cane plants need nutrients. These are elements like nitrogen and phosphorous and they are an important ingredients for cane to grow and develop. Cane uses its roots to draw nutrients up from the soil. Farmers have different ways to make sure that the soil has plenty of nutrients in it, like by using fertilisers or planting other types of crops.

By making sure the soil has just the right amount of nutrients for their cane to eat, farmers can protect their local environment from having nutrients that the cane plant doesn’t use washed into waterways.

Activities

Word search Cane drawing

What does cane eat?

Cane plants don’t have mouths or bellies like us, but they still need nutrition to grow like we do!

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Farmers have different ways to make sure that the soil has plenty of nutrients in it, like by using fertilisers or planting other types of crops.

Activities

Word search Cane drawing

Irrigation

One of the reasons that farmers grow cane in North Queensland is that the annual rainfall is often more than 2 metres, and cane plants need at least 1.5 metres of rain every year.

But it doesn’t always rain this much, and the rainfall isn’t spread evenly throughout the year or across the region. To make up for this, some farmers use irrigation systems so their cane gets just the right amount of water. This water often comes from dams set up on properties, which fill with water during the wet season and can be used on crops during the dry season.

There are many different irrigation methods, including overhead sprinklers, pipes that run along the ground and direct water down the furrows that run along the fields, or sub-surface irrigation that delivers water directly to the soil.

By choosing the most efficient irrigation system for their local area, farmers can conserve water and protect the environment from excess water runoff.

What does cane drink?

One of the reasons that farmers grow cane in North Queensland is that the annual rainfall is often more than 2 metres, and cane plants need at least 1.5 metres of rain every year.

But it doesn’t always rain this much, and the rainfall isn’t spread evenly between the wet and dry seasons. To make up for this, some farmers use irrigation systems so their cane gets just the right amount of water. This water often comes from dams set up on properties, which fill with water during the wet season and can be used on crops during the dry season.

By choosing the most efficient irrigation system for their local area, farmers can conserve water and protect the environment from excess water runoff.

Activities

Word search Maze

What does cane drink?

Cane plants don’t get thirsty the same way that we do, but they still need plenty of water to stay healthy.

Often, cane gets water from rain. Farmers can also make sure that cane has the just right amount of water to drink. This important job is called irrigation.

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There are different ways to irrigate a cane field. Farmers can set up a system of pumps and pipes to move water around their farm and spray or drip it onto their fields.

With just the right amount of water, cane grows tall and strong, and water stays where it is needed in the soil instead of flowing out into the environment.

Activities

Word search Maze

Pests, weeds and diseases

Pests, weeds and disease can cause harm to healthy cane plants, so cane farmers are always on the lookout for their signs and symptoms.

Pests, like grubs and worms, can damage crops by feeding on leaves, stems, and roots. Weeds can take advantage of the healthy soil and moisture of cane fields, growing rapidly and taking up space and nutrients meant for the sugarcane. Diseases can cause cane to have stunted growth, become damaged, or even die.

Farmers have many options when it comes to addressing these risks, with integrated management plans allowing them to protect their crops in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.

What doesn't cane like?

There are some things that can make it hard for cane plants to grow. Some bugs and creepy crawlies see cane as a tasty snack and want to gobble it up. There are diseases that can make cane plants sick. And sometimes other plants want to live in the nice soil that cane lives in and try to take over.

These pests, weeds and diseases are also bad for the environment. Luckily, farmers can protect their cane and local plants and animals. They use special chemicals called herbicides and pesticides in just the right amounts so their cane can grow safely.

Activities

Word search Leaf shape match up

What doesn't cane like?

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Activities

Word search Leaf shape match up

Farm economics and record keeping

It might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of farming, but record keeping is one of the most important parts of being a farmer. By tracking costs and productivity, farms can make sure their business is viable and make adjustments if they need to.

Record keeping can help farmers to

figure out short and long term trends
comply with regulations
build a case study to qualify for grants and funding
see how their decisions are working
track the quality of their cane to identify areas of improvement

Technology gives farmers a helping hand with their record keeping, with things like automatic GPS tracking, onboard and remote operation making life a lot easier.

How do we know what cane likes?

Cane can’t talk to us, but we can still listen to what it tells us.

Farmers do this by measuring things like how tall and how fast it grows, how much sugar is inside it, and how much water it is using. When they’re done, they can make good choices about their farm – like which fertilisers to use, how much to water their cane, and where to start their harvest.

There are also some rules for farming which makes sure everyone stays safe and the environment stays healthy. By measuring and recording what they are doing, farmers can make sure they’re following the rules.

Activities

Word search Scan or skip

Canerise kidzone. How do we know what cane likes?

How do we know what cane likes?

Cane can’t talk to us, but we can still listen to what it tells us.

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Activities

Word search Scan or Skip

Stewardship for healthy waterways

By using sustainable practices, cane farmers have a big impact on keeping their local waterways healthy.

When they stop fertiliser and chemical runoff from entering waterways and reaching the Great Barrier Reef, they protect one of the most precious and celebrated places on the planet.

Many of our farmers are making sustainable choices and contributing to keeping the environment healthy for future generations.

In the Mackay Whitsunday area, hundreds of cane farmers participate in the Best Practice Management program Smartcane BMP. This means they are trained to run their farms in the most efficient and environmentally friendly ways. The sugar cane industry practices innovation to safeguard the health of the reef, and there are many ways they get involved in water quality projects.

CaneRise Learning

Nutrient management

Sugarcane essentials

Sugar mill

Stewardship for healthy waterways

Farm economics and record keeping

Pests, weeds, and disease

Irrigation

Healthy soil

Sugarcane essentials

What is sugar cane?

What is sugar cane?

Healthy soil

Where does cane live?

Activities

Where does cane live?

Nutrient management

What does cane eat?

Activities

What does cane eat?

Irrigation

What does cane drink?

Activities

What does cane drink?

Pests, weeds and diseases

What doesn't cane like?

What doesn't cane like?

Farm economics and record keeping

How do we know what cane likes?

Activities

How do we know what cane likes?

Stewardship for healthy waterways

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