Visionary farmers recall a bygone era

Just over fifty years ago, the first chopper cane harvester was driven into a paddock in Proserpine, bringing with it a vision that was heckled long before it was embraced by the region’s cane farmers.

Holding the book which contains the original minutes of the very first meeting of Up River Harvesting, founding members Jack Grosskreutz and Frank Raiteri told the Guardian of their journey which began all those years ago in 1961 and how it would forever change the face of cane farming in Proserpine.

Their jubilee celebration might be one year late, however there might be one very good reason for this …  the collapse of the Proserpine Sugar Mill’s co-operative – an entity over which they shed much blood sweat and tears - occurred at about the same time last year bringing with it too much heartache and uncertainty to warrant a celebration.

Early in 1961, Jack and Frank remember hiding in a cane paddock, well before dawn, watching a Massey 515 cut cane in a paddock in Mackay.   

“Oh ... everyone in the street they’d all say “we knew it was coming” but did they speak up in the beginning? No … but Jack and I did our homework,” said Frank.

“It was pitch black but we hid in the cane and watched the men come along and I remember the way it just rolled over those bloomin’ stones by lifting its base cut up a bit. We knew we were onto something.”

Early in 1961, Up River Harvesting which consisted of pioneering farming names such as Oscar and Hector Lawrence, Eric Atkinson, and the two story tellers, purchased Proserpine’s very first chopper harvester for some 6000 pounds and drove it back to town.

“Oh people were dead against it, especially those high up in the mill board and Canegrowers. They said you cannot do it, you will be taking jobs away from the cutters, and Proserpine will become a ghost town. But it  wasn’t going to and didn’t. I tried to tell them that jobs would be replaced, we’d need engineers, boiler makers, mechanics and drivers … but still they didn’t listen.”

So against all odds, Up River Harvesting began cutting their  group’s cane with their Massey 515, which apparently cut quite well with a cutting rate of over 20 tonne an hour.

But it wasn’t only the harvester that the group had to purchase from Mackay, they also had to bring up their own bins.”

“See, before chopper harvesting, cane was brought to the siding by truck but that wasn’t going to work with the new harvester so we had to buy our own bins.”

It took a good few years before the majority of groups were operating chopper harvesters, an era laden with a lot of heartache, the partners recall.

“A few years after we first started operating the harvester,  I was on the executive of the Canegrowers. I can always remember everyone at a meeting having a heckle at the Raiteris ... and how we’d done the wrong thing. I stood up and yelled "you are all a bunch of hypocrites, in ten years you’ll all be using chopper harvesters," I remember saying, and sure enough they were.”

Jack and Frank agree they were good as partners. They each knew what the other was capable of - and rarely had time to argue.

“There was always maintenance work to do on the harvester, no we’re not mechanics, self-taught yes. Frank would always work with the metal and the welding and I was one for the bolts and bearings. We didn’t really have time to argue. If we weren’t cutting, we were repairing.”

The pair’s reputation as the region’s harvesting entrepreneurs travelled far and wide with Massey Ferguson and Toft (later Case IH) reportedly, dropping in at the farm quite frequently.

“In 1968 I started a prototype harvester and fitted a conveyor which took the cane three feet up the belt before it got to the choppers which gave the dirt and the rocks a chance to fall out. I remember as plain as day that Massey coming out and saying if I altered the harvester, they wouldn't be honouring the warranty. I didn’t care ... I didn’t need their warranty but sure enough a later harvester of Masseys came out with my invention and I never took a patent out on it,” Frank said.

Thinking back over the past five decades, there are few things the founding members of Up River Harvesting would change.

“I never spared the horses,” said Frank.

“When I was sure of something … I’d go for the jugular and I knew chopper cane harvesting was the future. To this day I remember a top pin in Queensland sugar laughing at me, told me I was dreaming when I told him that the entire state’s sugar would be cut by chopper harvesters within the decade.”

Up River Harvesting was passed on to Frank’s son Lou, the former chairman of the Proserpine Mill board and now to Gary, Lou’s son, who was yesterday covered in grease following in the footsteps of his forefathers.

Sugar industry the centre of Whitsunday arts festival

The Proserpine sugar industry is back in the spotlight.

Two locals, Lyn Fenton and Bob Barford are excited to bring a new, innovative festival to the Whitsundays, called ‘Sweet’ and solely based on the cane industry.

Being involved with small and large festivals for over 30 years, Mr Barford wanted to put sugar with spice to create a festival showcasing musicians, artists, dancers and more.

Mr Barford said all artists will be local.

"It’s a country event, not aimed at tourists, and to by no means exclude tourists, but the focus is giving local people the chance to see what they can do," Mr Barford said.

"If it becomes a tourist attraction, that’s a bonus!" he said.

"What a better subject than to loosely base this on the sugar industry..that’s the backbone here."

"We are trying to give a good show for everyone to have a look at a good musical, fun event."

Ms Fenton said she hopes the one-of-a-kind festival will bring positivity to Proserpine.

"We want to step up morale for Proserpine and make a tribute to the sugar industry which started everything," she said.

"It may even make Proserpine an arts centre..there’s lots of talent here but they’re all hidden away."

The festival intends to bring various community groups, performers, stallholders and artists together in a combined show.

"The performances will be woven together to tell a story. It will be special," Ms Fenton said.

Many groups have already jumped onboard to be part of the festival however organisers are still looking for a shanty singer, lead male and female singers, backstage hands and help with sounds and lighting.

Mr Barford and Ms Fenton are hoping people with old cane equipment will come forward for a display. There will be a meet and greet evening at 6pm on June 2 at the Proserpine Entertainment and the festival will be held on July 21.
For more information contact Bob on 0407 895 011.

Proserpine Mill's furfural plant under review

The crop estimate for the Proserpine Sugar Mill is between 1.65 and 1.7 million tonnes which Proserpine Canegrowers Manager Mike Porter says may change slightly considering only half the farmers have completed their final estimates.

Sucrogen has released its early estimate as it moves towards finalising the maintenance program for the start of the 2012 crushing season.

Moving to dispel a rumour that the furfural plant is being dismantled and transported north to be used in some form at one of its four Burdekin mills, Sucrogen’s Executive General Manager for cane products Craig Doyle says a review of the furfural plant, including its processes and viability is currently being undertaken by an engineering firm.

"This investigation is not expected to be completed for several weeks and our key focus remains on completing the capital and maintenance program to ensure the mill is ready for the start of the 2012 crushing season.

Canegrowers’ Mr Porter says at this stage, Sucrogen seemed to be on the money with their estimate.

"It equates to around 80 t/ha which is getting closer to the district’s 10 year average. Not all growers have completed their estimates (less than half) so the final estimate may move around a bit but even with favourable weather, it would be unlikely to exceed the 1.7m tonne mark," he said. Up until the last big rain event, Mr Porter says the weather has been almost perfect for the crop.

"The dry start had an impact, but generally the monsoon season has been very favourable. Ideally, we would like to see a couple of weeks of sunshine with perhaps some follow-up rain after Easter.

"That would put the crop in a good position prior to the crush."

Sucrogen's vision splendid for Proserpine mill

The 2012 crushing is going to be one of the best in the industry for many years.

This bright forecast comes from the Executive General Manager of Sucrogen Cane Products Craig Doyle who is this week reiterating his company’s pledge to boost cane supply to the Proserpine Mill to over 2 million tonnes within three years.

"The weather is good, the price is good and the crops around Proserpine are looking fantastic," says Mr Doyle who confirms the four massive parcels of land pulled from auction at the eleventh hour before Christmas are most certainly on Sucrogen’s wish list.

"We are still discussing the finer details of the contract so I cannot say too much now. But all going well we hope to have secured the properties within two months. Sucrogen remains committed to finding ways of working with growers to boost productivity at the mill. So whether we get farmers in the area to lease the ground or whether Sucrogen manages them, we’re not certain. It’s still really early days," he said.

The 400 hectares of potential cane land at Gibson Creek – a block of land purchased by the mill some five years ago – is also at the centre of Sucrogen’s vision.

"The board had a plan to increase the yield from what they grew last season which was about 17,000 to 50,000 on this block. This was their vision! There just wasn’t the money there to back it up. But Sucrogen sees no reason why we can’t continue this plan."

Mr Doyle says while the relationship between grower and miller was never smooth sailing, he was hoping for a top future with great working relationships.

"We are nothing without the growers, and the growers would be stuck without a good, working mill. I can’t work miracles and I can’t promise it will be 100 percent complete before the beginning of the crush but I will do my absolute best to get the mill up to scratch and make sure the bins are on the line when it comes time to cut."