The mill 200 farmers can't afford to lose
The country's last grower-owned sugar mill is seeking a multi-million-dollar loan from the Queensland government to keep it afloat.
Isis Central Sugar Mill, four hours north of Brisbane, has been crushing cane for 129 years.
It employs 250 people during the on-season and supports more than 1,500 jobs across the supply chain.
Isis Central Sugar Mill has been operating for almost 130 years. (ABC News: Tayla Larsen)
The 2026 season has been plagued by mechanical issues, including one of the mill's two boilers being offline for five weeks, reducing the crushing rate.
The mill is aiming to crush just under 1.2 million tonnes this year, but is 51,000 tonnes behind schedule two months out from the end of the season.
Isis Central Sugar Mill chief executive Simon Brooks said work stoppages contributed to the financial strain, but most of the pressure was due to global market conditions.
"We're absolutely dependent on the sugar pricing for our revenue and, where you see a reduction in that sugar pricing, you have a corresponding reduction on your bottom line," Mr Brooks said.
Simon Brooks wants the federal government to match any state funding. (ABC News: Tayla Larsen)
The mill's board said it had reached an in-principle agreement with the state government for a loan capped at $9 million.
The money is expected to cover expenses until September 2027, just before the end of the annual crush.
Mr Brooks wants the federal government to match the state funding, noting a promising business case for a bioenergy precinct adjacent to the mill.
"$18 million would go a long way to providing security,"
he said.
"The business strategy is to diversify.
"We will still be a mill at the end of the day, but there's so much more we can do to make ourselves less dependent on pure sugar output, and that's doing more with assets that we have."
The mill supports about 1,700 jobs. (ABC News: Tayla Larsen)
'Our only option'
About 200 growers, from the Fraser Coast through to the North Burnett, supply cane to Isis Central Sugar Mill.
Throughput at Isis increased 50 per cent when it started accepting cane from the Maryborough district following the closure of the town's local mill in 2020.
Maryborough Canegrowers chair Roger Bambling said it would be devastating to endure another mill closure.
"It would leave a big hole,"
he said.
"The whole secret is just to keep talking to each other, the mill and the growers. We're all in it together."
Roger Bambling says the mill is the last hope for Maryborough farmers after their local mill closed. (ABC News: Tayla Larsen)
In addition to the sugar prices and maintenance costs, transport accounts for a large portion of the mill's rising expenses.
About 100 truck trips are needed each day to transport cane from Maryborough to rail transfer stations bound for the mill.
"Road freight is expensive, and we're looking at how to better manage that," Mr Brooks said.
Conditions to crush
Queensland Minister for Primary Industries Tony Perrett confirmed discussions were underway.
Details of the state government's potential $9 million loan were still being finalised, but it was expected to come with a three-year term, and repayments could include a grower-paid levy.
Farmers said they were happy to pay any potential levies but feared there was not enough certainty.
Tony Russo says sugarcane is the backbone of the Childers community. (ABC News: Tayla Larsen)
Third-generation canegrower Tony Russo had started planting for next year's crop, cautiously planning for future seasons.
"Everybody's concerned, but a lot of people have got that positive mindset that we've got to still grow and present as much cane as we can because, if we start not growing the cane and not putting the fertiliser on and not watering, then we don't have tonnes and we have more of a problem," Mr Russo said.
It is a fight canefarmers throughout Queensland know all too well.
Mossman Mill in Far North Queensland went into voluntary administration in 2023 after receiving nearly $48 million in state and federal assistance.
On the Gold Coast, about 50 growers who supply Rocky Point Sugar Mill will lose their cane supply agreements after 2027. The state government is working to support affected farmers.
Growers are rushing to harvest the last of their cane ahead of the mid-November crush finish. (ABC News: Tayla Larsen)
Mr Russo hoped Isis Central Sugar Mill's partnerships and progress on biofuels could be enough to get governments on board.
"Everybody's talking about bioenergy, jet aviation fuel, so there is some light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
"We're just on a bit of a tricky path right now."
Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Anthony Chisholm said the federal government was engaging with operators of the mill.
"We understand the importance of the Isis Central Sugar Mill to its workforce and the region's canegrowers," he said.
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