Burdekin Cane Organisation's Transformation Signals Growth

In a rebranding move that mirrors its exceptional expansion and commitment to its members, the Burdekin Cane & Agriculture Organisation has unveiled its new identity as Queensland Cane Agriculture & Renewables (QCAR). This rebrand isn't just about nomenclature; it underscores the organisation's visionary journey towards a sustainable future for Queensland's sugar industry.

Panikos Spyrou, QCAR's CEO, said the rebrand signifies rapid growth and unification among members, propelled by a proactive collaboration with AgForce and the Australian Cane Farmers Association (ACFA).

“We are more than a mere collective; we epitomise forward-thinking, underpinned by a commercially-driven ethos that generously rewards growers who embrace technology and innovation,” he said.

The statistics bear witness to this transformation. Over the past year, QCAR's tonnage has surged from 1.3 million tonnes to an impressive 4.2 million tonnes. While QCAR's roots remain firmly entrenched in the Burdekin, its membership aims to span from the Daintree in the north to the Gold Coast in the south, encompassing Queensland's entire sugar-growing coastline.

Spyrou elaborated, "Our focus isn't just on our past achievements; we are resolutely oriented towards the future. Renewables are the linchpin of the cane industry's tomorrow, and QCAR desires to be at the forefront of this evolution.

“As the world focuses on decarbonisation, we are delving into the conversion of cane byproducts into commodities, along with exploring renewable energy prospects during the milling process."

What truly sets QCAR apart is its steadfast commitment to maximising grower profits and advancing efficiency without curtailing high achievers. This approach not only augments growers' earnings but also contributes to thriving local communities.

"A flourishing industry is great for the local community, and this ethos has already attracted some of Australia's most substantial producers to QCAR,” Mr Spyrou said.

“QCAR is unique in the sense that it has links to three state bodies and also federal advocacy which allows us to give focus to a superior local service while we expand into other areas with the same ‘hands-on’ member focused issues that bring service back to our growers which effectively transforms their financial levy contribution from a cost to an investment into their families’ and local communities’ future.  

“Direct access to various State based representation plays a great role, not only for Cane specific issues, but also for all Agricultural matters which directly affect our underlying farmer members.”

QCAR collaborates closely with sugar mills, focusing on cooperative solutions to industry hurdles. Rather than casting blame, the organisation works hand in hand with mills and logistics to streamline processes and expedite cane from paddock to mill. Members' concerns receive prompt and efficient attention, nurturing swifter growth and prosperity that reverberates through community development.

The preliminary launch of this rebrand aligns with the introduction of this publication, Burdekin Life newspaper, following comprehensive approvals from the board and members. As QCAR strides resolutely into this new chapter, it remains unwaveringly dedicated to its core tenets of unity, sustainability, and prosperity for all stakeholders.

The future gleams with promise, and QCAR is at the helm, hand in hand with its growers and partners, steering Queensland's sugar industry towards a more vibrant, profitable and sustainable future.

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QCAR CEO Panikos Spyrou

● Applications are open now for the 2024 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award until 25 October 2023.

● The Rural Women’s Award supports Australian women to use and develop their skills to benefit their industries and communities.

● The AgriFutures Australia Rural Women’s Acceleration Grant is open to provide professional development support to rural women to bring their idea, cause, or vision to life.

Applications are now open for the 2024 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award, a platform designed to empower women engaged in rural and emerging industries, businesses, and communities. The recent national gala event in Canberra witnessed the representation of Queensland's own Emma-Louise Gibbons, this year's Queensland Rural Woman Award winner.

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Furner said the awards are a fitting tribute to the many women providing leadership and inspiration across our rural communities.

“Our Queensland finalist, Emma-Louise Gibbons, is a fine example of what is being achieved by so many women in the agriculture sector right across our state,” he said.

Nikki Davey, a visionary tech entrepreneur and innovator from Victoria, claimed the national title, epitomizing the award's mission to honour courageous leadership by rural women.

John Harvey, the Managing Director of AgriFutures Australia, emphasised the award's significance, stating, "The AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award provides a platform to inspire and support Australian women to use and develop their skills to benefit their industries and communities, and can open doors to professional development and Alumni networks."

For over 15 years, Westpac has been a dedicated platinum sponsor of the Rural Women’s Awards. The Queensland winner is set to receive a $15,000 grant to advance their work and has the opportunity to vie for an additional $20,000 grant at the national level.

The newly appointed state sponsor, the Queensland Country Women’s Association, will offer a $2,000 grant to Queensland’s finalists, in addition to facilitating access to professional development opportunities and alumni networks.

Alongside the Rural Women’s Awards, AgriFutures Australia extends the Rural Women’s Acceleration Grant as a valuable leadership and development opportunity for rural women who may not yet be ready to apply for the award. This grant provides a bursary of up to $7,000, fostering professional development and spurring innovation within rural industries, businesses, and communities.

Applications for the 2024 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award will remain open until Wednesday, October 25, 2023.

“I encourage Queensland women in agriculture and other rural industries to have a look at the inspiring stories of our previous winners and consider putting their hands up for next year’s awards,” Minister Furner said.

For comprehensive details regarding the application process and eligibility criteria, please visit the AgriFutures website.

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Victorian rural tech entrepreneur, Nikki Davey, has been named the 2023 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award National Winner with NSW Artistic Director Michelle Leonard announced as National Runner Up

Simon Hood

Wilmar Manager Grower Marketing

We are very pleased to be a foundation member of the Burdekin Life newspaper. It is great to see a new venture in the Burdekin and we wish the business every success.

The launch of this local newspaper ties in well with our own business within the Wilmar Marketing team.

We recently appointed Fiona Villis as a full-time Grower Marketing Consultant, based at Inkerman Mill.

Fiona, with her husband Paul, have owned and operated cane farms in the Burdekin for nearly 20 years, so she is well versed in the day-to-day challenges of managing a busy farm business. Many growers may have spoken to Fiona through her previous role with Lower Burdekin Water where she worked part time for the past four years.

Fiona joins Meghan Wilson who is also launching into a new phase in her career as she completes her internship with Wilmar Grower Marketing.

Meg joined the business as a graduate a year ago and has made her mark in the Burdekin with her boundless enthusiasm and cheerful nature.

She has acquired a tremendous amount of knowledge over the past year and is looking forward to helping growers understand the vagaries of sugar pricing and how best to use Wilmar’s products and services to maximise income.

And what a year it has been for sugar prices and consequent cane returns. Many of you who attended our international trader roadshow at the beginning of the production season heard Senior Sugar Trader Peter Bingham talk about the risk the sugar world faced with a tight trade balance sheet and low stock levels. Add in the prospect of an El Nino, and the case for higher prices was made from a fundamental viewpoint.

Luckily for global trade, the Brazilian harvest has progressed with hardly a glitch and near-term demand can be met. It will be when the Indian and Thai crops are needed that will tell if we are in for an historic price rise or not.

Fortunately, Wilmar’s 2023 pools are well positioned to take advantage of any price spikes while being well protected from significant price falls. Additionally, our advanced physical sales schedule for the current crop has allowed us to confidently advance secured premiums to Target price growers through the Allocation Account, which is well ahead (A$16/T Net Actual) of our competitor’s offering in the Shared Pool.

For more information, please contact our Burdekin Grower Marketing consultants Meghan Wilson on 0437 669 118 or Fiona Villis on 0437 297 978.

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Meghan Wilson (left) and Fiona Villis are Wilmar’s Grower Marketing consultants in the Burdekin

Garden looking a bit shabby? Plants wilting in the heat? Need a screen to separate your property from your neighbour perhaps?

Or maybe you need some native colours to add life to your landscaping?

Well look no further as the Lower Burdekin Landcare Association nursery is the place to solve all your plant problems.

Catering for a large range of native plants, collected from seeds sourced in the Burdekin Region, the nursery provides seedlings and mature trees for domestic gardens, large project work, and small acreage plantings.

All nursery native stock can be found in the LBLCA publication of the Burdekin Delta Tree Guide, for sale at the nursery, and customers will find all tube stock very reasonably priced.

The nursery is serviced totally by enthusiastic volunteers and overseen by a knowledgeable, helpful, and experienced nursery manager.

Come in and browse the increasing number of ornamentals as well as the large variety of native plants to beautify your garden, create some shade or to give life to your space.

The nursery is situated on International Road, Ayr, and occupies the site of the old Brothers clubhouse.

Bring along your cash but if not LBLCA offers a direct debit transfer option.

The Landcare group looks forward to seeing many of the general public soon.

Who knows, if you like what you see, you may even take out a membership for the cheap rate of $10 per person or $20 per family per year.

Just ask one of the helpful volunteers when visiting.

Now there’s food for thought!

Nursery opening times are Monday-Wednesday and Saturday from 8:00am until midday.

Contributed by the Lower Burdekin Landcare Association

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In a time of growing concern for the agricultural community, the charity, Rural Aid, is extending a helping hand to farmers.

As the Bureau of Meteorology confirms the arrival of an El Niño event, the organisation is calling on farmers to proactively seek support.

El Niño, a meteorological phenomenon synonymous with scorching temperatures and prolonged dry spells, has the potential to plunge regions into drought conditions.

With the threat of this weather pattern looming, Rural Aid is stepping up its efforts to provide essential aid to those facing the brunt of its impact.

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said the Bureau’s announcement confirmed many producers’ fears.

“The announcement of the El Nino weather pattern will bring a lot of unwelcome memories to the surface for our farmers, who’ve been anxiously watching land and waterways dry up,” Mr Warlters said.

“Thousands of farmers are already managing their land with a view to drought, but the Bureau’s announcement makes that approach all the more important.”

“The past drought was regarded as the worst in living memory for the majority of the country, and it’s understandable that many farmers are scared of going through that again,” Mr Warlters said.

“We’re encouraging farmers to reach out and register with Rural Aid now.”

Rural Aid offers primary producers a range of assistance measures including financial, hay, drinking water, counselling, and volunteer assistance.

“We’ve already seen a huge increase in requests for emergency hay and household drinking water from farmers right across the country,” Mr Warlters said.

“In the past four months, requests to Rural Aid for emergency drinking water have increased by 240 per cent, and our free water tank offer was exhausted in just four hours with more than 95 applications. We’re aiming to deliver another 50 water tanks by the end of this year to meet demand.

“I’m encouraging farmers who are finding themselves overwhelmed to give our rurally based counselling team a call for a free chat, to make sure they’re in the best possible position they can be to take on the upcoming seasons,” Mr Warlters said.

Primary producers are urged to register online at www.ruralaid.org.au or by calling 1300 327 624.

Rural Aid’s counsellors can be reached at 1300 175 594.

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The spirit of Clare State School has been immortalised in song and video thanks to Golden Guitar-winning Australian country musician Josh Arnold.

‘Let the Cane Fires Burn’ is a collaboration between Mr Arnold and students, staff, and P&C from the school, debuting at the Fancy Dress Ball at the start of the month.

The school received a grant from the Pacific Blue Haughton Sustainable Communities Fund, enlisting the services of Mr Arnold who has focussed his country music career on working with regional communities.

“One of the benefits of being a small school was that everyone was involved,” Clare State School Principal Troy Patti said.

“We’ve got 17 students and they all got to have their turn at helping write the lyrics.”

The aim of the song and music video is to share what it means to come from Clare, with iconic symbols including cane fires, fertiliser bag rides, the Burdekin River, and the shops of the small town included in the video.

Mr Patti contacted local businesses, families, and farm owners before filming commenced.

“I didn’t have to ask twice; everyone was eager to help out,” he said.

“The kids were very proud, especially the ones who’s farms we visited, and I think the families were very proud too.”

Not only was the video a valuable cultural experience for the community, but the work of the students counted towards their music grade.

“In the music curriculum, it looks at the way you compose lyrics, your performance, being able to tell a story through song and the way you perform and collaborate with others,” Mr Patti said.

“It’s all about providing different opportunities.

“I think this is something students will remember for a very long time, something that we’re all exceptionally proud of.

“This could go with them for the rest of their lives.”

‘Let the Cane Fires Burn’ by Josh Arnold and the Clare State School is available to stream on music streaming platforms and the music video can be viewed on Facebook and YouTube.

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Clare State High School students, staff and members of the community starred in the music video ‘Let the Cane Fires Burn’. Photo supplied

For almost 50 years, the Burdekin Community Association (BCA) has been providing support and guidance to the region, originating from a small information centre that still stands in Queen Street today.

In 1975, a group of locals noticed people needed more access to community information.

“They started an information centre with volunteers and some council support and then after a few years, they added in-home support for people coming out of hospital,” said BCA Chief Executive Officer Debra Cochran.

“From that, they got funding after seven years and they were able to put on paid staff and they’ve kept growing and growing, adding services ever since.

“Where there’s been a need in the community, we’ve sorted the funding from there.”

With over 80 staff and 60 volunteers, BCA provides the Burdekin with a huge array of services across the Support Centre in Queen Street, the Burdekin Centre for Rural Health and the Burdekin Community Rehabilitation Centre as well as home care services, housing and community support services and volunteer services.

Always adapting to meet the unmet needs of the community, Ms Cochran said the Burdekin faces similar issues to other areas including cost of living and homelessness, domestic and family violence, social isolation, and a shortage of support workers.

BCA works to address these needs, providing support and directing people to other specialty services both locally and in Townsville.

“The difference with us I think is our staff and our volunteers and even the quality and experience of our management committee,” Ms Cochran said.

“That’s where I think we make a difference, where the people are just very caring, very talented, and very good at helping people.

“Whether it’s navigating a crisis or a challenge, we’re very good at helping people to find services but also helping people to be independent as much as possible.”

Ms Cochran moved to the Burdekin 23 years ago, starting with the BCA in home care.

“One of the first things I was taken aback by was how friendly people are,” she said.

“There’s an awful lot of pride in people in the shire.”

10 years later, she was promoted to the role of CEO and has thrived for the last 13 years.

“There’s always going to be some challenges and change in human services, but it’s really rewarding to help other people,” she said.

“With all of the staff and volunteers, we’re all driven by trying to help other people and focussing on the Burdekin community.”

Find a calendar of events below for BCA’s upcoming Burdekin Seniors Month.

BCA also publishes a quarterly newsletter, Community Connections, which shares helpful information, contacts, news, photos and more.

To find out more, visit www.burdekincommunityassociation.org.au or drop into the Support Centre at 130 Queen Street, Ayr.

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Burdekin Community Association Chief Executive Officer Debra Cochran. Photo credit: Sam Gillespie

Millaroo State School hosted their annual Scholastic Book Fair from September 5 to 16.

Students and staff dressed up as their favourite book character for a Book Fair Parade, held on Tuesday, September 12.

Prizes were awarded to best dressed, with Kindy to Year 3 first place going to Chelsea Cavanagh and second place to Delta Burrell; and Years 4 to 6 first place to Jacob Hoare and second place Chace Pyott.

Students were also returned the artworks they entered in the Burdekin Art Society Art Show.

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Students pictured at their Mad Hatters Tea Party

Students pictured with their paintings from the Burdekin Art Show. Photos supplied

With passion and pride for her hometown of Home Hill, Faye Hall aims to share the untold history of the Burdekin with twists of romance, drama, and intrigue.

The local author has published over 15 titles, all works of fiction, but all inspired by the real stories of the region.

“I feel the Burdekin history gets ignored a lot,” Ms Hall said.

“There’s so much history here, so many families who came here, came from nothing, and made a life here.

“You hear a little bit about Mr (John) Drysdale who started the sugar industry, but the Burdekin’s so much more than sugar cane.”

Ms Hall’s grandparents migrated to the Burdekin, building what she calls the “Australian dream.”

“I grew up on stories of what they went through, the people they lost, the underlying crimes,” Ms Hall said.

“I love the stories of it all and I wanted to make something bigger.”

Inspired to defy a naysaying teacher, Ms Hall started writing romances in high school, getting her first book published soon after.

Her books have been published by various publishing companies both in Australia and America, before she established her own business 4th Avenue Press.

Set in local townships and drawing on history books, state records and national archives, Ms Hall takes creative license with local history.

“You’ve got drama, crime and scandal but there’s also that romantic element that drifts all the way through and pulls the characters along,” she said.

Ms Hall’s newest book is due for release in October and will be available, along with her other titles, to borrow from the Burdekin Library or to purchase from 4thavenuepress.com.au, Amazon, and Kobo.

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Local author Faye Hall’s books are available from the Burdekin Library. Photo credit: Sam Gillespie

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Over the school holidays, Larrikin Puppets took to the stage to light up the Burdekin Theatre in Ayr, with over 50 attendees from toddlers to teens coming along to enjoy the show.

The Larrikin Puppets are children’s entertainers, travelling Australia and internationally with their band of zany characters, performing colourful shows and catchy songs.

Founder of Larrikin Puppets, Brett Hansen says, “We loved the Burdekin Theatre, everyone was really nice and helpful”.

“They set up the foyer space so nicely for us with black curtain backdrops and lighting for the show. The kids and families were really nice, too.”

Established in 2012, Larrikin Puppets engage with the audience through fast-paced, feel-good entertainment, encouraging audiences to talk, dance, sing and play along.

Larrikin Puppets also run both beginner and advanced puppeteering workshops, giving students the opportunity to learn a range of techniques.

The workshops, led by Brett and his wife/co-puppeteer, Elissa Jenkins, gives the audience a rare chance to learn in a fun, supportive environment that inspires confidence, teambuilding, communication and creativity.

Brett says, “We love touring and travelling to different places that don’t often get puppet shows or workshops, everyone is in good spirits and excited to learn.”

“When we do our library tours, we have 50 puppets to lend out, teaching participants ways to bring these inanimate objects into living, breathing creatures.”

The puppeteering duo have trained in the USA under Jim Henson Puppeteers, who are well-known for their work on The Muppets and Sesame Street television shows.

Brett goes on to say, “Good homework for the kids to do after they’ve attended is to watch [these TV shows], to see how the puppets move and remember some of the skills they learnt in the workshop.”

Larrikin Puppets strive to create a world of ‘bright-eyed wonder’ for children and families everywhere, working each day to make the world a more whimsical, kind and joyful place.

Larrikin Puppets have a jam-packed schedule, with shows across Queensland this month, as well as a Ted Talk in Brisbane on October 14.

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Elissa Jenkins and Brett Hanssen bring their unique puppet show to the Burdekin Theatre. Photo credit: Rachael Smith