Every August, the Ekka gives city and country a chance to meet face to face – and for us in agriculture, that’s a golden opportunity.
As farmers, we sometimes feel a bit invisible. We’re out there growing the food and fibre that keep the nation ticking along, supporting regional communities, and driving export industries – yet it can seem like those achievements get taken for granted.
So, it’s always a bit humbling to discover, as we did again this year, just how much respect and genuine interest city folk have in what we do.
At the 2025 Royal Queensland Show, the sugarcane stand was buzzing. Families crowded in to try the virtual reality experience that takes you from planting through to harvesting, milling, and shipping sugar around the world.
Kids were wide-eyed, parents were curious, and grandparents often leaned in with their own memories of cane country.
It was amazing to watch the penny drop for people as they realised just how many everyday products trace back to the humble cane stalk – from sugar on the table to electricity in their homes and even renewable fuels.
Over the course of the nine days, thousands streamed through the stand. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive – not just polite interest, but real enthusiasm, pride, and gratitude.
The conversations were a real highlight for our team on the stand. They spoke with Brisbane families who take their kids north every year for the cane fires, tourists who’d fallen in love with cane trains rattling through coastal towns, and young people genuinely excited about sustainable farming and biofuels.
It was a reminder that while people may not know every detail of our industry or the challenges we face, they do care. They want to understand more, and they value the role farmers play in their lives.
That’s why CANEGROWERS puts so much effort into telling agriculture’s story – and why we’ll keep showing up at the Ekka. It’s proof that the city-country divide isn’t as wide as it sometimes feels, and that a stalk of cane still has the power to spark connection, pride, and a smile.
The Sugarcane Industry stand is hosted by CANEGROWERS, with strong support from Sunshine Sugar, Sugar Research Australia, and the Queensland Farmers’ Federation.
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