Recommendation 27 of the Sugar Industry Working Party Report (Savage et al. 1985) states: That the industry be encouraged to develop more cost effective harvesting and cane transport arrangements based on better capital utilisation and lower total capital investment in this sector of the industry'. A model has been developed to assist the study group in their determination of the economies available, and to allow cane growers and harvester operators to assess the availability of economies of scale in their own operations through changes in their harvesting practices. This model has been tested on approximately 70 harvesting groups in the Mackay and New South Wales areas. It was found to be a useful tool in determining the benefits/costs of varying harvesting practices in given situations.