Farm feasibility studies for sugarcane production in the Nebo and Blue Mountain districts of central Queensland

This paper outlines case studies used in a feasibility analysis of cane growing opportunities in the Nebo and Blue Mountain districts outside the traditional Mackay cane growing area. The study was undertaken for three growers in the area as part of a final year project in agricultural economics at the University of Queensland. There are many opportunities in these areas for growing cane. Each case study examined has potential to be profitable under reasonable assumptions of cane yield, CCS, sugar price, and transport cost but further work into the impact of large-scale conversion to cane farming in each area is required to determine the long-term viability of the district as a whole as a canegrowing area.