OPTIMISING THE NUMBER AND LOCATION OF NEW CANE DELIVERY PADS IN THE NSW SUGAR REGION

AS AN INITIATIVE to improve efficiencies in harvesting and transport in the NSW sugar industry, the project considers opportunities for adding cane loading pads for road transport to reduce haul-out distance and consequently the costs of harvesting. There was a general view in the region that the reduction in harvesting costs from additional pads would offset the investment in the pads, particularly when the region moves to harvesting whole-of crop for cogeneration of electricity. A working group of millers, harvesters and grower representatives met regularly with the research team to discuss where additional loading pads would be required in the Broadwater, Condong and Harwood mill areas, with the goal of reducing hauling distances and associated costs. To conduct the analysis, scientific models in harvesting and transport were applied to identify optimal locations where loading pads could be added to achieve the desired financial benefits to the harvesting and milling sector. Two main scenarios were considered: 1) the current situation where cane is burnt before harvesting (base case), and 2) the alternative being proposed in NSW where all crop components are harvested and taken to the mill (whole crop). The benefits of adding new loading pads to each mill area varied significantly between these scenarios, with the benefits being largest for whole-crop harvesting. Under this scenario, the optimum number of new loading pads to be located at Broadwater, Condong and Harwood were estimated to be 21, 12 and 1 respectively, leading to net savings in harvesting costs of $786K over 5 years.