Pricing impacts and rationale for transitions in sugarcane farming in northern New South Wales and Queensland; a conversation starter
By KA Lochner, RG Quirk
On-farm diversification is often used as a risk mitigation strategy for agricultural producers, offering opportunities for increased soil fertility, engagement in new markets and decreasing risk related to crop loss. The correlation between price data and on-farm crop diversification in Mackay, Queensland and Northern New South Wales regions is analysed. Interview data are used to better understand how diversification to macadamia orchards interacts with sugarcane farming, and to investigate other constraints that might drive farmers to diversify. While there appears to be low statistical correlation between sugar and macadamia farming, there remains strong anecdotal evidence to suggest diversification. By analysing the relationship between price data and opportunities for diversification in these regions, insights are generated into factors driving agricultural industry transitions and futures for the sugar industry, prompting discussion for how the cane industry will respond to other opportunities in the future.