Securing fair treatment for growers
Prices, payments and protection
From its earliest days, CANEGROWERS worked to ensure growers were treated fairly in an industry where power was often unevenly distributed.
Key achievements include:
- negotiating enforceable cane price and payment arrangements
- securing compensation mechanisms for growers
- advocating for reasonable season lengths and milling arrangements
- defending growers’ interests in arbitration and regulatory processes
These efforts helped stabilise farm incomes and gave growers confidence to invest for the future.
Supporting growers in times of crisis
Drought, disaster and recovery
CANEGROWERS has repeatedly stepped in when growers needed support most.
Over the decades, the organisation:
- assisted hundreds of growers to access disaster relief and low-interest recovery loans
- advocated for emergency relief during droughts, floods and disease outbreaks
- worked with governments to secure practical assistance rather than short-term fixes
In many cases, CANEGROWERS acted as the link between struggling growers and systems that were otherwise difficult to navigate.
Infrastructure and regional development
Building long-term resilience
Beyond farm gates, CANEGROWERS has played a key role in strengthening regional infrastructure that underpins productive agriculture.
Achievements include:
- advocating for irrigation schemes and secure water allocations
- supporting electrification and essential services in cane-growing regions
- contributing to flood mitigation, drainage and water management planning
- investing in grower services and regional capability
These initiatives helped turn cane-growing regions into resilient, productive communities.
Innovation and productivity
Preparing the industry for change
CANEGROWERS has consistently backed innovation that improves efficiency, sustainability and long-term viability.
From mechanisation of the harvest to water-use efficiency programs and soil conservation initiatives, the organisation has:
- supported research, trials and early adoption of new practices
- partnered with governments and agencies to deliver on-farm improvements
- helped growers adapt to changing economic and environmental conditions
Progress was never assumed – it was organised and supported.
Standing firm through industry change
Deregulation and reform
One of the most significant periods in CANEGROWERS’ history came with the deregulation of the Australian sugar industry in the early 2000s.
Deregulation fundamentally reshaped how sugar was marketed and sold, exposing growers to global markets and shifting risk back onto farms.
Throughout this period, CANEGROWERS worked to:
- ensure growers had a strong voice during reform
- protect transparency and accountability in marketing arrangements
- prevent further erosion of grower rights
- adapt representation structures to a deregulated environment
While deregulation brought opportunity, it also brought complexity – and CANEGROWERS remained central to navigating both.
The fight for choice in marketing
A defining modern battle
Perhaps the most consequential advocacy campaign of recent decades has been the fight for grower choice in sugar marketing.
As industry structures evolved, CANEGROWERS led sustained advocacy to ensure growers retained the right to choose how their sugar was marketed – rather than having that choice dictated by mill owners or commercial arrangements beyond their control.
This fight involved:
- prolonged negotiation with governments and industry stakeholders
- legislative reform to protect marketing choice
- sustained public and political advocacy
- standing firm in the face of significant commercial pressure
The outcome reaffirmed a core principle that has defined CANEGROWERS for a century: growers must retain control over decisions that directly affect their livelihoods.
A century of outcomes
Advocacy that delivers
Across 100 years, CANEGROWERS’ achievements share a common thread – they translate representation into real-world results.
They reflect an organisation willing to:
- argue the hard cases
- stay the course through long reform processes
- balance public advocacy with quiet negotiation
- and put growers’ interests first, even when it is uncomfortable
The challenges facing growers have changed over time. The need for strong, effective representation has not.