We talk a lot about agriculture in terms of tonnes, prices, government policy and trade agreements – all vital to our economy.
What we don’t talk about as often are the years - the generations - the families whose stories built the industry in the first place.
That’s why, over the past year, CANEGROWERS has been recording conversations with members about their lives and family legacy in cane.
The first episode, featuring 93-year-old Innisfail grower Joe Cini, is now available online, with the next to be released on 1 March.
Listening to these conversations, what stands out is the generational thread running through them.
You hear about parents and grandparents who began with modest holdings and built steadily over time. You hear about cutting cane by hand before mechanical harvesters became the norm, about seasons lost to cyclones and others that carried families forward, and about children who grew up on farms facing the decision of whether to stay or go.
There is nostalgia in those recollections – and there should be. When you spend a lifetime in one industry – often on the same piece of land – memory becomes part of its fabric.
But these conversations are not only about looking back.
They show how much the industry has changed – in technology, environmental practice, business structures and global markets – and how growers have adapted with it. Nothing in farming stands still for long.
For those of us in cane, that continuity feels normal. For those outside it, these stories provide context. They show what it takes to sustain an industry over decades, and what it asks of families along the way.
Queensland’s sugar industry has helped shape regional communities for generations. Understanding that history isn’t about sentiment – it’s about perspective.
If you have the time, I encourage you to watch the first conversation and look out for the next episode on 1 March at canegrowers.com.au/voices-of-cane-country.
At its core, it’s a story about people – and that’s what has kept it going.
