Every August, the country comes to Brisbane for the Ekka. And for all the talk of a city–country divide, Brisbane always seems pretty pleased to see it.
I was reminded of that again this week while spending a day at the CANEGROWERS stand. I lost count of how many people stopped by to share their memories of sugarcane.
Some had visited a relative’s cane farm or chewed on a piece of cane as a child. Others remembered the smell of a sugar mill during crushing season or driving through the regions with cane waving on either side of the road.
I spent a few chatting and hours handing out CANEGROWERS “showbags”. No lollies, no toys – just a special Ekka edition of our One Plant – Many Products magazine, explaining all you need to know about our wonderful industry.
Not much competition for the old Bertie Beetle showbag, you might think. But people snapped them up anyway – 4,000 in just a few days – and most stayed to talk.
Some of the most interesting conversations were with people who had come to Australia from elsewhere.
I spent half an hour with three young South Sudanese men studying agriculture at UQ Gatton. They wanted to know how we grow and harvest cane here and, in turn, told me about sugar production in Sudan.
I wasn’t the only cane grower enjoying those conversations. Innisfail grower Joe Marano has worked at the stand for several years and keeps returning because he enjoys it so much.
Rocky Point grower Lindsay Mischke is also a regular at the Ekka and Rural Discovery Day and loves talking with the families who come through.
The kids tend to head straight for the virtual reality headsets, and it is great fun watching them twist and turn in amazement as they take a 360-degree journey through the industry – from planting cane to loading raw sugar onto massive ships for export.
They love it so much that we even have families who return every year for another turn and another chat.
It matters that they see how the industry operates and hear directly from the people who grow the crop.
This year CANEGROWERS worked alongside Sugar Research Australia, Sunshine Sugar and, for the first time, Australian Sugar Manufacturers – four organisations telling one positive sugar industry story.
That does not mean we will always agree, and CANEGROWERS will keep speaking up whenever growers’ interests are at stake. But when the job is helping the public understand our industry, we are better off doing it together.
Of course, people who spend a day at the Ekka are probably more open to agriculture than most.
Even so, many arrived knowing little about sugarcane and left knowing more.
If there is a city–country divide, I reckon it closes pretty quickly once the conversation starts.
