Sheahan Farming Company

Our Sugar Cane

Our beautiful pub is snuggled amongst our sugar cane fields. Landcare and sustainability are at the heart of everything we do. Our livelyhood depends on it and so for three generations we have worked in this Valley, in the natural rhythms of the land, ensuring sustainable cropping while managing foreign pests, weeds, errosion, waterways, and soil condition. Between our five local farms, we currently have about 700 acres under cane.

Sugar Process

Our sugar cane is sent via cane trains to our local mill, Victoria, to be processed into raw sugar. Victoria Mill in Ingham is the largest in the southern hemisphere. This mill was originally built and owned by CSR (Colonial Sugar Refining Company) as their first mill. Now Singapour’s Asian leading agribusiness group Wilmar own and operate the mill. Wilmar is the largest employeer in our district. Our region has two mills, the other, MAcknade Mill is also owned by Wilmar.

Sugar Export

Our regions raw sugar is sent overseas to be further processed into white sugar, before being sold back to Australia for domestic consumption. Sugar trains carry the raw sugar from the mill to our local sugar terminal at Lucinda. Here, underneath the high tin roofs, the sugar is piled up on the ground in giant sugar mountains. via a long long covered conveyor belt, the sugar takes 22 minutes to move down the sugar jetty and onto the awaiting export ships. The service jetty is the largest in the southern hemisphere. At 5.76km long, it actually has to curve downwards to hug the curvature of the earth.