Following are information links about the NSW sugar industry and the process of transporting and milling the sugar cane plant into raw and refined sugar.
Partners of NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative Ltd
Harvesting and transporting the cane to the mill
The process of turning cane into raw sugar
The process of turning raw sugar into refined sugars
The NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative Limited is committed to a duty of care to the environment and has participated and won several awards for the following projects.
Water Quality Awareness Project
Two renewable energy powerstations have been constructed at Broadwater and Condong sugar sugar mills
Information on the Co-generation plants at Broadwater and Condong
Following are information links about the NSW sugar industry and the process of transporting and
milling the sugar cane plant into raw and refined sugar.
Sunshine Sugar - our future is bright
Cane farming in the Northern Rivers of NSW
Harvesting and transporting the cane to the mill
The process of turning cane into raw sugar
The process of turning raw sugar into refined sugars
Raw sugar is manufactured from sugar cane at Condong, Broadwater and Harwood sugar mills.
Harwood sugar mill, built in 1874, is the oldest operating mill in New South Wales. It is now a
modern factory than can process 220 tonnes of sugar cane per hour. The mill also supplies
energy and services to the adjacent refinery.
The three sugar mills produce raw sugar from cane in a series of process stages which i
nclude crushing, clarification, evaporation, crystallisation, separation by centrifuge and drying.
An outline of the raw sugar process is shown below.
SUGAR & YOUR HEALTH
Essential blood sugars and the energy required for an active and healthy lifestyle are provided by a moderate
intake of foods containing sugar. The brain requires blood sugars for its normal daily function.
Sugars are the simplest form of carbohydrate. They are found in foods throughout nature - in fruits, vegetables,
nectar, honey and milk.
The simple sugars - glucose and fructose - are found in nearly all plants. Sometimes they occur together as
sucrose, which is simply a combination of glucose and fructose. We know sucrose as sugar, the major source
of which is sugar cane.
Carbohydrates are broken down and used by the body as glucose, a major energy source. After digestion,
the body does not distinguish between sugar derived from sugar cane and sugars which are found in
fruits and vegetables.
Sugar (Sucrose) = glucose + fructose
From the earliest days, sugar has been a popular food ingredient and part of a healthy diet. These properties
have earned sugar its rightful place as the Gold Standard of sweetners. It is reassuring to know that, unlike
synthetic sweetners, real sugar does not need warning labels.
It's sweet and it's natural!
| An average cane farm is 56 hectares and produces around 4,000 tonnes of cane per year.
Cane is planted between mid-August and October. Cane stalks are cut into 300mm long "setts" and planted 100mm below the soil surface in rows 1.5m apart. Fertiliser is added and weeds are controlled for the next three to four months.
The crop is harvested in the July to November crushing season, either one or two years after planting. Most New South Wales crops are harvested as two year old.
After harvest, a "ratoon" crop grows from the below ground parts of the previous crop. Two or three ratoon crops are grown from each planting. |
New South Wales boasts one of the most efficient harvesting systems in the sugar cane growing world. A fleet of modern, high capacity
harvesters and in-field cane transporters handle the crop efficiently and in all weather conditions.
The harvesters cut and load into in-field transporters, which either tip or elevate the cane into portable bins at central locations on the farm. These bins are transported to the raw sugar mills by road.
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