Old hand fears for younger families

THE sugar industry runs deep in Bernie Borello’s blood.

Aged in the “high 70s”, he has been growing sugarcane in the Herbert ever since he was old enough to turn the key on a tractor. He farms at Abergowrie and at the Gentle Annie near Halifax. His grandfather came out from Piedmont in Italy and his Nonna from northern Italy.

They started growing cane at Stone River in the early part of the 20th century. When the Abergowrie district opened up to cane in the 1950s Bernie’s dad Ernest took up an assignment.

They took up more land and settled into the farming life. Life was uncomplicated.

Now it is complicated. There are now more twists and turns in life with more downs than there are ups in the sugar industry.

Bernie accepts that low prices are part of the cane industry cycle. That is the way it has always been. He knows the routine.

You tighten the belt, forget about complaining and get on with the job. He’s done it before and he’s doing it now.

“One thing I know is that when the price is low it takes a long time to climb back up, but when it reaches peak it dies quickly,” he said.

Like a lot of the older growers still working in the industry he sympathises with the lot of young farmers carrying heavy mortgages.

“A lot of them work in the mines now and work their farms on their rostered days off,” he said.

Bernie bought his own farm 52 years ago. He and his wife raised three children.

“We could do that, buy a farm and raise family,” he said. “I don’t know how they could do that with prices and the ups and downs of today.

“There are more downs than ups with the industry today. I’m starting to lose confidence.”