A SUGAR consultant who has been working with local growers to make improvements to husbandry in an effort to increase production said farmers needed to do more work.
Tate and Lyle consultant Dan Boodhna said he had come across many incidents where growers regarded their work as being done once crops were in the ground.
"That is not when your work ends. Once you have planted sugar cane, the real work begins. It is very important that cane farms are properly maintained because weeds can reduce crop production by 20 per cent. For example, if you plant 100 acres, 20 acres will be lost if you don't properly maintain weeds," Mr Boodhna said.