The QCAR Board, General Manager, and the entire QCAR team are incredibly proud to congratulate our young QCAR Director and Chairman of the Herbert District Committee, John Board, on being announced a 2027 Nuffield Scholar.

QCAR General Manager Tara Malpass said John was an ideal representative for Nuffield Australia perfectly embodying the proactiveness, drive and vision of our next generation of farmers.

“Known for his outspokenness, progressive mindset, and broad thinking skills, we know John will make an incredible impact through this scholarship,” Tara said.

John’s Nuffield study:

John knows ethanol production from sugarcane could be the saviour of his beloved sugarcane industry. He’s invested in the outcome, returning to growing sugarcane by buying a 420-hectare property near Ingham, but he knows profitability needs to change for growers to stay in the industry.

Here’s where ethanol enters the discussion, and where John finds more than a glimmer of hope, so much so that he’s embarked on his study “A sugarcane circular bio-economy – Profitable farming for generations”.

John said new processing methods meant sugarcane could produce both crystal sugar and ethanol.

With Australia already unable to currently supply enough ethanol for the E10 unleaded petrol market, John says the scope is enormous, let alone the ability to tap into the aviation fuel sector.

Sugarcane already produces crystal sugar, molasses and energy from processing. The addition of ethanol would not only make it attractive to existing mills but might also encourage new players.

“That can only be good for communities in eastern Australia which are heavily dependent on the industry”, John said.

John might be a sugarcane grower, but he’s also a fierce defender and believer in its future, and he will travel to Brazil and India, fellow sugarcane-growing regions, to ensure the industry can not only survive but thrive.

– Attribution: Nuffield Australia