The 2022 floods caused severe disruption across the Northern Rivers, inundating farmland, damaging machinery and destroying essential infrastructure for local agricultural businesses. To support economic recovery, the NSW Reconstruction Authority established the Northern Rivers Resilient Business Activation Program, providing targeted assistance to small and medium enterprises delivering vital services across the region.
The Lower Richmond River Cane Harvesting Co‑operative harvests sugar cane from Broadwater Mill to Lennox Head and is jointly owned by 100 local farming members. When the floods hit, the impact was immense. Entire crops were submerged, access roads were damaged and critical machinery was affected. The co‑op also lost essential spare parts — many of them heavy, high‑value components stored on low shelving that were swept away or destroyed. Recovery required significant time, resourcefulness and community effort.
“The grant just allowed us to get the site back and our operation back on track.”
With support from the Program, the co‑op has undertaken major works to restore and strengthen its operations. A key focus has been increasing the flood resilience of the northern shed — the heart of the co‑op’s machinery and parts storage. This work includes raising the slab by approximately 300 millimetres to protect assets during future flood events. New pallet racking now stores essential parts off the ground, preventing loss from future inundation and ensuring the co‑op can return to operation quickly after extreme weather.
These improvements significantly boost the co‑op’s resilience and its ability to support farming members during the critical harvesting season. Staff note that the upgrades not only protect their own operations, but also enable them to continue helping neighbouring farms and the wider community during emergencies — a role they played extensively during the 2022 floods.
Lower Richmond River Cane Harvesting Co‑operative's story:
Lower Richmond River Cane Harvesting Co-op - Towns and Villages Business Activation Program
Visit the Northern Rivers Towns and Villages Business Activation Guidelines page to read more about the grant process.