WHEN Peter Melville talks of producing 80 tonnes of cane per acre, at a content of cane sugar (CCS) level of 17, it tends to raise eyebrows of those in the sugar industry.
He's serious though - very serious. What's more, the possibility of increasing production can be without a greater impact on the natural environment.
The Bullyard farmer has grown tomatoes and zucchinis for most of his farming career, with sugar cane providing a sideline.
This year, however, a proportion of the small crops ground is giving way to cane, and it's not the lure of a high world sugar price that has prompted the move.
"I don't want to see another mill close, that's what I really don't want to see," Peter said.
Having seen the now defunct Fairymead sugar mill dismantled in July, Peter was determined the same wouldn't happen when concerns were raised about the future of the Bundaberg Sugar owned Bingera Mill.
"I've been growing small crops all my life and cane was secondary. Now cane is first and so I am putting more thought into growing cane which previously I didn't," he said.
That extra brainpower has already taken on some physical action. Rather than expand paddock sizes or buy up more land, Peter took a ground level approach - literally.
For the past three years he has used beneficial microbes on the cane to improve soil moisture holding capacity.
The microbes used are imported and are mixed up in a liquid solution on farm.
"These microbes eat hydrogen and spit out oxygen which is different to our local microbes," he said.
Last year he won a cane production award for his local area, which was enough proof for him that the microscopic 'good guys' were working.
A fitter and turner by trade, Peter prefers to see physical results rather than analyse paper printouts.
He said, at a guess, he thinks the microbes have improved his red soil water retention four-fold, but that's yet to be proven.
"We are finding it is very, very, very complicated - nothing is straightforward about it," he said.
"For the three years we've done it, each year we've altered things dramatically."
His lateral thinking has even extended to how the microbes are applied to the paddock.
Two tractors have been specially modified for the task, completing numerous tasks in just two passes.
One pass sees the cane trash sprayed with the microbes along with nutrients and trace elements being applied to the cane stool.
The next pass heaps the trash up against the stool and provides a neat growing bed.
The on-farm innovations don't stop there though.
Using a computerised timing system, attached to a windscreen wiper motor from a very specific model of car, Peter flood irrigates his cane.
The system is also connected to a solar panel which recharges the heavy-duty batteries.
Peter worked on the system with his mate Arden Pohlman.
Installing this system required the paddocks to be laser levelled to a point where the water will run.
Specific microbe application amounts are critical.
A possible drawback to the over application of microbes is that it enhances the soil moisture retention too much, and hinders water running through the rows during flood irrigation.
"Instead of flooding every row this year we are going to flood every second row and put more water down each row," he said.
"We hope we can get water through in a reasonable time - that way we are not wasting water."
For Peter, farming is all about sustainability and economics.
Long before green groups raised concerns about farm run-off affecting the Great Barrier Reef, Peter was working on recycling his irrigation water.
He said about 95 percent of the water which falls on his main farm is caught so it doesn't get into the river system or out to sea.
He is also exploring silt traps for future operations.
Ambitious long-term goals for the sugar industry, such as high CCS levels and yields, need to be serious considerations according to Peter.
"If we don't, or somebody, doesn't work out how to cut our costs, we can't survive," he said.
Twenty five years ago, Peter's father considered a 2000-tonne cane farm enough to make a living from.
"Now I'm thinking a 20,000t farm will be enough to make a living - not a fortune, a living," he said.
"There's something crazy wrong with that.
"I came to farming for the quiet lifestyle but that got mucked up somewhere."
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