Every year the Mulgrave Sugar Mill hands out two awards to local canegrowers: for the highest tonnes of cane a hectare and for highest tonnes/ha of sugar.

This year, Andrew took out both awards, despite the extreme weather his property suffered - a result he believed was due to the peanuts he grew before the cane was planted.

"We had extreme wet weather - it started raining in September 2010 and didn't stop until mid-April 2011," Andrew said.

"I planted the ultra-early peanut variety Tingoora as a winter pure seed crop in April.

"It came out in August, the cane went in September and then the rain came," he said.

Andrew's cane crop out-yielded more than 300 other canegrowers who supply the Mulgrave Mill and he believed the peanut break crop was the key to the success.

His cane yields were about 20 per cent greater after growing peanuts.

There was also a reduction in nitrogen fertiliser inputs into the cane crop because of the biological nitrogen fixation contributed by the peanuts.

The returns he received for the peanuts were also a major bonus for a legume rotation crop.

Andrew came to the peanut business in a roundabout fashion.

"I had a bright idea to try something else when my sugar crops weren't performing very well. I thought we'd grow pumpkins as a rotation crop on a big scale - but this was the worst thing I've ever done."

An agronomist from the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) in Mareeba visited and suggested that instead of pumpkins, he should try peanuts.

DEEDI claimed research clearly demonstrated peanuts can effectively break root disease and nematode cycles in the cane crop, as well as adding valuable nitrogen inputs.

Andrew and his wife Nadine bought out the other family members last year and this is the first year he has entered the Mulgrave Mill competition in his own right.

He said he was very pleased with his decision to swap from pumpkins to peanuts.

"They're the key to increasing your farm output, that's for sure."