Primary Industries and Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin said canefarmers could make significant savings in labour hours spent on farm operations by introducing precision controlled traffic farming (PCTF) systems.

"By using a simple model we were able to compare historic and current practices. The data demonstrated that using PCTF achieved a 39 per cent reduction in tractor hours and a 58 per cent reduction in fuel costs compared to conventional farming practices," Mr Mulherin said.

He said the PCTF required changing the cane row spacing which would mean greatly reduced soil compaction.

"The process merges controlled traffic farming with satellite based tracking using tractor mounted GPS auto steering, so that every vehicle entering the paddock uses the same crop row configurations.

"This means the crop grows in a zone that has not been compacted by passing vehicles as tractor or harvester wheels travel over a dedicated area or traffic zone every time," Mr Mulherin said.

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries principal experimentalist Neil Halpin said converting farm machinery to a 1.8 metre row configuration meant a tractor working the paddock would travel 5555 metres of row per hectare compared to 6,250 metres of row/ha with 1.6 metre spacing.

"Changing from 1.6 to 1.8 metre spacing, together with the implementation of reduced tillage, saw a 39pc reduction in tractor hours of operation, while computer modelling predicts savings of another 16pc by the adoption of zonal tillage post-cane and pre-legume sowing," Mr Halpin said.

In an on farm case study on a Townsville farm owned by the Russo brothers, shifting to reduced tillage and PCTF saved 47 litres per hectare, or a 58 per cent reduction, in fuel use, he said.

"Adopting these technologies should be seen as an investment to improve economic viability and a counter to increasing fuel and associated carbon emissions," Mr Halpin said.

Mackay canefarmer Gerry Deguara has been one of the big innovators in adopting new farming technology on his 600 hectare property.

In the central region of Mackay, Proserpine and Plane Creek about 20pc of the total area planted is using PTCF, amounting to 10pc of the total cane plantation.