Last night at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, local Mossman cane farmer Doug Rasmussen was awarded the prestigious Rural Award at the 2012 Queensland Premier's Sustainability Awards Presentation evening for his Sugarcane Sustainability Project.

Doug Rasmussen has embarked on a five-year program to create sediment traps on his farm, shifting topsoil and laser levelling each block when it becomes vacant so rainfall travels slowly and evenly to the sediment trap.

Doug has used the laser-leveller on all fallow blocks since 2007, and pinpoints the location of the sediment traps so any topsoil washed away during the wet season is captured and can be applied to the areas which are situated lower. The use of filter mud has reduced fertiliser use by 25 per cent.

Doug beat off challenges from two other sugar cane farm projects from Babinda and Ingham to win the award.

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