CANE farmers may be able to cash in on carbon credits because of their crop's new-found ability to lock away large amounts of carbon. 

Southern Cross University researchers recently completed field trials that reveal cane can retain three-quarters of a tonne of carbon dioxide equivalents per hectare in the soil each year, and will continue to do so for thousands of years.

"This could be worth millions to the sugar industry and all grass-growing industries," researcher Jeff Parr said.

"To the individual farmer it equates to much less but is still significant.''

Results of cane tests, examining which varieties can sequester the most carbon, will be released soon.

In good news for farmers, Mr Parr said the highest-yielding varieties were also proving the highest achievers when it came to carbon.

Farmers could potentially earn money in carbon credits for changing to crops that store the most carbon, he said.

Cane locked up large amounts of carbon in "plantstones" or phytoliths that were microscopic balls of silica which formed around a plant's cells as they took up mineral from the soil.

Once a plant dies, plantstones enter the soil and can sequester carbon for thousands of years according to carbon-dating research undertaken by Mr Parr and colleague Leigh Sullivan in New Guinea.

"The amount of carbon varies considerably according to the variety," Mr Parr said.

"The worst performers produce about a third of a tonne of carbon dioxide equivalents per hectare in the soil each year but the best are producing up to three-quarters of a tonne."

While cane testing has largely been undertaken in the Tweed Heads area, researchers are hoping to visit the Far North later this year to kickstart collaborative research.

"Farming has taken a bit of a back seat when it comes to carbon sequestration but we`re hoping to change that," Mr Parr said.

Canegrowers senior manager Bernard Milford has welcomed the research but cautioned there was a long way to go yet.

"The hurdles for farmers will be demonstrating what they are doing will make a permanent or long-term difference, being able to measure the amount of carbon stored in the soils and to guarantee that phytoliths will stay in the soil no matter what the farmer does in terms of farm management," Mr Milford said.