COTTON YEARBOOK 2011 - Greenmount Press

S E C T I O N 1 

OVERVIEW 

S e c t i o n 1 

THIS SECTION brought 

to you in asSociation with 

OVERVIEW 3 

4 A record year 

4 Cotton production estimates (2010–11) 

6 A word from the CEO 

12 Cotton Awards winners 2011 

16 Australia has world’s highest cost of cotton production 

18 Cotton Fibre Expo 

22 Cotton Trade Show 2011 




THE FUTURE 23 

24 The impact of a carbon price on cotton farming 

28 Peak phosphorus – a real or perceived issue? 

32 Improved growing season predicted for 2011–12 




THE INDUSTRY IN FIGURES 33 

34 Australian production 

37 World production 

38 Cotton and futures prices 

41 Consumption and market share 

42 Exports and imports 




AREA ROUND~UP 43 

44 Southern NSW 46 Macquarie Valley 

49 Bourke 50 Namoi Valley 

54 Gwydir Valley 56 Border Rivers 

58 Darling Downs 60 St George and Dirranbandi 

62 Dawson–Callide 66 Central Highlands 

68 Burdekin 




WATER MATTERS 71 

72 Cutting seepage losses from on-farm storages 

76 Cotton industry student at world water conference 

78 Cotton water storage snapshot 

COTTON YEARBOOK 2011 




ENVIRONMENT & EDUCATION 81 

82 New cotton production lecturer at UNE 

84 New technology improves cotton health and safety 

88–89 Schools servicing the cotton industry 

90 Sustainable cotton landscapes 




RESEARCH AND EXTENSION 95 

96 End of an era of cotton research 

98 New directors appointed to CRDC 

99 Rotating towards carbon-neutral cotton crops 

100 Cotton industry development & delivery team 

102 Cotton Catchment Communities CRC research projects 

106 CRDC research projects summary 




PROCESSING AND MARKETING 109 

110 ABARES forecasts good, but lower, prices 

112 New international cotton quality centre 

114 Preliminary results point to high quality crop 

116 World Commodity Watch 

118 Processing organisations 

124 Marketing consultants 

124 Merchants 

128 Independent classing services 




INDUSTRY ORGANISATIONS 129 

Major industry organisations 

130 Australian Cotton Industry Council 

130 Cotton Australia 

Associated industry bodies 

132 Aerial Agricultural Association of Australia 

132 Australian Cotton Ginners’ Assoc. 

132 Australian Cotton Shippers’ Assoc. 

133 Cotton Agricultural Products Assoc. 

133 Cotton Classers’ Association of Australia 

134 Cotton Catchment Communities CRC 

134 Cotton Research and Development Corporation 

135 Cotton Seed Distributors Ltd 

135 Crop Consultants Australia 

136 WinCott Women’s Industry Network – Cotton 

138 Regional cotton grower associations 

S e c t i o n 1 0 

TRADE DIRECTORY 141 

142 Reference guide to companies servicing the cotton industry 

COTTON YEARBOOK 2011 

Published by 

The Australian Cottongrower 

P.O. BOX 766, 

TOOWOOMBA. 4350. 

Phone: (07) 4659 3555 

Fax: (07) 4638 4520 

E-mail: 

cotton@greenmountpress.com.au 

MANAGING EDITOR 

David Dowling 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

Lloyd O’Connell 

PRODUCTION MANAGER 

Mick Allan 

OFFICE MANAGER 

Catherine O’Connell 

GROUP SALES MANAGER 

Norm Neeld 

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES 

Norm Neeld 07 5450 1720 

Contents of advertisements are the 

responsibility of the advertisers. 

All statements and opinions 

expressed in COTTON YEARBOOK 

2011 are published after due 

consideration of information 

gained from sources believed to 

be authentic. No portion may be 

reproduced without permission from 

the publisher. 

COPYRIGHT 2011. 

FRONT COVER 

Dr Warwick Stiller, 

CSD Researcher of the Year 

Award Winner. 

COTTON YEARBOOK 2011 — 1 

THE FUTURE 



THE INDUSTRY 

IN FIGURES 

AREA ROUNDUP 



WATER 

MATTERS 


ENVIRONMENT & 

EDUCATION 


RESEARCH 

AND EXTENSION 


PROCESSING 

AND MARKETING 


INDUSTRY 

ORGANISATIONS 

TRADE DIRECTORY 

S E C T I O N 10

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overview 

THIS SECTION brought to you in asSociation with 

A record year 4 

Cotton production estimates 4 

A word from the CEO 6 

Cotton Awards winners 2011 12 

Australia has world’s highest cost of cotton 

production 16 

Cotton Fibre Expo 18 

Cotton Trade Show 2011 22 

3

• o v e r v i e w B Y S U M I T O M O C H E M I C A L • o v e r v i e w B Y S U M I T O M O C H E M I C A L • o v e r v i e w B Y S U M I T O M O C H E M I C A L • 


OVERVIEW 

This section brought to 

you in association with 

David Dowling. 

The 2010–11 cotton season will go down as an 

exceptional year in more ways than one. The 

area planted to cotton was a record and total 

production was a record – and the turnaround in 

fortunes for the industry from the middle of 2010 

was nothing short of remarkable. 

After almost a decade of drought, we were looking 

at another year of severely depressed production 

before the rain started to fall and turned the whole 

thing around. The smiles on the faces of growers 

became wider and wider and the size of the crop kept 

increasing. After the loss of so many trained personnel 

and the run down in machinery stocks over the 

years, there were doubts about the ability of the 

industry to handle the logistics of such a big crop. 

But one way or another, growers found the people 

to plant and manage the crop, the machinery and 

expertise to grow it and the contractors necessary to 

get it off. 

It was a remarkable achievement. It was also the 

A record year 

By David Dowling 

longest season in history. From the time from when 

the first crops were planted in mid September 2010, 

to when the last crops were harvested, was close to 

12 months. And who knows when the final bale will 

be ginned. 

The other records of course – and the ones we 

didn’t want – were the record rainfall totals and 

flooding, especially in Central Queensland and the 

Darling Downs. Just as Australia is operating a ‘two 

speed’ economy at the moment, this cotton season 

had two speeds. For growers faced with floods and 

long periods of cloudy weather, it was a disaster in 

some cases. 

On the other hand, there were cases of record 

yields and record prices which added a much needed 

recharge to many bank accounts. With another 

record season in the offing for 2011–12, let’s hope 

that the good fortune is shared around and the only 

records we are talking about next year are positive 

ones. 

Australian cotton production estimates 2010–11 

Hectares 

Irrigated Dryland Total 

Yield 

bales/ha 

Bales Hectares 5 Yield 

bales/ha 

Bales Hectares Bales 

Queensland 

Emerald 1 24,000 6.0 145,000 8,000 2.5 20,000 32,000 165,000 

Biloela/Theodore 3,800 6.1 23,000 1,000 2.5 2,500 4,800 25,500 

Burdekin 350 7.1 2,500 0 0 350 2,500 

Darling Downs 44,500 6.5 289,000 55,000 2.7 150,000 99,500 439,000 

St George 27,800 10.7 296,000 550 3.6 2,000 28,350 298,000 

Dirranbandi 31,000 10.7 330,000 1,100 3.6 4,000 32,100 334,000 

Total 131,450 8.3 1,085,500 65,650 2.7 178,500 197,100 1,264,000 

NSW 

Macintyre 2 72,000 9.8 703,000 33,500 3.1 105,000 105,500 808,000 

Gwydir 52,200 9.8 510,000 74,000 2.8 210,000 126,200 720,000 

Upper Namoi 16,000 9.4 150,000 15,000 2.9 44,000 31,000 194,000 

Lower Namoi 3 50,500 9.7 492,000 18,000 2.3 42,000 68,500 534,000 

Macquarie 16,800 9.3 156,000 0 0 16,800 156,000 

Bourke 10,300 10.2 105,000 0 0 10,300 105,000 

Southern NSW 4 23,000 9.6 220,000 0 0 23,000 220,000 

Total 244,900 9.7 2,377,000 140,500 2.9 401,000 385,400 2,778,000 

WA – Ord 980 7.1 7,000 0 0 980 7,000 

Aust. total 377,330 9.2 3,469,500 206,150 2.8 579,500 583,480 4,049,000 

Overall average yield: 6.94 bales/ha (1575 kg/ha). 

1 

Includes Mackenzie and Belyando. 

2 

About 40% of Macintyre cotton is grown in Queensland. Includes Mungindi. 

3 

Includes Walgett. 

4 

Lachlan, Murrumbidgee Valleys and Tandou. 

5 

Planted area is in field hectares, not green hectares. 

4 — COTTON YEARBOOK 2011

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OVERVIEW 



A word from the CEO 

The production of a record Australian cotton 

crop of around four million bales created 

a really positive platform for our year and 

buoyed the industry, our growers and their families. 

It also came with its own set of challenges for Cotton 

Australia. Not only did we have hundreds of growers 

entering the industry who hadn’t grown cotton 

before, we also had to make sure we had the capacity 

to produce and harvest such a massive crop. 

In the middle of all that, some regions were hit 

with the worst flooding in a century, and we lost 

approximately 10 per cent of our area. For some 

cotton families this was devastating and has meant 

another year of lost income. The Cotton Australia 

team worked hard to support these growers during a 

very difficult time. 

When we weren’t dealing with issues from ‘left 

field’ this year, the team steadily worked through our 

detailed Annual Operating Plan. This plan has input 

from growers, is approved by the Board and is built 

on each year to ensure new areas of grower interest 

are covered. 

This plan sets out a number of goals; to help the 

Australian cotton industry be world competitive, sustainable 

and valued by the community. It drives the 

industry’s strategic direction, retains a strong focus 

on R&D, promotes the strengths of the industry, 

reports its environmental credentials and implements 

policy objectives. 

Cotton Australia’s advocacy work starts in the 

field, listening to grower concerns and issues, and 

By Adam Kay, CEO, Cotton Australia 

Adam Kay and CA Chairman Andrew Watson. 

ends in Parliament House in Canberra, Sydney and 

Brisbane where those messages are taken to the policy 

makers who can have a real impact on the business 

of growing cotton. 

Topics in the spotlight 

Relief for flood affected growers 

Unfortunately approximately 10 per cent of the 

planted area was inundated with flood waters, particularly 

in Central Queensland, Theodore, the Darling 

Downs and St George. For some cotton families 

this was devastating and meant another year of lost 

income. The Cotton Australia team did everything it 

could to help, working with government to get funds 

released and working with industry to provide support 

to these growers during a very difficult time. A 

6 — COTTON YEARBOOK 2011 

Members of the Cotton Australia Board.

• o v e r v i e w B Y S U M I T O M O C H E M I C A L 

• o v e r v i e w B Y S U M I T O M O C H E M I C A L • o v e r v i e w B Y S U M I T O M O C H E M I C A L • 

30 point plan based on grower needs was developed 

and implemented and the Cotton Flood Fund will 

see donations from industry delivered to growers to 

help them get started next season. 

Planning for a bumper crop 

Over a quarter of the cotton area in the 2010-11 

season was produced by dryland growers, a much 

larger percentage of the crop than ever before. A 

significant number of growers entered the industry 

for the first time, or hadn’t grown cotton for many 

years, and so there was a challenge to ensure these 

newcomers had access to the latest information and 

technology and were aware of their obligations to the 

environment, their fellow farmers and the industry. 

Early in the season, when a major increase in area 

was predicted, Cotton Australia developed a plan to 

ensure there were adequate supplies of inputs and 

a seamless production season for growers. Briefings 

were conducted with senior staff and credit management 

teams of most major banks, detailed forecasts 

were delivered to the chemical supply industry and 

Cotton Australia worked closely with John Deere 

on supplies of module wrap. The plan resulted in no 

major supply shortages despite a crop three times the 

size of the previous year. 

Murray-Darling Basin Plan – the story 

continues 

It was another big year in the ongoing development 

of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, with 

Cotton Australia heavily involved in the process. 

The “Guide” to the Draft Plan recommended cuts 

in diversions across the Basin between 3000GL – 

4000GL, and predicted just 800 jobs would be lost. 

The balance was obviously tipped towards the 

environment, rather than fairly balancing social and 

economic considerations. Cotton Australia, many 

industry and community groups and thousands of 

individuals from Basin communities protested long 

and loud at this inequity and challenged the credibility 

of the Guide’s science and conclusions. The 

immediate impacts of these communities finding 

A packed Murray-Darling Basin Plan community 

meeting on the Darling Downs. 


OVERVIEW 



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COTTON YEARBOOK 2011 — 7



OVERVIEW 



their voice has set us on a path that, while not perfect 

and not yet certain, is more promising than the 

previous process. 

During this time, Cotton Australia leveraged its 

alliances to the full, working with NFF, QFF and the 

NSW Irrigators Council in particular to apply pressure 

to government and the Murray-Darling Basin 

Association. Cotton Australia also joined the newly 

formed National Irrigators Council and the Basin 

Communities Association to further strengthen our 

position in this critical debate. 

2,4D drift kept at bay 

For the third consecutive season Cotton Australia 

implemented a comprehensive campaign to reduce 

incidents of cotton crop damage due to phenoxy 

herbicide drift. The awareness campaign involved 

providing direct information on best management 

practice spray application, cotton crop field locations 

and adverse incident reporting procedures. Cotton 

Australia can report that there were no documented 

adverse incident reports of phenoxy herbicide damage 

to cotton crops this season. 

A critical element in this success was the continued 

development of cottonmap.com.au which was 

again very successful in alerting potential users of 

Phenoxy products to the proximity of cotton fields 

to any area requiring weed control over summer. 

Over 400 registered users mapped 5326 fields covering 

579,990 hectares. 

15th Australian Cotton Conference brings 

industry together 

The 15th Australian Conference was held on the 

Gold Coast in August, with the theme “Fashioning 

the Future.” The industry showcase had close to 

1000 delegates including a large contingent of growers, 

and covered wide ranging topics from global 

marketing issues down to detailed research data on 

plant nutrition, water and soil health. 

Tristan Petty, James Houlahan and Dean Hamblin. 

Key Wins for GROWERS 

• The Cotton Australia Board and Staff have 

fought hard to get positive outcomes for 

growers during the year. Some of the wins 

achieved in 2010–11 include: 

• A major change of direction in planning for 

the Murray-Darling Basin, allowing more time 

and more pressure to be applied at local and 

Federal levels. 

• Water buy-backs to only come from willing 

sellers. 

• Prohibitive ‘capacity to pay’ and ‘rates of 

return’ aspects overturned in water price setting 

negotiations in Queensland. 

• Reduction in 2,4D spray drift incidence from 

nearly 16,000 hectares of cotton affected in 

the 2009–10 season, (costing the industry $9 

million) to virtually no problems this year. 

• Despite a cotton area three times the size, 

no major issues with input supply shortages 

this season due to Cotton Australia’s efforts in 

briefing all major players. 

• First industry group on the scene during the 

flood crisis, establishing grower and community 

needs and taking these to government. The 

Cotton Flood Fund to be established with a $2 

million pledge from Monsanto. 

• Cotton Australia lobbied for a joint Federal/ 

Queensland decision to extend Category 

D assistance, extending concessional loans 

across 33 local government areas, including 

cotton communities. 

• Negotiated far better outcomes for cotton 

module and equipment movement, alleviating 

restrictions placed on growers during the 

critical harvest period. 

• Over 1000 delegates attend the Cotton 

Conference on the Gold Coast in August 

2010, sharing the latest research, innovations 

and best practice as well as uniting the 

industry. 

• Cotton Australia convened 26 agricultural 

industries to develop a joint-submission to 

the Productivity Commission Inquiry into rural 

R&D, providing a strong and united voice for 

agriculture 

• Following Cotton Australia’s intensive 

lobbying campaign the Agriculture Minister 

has pledged not to change funding 

arrangements for Research and Development 

Corporations, including the CRDC, despite 

a recommendation to the contrary from the 

Productivity Commission Review into rural R&D. 

• Revised myBMP program launched, a webbased 

system making it easier for growers to use 

and bringing all of the industry’s sustainability 

resources and knowledge together. 

• Negotiated for better conditions than those 

originally proposed in the new Pastoral Award, 

making it more cost effective for growers to 

implement. 

• Cotton Australia successfully applied to the 

APVMA for a number of special permits for 

a range of insecticides to control locusts and 

mealybugs that posed major biosecurity threats 

during the season. 


Cotton Champions 

Pictured L-R: Bill Willis, Ed Willis, Peter O’Keeffe from Monsanto & Von Warner 

Winners Tony Taylor and John Norman 

We’d like to congratulate the winners of this year’s 

Monsanto Grower of the Year Award, Bill Willis, Ed Willis 

and Von Warner from Bullamon Plains Pastoral, in 

Thallon, Queensland. 

The Australian cotton industry is filled with lots of dedicated farmers, 

but the Bullamon Plains Pastoral growers won because of their 

consistent yields of around 11 bales/ha and their excellent teamwork 

in developing a coordinated irrigation and cropping system. 

We’d also like to congratulate the runners up, Donald and Douglas 

Crothers from ‘Booligar’, Dirranbandi, Queensland and Hamish 

Johnstone, Macintyre Downs, Goondiwindi, Queensland.



OVERVIEW 



Rural R&D 

Rural R&D was put under the spotlight this year 

with a Productivity Commission Review looking at 

the government’s return on investment in this area. 

Cotton Australia led the cotton industry’s submission 

and also coordinated a cross-sectoral group including 

over 20 commodity groups in compiling a joint submission. 

Cotton Australia was disappointed in the 

draft findings that suggested major funding cuts, and 

has geared up for a sustained fight to ensure research 

dollars continue to flow. 

myBMP 

In the area of sustainability, the revised myBMP 

program was launched to industry, following extensive 

grower feedback and improvements to this 

industry sustainability flagship. The improved system 

has removed impediments to grower uptake, 

encouraging greater on-ground adoption of sound 

environmental practices and giving the community 

confidence that the cotton industry is managing its 

natural assets efficiently. A new Human Resources 

module was added to ensure a better and safer workplace 

environment on cotton farms, with the benefits 

set to filter through to the wider community. 

myBMP basically takes the original BMP manual 

and replaces it with a user friendly, up to the minute 

web based tool. The program is designed to be a one 

stop shop for growers and industry people to access 

the latest information and research, find solutions to 

challenges that may arise and provide a wide variety 

of tools and features to help industry members operate 

at optimal efficiency. 

The Queensland floods produced all the wrong sort of 

publicity. 

Jim Wark explaining the myBMP system. 

The 2010 Cotton Conference organising committee. 


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OVERVIEW 



Watched on by their cotton industry peers, 

friends and the broad cotton family, winners 

in the Australian Cotton Industry 

Awards were announced in Narrabri on Wednesday, 

August 10. 

As the last official function for this year’s Cotton 

Collective, the awards recognise those talented and 

dedicated people who have made an outstanding 

contribution to the cotton industry. 

Accepting Australian Cotton Industry Awards 

were: 

CSD Researcher of the Year Award 

Winner 

Dr Warwick Stiller 

CSIRO Plant Industry, 

Narrabri, NSW 

Dr Warwick Stiller is a cotton breeder who joined 

CSIRO Plant Industry in 1995 as a post graduate 

student, and has developed into a committed scientist 

and plant breeder who is globally recognised for 

his work. 

Warwick has spent the past 16 years of his life 

Dr Warwick Stiller. 

Cotton Awards winners 

2011 

in the cotton breeding scheme that was established 

to produce varieties for dryland productivity, stress 

tolerance and water use efficiency and he has played 

a leading role in delivering new varieties to the 

Australian cotton industry that deliver exceptional 

yield and quality and are the envy of our competitors. 

Chris Lehman Trust 

Young Achiever of the Year Winner 

Sponsored by Bayer CropScience 

Fleur Anderson 

President Dawson Valley Cotton Grower 

Association, Theodore, Queensland 

Born into a cotton growing family on the Darling 

Downs, Fleur Anderson has been around cotton 

all her life, and was thrown into the thick of it 

during the recent floods that devastated her small 

rural community for the second year running. Some 

growers lost the lot, twice in the same season, and 

as the President of the Theodore Cotton Growers 

Association, Fleur stepped up to the plate and supported 

her growers and community when it couldn’t 

get much tougher. 

Fleur and her husband’s family farm was affected 

too, but undeterred, she set about gathering data 

across the valley that established the scale of the 

problem and ultimately helped lead to additional 

government assistance. 

AgriRisk Innovative Grower of the 

Year Winner 

Stuart and Maxine Armitage 

Cecil Plains, Queensland 

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Maxine Armitage had received 16 inches (400 mm) 

of rain and a good percentage of their 240 hectares 

of cotton was under water. And as if that wasn’t bad 

enough, they had just picked three cotton modules 

Fleur Anderson flanked by Geoff McIntyre and Debbie 

Lehman. 

Stuart and Maxine Armitage with AgriRisk Managing 

Director, John van der Vegt. 


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OVERVIEW 




Monsanto Country Lead Peter O’Keeffe (second from right) with 2011 Monsanto Grower of the Year winners, from l 

to r, Bill Willis, Ed Willis and Von Warner, Bullamon Plains. 

when another 4½ inches (114 mm) came pouring 

down, putting a stop to harvest for over a month. 

With serious concerns for the mental health of 

some local growers and spirits pretty low in general, 

the Armitages faced this difficult issue head 

on, organising a number of support services to help 

people through. A mental health night was arranged 

with a psychologist and respected GP that 90 locals 

attended, and a Relax and Revive night hosted by 

bush poet Murray Hartin was a great social occasion 

with 120 attending. 

Monsanto Grower of the Year 

Winner 

Ed Willis and Von Warner 

Thallon, Queensland 

Bullamon Plains is an outstanding farm enterprise 

including 20,000 hectares of grazing, dryland and 

irrigated cropping located at Thallon, about 65 km 

south of St George in Queensland. Owned by the 

Willis’, the farm has been in the family since 1928, 

with four generations of the family currently living 

on the property. 

In the 2010–11 season, Bullamon Plains grew its 

largest ever cotton crop of 1432 hectares, with an 

average yield of 11.1 bales per hectare, taking out the 

local cotton crop competition for the last three years. 

Cotton Australia Service to Industry 

Award Winner 

Joanne Grainger 

Mungindi, Queensland 

With almost three decades in the cotton industry, 

Joanne Grainger has represented the industry in many 

of its major policy forums, donating countless hours 

of her own time for the betterment of the industry. 

From 2007 to 2010, Joanne was the Chair of 

Cotton Australia (she joined the Board in 2002), 

where she oversaw the merger of the organisation 

with the Australian Cotton Growers Research 

Association. This paved the way for a new industry 

structure that reduced duplication and streamlined 

the advocacy efforts of the industry across all major 

policy areas. 

Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay says these 

awards recognise people from across the industry, 

both those with the youth and vigour to contribute 

again and again to their industry in the future, along 

with those who have been doing that service for 

many years. 

“The Australian Cotton Industry Awards are in 

their eighth year, and as the resurgent Australian 

Cotton Industry looks ahead to another record crop, 

our key strength will always remain in the people of 

our industry.” 

“Cotton Australia thanks everyone involved, all 

who nominated and congratulates our finalists and 

winners who are leading the way for our industry,” 

he said. 

The Awards were presented by sponsor representatives 

from Cotton Seed Distributors, Bayer 

CropScience, AgriRisk, Monsanto and Cotton 

Australia. 

Joanne Grainger, with Cotton Australia Deputy 

Chairman, Lyndon Mulligan.


 


OVERVIEW 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia has world’s highest 

cost of cotton production 

Research by the International Cotton Advisory 

Committee (ICAC) suggests that Australia 

has the highest cost of cotton production in 

the world, on a per hectare basis. This is probably 

due to our very high proportion of irrigated cotton 

and the highly technical nature of our industry. In 

fact, our costs of production per hectare are more 

than twice as high as our north and south American 

competitors. 

Fortunately, cotton is sold on the basis of 

weight, and Australia is much more competetive 

when it comes to cost per kilogram of lint produced. 

Australian costs are still slightly above the world 

average, but well below those in north America and 

not that much higher than other major production 

areas. 

The cost of production is the most critical issue 

in determining the net income for a cotton grower. 

Prices may be high, as they were in September– 

October 2010, but it does not mean anything to a 

cotton producer if the cost of production is also high. 

The Technical Information Section of the ICAC 

updates a cost of production survey every three years. 

The survey questionnaire has been designed to cover 

all inputs and operations involved in producing, 

harvesting and ginning cotton, but there still could 

be some operations that are not covered in the survey 

questionnaire. Respondents have an option to 

include operations/inputs not listed in the questionnaire 

under ‘others’, and many countries do so. 

The 115-page report ‘Cost of Production of Raw 

Figure 1: Cost of production of 

cotton by region ($US) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cotton’ was published in September 2010 and covered 

the 2009–10 season. Thirty-four countries participated 

in the survey with 63 entries, including 

rainfed and irrigated data and data from different 

regions within the same country. These 34 countries 

planted 89 per cent of world cotton area. 

The net costs reported do not include land rent 

in the case of seed cotton, while the value of seed 

after ginning and land rent are not included in the 

case of the net cost of lint per kg. 

Long-term trend 

Over the past three years, the average cost of production 

of seed cotton increased from US$0.34 per 

kg to US$0.43 per kg. 

The net cost of lint production increased to $1.22 

per kg, a 17 per cent increase. Apparently a significant 

portion of the increase in costs of production 

came from lower yields in 2009–10. The world yield 

at the time of survey in 2006–07 was 770 kg lint per 

hectare, but this declined to 724 kg per hectare in 

2009–10. 

Regional differences 

The thirty-four countries that participated in 

the survey planted cotton on 26.5 million hectares 

in 2009–10. The total cost, excluding land rent, 

averaged $1263 in 2009–10 to grow and harvest 

one hectare and to gin cotton produced from one 

hectare. The largest amount of money, $3282, was 

spent in Australia to produce a hectare of cotton. In 

Africa, less that 50 per cent of the world average total 

cost per hectare is spent to produce and harvest a 

hectare of cotton and gin cotton produced from one 

hectare. This may be the main reason for lower yields 

in Africa. 

While the world average net cost of production 

of lint per kilogram was $1.22, the cost of production 

among regions varied from $0.91 in Other 

African countries to $1.96 in North America. In 

Asia, where most cotton is now grown, the net cost 

of production was $1.15 per kg, almost equivalent to 

the average of West African countries. The data from 

Francophone/West Africa includes Cameroon, Chad, 

Cote d’Ivoire and Togo. Burkina Faso and Mali did 

not participate in the survey. 

The seed sold after ginning represents income to 

the grower. 

In most countries, the value of seed is enough 

to cover the cost of ginning, but there are countries 

where the value of seed is higher than the cost of 

ginning. This is particularly true in India, where the 

high value of seed after ginning emerged as a major 

factor for the lower net cost of production of lint 

per kg. The value of seed after ginning averaged at 

US$0.22 per kg of seed at the world level, but was 

only $0.13 in Australia. 


• o v e r v i e w B Y S U M I T O M O C H E M I C A L 

• o v e r v i e w B Y S U M I T O M O C H E M I C A L • o v e r v i e w B Y S U M I T O M O C H E M I C A L • 

Cost of major inputs 

The four major inputs, not including field operations, 

are planting seed, irrigation, insecticides and 

fertilisers. Major operations in addition to input 

applications are harvesting and ginning. Data from 

all countries showed that on average, a cotton farmer 

spends $0.08 on planting seed to produce a kilogram 

of lint. Insecticide costs are $0.14 per kilogram of 

lint produced, the same as in 2006–07. 

Fertiliser costs increased by six cents to $0.28 per 

kilogram of lint in 2009–10. 

Weed control includes hoeing, thinning, interculturing/weeding 

and chemical weed control. Weed 

control costs more than doubled in three years to 

$0.28 per kilogram of lint in 2009–10. 

Taking into account the total expenses on irrigation 

and total area planted to cotton in 2009–10, the 

cost of irrigation averaged $0.10 per kilogram of lint 

produced in the world. The average cost for crops 

which are actually grown under irrigation is $0.15 

per kilogram. 

The two major operations, harvesting and ginning, 

cost $0.16 each for every kilogram of lint produced. 

In three years, the cost of harvesting increased 

by two cents per kilogram, probably due to higher 

labor costs. The cost of ginning declined by almost 

two cents per kilogram. 

Between 2006–07 and 2009–10, the cost of 

planting seed, irrigation and ginning declined by 

about 10 per cent. The cost of weeding more than 

doubled in three years, indicating that the reduced 

need to control insects is diverting attention toward 

weed control. 

Inter-country comparisons 

As there are differences between regions, the level 

of input use and production practices also affect 

the cost of production within regions and within 

countries. The cost of producing a kilogram of seed 

cotton is as low as 14 cents in the Eastern Region 

of Tanzania and 16 cents in Northern Santa Fe in 

Argentina, both rainfed. 

The net cost of lint (gross cost less land rent and 

income from seed sold after ginning) also showed 

huge differences among countries. The cost of producing 

a kilogram of lint is over $US2 in China, 

Colombia and parts of the USA. It is the least expensive 

to produce a kilogram of lint in India, whether 

irrigated or rainfed. Production costs per kilogram 

are lower in India because of recent increases in 

yields and high values for the seed after ginning. 

Irrigated vs rainfed cotton 

The net cost of producing a kilogram of lint 

under irrigated conditions is US$1.40 per kilogram, 

compared to US$0.93 per kilogram under rainfed 

conditions. 


OVERVIEW 



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OVERVIEW 



Cotton Fibre Expo 

Now entering its third decade, the Australian 

Cotton Fibre Expo (ACFE) has established 

a reputation as an iconic exhibition, bringing 

together the skills of some incredibly talented 

fashion designers and artists, demonstrating what 

can be done with cotton and creativity. 

Cotton Australia Chairman Andrew Watson officially 

opened the 2011 Australian Cotton Fibre Expo 

in Narrabri’s Crossing Theatre. 

ACFE President Lixie Killen says the fashions and 

designs on display at this year’s ACFE have changed 

considerably since the first expo was held in the late 

1980s. 

“It’s not just the designs that have changed, the 

range of cotton materials available and the creative 

and advanced techniques now being used by our 

talented entrants, clearly demonstrates the important 

role this expo has played in driving and advancing 

the uses of cotton fibre and fabrics.” 

Lixie says with the Australian Cotton industry 

currently harvesting the largest crop ever, the ACFE 

gives an opportunity for designers and artists both 

in Australia and internationally to show the amazing 

variety of creative applications for cotton fibre. 

Winning the major category for the Acquisitive 

Award was Fran Robinson with her work, ‘Red Sun 

upon the Seas to Ride’, this magnificent piece of 

hand embroidery encompassed mainly stranded cotton 

on a canvas base, making a vibrant image in red 

and blue. 

Lexie Killen says a particular stand-out this year 

was the quality of work submitted by young designers, 

with Beaujolais Parker winning the student 

section for her yellow ‘Tribal Dress’ while Branka 

Doncevska secured a highly commended for her blue 

‘Tribal Dress’ entry. 

Beaujolais Parker’s yellow ‘Tribal Dress’. 

Branka Doncevska’s blue ‘Tribal Dress’. 

Winner of the Acquisitive Award, Fran Robinson’s with 

her work, ‘Red Sun upon the Seas to Ride’, 


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neonicotinoids.” 

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mirids or aphids because of resistance risk again.” 

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(Advertorial) 

Rotavator – More than a match for stubble trouble 

Coughing and sneezing, with a child on his lap and an interim 

phone at his ear because the landline has been washed 

away for the fifth time this year – and Greg Hutchinson still 

wants to talk about how good his Howard Rotavator is. 

Greg is part of a large family partnership farming on the 

Dawson River near Moura in Central Queensland. 

The family has farmed there for half a century and Greg said 

they have never seen it as wet as this year. 

Soil types vary from sandy loam to heavy black clay and the 

terrain is flat. The Hutchinsons grow irrigated cotton and grain 

on 1500 hectares with flood irrigation and centre pivots. They 

also do dryland farming and graze cattle. 

Greg said they wanted to buy a Rotavator because they knew 

how much time it would save them with ground preparation and 

incorporating crop residues. 

“We finally bought our eight-metre RC3825 Rotavator in June 

2010 from Vanderfield St George, and it was a great help with 

the timing,” he said. 

“We’d had no rain since March that year so the ground was 

very dry to start with, then the August rains came and then 

more rain, so we got to use the machine in a wide range of 

conditions and it did a great job. 

“Like this year, continuous rain held up the 2010 picking and 

the result was the crop grew much heavier and higher, which 

meant a lot more residue. 

“If we hadn’t had the Rotavator, we wouldn’t have been 

able to get the ground prepared and the trash incorporated 

with enough time for it to break down before planting. With 

conventional tillage equipment, it would have taken much 

longer with more passes and there would have been more 

interruptions with the rain. 

“As it was, we were able to turn it around in double quick time 

with the Rotavator which incorporates trash very well and 

forms up the beds in a single pass.” 

The machine handled 1000ha in 2010 and Greg said it will do 

1500 hectares this season with a John Deere 8530 tractor. 

“The Rotavator incorporates trash better than anything we’ve 

seen and it cuts out a couple of passes over the paddock too. 

In the past, we had trouble trying to incorporate irrigated wheat 

stubble before planting cotton but we won’t have this problem 

with the Rotavator. 

“This year, some of the cotton plants are getting on for 1.5m 

high after they’ve had the floods over them. There’s going to be 

a lot of stubble. 

“It will be a late picking and then we’ll put the Rotavator 

through to mulch and incorporate the stalks, turning the ground 

around and getting a great seed bed ready for planting in 

September or October,” he said. 

“The effect this machine has on stubble and ground 

preparation, and the time it has saved us – it’s well and truly 

what we hoped for when we bought it. I wouldn’t hesitate in 

recommending the Rotavator.” 


(Advertorial) 

Kronos – just what a contractor needs 

Graham Gowar has been contracting in south-west 

Queensland for 18 years, 12 of them working with cotton. 

He discovered the strength of Howard machinery whilst 

farming in South Africa. 

“We had two Howard slashers and they took a lot of 

punishment from drivers who didn’t know or care about 

machinery. Those slashers are rugged machines and they held 

up very well, giving us many years of service,” Graham said. 

Graham’s business, GMG Contract Farming, is now a family 

operation. His son, Bruce, will also mulch cotton this season, 

and bought their second Kronos 8000C flail shredder. Graham 

bought his first Kronos 8000C shredder three years ago after the 

dealers, Vanderfields, demonstrated the machine’s capabilities. 

“One of our clients runs a major Queensland cotton station. 

They saw the Kronos in action and were very happy with the 

results. So were we. We mulched 5000 acres of sorghum with 

it in the first season and made enough to pay for the machine. 

We’ve been mulching cotton since then, and we also did a trial 

run with pigeon peas,” Graham said. 

“This year, a client has asked us to mulch 16,000 acres of cotton 

in a month. We’re aiming to have 20,000 acres done by end of 

the season and we wouldn’t have a hope without the Kronos. 

“The shredders are so rugged and reliable. The gearbox is 

fantastic. It takes a tremendous load, mulching eight rows of 

cotton stalks at once. It’s like feeding wood through it, and to 

turn it so quickly, it’s just incredible. 

“The hard-faced flails are toughened with a special welding 

technique to give them a long life. Sometimes we work in 

paddocks with quite a bit of wood lying around and you can’t 

always avoid it. I’ve had a flail bend slightly but they just keep 

working. I’ve never broken one yet.” 

Graham said before they bought their first Kronos, it took at 

least four passes to get the work done. “So doing a 10,000-acre 

mulch was like doing 40,000 acres in work terms. Getting great 

results with one pass is a 75 percent saving on time and labour 

for us so we are very happy using the Kronos.” 

They use two John Deere 8400 tractors with their Kronos flail 

shredders and Graham says if he’s getting 10 km/h, he’s happy. 

He learned about machinery growing up on the farm and he 

does his own maintenance. They regularly blow down the 

machines with a compressor and grease them. “I believe in 

preventative maintenance for machinery and for the land too,” 

he said. 

“The Kronos design is very practical. Maintenance access is 

easy and I like the doors at the back. You don’t have to lie in the 

dirt to take a look at the machine; you just stand there and open 

the doors. 

“The only problem we’ve ever had with the Kronos was due to 

human error when a driver went too low, cutting into the dirt 

and overloading the belts. Apart from that we’ve had no bother 

at all. The Kronos just keeps on going, which is exactly what a 

contractor needs from a machine.” 




OVERVIEW 



Cotton Trade Show 2011 

The mood was good at the 2011 Cotton Trade 

Show and that was a very pleasant and long 

awaited change for all in the industry. With the 

harvest about 60 per cent done, the growers were 

happy and optimistic – and when the growers are 

happy, we’re all happy. 

And sticking with this happy theme – we had the 

happy coming together of a record harvest, record 

prices and record storage levels. Well, ‘record storage 

levels’ in the sense that we at least had measurable 

levels with the prospect of an allocation going forward. 

Excel Agriculture national sales manager Brian Moran, 

Toowoomba, shows the features of an Excel Penetrator 

to Marc O’Brien, Krui and Glenroy, Mallawa, and John 

Ellis, Miralwyn, Carinda. 

Andrew Dickson, Warren, Chris Radford, Rowena, Tom 

Radford, Bellata, and Tom Quigley, Narromine, catch up 

at the trade show. 

By Brian O’Connell 

The signs were encouraging with the level of 

exhibitor interest leading up to the event. Not only 

did we have the regular supporters who, along with 

the growers, have weathered a few too many difficult 

seasons – we had many new faces. In racing parlance 

– these included maiden starters and those returning 

from a long spell. 

This was most noticeable amongst the major 

machinery exhibitors – numbers were up by 50 per 

cent on what we had seen for at least four trade 

shows. And this year most had new products on 

display! 

The growers and their staff on site also included 

a lot of ‘maidens’. Amongst the 1000 or so who 

turned up over the two days we had visitors from as 

far afield as Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, 

Far North Queensland and all the more traditional 

growing regions. 

I’m not sure about the guys from Tassie – they 

must have been on the look out for some very short 

season varieties and those from up past Cairns are 

perhaps keen to do some seed multiplication – they 

would have the water and the heat units for four or 

five crops a year, surely? 

The post-show feedback largely matched the 

mood on the day – most were happy. The growers 

showed interest in anything new on offer and 

all were busy catching up with suppliers and fellow 

producers. The ‘newer’ growers – both dryland and 

irrigated – from areas like southern NSW and the 

Downs were there in numbers and keen to see the 

technology. Some expressed disappointment that 

there were no pickers on site. Not just the new picker/module 

builders, but pickers of any sort. 

We would have liked a few too but they were 

busy bringing in 4,000,000 plus bales. I’m sure we 

could all put up with no pickers on display every 

year if it meant that they were always hard at work 

on a crop this size! 

There were a number of comments about the size 

of the crowd. When the Trade Show started over a 

decade ago there were a lot more growers, a lot more 

suppliers, a lot more consultants, a lot more contractors, 

there were a lot more of everything – we’ve all 

been rationalised. 

All of the people now involved in any way in the 

cotton industry could fit in the main pavilion at the 

Trade Show – and we would still have room to swing 

any number of proverbial cats. But these relatively 

few people – most of who were at the Trade Show – 

have together delivered the biggest Australian cotton 

crop on record. This is now the nature of the industry 

and I doubt that we will see it changing much as we 

move forward. We have all by necessity become lean 

and mean and – just as long as we remain ‘keen’ – 

there will be a place for the Trade Show. 



THE future 


The impact of a carbon price on cotton farming................. 24 

Peak phosphorus – a real or perceived issue?...................... 28 

Improved growing season predicted for 2011–12................ 32 

23

• T H E F U T U R E B Y S Y N G E N T A • T H E F U T U R E B Y S Y N G E N T A • T H E F U T U R E B Y S Y N G E N T A • 


THE FUTURE 



The impact of a carbon price 

on cotton farming 

Based on research conducted by the Australian Farm Institute* 

The Government has announced that direct 

emissions from agricultural activities will not 

incur a cost under the proposed carbon scheme 

for the foreseeable future, although the possibility of 

imposing a cost on agricultural emissions at some 

future time has not been ruled out, and has been 

proposed by a number of prominent persons and 

groups involved in advising on carbon policy. 

While agricultural emissions will not incur a 

direct cost under the proposed carbon price mechanism, 

major emitters such as electricity generators 

will have a cost imposed on their greenhouse emissions, 

and other major sources of emission such 

as fossil fuels are also likely to be included in the 

scheme. This will mean that the proposed carbon 

price mechanism will increase the price of energy, 

and hence the cost of farm inputs that involve the 

use of energy in their production or delivery. 

In order to project the impact of the proposed 

carbon price mechanism on Australian cotton farm 

businesses, the Australian Farm Institute developed 

a financial model of a typical cotton farm business, 

based on data available from industry sources 

The impact of a carbon price mechanism on the 

cotton farm was then estimated using formulae that 

create a link between the price of carbon, the impact 

of that carbon price on fuel and electricity costs, and 

the impact of changes in fuel and electricity costs on 

the cost of farm business inputs, including upstream 

and downstream sectors. 

A key issue for cotton farmers is the likely impact 

of a carbon price on processing costs. In order to 

estimate these cost changes as accurately as possible, 

detailed energy use data was obtained for a cotton 

gin. This data was used to estimate changes in cotton 

ginning costs under the three carbon policy 

scenarios, and the three carbon price scenarios under 

consideration in this research. 

The ‘typical’ cotton farm examined had 400 hectares 

of cotton with a yield of 9.24 bales per hectare 

and annual farm costs of almost $1.5 million. 

Table 1: Projected change in farm business costs and farm cash income, cotton farm 

Change in total costs and cash income (agriculture uncovered) 

Carbon price scenario Year 5 Year 10 Year 15 Year 20 Year 25 Year 30 

Carbon price $23.40 $28.47 $34.63 $42.14 $51.27 $62.37 

Cost – processor ($) $6,187 $7,527 $9,158 $11,142 $13,555 $16,492 

Low $20 

Cost – farm ($) $24,806 $30,014 $36,307 $43,905 $53,068 $64,102 

Cost total ($) $30,992 $37,541 $45,465 $55,047 $66,623 $80,594 

Cost change (%) 2.1% 2.5% 3.0% 3.7%4 .5% 5.4% 

Income change (%) –5.5% –5.2% –5.1% –5.1% –5.3% –5.4% 

Carbon price $35.78 $44.34 $53.61 $65.53 $80.35 $97.83$ 


Med–CO2-5 

Cost – farm ($) $37,778 $46,440 $55,716 $67,535 $82,045 $98,931 

Cost total ($) $47,237 $58,165 $69,890 $84,863 $103,291 $124,800 

Cost change (%) 3.2% 3.9% 4.7% 5.7% 6.9% 8.3% 

Income change (%) –8.4% –8.1% –7.9% –7.9% –8.1% –8.4% 

Carbon price $50.83 $62.98 $75.60 $91.00 $110.11 $134.07 


High–CO2-15 

Cost – farm ($) $53,476 $65,562 $77,961 $92,908 $111,200 $133,794 

Cost Total ($) $66,916 $82,216 $97,951 $116,971 $140,314 $169,245 

Cost change (%) 4.5% 5.5% 6.5% 7.8% 9.4% 11.3% 

Income change (%) –11.9% –11.4% –11.0% –10.9% –11.1% –11.4% 

Source: Australian Farm Institute, 2011 


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THE FUTURE 



Scenarios examined 

Three carbon price series were used in the analysis, 

to provide a picture of the impact of different 

carbon prices. The three price series used were as 

follows: 

• LOW – the carbon price commenced at $20 per 

tonne and increased at an average of four per cent 

per year. 

• MEDIUM – the carbon price was an Australian 

Government Treasury carbon price series that 

would be required to reduce national emissions 

by 5.0 per cent by 2020. This price series commences 

at approximately $28 per tonne and 

increases by an average of 4.4 per cent per year. 

• HIGH – the carbon price required to reduce 

national emissions by 15 per cent by 2020. This 

price starts at approximately $38 per tonne and 

increases by an average of 4.3 per cent per year. 

Results 

If agriculture is not covered 

The following discussion relates to projected 

changes from a business-as-usual scenario under 

which no carbon cost mechanism is implemented. 

So the projections being discussed are relative rather 

than absolute changes. Table 1 shows changes in 

farm input costs and farm cash income (gross farm 

cash revenue minus farm cash costs) arising from 

the impact of the carbon price, assuming agriculture 

remains an uncovered sector, under the three different 

carbon prices under consideration. 

Total cotton farm business costs under a carbon 

price will increase by between 2.1 per cent and 4.5 

per cent by year five of the policy, an increase of 

between $30,992 and $66,916 per year. Farm costs 

are projected to contribute 80 per cent of the total 

Figure 1: Change in farm cash income for a cotton farm 

business under a scenario where agriculture becomes 

a covered sector after 5 years, and incurs a liability for 

10% of emissions, escalating by 1.5% per annum 

Source: Australian Farm Institute, 2011 

increase in costs, with processing cost increases contributing 

20 per cent. 

While the percentage increase in input costs 

appears relatively minor, in dollar terms the total 

change in input costs is quite large. With total 

costs of $1,497,046 in the base year, an increase of 

$30,992 in total farm costs doesn’t appear significant 

in percentage terms, but the dollar increase in costs 

may have a significant impact over the long-term on 

farm profitability. 

The impact of a carbon price on farm businesses 

can also be expressed in terms of the changes in farm 

cash income (gross farm cash revenue minus farm 

cash costs) as the price of carbon changes. Farm cash 

income is an important measure for a farm business, 

as it reflects the cash surplus generated each year that 

is available for owner/operators expenses and/or to 

retire debt. 

A 2.1 per cent increase in farm input costs, for 

example, translates to a 5.5 per cent reduction in 

farm cash income under the lowest carbon price scenario 

after five years. 

At a carbon price of approximately $20 per 

tonne, the additional costs are approximately $7.17 

per bale of cotton produced. 

If agriculture is covered 

The Australian Government has stated that agricultural 

emissions will not attract a liability under a 

carbon price mechanism for the ‘foreseeable future’. 

But the New Zealand emissions trading scheme 

which has already commenced includes a proposal to 

impose a cost on at least some farm emissions from 

2015, by making downstream processors and input 

suppliers liable for emissions that are generated on 

farm. This, in combination with the fact that agriculture 

sector emissions will become more prominent 

in future in the national inventory as other sectors’ 

emissions decline (and therefore more likely to 

attract the attention of policymakers) suggests that it 

is prudent to also examine the implications for farm 

businesses of a liability for a proportion of direct 

farm emissions. 



A scenario was therefore modelled under which 

a carbon price mechanism was introduced in the 

economy under the MEDIUM scenario. The agriculture 

sector, from year five, was then assumed to 

be required to pay a carbon price for 10 per cent of 

farm emissions, with the level of liability increasing 

by 1.5 per year from year six. 

This would mean that a farm business would be 

liable to pay a cost for 10 per cent of estimated farm 

emissions in year five, 11.5 per cent in year six and 

so on. Figure 1 shows projected changes in farm cash 

income for the model cotton farm under this scenario, 

compared to an equivalent scenario if agriculture 

is not covered. 

The imposition of a cost for farm emissions from 

year five, even at an initial 10 per cent level, would 

result in a significant additional decrease in farm 

cash incomes for the model farm. By year 30, if agriculture 

is excluded from the carbon trading mechanism, 

farm cash income is projected to be 8.4 per 

cent below business as usual. If agriculture is included, 

farm cash income is projected to be 11.4 below 

below business as usual. 

So even a relatively moderate rate of coverage for 

agricultural emissions will have a negative impact on 

the profitability of the model cotton farm 

No fuel scenario 

A carbon price policy scenario that has been the 

subject of some discussion is one under which no 

carbon price is implemented for emissions arising 

from liquid fuel, and under which agricultural emissions 

are excluded from a carbon price. 

The cost impacts of such a policy would be significantly 

lower, ranging from a 0.7 to a 1.5 per cent 

cost increase by year five (depending on the carbon 

price) which is projected to result in a reduction of 

farm cash income of between 1.9 and 4.0 per cent. 

At a carbon price of approximately $20 per 

tonne, the additional costs under the no fuel scenario 

are approximately $2.44 per bale of cotton produced 

compared to $7.17 per bale if fuel is included. 

Conclusion 

The introduction of a carbon policy in the 

Australian economy has the potential to have a significant 

negative impact on the profitability of cotton 

production in Australia, irrespective of whether 

or not agriculture sector emissions are included in 

the scheme. 

*Article based on research conducted by the Australia 

Farm Institute for Cotton Australia: ‘Australian Farm 

Institute (2011), The impact of a carbon price on 

Australian farm businesses: Cotton farming, Cotton 

Australia, June 2011’. 


THE FUTURE 



A private future for food and fibre quality 

Farm Policy Journal Vol. 8 | No. 3 | Spring Quarter 2011 

Historically, public authorities specified 

safety and quality standards for 

agricultural products, and provided 

reassurance to consumers that products 

were safe. Increasing consumer demands 

and the rise of food and fibre brands, 

and retailer brands have led to the 

development of private quality and safety 

standards. These private standards are 

a form of risk management for food and 

fibre brands, and retailers; but also create 

barriers to entry and exit for farmers 

supplying these brands and retailers. 

The Spring 2011 Farm Policy Journal 

sheds light on the pros and cons for 

the farming sector of these new trends 

– analysing impacts on domestic and 

international trade and economics. The 

Journal also provides useful tools for 

upgrading your knowledge of this topic, 

including a lexicon, and case studies 

from China and South-East Asia. 

Go to www.farminstitute.org.au for more information, or to purchase online. 

The editorial and abstracts are available for free download. 




THE FUTURE 



Peak phosphorus – a real or 

perceived issue? 

By Rob Norton, Regional Director (Australia and New Zealand), 

International Plant Nutrition Institute 

A 

reliable supply of high quality phosphorus 

(P) has been a cornerstone of agricultural 

development in Australia as well as across 

the globe. As most farmers know, P is an essential 

nutrient for plant growth that has no substitutes. 

So, where P is lacking in the soil, large responses 

can be achieved by adding fertiliser P and ongoing 

production depends on at least replacing the 

P removed in produce. For example, a 10 bale per 

hectare cotton crop will remove around 24 kg of P 

which is the equivalent of 110 kg of MAP. Some cotton 

soils have reasonable soil P levels, but others are 

quite responsive to added fertiliser P. For example, 

Dorahy et al. (2004) reported lint yield increases in 

the range of 414–569 kg per hectare in response to 

22 kg P per hectare on P deficient soils. 

P fertilisers such as MAP, DAP, triple super and 

superphosphate are made from phosphate rock that 

is mined mainly from ancient marine sediments 

as well as relatively new guano deposits and some 

igneous deposits. DAP and MAP represents around 

70 per cent of the P used in Australia (FIFA 2010). 

These deposits are finite resources and there has 

been some questions raised about the amount of P 

remaining for use. 

The major producers of phosphate rock have 

been the United States and the former Soviet Union. 

Global production is again approaching the previous 

peak in the late 1980s of around 165 million tonnes 

of rock per year. 

The demand for phosphorus is strongest in East 

Asia and South Asia which use around half of the 

global P fertiliser, and these regions are also growing 

quickly. Use of fertiliser in general is also rising in 

Latin America. Australia uses around 945,000 tonnes 

of P2O5 fertiliser annually, some which is produced 

from local phosphate rock and some which is 

imported or produced from imported rock. Australia 

also trades phosphate fertiliser internationally. 

A recent study estimated that about half the current 

P resource would be depleted by 2100. An earlier 

estimate suggested that P fertiliser supply would 

peak in 2033 after which production would steadily 

fall. Because there is no agronomic substitute for P 

and much of the world’s food supply hinges on its 

use, having a reliable estimate of reserves is important 

in assessing how immediate is the problem of P 

resource depletion. 

The size of the reserve of phosphate rock is an 

estimate of materials that can be economically produced 

at the present time using existing technology. 

The actual reserve base is the portion of the total 

reserve base (or resource) from which future reserves 

could be developed. Both terms are important as the 

reserve will change with technology and prices. As 

well, new deposits are discovered which adds to the 

resource base and reserve. These values of phosphate 

rock are expressed in terms of P2O5 content with 

most rock being around 25 per cent to 35 per cent 

P2O5. 

The most recent comprehensive assessment of 

phosphate rock reserve and reserve base was undertaken 

by the International Fertilizer Development 

World phosphate production 

Phosphate rock in place. The phosphate is deposited in 

layers which are interspersed with the yellow layers of clay. 


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THE FUTURE 



Centre (IFDC). The IFDC estimate of global phosphate 

rock reserves is approximately 60 billion 

tonnes of concentrate which the US Geological 

Survey increased to 65 billion tonnes recently 

(USGS 2011). 

Table 1 lists the annual production for 2009 

and an estimate of 2010 production for the major 

producers and the size of the current phosphate rock 

reserves. The IFDC estimate of global resources is 

approximately 290 billion tonnes. 

Australia has developed reserves of around 82 

million tonnes of rock phosphate, which represents 

around 50 years supply based on current domestic 

use. There are also several companies involved in 

exploring and proving phosphate rock reserves and 

details can be found at http://www.australian-phosphate.com. 

There is significant activity in developing the 

world resources. For example a new five million 

tonne per year phosphate rock mine began operation 

in Saudi Arabia late in 2010 and an associated 

fertiliser plant is due to open over the next few years. 

World mine production capacity was projected to 

increase to 228 million tonnes by 2015 through 

mine expansion projects in Algeria, Brazil, China, 

Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Tunisia, and development 

of new mines in Australia, Kazakhstan, Namibia, and 

Russia. 

Over the past few years, production has been 

around 160 to 170 million tonnes of rock, and 

demand rose by 2.1 per cent per year from 2007–08 

until 2011–12 and is predicted to rise by around 

three per cent annually until at least 2015. Assuming 

current rates of production, IFDC estimates that 

there are sufficient phosphate rock concentrate 

Dragline mining phosphate rock deposits. 

Table 1: World mine production 

and reserves (USGS 2011) 

Country 

2009 2010 Reserves 

(mt) (mt) (mt) 

Algeria 1.80 2.00 2,200 

Australia 2.80 2.80 82 

Brazil 6.35 5.50 340 

Canada 0.70 0.70 5 

China 60.20 65.00 3,700 

Egypt 5.00 5.00 100 

Israel 2.70 3.00 180 

Jordan 5.28 6.00 1,500 

Morocco 23.00 26.00 50,000 

Russia 10.00 10.00 1,300 

Senegal 0.65 0.65 180 

South Africa 2.24 2.30 1,500 

Syria 2.47 2.80 1,800 

Togo 0.85 0.80 60 

Tunisia 7.40 7.60 100 

United States 26.40 26.10 1,400 

Other 

countries 

8.62 9.50 620 

World total 166 176 65,000 

reserves to produce fertiliser for several centuries at 

current rates of production. 

This does not mean growers and the fertiliser 

industry should be complacent. Phosphorus is 

a non-renewable resource and using fertiliser best 

management practices to ensure efficient use of P is 

a critical component of wise nutrient stewardship. 

This will also include investigating strategies to recycle 

P as well as ensuring as much soil P is retained on 

farm by reducing soil erosion. 

Further reading 

Cordell D, J Drangert, S White (2009). The story 

of phosphorus: Global food security and food for 

thought. Global Environment Change 19, 292 - 305 

Dorahy CG, IJ Rochester, GJ Blair (2004). Response 

of field-grown cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) to 

phosphorus fertilisation on alkaline soils in eastern 

Australia. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 42, 

913 – 920. 

FIFA (2010) 2009 Fertiliser sales statistics, The 

Fertiliser, Fertiliser Industry Federation of Australia (see 

http://www.fifa.asn.au/) 

Fixen, P (2009) World fertiliser nutrient reserves – a 

view to the future. Better Crops, 93, 8-11. 

Heffer P, M Prud’homme (2011) Fertiliser Outlook 

2011 to 2015, 79th IFA Annual Conference, Montreal, 

May 2011 (see http://www.fertiliser.org/ifa/ 

HomePage/LIBRARY/Conference-papers/Annual- 

Conferences/2011-IFA-Annual-Conference). 

Van Kauwenbergh, S.J. (2010). World Phosphate 

Rock Reserves and Resources. International Fertiliser 

Development Centre, Muscle Shoals, Alabama. 

Van Vuuren DP, AF Bouwman, AHW Beusen (2010). 

Phosphorus demand for the 1970–2100 period: 

A scenario analysis of resource depletion. Global 

Environmental Change 20, 428–439. 

USGS (2011) Phosphate Rock. U.S. Geological Survey, 

Mineral commodity summaries January 2011 (p 118- 

119) On line at 

http://minerals.er.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs 


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THE FUTURE 



Improved growing season 

predicted for 2011–12 

According to the lataest BOM seasonal forecasts, 

cotton growers can look forward to a 

generally good growing season for 2011–12. 

There is a very good chance of above average rainfall 

for the first part of the season at least. And while there 

is an increased chance of another La Nina weather 

pattern this summer, it is unlikely to produce the 

extreme weather events witnessed in 2010–11. 

Temperatures overall are expected to be above 

average. So there is a good chance of a slightly hot, 

slightly wet summer – the basic ingredients of a 

bumper cotton crop. 

Increased chance of La Niña 

returning 

The central tropical Pacific Ocean has cooled 

steadily since early winter, but has yet to reach 

critical thresholds. The Southern Oscillation Index 

(SOI), cloudiness and trade winds are also showing 

a trend towards La Niña values, though they remain 

well short of the strong La Niña conditions evident 

at the same time last year. 

Most models suggest that the central Pacific 

Ocean is likely to cool in the coming months, but 

the consensus is split between neutral conditions and 

cool (La Niña) conditions for late 2011 and early 

2012. 

If a La Niña does form, current indicators are 

that it will be weaker than the strong 2010–11 event. 

The latest observations from the Indian Ocean show 

the development of a positive dipole event. Typically 

peaking in spring, positive dipole modes increase the 

chance of below average rainfall over southeastern 

and central Australia. 

Rainfall 

The chances of receiving above median rainfall 

during the October to December period are between 

60 and 75 per cent over most of the NT, the northern 

half of Queensland and western and northern 

parts of WA (see map). For most cotton production 

areas, the chances of a wetter than normal October 

to December period are between 55 and 65 per cent. 

Warmer season favoured for most 

of Australia 

For the October to December period, warmer 

days are more likely over the northern tropics and 

southern Australia. Warmer nights are more likely 

over large parts of the continent, with the strongest 

odds in the northeast and southwest. 

The main driver behind this outlook is the persistence 

of above average temperatures across the 

central to southeastern Indian Ocean. 

The chance that the average minimum temperature 

for October to December will exceed the longterm 

median minimum temperature is above 60 per 

cent across eastern, southern, southwestern and far 

northern Australia. 



THE INDUSTRY IN FIGURES 


Australian cotton production............. 34 

Australian cotton area....................... 34 

NSW and Queensland area............... 34 

Value of production and exports........ 36 

Australian yields over time................. 36 

State area and production................. 36 

World cotton supply and use.............. 37 

Major cotton producers...................... 37 

World’s highest average yields............ 38 

Price movement over time.................. 38 

Stocks to use ratio and price............... 40 

New York cotton futures..................... 40 

World cotton (textile) consumption 

and market share............................... 41 

Cotton’s market share by region.......... 41 

Australian exports ............................. 42 

Australian exports by destination....... 42 

Major cotton exporters ...................... 42 

33

• T H E I N D U S T R Y I N F I G U R E S B Y N E I L ’ S P A R T S • T H E I N D U S T R Y I N F I G U R E S B Y N E I L ’ S P A R T S • 


THE INDUSTRY IN 

FIGURES 



 

 

Australian production 

Australian cotton production 

 

 

 

 

 

RIGHT: Australian 

cotton production 

exceeded four million 

bales for the first time 

in 2010–11. 

NOTE: All cotton 

bales in this section 

have been converted 

to Australian 

standard 227 kg 

bales. 

SOURCE: ABARE and ACG Est. 

 

 

 

1994/95 

1995/96 

1996/97 

1997/98 

1998/99 

1999/00 

2000/01 

2001/02 

2002/03 

2003/04 

2004/05 

2005/06 

2006/07 

2007/08 

2008/09 

2009/10 

 

2010/11 

NSW & Qld area 

(‘000 ha) 

 

Australian cotton area 

Year NSW Qld 

1992–93 204 82 

 

1993–94 210 84 

1994–95 157 89 

1995–96 186 120 

1996–97 277 119 

1997–98 299 139 

1998–99 382 180 

1999–00 313 151 

2000–01 328 199 

 

 

 

 

2001–02 290 119 

2002–03 165 59 

 

2003–04 97 101 

2004–05 163 158 

2005–06 214 121 

2006–07 109 35 

2007–08 41 21 

2008–09 88 76 

2009–10 123 85 

2010–11* 343 240 

SOURCE: ABARE 

 

1994/95 

1995/96 

1996/97 

1997/98 

1998/99 

1999/00 

2000/01 

 

2001/02 

2002/03 

2003/04 

2004/05 

2005/06 

2006/07 

2007/08 

 

2008/09 

2009/10 

2010/11 

SOURCE: ABARE 

*Provisional 

ABOVE: A massive expansion in dryland cotton produced a record planting area. 

34 — COTTON YEARBOOK 2010




FIGURES 



 

 

Value of production and exports ($million) 

 

 

 

 

RIGHT: The value of 

the crop exceeded 

$2.5 billion for the 

first time. 

SOURCE: ABARE 

 

1998/99 

1999/00 

2000/01 

2001/02 

2002/03 

2003/04 

 

2004/05 

2005/06 

2006/07 

2007/08 

2008/09 

 

2009/10 

2010/11 

 

Australian yields over time 

 

State comparison 

AREA 

 

 

PRODUCTION 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE: ICAC 

1992/93 

1993/94 

1994/95 

1995/96 

1996/97 

1997/98 

1998/99 

1999/00 

 

2000/01 

2001/02 

2002/03 

2003/04 

2004/05 

2005/06 

2006/07 

2007/08 

2008/09 

2009/10 

2010/11 

 

NSW 

Qld. 

ABOVE: Floods in some areas and a high proportion of dryland cotton reduced the average 

yield. 



 

World production 

World cotton supply and use 

 

 



FIGURES 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE: ICAC 

 

 

1999-00 

2000-01 

2001-02 

2002-03 

2003-04 

2004-05 

2005-06 

2006-07 

2007-08 

2008-09 

2009-10 

2010-11 

 

 

LEFT: World cotton 

planted area and 

production have been 

boosted by higher 

prices 

 

Major cotton producers 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEFT: India the US 

and Brazil have 

spearheaded 

the increase in 

production. 

 

 

SOURCE: ICAC 

 

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 

 

 

 

 

 

COTTON YEARBOOK 2010 — 37




FIGURES 



 

 

 

World’s highest average yields 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RIGHT: Despite 

Australia’s lowest yield 

for a decade, we are 

still leading the world. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE: ICAC. 

(Only countries producing over 200,000 bales.) 

Cotton and futures prices 

Price movement over time 

 

 

RIGHT: Cotton prices 

‘spiked’ in 2010–11, 

along with most other 

commodities. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1994/95 

1995/96 

1996/97 

1997/98 

1998/99 

1999/00 

2000/01 

2001/02 

2002/03 

2003/04 

2004/05 

2005/06 

2006/07 

2007/08 

2008/09 

 

 

2009/10 

2010/11 

 

 

SOURCE: ABARE 

NOTE: The Cotlook “A” index is an annual average figure. 


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FIGURES 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stocks to use ratio and price 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RIGHT: As world stocks 

recover, prices are 

expected to come 

back to more ‘normal’ 

prices. 

 

 

1998/99 

1999/00 

2000/01 

2001/02 

2002/03 

2003/04 

2004/05 

2005/06 

2006/07 

2007/08 

2008/09 

2009/10 

2010/11 

2011/12* 

 

 

SOURCE: ABARE 

*Forecast 

 

 

New York cotton futures: life of May contract 

 

RIGHT: There was an 

extraordinary surge in 

futures prices during 

late 2010 and early 

2011. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

40 — COTTON YEARBOOK 2010 

SOURCE: ICAC


Consumption and mARKET share 

World cotton (textile) consumption and market share 

 

 

 

 



FIGURES 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE: ICAC 

 

 

 

1990 

1991 

1992 

1993 

1994 

1995 

1996 

1997 

1998 

1999 

2000 

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 


 

 

 

 

LEFT: Cotton 

consumption per head 

continues to recover 

while market share 

declines. 

Cotton’s market share by region 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEFT: The fall in 

market share is 

occurring in all 

regions. 

 

SOURCE: ICAC 

1990 

1991 

1992 

1993 

1994 

1995 

1996 

1997 

1998 

1999 

2000 

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 


 

 

 

 

 

COTTON YEARBOOK 2010 — 41


 

Exports and imports 

 

Australian exports — 2009–10 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE: ABARE 

NOTE: Numbers in brackets 

are thousands of 227 kg bales 

ABOVE: China is now taking 40 per 

cent of our cotton exports 

BELOW: Export have recovered to 

most traditional markets. 

BOTTOM: Australia could become 

the world’s third biggest exporter in 

2010–11. 

 

Australian cotton exports — by destination (‘000 bales) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE: ABS 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Major cotton exporters — 2009–10 (million bales) 

 

SOURCE: ICAC 

 



area round-up 


Southern NSW. . . . . . . . . . 44 

Macquarie Valley . . . . . . . . 46 

Bourke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 

Namoi Valley . . . . . . . . . . . 50 

Gwydir Valley . . . . . . . . . . 54 

Border Rivers . . . . . . . . . . 56 

Darling Downs. . . . . . . . . . 58 

St George–Dirranbandi. . . 60 

Dawson–Callide. . . . . . . . . 62 

Central Highlands . . . . . . . 66 

Burdekin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 

43

• A R E A R O U N D U P B Y C S D • A R E A R O U N D U P B Y C S D • A R E A R O U N D U P B Y C S D • A R E A R O U N D U P B Y C S D • 


AREA ROUNDUP 



 

Rainfall (mm) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

180 

160 

140 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 


Crop area 

The 2010–11 cotton crop saw a massive expansion 

when compared to the previous years with 

a total area of approximately 27,000 hectares for 

the combined Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Lower 

Darling (3300 hectares in 2009–10). 

The map below covers the area of where cotton 

was grown this season from Balranald in the west, 

Deniliquin in the south, Narrandera to the East and 

Hillston in the North (plus all places in between). 

Southern NSW: Area and production 

 

 

 

 

 

Hillston 2010–11 seasonal climate 

Total Day Degrees: 2238 (–149); Total rain: 579 mm (+319) 

40 

30 

20 

10 

Ave Day Degrees 0 

-10 

-20 

-30 

-40 

-50 

-60 

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr 

Rain 2010-11 

*Average day degrees from 1957 to 2011. 

Source: CSIRO Plant Industry. 

 

DD variation 

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Total 

Cold shock 28 18 10 5 0 1 9 22 93 (+17) 

Hot shock 0 0 1 4 16 5 0 0 26 (–5) 

 

 

Southern NSW 

Lachlan and Murrumbidgee 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By James Hill 

 

DD variation from average 

Growing conditions 

Early – It was one of the most challenging starts 

to a cotton season experienced in southern NSW. 

Ironically this of course coincided with the large area 

and large number of new growers. While it was fantastic 

that the drought broke, the extreme (for this 

region) rainfall events of up to 200 mm combined 

with extreme cold caused a lot of seedling disease 

and replant. 

Mid – The season continued to be cold with very 

few days over 30°C. A lot of potential yield was lost 

at this time due to heavy cloud and storm events. 

The rain and wind conditions at the time prevented 

timely growth regulant applications. This combined 

with shedding resulting in plants that did not want 

to stop developing. Late fruit contributes very little 

to yield and contributed to further issues late season. 

Late – In terms of weather, while it was colder 

than past seasons during defoliation, we were lucky 

not to have had excessive rain. But the combination 

of extreme cold including significant frosts, patchy 

rainfall and late cotton did result in generally a poor 

defoliation and a long slow pick. The frost may have 

helped open mature bolls – but if crops were late and 

green, this extreme cold created issues. 

Insects 

Grasshoppers were an issue early with the plague 

locust and late in the season with the spur throated 

locust, causing issues. Damage was minimised with 

growers being vigilant and generally controlling the 

locusts as they banded in nearby areas. Helecoverpa 

pressure was again extremely low with no sprays 

applied. Mirids required controlling at least once 

across the area as did aphids. SLW were present in 

most cotton crops across the region for the first time 

yet control was not required Nymph numbers were 

high, but the number of adults was not significant. 

Nymph numbers did increase during the season 

yet the beneficial insects maintained control. Mites 

were present late season yet generally did not require 

control. 

Disease 

The area has had its first case of confirmed 

Fusarium wilt. In addition to this there was a high 

incidence of seedling disease including rhizoctonia 

and pythium due to the combination of cold and 

wet. 

Weeds 

Many growers opted for a residual herbicide 

application at planting with some still using a layby 

spray to support the Roundup. In addition, limited 

grass herbicides were also used to control barnyard 

grass.


Fleabane continues to be an issue with some 

growers opting for inter-row cultivation and even 

chipping. 

Defoliation 

The area had a reasonable finish yet cool conditions 

prevailed just as defoliation commenced. As 

previously discussed there was a lot of late fruit and 

growth causing issues in terms of defoliation. 

Yield/quality 

The average yield for the southern area is yet 

to be determined with ginning expected to run 

into December. In addition, due to cotton going to 

various gins in the Macquarie area, average yields are 

harder to determine. At this stage the Murrumbidgee 

might yield approximately seven bales per hectare 

and the Lachlan around nine. 

There have been a number of discounts received 

this season for low micronaire, directly attributed 

to the cold season and the high proportion of late 

fruit (as a lot of early fruit would have been shed). In 

addition there were also a number of discounts for 

trash and leaf levels. 

Next season 

During the season all catchments received fantastic 

rainfall and therefore runoff and all dams are still 

currently over 97 per cent, meaning full allocations 

going into next season. At this stage we are looking 

at a combined area of 58,000 hectares for the 

Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Lower Darling. 

While this is very positive for the area there will 

be a number of challenges. One of the issues is 

ginning capacity or actually the lack of ginning 

capacity. This is being partly amended by a newly 

formed grower owned ginning company (Southern 

Southern NSW 

Cotton). The Southern Cotton Gin will be located 

at Whitton (south east of Griffith) and they are confident 

of being operational for next season. In addition 

the current gin is looking at being upgraded for 

next season to increase capacity. 


AREA ROUNDUP 



Map legend 

Please note… 

This section contains a seasonal climate graph for 

each production area which compares day degrees, 

rainfall, hot days and cold shocks with the long term 

calculated average. It is important to note that the long 

term average figures used here relate to the 1957 

to 2011 period, and will differ from the Bureau of 

Meteorology’s long term average information which 

generally goes back further (particularly for rainfall). 

The information used for these graphs was 

generated using data provided through the SILO 

project, a business unit of the Bureau of Meteorology, 

and made available through funding from CRDC. 

Further information regarding these organisations 

can be found at: 

• CSIRO Plant Industry at www.pi.csiro.au; 

• Cotton Catchment Communities CRC at www. 

cotton.crc.org.au; 

• The SILO project at www.bom.gov.au/silo; 

and, 

• The Cotton Research and Development 

Corporation at www.crdc.com.au. 

Susan Maas, the Disease Lead for the Development and 

Delivery Team, discussing and demonstrating aspects of 

picker clean down. 




AREA ROUNDUP 



NEW 

SOUTH 

WALES 

160 

140 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 


Macquarie Valley 

Crop area 

17,229 hectares were planted in the Macquarie 

in 2010 with 15,885 hectares harvested. The 

reduced area was due primarily to flood damage in 

December. The dominant variety grown was 71BRF 

followed by 74BRF. 


Seed bed preparation was less than ideal across 

the valley due to the wet winter in 2010. It was difficult 

to get onto wet country and as a result land 

preparation was rushed. The jump in cotton prices at 

planting time also contributed to growers rushing to 

get more country ready for planting in order to take 

advantage of the high prices. Cool wet conditions 

prevailed throughout the planting period with some 

replant occurring. 

November can only be described as wet, wet, 

wet with most areas of the Macquarie receiving 

around 13 inches (330 mm) of rainfall. There was 

also extremely high rainfall in the Burrendong catchment 

causing the dam to spill. The combination 

of local and catchment rainfall saw the Macquarie 

River experience its largest flood on record since 

Burrendong Dam was built with the peak of the 

flooding occurring during early December. It is 

estimated that around 1200 hectares of cotton was 

wiped out completely from the flood but there were 

also large areas of cotton that were inundated but 

survived. Cotton that was not grown along the river 

and did not suffer from flooding still experienced 

severe waterlogging from the local rainfall. 

Warren 2010–11 seasonal climate 


Rainfall (mm) 


Rain 2010–11 

Ave Day Degrees* 

DD variation 

Days Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Total 

Cold shock 24 12 5 2 0 0 1 15 59 (–14) 

Hot shock 0 0 0 2 10 10 0 0 22 (–8) 



0 

By Sally Ceeney 

40 

20 

-20 

-40 

-60 

-80 


Macquarie Valley cotton area 

Map legend 

The rainfall and flooding combined with mild 

and cloudy conditions meant that crops aborted 

most of the early season fruit. 

The mid growing season through January and 

February was warm and sunny which allowed crops 

to recover well, although some crops were quite tall 

and lanky from losing most of their bottom fruit. 

Crops were running on average a couple of weeks 

behind due to the early season setback. The good 

growing conditions continued through to March 

allowing crops to compensate for early season fruit 

loss. The earlier crops were able to defoliated and 

harvested in dry conditions. Harvest started in mid- 

April. Later crops suffered cooler conditions with 

frosts and rainfall making defoliation difficult. 

Insects 

The mild wet winter in 2010 provided the ideal 

conditions for mite and aphid numbers to increase. 

Most crops received at least one mite and aphid 

spray, with some crop requiring multiple spray 

application for two-spotted spider mites. Mirids 

were present throughout the mid part of the season, 

although not in high numbers. Silverleaf whitefly 

was present late in the season but not in high numbers. 

Helicoverpa pressure was heavy throughout 

most of the season with conventional crops receiving 

12–13 insecticides. 

The spur throated locust was seen throughout the 

valley and caused damage in isolated patches. Most 

of the damage was to the leaf of the plant and crops 

recovered well. 

Diseases 

Seedling disease was prevalent throughout the valley 

due to the cool conditions at seedling emergence.



AREA ROUNDUP 



The incidence of Verticillium wilt was also higher 

due to the cool, wet early season conditions. 

Nutrition 

The nutrition of crops following the flooding event 

and heavy rainfall was a concern for most growers. 

The majority of crops were cultivated to allow some 

aeration back into the soil and between 100–120 units 

of N was typically applied. Foliars were also used in 

some cases. These treatments seemed to work well and 

crops recovered well and showed no nutrient deficiencies 

for the remainder of the season. 

Final yield and quality 

The final valley average yield was 10.2 bales per 

hectare. Crops yielded exceptionally well despite the 

early season setbacks. The kind finish to the season 

meant that crops were able to put on a large amount 

of top fruit, compensating for the early season fruit 

loss. Quality was generally very good across the valley, 

even in flood affected fields. Some later crops 

received leaf and colour discount due to rainfall and 

less than ideal defoliating conditions. 

Grower awards 

The Macquarie Valley Cotton Grower 

Association Awards Dinner was held in July at Lazy 

River Estate Dubbo. The Crop Competition was 

won by Stewart and Fran Crawford, ‘Quandong’ 

Narromine with a drip irrigated crop that yielded 

14.7 bales per hectare. The Jim Beale Memorial 

Award for Service to Industry was won by Neil Mill 

‘Westwood’ Narromine. The NAB Industry Young 

Achiever was won by Sally Ceeney. 

Prospects for coming season 

The Macquarie Valley is looking forward to a cotton 

resurgence in 2011–12 with an estimate of area 

to be planted between 40,000 to 45,000 hectares. 

Burrendong Dam is currently at 90 per cent capacity 

and growers are starting the season with 32 per 

cent allocation, along with 100 per cent carryover 

allocation. It has been 10 years since the Macquarie 

Valley had production levels this high so the cotton 

industry and communities within the valley are really 

hoping for a good season and looking forward to the 

possibility of a few more good seasons to come. 

 

Macquarie Valley: Area and production 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bourke 

Crop area 

Just over 10,000 hectares of cotton was planted in 

the Bourke area in 2010–11 – the most grown since 

the 2004–05 season. Although the highly variable 

nature of the seasons in this area means that no season 

is ‘normal’, it was great to see the cotton industry 

return to become a major contributor to the economy 

of the region. Over six long years of drought, 

Bourke has been harder hit than most towns and a 

return to some degree of confidence was welcome. 


It was a very cool start to the season in Bourke, 

with temperatures well below average right through 

to the end of December. The latter part of 2010 

was also very wet, culminating in major rainfall in 

December. It wasn’t until January that temperatures 

returned to more ‘normal’ levels and the rain eased 

off. But the following two months provided great 

growing conditions and this was enough to set a 

good crop and ensure above average yields. 

Yields 

The helpful finish to the season produced a district 

average yield of about 10.2 bales per hectare 

which is one of the best results ever experienced in 

Bourke. Growers are looking forward to a repeat performance 

in 2011–12. 

Bourke 2010–11 seasonal climate 


AREA ROUNDUP 




Rainfall (mm) 

200 

180 

160 

140 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

Ave Day Degrees 


40 

20 

0 

-20 

-40 

-60 

-80 

-100 


Rain 2010–11 

DD variation 


Cold shock 21 8 4 2 0 0 1 11 47 (+10) 

Hot shock 0 0 0 2 15 14 2 0 33 (–22) 



 

 

 

Bourke: Area and production 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




AREA ROUNDUP 



200 

150 

100 

50 

0 


The 2010–11 cotton year had one of the wettest 

starts for many years. Gunnedah had almost 

400 mm of rain from October till the end of 

December and this caused a lot of damage to young 

crops. This was followed by a very warm and dry 

second half of the season. As a consequence of the 

severe waterlogging it was not a fantastic year for 

most Namoi growers, but crops downstream of Wee 

Waa did fair a lot better. The dry start to 2011 has 

continued through most of the winter, but the early 

spring looks more promising. 

Area 

It was a relatively big year for the Namoi region, 

Narrabri 2010–11 seasonal climate 


Rainfall (mm) 



Rain 2010–11 

Namoi Valley 

DD variation 


Cold shock 20 6 2 2 0 0 1 9 40 (–15) 

Hot shock 0 0 0 0 6 12 1 0 19 (–10) 

*Average day degrees from 1957 to 2011. Source: 

CSIRO Plant Industry. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Namoi Valley: Area and production 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Robert Eveleigh 

60 

40 

20 

0 

-20 

-40 

-60 

-80 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

with the final area boosted by the resurgence in 

dryland cotton planting. The planted area in the 

upper Namoi jumped to almost 27,000 hectares. 

An increase of over 250 per cent compared to last 

season. The irrigated area increased a few thousand 

hectares but most of the increase came from 

about 17,000 green hectares of dryland. In the lower 

Namoi (including Walgett) a total of 62,500 hectares 

was planted. There were about 19,000 hectares of 

dryland cotton planted. 

The total planted area of irrigated cotton in the 

Namoi for the 2011–12 season should be at least 

69,000 hectares. About 40,000 hectares of dryland 

cotton is likely to be planted. 

Planting – early season 

A few early crops were planted around mid 

September. These crops emerged quite well but faced 

cold conditions during October. The majority of the 

crop was planted during October and continued wet 

weather disrupted planting operations right through 

till November. In field operations weed control and 

fertiliser applications were delayed by constant wet 

conditions. Nitrogen losses were high as a result of 

the waterlogged soil and growers struggled to make 

up for the losses during the rest of the season. 

Mid season 

By the end of December the taps were turned 

off and someone set the thermostat to hot and dry. 

Within seven days of the rain stopping, the crops 

looked like they needed water. Constant saturated 

soil conditions restricted the root growth of most 

crops. After the very wet start a lot of crops looked 

very ordinary. 

Some crops in the upper Namoi had turned a 

horrible shade of red and although the crop colour 

improved with the onset of better growing conditions, 

some crops were not able to grow out of 

the set back. The yields were low from these badly 

waterlogged crops. But downstream of Wee Waa 

crops fared better and quickly produced more fruit. 

A downside of this extra growth was that the crops 

were much later in maturity than normal. 

Late season 

By February it was obvious to everyone that many 

crops were running very late. High rates of Pix were 

applied in an effort to cut the crops out and bring 

forward the maturity. But late season weather continued 

to be very good. Crops continued to put on fruit 

and made an excellent top crop during late February 

and March. We had almost no rain in March, April 

and May. Most of the crop was picked during May 

but quite a few fields went into June and even July. 

Crops picked in June and July did have some rain 

prior to picking and suffered some weather damage. 

Defoliation of early crops was relatively easy,


but later crops were a challenge and required up to 

three applications and a lot of time to get ready for 

picking. Some desiccants were used to speed up the 

process. Picking continued for several weeks without 

many interruptions. 

Insects 

The 2010–11 season saw the return of some pests 

that had not been a problem in the Namoi for many 

years. The cotton crop in the Namoi remains almost 

100 per cent Bollgard II. Only a few Bollgard crops 

required additional sprays for heliothis during the 

season despite quite high pressure during January. 

Some very heavy egg pressure at Walgett in February 

prompted some protective spraying. Late season 

heliothis pressure was generally very light. 

Spodoptera, a pest not seen the valley for a long 

time became active in some crops, particularly in the 

Lower Namoi. It was not uncommon to find part of 

the field being defoliated and sometimes the grubs 

started to drill an odd boll. Although Bollgard II 

suppressed the grubs, several crops required a spray 

for this pest. Spodoptera larva were relatively easy to 

control. 

Just when we all thought the coast was clear, large 

numbers of spur throated locusts made their way 

into the valley. This pest has not been a problem in 

cotton for over 25 years. The locusts were worse in 

the western half of the valley. Continual reinfestation 

meant that some crops were sprayed up to three 

times for locusts. 

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Whitefly were evident in the crops right from 

the beginning and threatened to be a problem just 

like they have been in the previous two seasons. But 

whitefly numbers were slow to increase and very few 

crops required specific treatment for the pest. But 

aphids did become a significant problem during the 

late season. Most crops required at least one spray for 

aphids. Neonicitinoids gave unreliable control but 

OPs and Pegasus worked well. Aphid resistance is a 

significant worry for growers. 

Thrips were at low to moderate levels after planting 

and the seed treatments and planting insecticides 

worked well. Thrip numbers increased significantly 

late season and assisted in suppressing mites. The 

valley experienced quite high levels of early season 

mites. In some cases the mites remained a major 

problem. Some crops received up to three miticides 

and supplies of product became quite tight during 

January. Green vegetable bugs didn’t appear until late 

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AREA ROUNDUP 






AREA ROUNDUP 



in the season but as many crops were running late, 

the bugs required treatment. 

Mirid numbers were low to moderate for most of 

the season. 

Disease 

The wet cool start spurred on early season disease. 

Black root rot was the worst I can ever remember 

and verticillium was early to find in young crops. 

The start of warm conditions in December allowed 

crops to quickly outgrow these diseases, but BRR 

contributed to the lateness of the crop and verticillium 

certainly reduced the yields of late crops. Given 

the weather it was a surprise that the amount of 

replanting was not much more than normal. There 

were very few opportunities for replanting due to 

the constant wet weather. Verticillium became active 

again during late season. 

Fusarium has still not been identified in the lower 

Namoi but it could be found in some upper Namoi 

fields fairly easily this year due to cool wet start. 

Boll rots were not a problem. 

Weeds 

Most of the crop in the Namoi is Roundup Ready 

Flex. The technology worked extremely well during 

the season. I don’t know how we would have dealt 

with the weed problem this past season without it. 

There is a trend back to the use of some pre plant 

residuals in an effort to control fleabane and other 

glyphosate tolerant weeds. Apart from some small 

areas of rye grass and barnyard grass in the Bellata 

area there appears to be no problem with resistance 

to Roundup Ready herbicide 

Yield and quality 

Average yields were a disappointment for most 

growers. Yields downstream of Wee Waa were better 

and some individual growers had their best year ever. 

Lower Namoi average irrigated yields struggled to 

make 3.2 bales per acre with best yields making just 

over 5.0 in a few western fields. The upper Namoi 

Upper Namoi Valley 

irrigated crop was the lowest yielding for many seasons. 

The crop will average about 3.0 bales per acre. 

Dryland yields were also well down on average. 

The lower Namoi averaged 0.9 bales per acre while 

the upper Namoi made a respectable 1.25. Irrigated 

fibre quality was good except for a portion of bales 

that received 41 colour, which is difficult to explain 

given the dry late season and near perfect picking 

conditions. Dryland grades were very good but some 

short staple and high mic fibre was a problem, particularly 

in the lower Namoi. 

Next season 

With Keepit dam full and reasonable prices for 

lint we expect an even bigger crop in the Namoi this 

year. A total area of at least 109,000 paddock hectares 

should be planted in the Namoi this year provided 

we get a timely planting rain for the dryland 

area. 


John Ellis, (Miralwyn Cotton) Carinda, winner of the Dr Norm Thomson Award for best Fibre Quality in a CSD 

Variety Trial. John’s Sicala 340BRF produced fantastic fibre quality.

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AREA ROUNDUP 



Map legend 

The cotton season in the Gwydir Valley started 

off with a bang. Consistent falls of rain 

throughout October and November boosted 

soil moisture profiles, on farm storage levels and 

put some much needed water into Copeton Dam. 

Combined with a spike in cotton prices to historic 

high levels, this led to a dramatic upsurge in cotton 

plantings to see the Gwydir Valley planted hectares 

at levels not previous witnessed. 

The majority of the planting was in dryland 

country. Some scenarios which were once unthinkable, 

such as dryland cotton in back to back situations, 

or planting dryland cotton into freshly harvested 

cereal stubble, were successfully carried out as 

The Gwydir Valley cotton area 

 

Gwydir Valley 

By James Quinn 

growers tried to capitalise on the rare moisture and 

price matrix. 

The season was characterised by cool, wet and 

cloudy conditions up until the turn of the New 

Year. Many irrigated crops were slow to germinate 

and therefore were slow in their initial development. 

Flowering was late and the plant was not as healthy 

as desired leading into this crucial flowering stage. 

Conversely, the dryland crops looked fantastic at this 

time – the crop was roaring along. This was to be its 

detriment as the season changed. 

After New Year, climatic conditions seemed 

to change. The rain dried up and temperatures 

increased. Irrigated crops responded and we witnessed 

a period of rapid growth and fruit accumulation 

which set the crop up for a good finish. 

Dryland crops, whose roots had not been as 

adventurous due to the wet conditions, found it hard 

to keep pace with the bulk they had already generated. 

A hot week at the end of January really stressed 

dryland crops and without the ability to extract 

moisture from lower parts of the soil profile, these 

crops shut down very quickly. 

We were fortunate that the season extended as 

long as it did as the crop needed this time to make 

up for the slow start to the season. We saw crops 

being stretched along to try and mature late fruit. 

This led to defoliation occurring in late March and 

April and picking finishing well into July for some 

farms. 

Irrigated yield averages were not as high as those 

Gwydir Valley: Area and production 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



which we have seen in the Gwydir Valley in the past 

seasons. It was a difficult year to grow cotton in, 

although individual fields on farms have performed 

exceptionally well with fields yielding in the high five 

bales per acre and some achieving above six across 

the entire farm, there were fields which disappointed. 

Farms have a large spread in yields which has not 

been the case in recent years. 

Yields in the dryland very much depend on 

January and February storm rains. Those who were 

lucky enough to receive the rain have achieved average 

or better yields, whereas those who missed out 

yield one bale per acre or less. A pleasant surprise was 

that for all the low yielding dryland cotton which 

was under a fair bit of stress there were minimal fibre 

quality discounts. 

Due to the cool and wet conditions during the 

season it was a big year for diseases to effect crop 

performance. Seedling diseases did thin stands early. 

Verticillium and Fusarium attacked early and mid 

season, cotton bunchy top was present in low levels 

in a lot of fields and in some fields boll rot became a 

major issue at the end of the season. 

Insect pressure was consistent throughout the 

season. Heliothis were low, but sucking pests were 

in abundance. Especially aphids and mites, which 

were at high levels from very early in the season and 

required constant attention and control. But if you 

compare the pest control spectrum to other years 

which started out in a similar fashion such as 1998, 

2010–11 was less stressful. 

Moree 2010–11 seasonal climate 


Rainfall (mm) 

140 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 



Rain 2010-11 

DD variation 


Cold shock 16 6 4 2 0 0 1 9 38 (–10) 

Hot shock 0 0 0 2 8 9 1 0 20 (–3) 

60 

40 

20 

0 

-20 

-40 

-60 

-80 




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QUEENSLAND 

Map legend 

At the start of August, the Macintyre was 

shaping up for a very modest season with 

Pindari and Glenlyon dams holding 27 and 

22 per cent respectively and the only people with onfarm 

storage being those on the Weir River. 

Fast forward to October – in the Macintyre, 

Pindari had spilled, Glenlyon was over 80 per cent 

and almost all on-farm storages are full courtesy of 

about six major flows through the system. 

This rapid turn-around of fortunes meant that 

many crops had to be planted into under-prepared 

fields with no fertiliser – a factor that limited many 

yields. 

Rain delayed planting, particularly around 

Goondiwindi which received 30–75 mm in the last 

week of September onto country that was already 

wet and again on October 15 when most areas 

received at least 25 mm. Missing out on the earlier 

rain, growers in the western part of the area, particularly 

around Mungindi were able to start planting in 

mid to late September and complete a bulk of their 

area by the second week of October. 

Those closer to Goondiwindi had a short planting 

opportunity in the first week of October before 

being washed out, had another attempt in the second 

week of October making it a slow and often frustrating 

process. Fortunately there were a couple of clear 

weeks at the end of October and start of November 

which allowed everyone to get in what they needed. 

A spike in cotton prices and a realisation that people 

had good moisture in fields just coming out of winter 

crop meant that planting continued right up to 

the close of the Bollgard II window on November 

15. A majority of this season’s crop was planted on 

rain moisture. 

Soil temperatures were OK – resting mostly 

in the high teens throughout the last week of 

September and into October aside from a major 

fall in the middle of October where it dropped back 

down to 12°C, and a less significant drop in the early 

The Border Rivers cotton area 

Border Rivers 

By David Kelly 

part of November. These cooler spells and moisture 

associated with the weather change caused some 

seedling disease and slowed crop development. 

The result was the biggest planting in the 

Macintyre on record. The irrigated area is around 

50,000 hectares east of Boomi and 30,000 at the 

Mungindi end. 

Due to the wet start of the season, by Christmas 

time, very few irrigated crops had received their first 

water – a far cry from 12 months ago when they 

were shaping up for their third or fourth. Having 

such a soft start, many of these crops were not looking 

that special but January turned on nearly a 

month of clear, sunny conditions which could not 

have come at a better time. 

On January 10 a large rainfall event in the headwaters 

of the Dumaresq River created a significant 

flood in the Macintyre – peaking at 10.64 metres 

at Goondiwindi – the biggest since 1996. It caused 

significant infrastructure and crop losses to farms 

around Bonshaw, Goondiwindi particularly on 

the NSW side, and some farms on the Callandoon 

Creek. It created a very busy time for all growers, 

working frantically on levee banks while irrigating 

feverishly at the same time. By the time the water 

reached Mungindi over a week later the peak had 

flattened out meaning all crops protected by levees 

were safe although some dryland cotton was impacted. 

Overall, affected crops may account for around 

five per cent of the district – but some individual 

growers have been heavily impacted. 

The insect pressure for the first 2½ months of the 

season was intense and diverse but it abated moving 

into January. Mites were present in most crops since 

very early in the season and required treatment on 

many cases. Mirids required treatment at least once 

on most crops and there were cases of pale cotton 

stainer, green vegetable bug, and aphids later in the 

season. 

Like the rest of the season, the weather around 

defoliation and picking was cooler than what we 

have been used to in recent seasons, and with several 

rainfall events, it made for a slow harvest. 

Most irrigated crops yielded around 11 bales 

per hectare, although the frequency of crops over 

12.5 bales per hectare will probably not be as high 

as recent seasons. A main limitation this season is 

many fields being underprepared for fertiliser due 

to the wet winter. Fibre quality has been good with 

the exception of colour – the frequent rainfall events 

being implicated for a lot of cotton going into the 

discounted 41 range. 

The season saw a massive resurgence in dryland 

cotton – driven by good moisture profiles and high 

cotton prices. Around 25,000 hectares was planted 

near Goondiwindi and 10,000 further west. 

Most planting occurred during October but as 



prices continued to increase, more suitable paddocks 

were found and there were seeds going into 

the ground right up to the Bollgard II cut-off date. 

On the back of good results from the previous season, 

Sicot 71BRF was the most popular variety with 

many people taking the opportunity to try some of 

the balloted Siokra 24BRF. 

Most was planted to double skip with some 60 

inch solid at the eastern end and some big areas of 

super single in the west. 

The start of the season was very wet which resulted 

in some water-logging and also created root systems 

that were very surface-oriented – a telling factor 

later in the season. Good growing conditions in 

January allowed crops to move out of their waterlogging 

and develop good boll and square numbers 

and by the start of February, soil profiles were drying 

out – a situation made worse by the shallow root 

systems. 

Whether crops got rain at this stage was the difference 

between average and very good yields. Those 

farms receiving good January and February falls have 

reported yields in the 3.5–4.5 bales per hectare range 

while those not so lucky have yielded about 2.0–3.0 

bales per hectare. 

Generally, the crops have been relatively easy to 

manage with most receiving two to four insecticides 

and two or three Roundup applications. Defoliation 

of some crops was made difficult due to earlier moisture 

stress and not helped by cool conditions after 

the defoliant was applied. 

The prospects for 2011–12 for both irrigators 

and dryland in the Macintyre are excellent – the 

region’s storages, Pindari, Glenlyon and Coolmunda 

Dams, are all close to full capacity, providing 

Macintyre Irrigators with more certainty at the start 

of a season for a long time. A large proportion of 

the 2011–12 crop will be planted on back-to-back 

country but given the certainty with water, people 

have ample time to apply pre-plant fertilisers and 

avoid some of the issues of 2010–11. Based on early 

indications, a similar area of crop will be planted in 

2011 as in 2010, approximately 80,000 hectares of 

irrigated and 35,000 of dryland. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Macintyre Valley: Area and production 


AREA ROUNDUP 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goondiwindi 2010–11 seasonal climate 


here was a massive resurgence in dryland cotton in the 

Macintyre in 2010–11. Catching up at a dryland field 

walk at ‘Aberdeen’, north of Goondiwindi are Angus 

McClymont, Charlie Clark and Tim Richards. 

Rainfall (mm) 

160 

140 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 



40 

20 

0 

-20 

-40 

-60 

-80 


Rain 2010–11 

DD variation 

More than 200 people attended the National Cotton 

Farm of the Year Field Walk at Norman farming, 

Toobeah. John Norman and Tony Taylor give a rundown 

of their farming operation. 


Cold shock 14 4 2 1 0 0 0 8 29 (–8) 

Hot shock 0 0 0 0 5 9 2 0 16 (–9) 

*Average day degrees from 1957 to 2011. Source: CSIRO Plant Industry. 




AREA ROUNDUP 



 


 

 

 

This past season has been one of extremes for 

the Darling Downs cotton industry – the biggest 

planting ever, followed by the most severe 

weather induced crop growth setback ever experienced 

in this region. 

While the total production is likely to be the 

second largest ever, it is very much a case of ‘what 

might have been’. Six weeks of continuous waterlogging 

mid season exacted a terrible toll on a large 

proportion of both the irrigated and dryland crop, 

particularly south of Dalby. The majority of irrigated 

growers picked less than half of what their most 

conservative production estimates were at the start 

of December, 2010 while for some dryland growers, 

particular on the floodplains of the Central Downs, 

the difference was even greater. 

Dalby 2010–11 seasonal climate 


Rainfall (mm) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

250 

200 

150 

100 

 

50 

0 



Darling Downs: Area and production 

 

 

 

 

 

Darling Downs 

 

 

By John Marshall, Cotton Seed Distributors Ltd 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

-10 

-20 

-30 

-40 

-50 

-60 

-70 

-80 

Rain 2010–11 DD variation 


Cold shock 12 4 1 1 0 0 0 6 24 (–16) 

Hot shock 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 (–10) 

*Average day degrees from 1957 to 2011. Source: CSIRO Plant Industry. 

 


Seasonal conditions 

Good rains commenced in early August, ensuring 

that the entire crop was planted on rain moisture. By 

the start of December, most of the region had measured 

an average 225 mm during the previous three 

months, ensuring most profiles were brimming. 

Then the serious rain started! 

Over the next six weeks, the entire upper 

Condamine catchment, as far west as Chinchilla, 

averaged between 500–650 mm of rainfall, with 

most centres recording rain on two or three of the 

days. Two near record level floods occurred in the 

Condamine on December 30 and January 14, and in 

many contributing creek systems as well. This period 

was followed by six weeks almost devoid of any rain, 

then above average rain returning again in March. 

The months of April and May also had a number 

of wet days, with some above average falls recorded, 

particularly on the southern Downs, in late May. 

With all the cloudy weather about, it is not surprising 

that temperature were below average – for example, 

only 38 per cent of the average number of hot 

(over 35°C) days were recorded in the three months 

January–March. But total day degree accumulation 

was only five per cent below average and cold shock 

days were 62 per cent of average. Frosty weather came 

in a little earlier than usual, with a crop finishing event 

occurring across most of the area on May 13–14. 

Crop growth 

A small proportion of the crop was planted 

October 5–7, and most of it had establishment 

problems due to rain and cold conditions in the subsequent 

10 days. But serious planting got under way 

about October 20, and these crops, all planted on 

rain moisture, achieved very good stands. Planting 

continued right up until the Bollgard II window 

closed on November 25. 

The period of severe waterlogging extended from 

mid November until mid January for some fields. 

Although the rain stopped on January 12, so severe 

had been the damage to the plants’ root systems that 

many crops did not start to make much headway 

until the second week of February. To add to these 

problems, many of the crops had exhibited very 

slow early growth, with no flowers evident after 90 

days in many instances. Finally, nutrient levels in 

the soil profile had been devastated by the prolonged 

waterlogging event, and it was not possible to restore 

these, regardless of what mid season fertiliser practices 

were employed. The arrival of frosty weather in 

early May finished the late crop off in a hurry. It also 

made defoliation a challenge. 

Insects, disease and weeds 

Insects problems were a little different than usual. 

In most situations, very little could be done about


Darling Downs cotton area 

insect control until the latter part of January, so the 

presence of the Bollgard genes helped reduce grower 

stress from a Heliothis control consideration. There 

was not a lot of spraying for mirids, although retention 

became very important for the late crops. Many 

fields had to be treated once or twice for aphid and 

mites during February–March. Aphids became quite 

a concern as bunchy top syndrome started to appear 

from February onwards. For this reason, control 

of volunteers and ratoon plants is going to be vital 

going into this next season. 

The Roundup Ready Flex technology also proved 

its value this season. There were many situations 

where it would have been impossible to get a tractor 

plus cultivator into a field between mid November 

and late January. But small windows of opportunity 

for groundrigs or aerial application of the herbicide 

meant that uncontrolled weeds were not a management 

issue for most cotton fields. But fleabane control 

did prove difficult late season and uncontrolled 

ratoon cotton caused some problems mid season, 

particularly in relation to the spread of bunchy top. 

Fusarium looked as though it was going to be a 

major issue at the start of the season, but it seemed 

to settle down, the prolonged waterlogging of fields 

maybe reducing its virulence. There were no other 

disease concerns. 

Yield and production 

The area planted on the Downs was ahead of 

any previous cotton planting by almost 25 per cent. 

About 86,000 paddock hectares were planted in 

1998–99, while this year, the green hectare planting 

figure alone was 2.5 per cent higher than this, giving 

a paddock area figure of about 110,000 hectares. The 

approximate split was 50,000 hectares irrigated and 

60,000 dryland. About five per cent of the planted 

area was abandoned due to flooding. But the yield 

figures reflect the consequences of the prolonged 

wet spell on much of the remaining area. Total production 

from the Downs has been approximately 

425,000 bales. When this is spread out across the 

harvested area, average irrigated yield is 5.5 bales per 

hectare, dryland yield about 2.75. 

Considering the waterlogged conditions encountered 

mid season, the wet period throughout autumn 

and the relatively early heavy frosts, fibre quality and 

grades have stood up very well. About 20 per cent of 

the Downs crop has been downgraded for colour/ 

leaf (41-3’s or worse), while the bulk of the crop is 

middling (21/2-31/3’s). Length has been remarkably 

good, even from badly waterlogged fields. Micronaire 

was good early, but is slipping into discount range 

(less than 3.5) in later picked crops. Turnouts are 

down about 1.5 per cent on last year, reflecting bigger 

seed from the soft finishing conditions. 

Prospects for the coming season 

The water situation for irrigators is nearly as 

good as it can get, with full bore allocations, water 

in Leslie dam for the first time in years and most 

ring tanks very close to full capacity. The irrigated 

planted area is expected to approach 45,000 paddock 

hectares. For dryland growers, there is less area on 

long fallow available (rotation considerations), and 

current price makes sorghum more competitive with 

cotton this season. But the moisture profiles for cotton 

are still better than average and the Bollgard II 

Roundup Ready variety choice for dryland cotton 

has never been better. Anywhere between 30,000– 

40,000 hectares could go in. 

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AREA ROUNDUP 



Map legend 




AREA ROUNDUP 



Map legend 


St George–Dirranbandi 

The 2010–11 cotton season will certainly be 

remembered as one of biblical proportions. 

We didn’t really experience fires or boils but we 

certainly did have our fair share of floods and pestilence 

especially in the form of locusts! 

But compared to most of the Australian cotton 

growing regions, the St George, Dirranbandi and 

Thallon growers survived the extreme summer conditions 

very well. Although this year’s floods lasted 

for longer and in some areas were higher than the 

March 2010 floods, farm levies held and growers 

managed to avoid any crop losses due to flooding. 

St George – Dirranbandi area 

St George 2010–11 seasonal climate 


Rainfall (mm) 

By Dallas King 


200 

The floods have resulted in full water for 40 next season 

with a number of growers having enough 20 water 

150 Ave Day Degrees for the following season as well. This, combined with 

an Australian dollar which has come back 

0 

around 

parity bodes well for a couple of more cotton -20seasons 

100 

yet. 

-40 

Planting 

50 

-60 

Planting started in mid to late September with 

the greater majority of the crop being planted -80 into 

rainfall moisture which is certainly a rarity for out 

0 

-100 

here. The last time this occurred I believe was back 


in the last century – around 1998 to be precise. This 

trend continued and it seemed bizarre to drive onto 

Rain 2010-11 DD variation 

farms at the end of November and still find that the 

Sep Oct Nov siphons Dechad Jan not yet Feb been Mar put out. Apr Total 

Cold shock 12 5 2 

With 

1 

only 

0 

10,400 

0 

hectares 

0 

having 

9 29 

been 

(–2) 

planted 

during the 2009–10 season this meant that 46,000 

Hot shock 0 0 0hectares 1 of this 5 year’s 1256,600 1 hectares 0 crop 19 (–22) was plant- 



ed into fallow country. Soil tilth due to the wet 

winter was excellent and promised a great seed bed. 

Unfortunately the temperatures were not with us and 

conditions turned cold with the area even experiencing 

a small frost on October 8. 

Sicot 74BRF certainly struggled and in a lot of 

cases growers ended up replanting the ‘odd’ field. 

Later planted crops (generally after October 15) 

bolted out of the ground and never looked back. 

Seedling diseases such as rhizoc (due to mung beans) 

and black root rot were certainly prolific in the fields 

planted during the last two weeks of September. 

Early season 

Cotton crops were a mixed bag throughout the 

region with fields that had been cultivated before 

the continuous rainfall started in mid November 

to early December handling the five inch rainfall 

event, as these growers were about to start irrigation. 

But the remainder of the fields struggled through 

the next three weeks of rainfall and overcast conditions. 

During a ‘normal’ season most growers 

would have had two in-crop irrigations and maybe 

a third around Christmas day, but this season the 

first in crop watering was being applied just prior to 

Christmas to what was certainly a very soft crop. 

Mid season 

Finally around Christmas the clouds began to 

clear, the sun came out and that was to be the end 

of our rainfall for the rest of the season. The month 

of rain and overcast conditions impacted on fruit 

retention with a large number of fields having only 

50–60 per cent of first position fruit at first flower. 

The plague proportions of Helicoverpa punctigera also 

ensured that fruit retention levels suffered. 

Late season 

The saving grace for Dirranbandi, St George 

and Thallon was the hot, dry summer conditions of 

January, February and March. This period allowed 

growers to irrigate as normal and ensured that the 

crop had perfect conditions to establish a mid and 

top crop and finally to develop a decent yield potential. 

Helicoverpa numbers also started to decline also 

allowing for higher fruit retention. 

Due to the cooler conditions and the loss of early 

fruit, picking started later this year with the earliest 

fields not generally ready until mid March. Some 

fields planted in mid September ended up requiring 

an extra irrigation and were picked after fields which 

had been planted three weeks later in early October. 

Such was the season! 

Insects 

Now for the pestilence part of our biblical season, 

both Helicoverpa and locust numbers were huge! 

As mentioned above the armigera numbers coming 

in from the Western deserts were significant


with 160–200 eggs per metre on conventional 

checks common throughout November and much 

of December. Bollgard II expression generally held 

up as you could find plenty of dead very small larvae 

but also plenty of squares which had also suffered 

some chewing. 

Unfortunately a few Dirranbandi farms suffered 

some losses in January due to large Helicoverpa at cut 

out with some fields averaging three larvae per metre. 

Sharon Downs and her team were able to fly in due to 

the floods cutting off roads and conduct collections. 

Mites also made a reappearance though were generally 

well controlled early season with Abamectin 

products and these early applications tend to hold 

mite numbers in check until the late season thrip 

numbers outweighed the mite populations. 

Although there was considerable constant locust 

pressure they tended to chew only the leaves with 

very little noticeable fruit damage though they did 

have some major impacts on surrounding pigeon pea 

crops. Mirids overall were reasonably low in numbers 

during the season. 

Whitefly failed to make a real showing this season 

with a number of fields not requiring treatment. 

Cotton Bunchy Top was more noticeable throughout 

fields though generally not in big areas, the majority 

quite often being affected plants surrounding 

‘ratoon/stub’ cotton left in the fields. Growers have 

made a concerted effort during the winter months 

to destroy surrounding volunteers and ratoon plants. 

Yields and quality 

Compared to most other valleys St George, 

Dirranbandi and Thallon had a great season for 

yields and quality. Most growers seem to have ended 

up with a farm average yield around 10.8 bales per 

hectare. There were certainly plenty of fields which 

averaged above 12.4 bales per hectare (five bales 

per acre) but because of the wet winter many fields 

which had not been fully fertilised prior to planting 

averaged 9.63 bales per hectare. 

Due to a dry picking period, quality was very 

good with a few growers even receiving premiums 

(yes, apparently they do still exist) for colour grades 

of 11. Some of the conventional cotton suffered 

short fibre which may have been attributed to the 

lack of bottom fruit being retained to blend with the 

higher bolls. 

Unfortunately discounts still exist and there have 

been a few of the Sicot 74BRF fields which have suffered 

high micronaire. 

The season ahead 

Once again with storages full, a small trickle in 

the river and a ‘reasonable’ bale price, the outlook is 

very positive for the 2011–12 season. 

At the end of last year’s report I stated that I 

believed the small communities of the Balonne shire 

were up to the oncoming challenges of a record cotton 

season. That has certainly been the case with a 

renewed flourish of employment and money into 

the region. It is great to once again be facing another 

record plant and we look forward to the year ahead. 

We wish all of those valleys which suffered a 

horrendous summer last year a much kinder season 

ahead. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


AREA ROUNDUP 



St George – Dirranbandi: Area and production 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




AREA ROUNDUP 

Dawson–Callide 

By Simon Struss 



For the second season in a row cotton production 

along the Dawson River was severely 

impacted by flood. 

In March 2010, flood waters from the Dawson 

totally destroyed crops mainly around Theodore and 

upstream. Only nine months later in late December 

there was a record flood (14.67 metres at Theodore) 

resulting in significant crop and infrastructure losses 

along the full length of the river. 

The township of Theodore became the first town 

Theodore 2010–11 seasonal climate 


Rainfall (mm) 

450 

400 

350 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 


Rain 2010–11 


DD variation 

10 

0 

-10 

-20 

-30 

-40 

-50 

-60 

-70 

-80 


Cold shock 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 (–14) 

Hot shock 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 4 (–20) 


in Queensland’s history to suffer a compulsory evacuation. 

In many cases growers had only just completed 

repairs from the earlier flood in March. 

The remaining cotton areas (in many cases part 

paddocks) were grown on and produced reasonable 

yields and quality, albeit very late. 

Crop area and growing conditions 

Initially 9000 hectares were planted in the Dawson 

and Callide valleys, comprising mostly Sicot 71 BRF. 

A small amount of conventional cotton and 1200 

green hectares of dryland were included in his area. 

Most crops were planted in October and established 

well. 

While exact figures are not available, some 30–40 

per cent of the area was destroyed by floodwaters. 

Many more hectares were inundated but managed to 

survive with a greatly delayed maturity. 

These fields shed all their fruit and only started to 

set squares again in late January and February. 

One farm elected to replant conventional cotton 

in late January with only modest results. 

Apart from the flood the season was characterized 

by cooler wetter conditions. This situation saved 

many crops that could not be irrigated due to losses of 

channels and pumps. But early fruit retention on previously 

unflooded fields was poor due to the weather. 

Pix was used extensively to contain vegetative growth 

within the season as well as in terminating crops. 

Dawson–Callide cotton area 



Dawson–Callide: Area and production 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Map legend 

 

 


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AREA ROUNDUP 



Insects 

Heliothis activity was extreme for the early part of 

the season necessitating a treatment on most Bollgard 

crops in January. 

The usual bug complex (green mirids, pale cotton 

stainers, red banded shield bug, green stink bug and 

green vegetable bug) was present and required on 

average two treatments. 

Whitefly while present didn’t breach treatment 

thresholds. 

Strawberry mites were detected in some crops 

along with cluster caterpillars that required treating. 

Aphids remained at low levels throughout the 

season and as such didn’t warrant control. But the 

widespread presence and severity of bunchy top in 

some late season crops was alarming. Bunchy top has 

only been detected on isolated plants prior to this 

season. The whole concept of early season aphid control 

(including destruction of winter hosts) must be 

reviewed to avoid infections in future crops. 

Diseases 

The usual early season disease culprits of 

Rhizoctonia, Fusurium and Alternaria were of little 

consequence. 

Boll rots which usually feature prominently had 

little impact due to the later boll set (usually higher 

up the plant) coinciding with drier conditions. 

Weeds 

Satisfactory weed control was achieved with multiple 

OTT Roundup Ready sprays. 

A small amount of Dual was used pre plant to 

help combat feathertop rhodes grass. 

Final yield and quality 

The Moura gin processed 24,469 bales from 

the Dawson Callide this year, well in excess of the 

12,000 predicted shortly after the December flood. 

While the average irrigation yield was only 2.4 

bales per acre, most fields produced a creditable three 

bales per acre. To achieve this yield after viewing the 

devastation following the flood was remarkable. The 

Callide valley fared better. 

Any remaining dryland fields produced above average 

yields with the best going two plus bales per acre. 

Quality was also surprisingly good with the 

majority of the crop classed base or above. 

The exception being some very late crops suffering 

colour and low micronaire discounts. 

As usual gin turnouts were highly variable. 

Prospects 

While it appears the ducks are starting to line up 

with good prices, water availability and seasonal outlooks, 

there remains many nervous growers needing 

to kick some goals this season. 

There is a full planting area predicted from all 

growers with a strong interest in dryland that could 

see a record acreage planted for the area. That is not 

just a record planting, but hopefully a record harvest. 

Good luck to all. 

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AREA ROUNDUP 



Central Highlands 

Unfortunately for the bulk of growers in the 

Central Highlands the difficult season of 

2009–10 was compounded by another ‘troppo’ 

season for 2010–11 and this report reads more 

like a rainfall summary. 

Total rainfall in Emerald for 2010 was the third 

highest on record behind 1956 and 1890, resulting 

in the worst flooding Emerald has ever experienced. 

At the peak of the flooding, 80 per cent of the town 

was flooded. Significant areas of cotton were flooded 

although initial estimates of losses have been revised, 

as crops were grown on with varying success. With 

continued rain and delays to picking, even non-flood 

affected yields were significantly down from average 

with quality also badly affected. The Central 

Highland winners for 2010–11 were definitely the 

dryland cotton crops in the Northern Highlands 

where yields and quality were generally good. 

Crop area 

Following high rainfall in August (almost three 

times average), the wettest September on record 

resulted in Fairbairn dam spilling in mid September 

with the consequential loss of all carryover, which 

equated to approximately 80,000 ML of lost water 

allocation entitlements for this season. While a little 

bit of conventional cotton was planted before the 

September rainfall, the official start to Bollgard II 

planting was delayed and Central Highlands planting 

commenced on October 5 with approximately 

27,000 hectares planted during the planting window. 

Traditionally dryland cropping is not planted 

in CQ due to lack of rain, but this season too 

much rain almost prevented planting, with 233 

mm recorded in the official Clermont gauge for 

November, and some farms reporting more in just a 

couple of days. In the end, another 7000 green hectares 

was planted across the Northern Highlands and 

McKenzie Big Bend areas up until end December. 


Growing conditions throughout the season were 

characterised by wet weather. Cotton plants responded 

to the long periods of cloudy weather and persistent 

rain and water logging up until Christmas with 

large leaves and short root systems. This reduced 

root development resulted in some crops unable to 

take up enough nutrients and early senescence was a 

problem on some soil types. 

Natural disasters certainly featured in the growing 

conditions for Central Highlands this season. 

In early December there was flooding along Theresa 

and Retreat creeks and the Comet Rivers. A visit 

from both State and Federal Primary Industries ministers 

to view the damage echoed the concern that 

this was only the beginning of the wet season. 

With news of flooding in Dawson over Christmas 

just filtering through to the Highlands, a few days 

By Susan Maas 

later there were reports of 200–250 mm in the 

already flooded Comet and Nogoa catchments. The 

most widespread intense rainfall was on December 

27, when a number of stations in the Carnarvon 

Range area set all-time daily records in excess of 200 

mm, peaking at 273.6 mm at Carnarvon Station. 

The wall of water that came down the Comet 

produced waves and caused considerable damage. 

Fairbairn Dam spilled, flooding more than 1000 

houses in Emerald and damaged 95 per cent of the 

town’s businesses. Across the Highlands, about 7500 

hectares of irrigated cotton and 4000 hectares of dryland 

cotton, some flooded for the second time, was 

flood affected. 

Post flood studies of crops showed the amazing 

resilience of cotton bettered only by the resilience of 

the growers. Yields from flooded cotton were highly 

variable with some not covering the cost of picking 

while others that survived removal of all leaves and 

fruit, went on to yield as good as some of the rain 

affected crops that weren’t flooded. 

Aside from all the major flooding, January and 

February were actually quite good for cotton growing, 

and crops really began to respond. But significant 

rain almost every fortnight thereafter generally 

reduced yield and quality and delayed picking. A 

number of crops were grown on due to flooding or 

to compensate for low retention and picking dragged 

on with the last of the picking finishing only weeks 

before the start of the planting window. The extreme 

wet weather has also seen springs pop up all over 

Central Highlands cotton area 



Central Queensland. This not only resulted in lots 

of bogged pickers, but further delayed some picking. 

Insects 

With such a wet winter and spring, there were 

lots of pests present, with constant Heliocoverpa 

pressure and high aphids numbers. This high insect 

pressure was fairly consistent throughout the season. 

Early mealybug infestations in a handful of 

fields caused some early patches of plant loss, but 

predators reduced these populations in the lead up to 

Christmas. 

Disease 

There were very few early season disease issues, 

except a few instances following chickpea crops 

where Pythium and Sclerotium rolfsii reduced the 

plant stand. Isolated cotton bunchy top (CBT) 

affected plants were readily observable across the 

irrigation area and there were a couple of instances 

where CBT infection was severe and widespread 

across a field. 

Unfortunately the first case of Fusarium Wilt was 

confirmed in Central Highlands this season. This 

new report was found to be caused by the Downs 

strain of the pathogen. 

Weeds 

With rain really being the major feature of the 

season, it is not surprising that weed control was 

challenging, but most growers were able to keep on 

top of infield issues. 

Yield and quality 

The Central Highlands produced over 160,000 

bales for the season. 

With the long periods of rain and cloud it is not 

surprising that yield and quality were severely affected, 

with the district average for non-flooded irrigated 

cotton approximately 6.6 bales per hectare (2.7 bales 

per acre), almost two bales per hectare less than 

the district average. Yields on flooded cotton that 

was picked was highly variable. As an example, cotton 

reduced to sticks with no fruit or leaves in mid 

January has yielded more than five bales per hectare. 

Quality downgrades were widespread, and averaged 

$50 per bale. While most of the quality issues 

related to colour from rain on open cotton, low 

micronaire from immature fibres was a problem in 

late planted/grown on crops where much of the yield 

came from a top crop. 

It was a great year in Central Queensland to give 

dryland cotton farming a go. Dryland yields averaged 

just over 2.5 bales per hectare. Dryland crops 

that survived flooding, also looked very impressive, 

and some of these crops are up there with the best. 

With minimal input costs, dryland has been the 

shining light for CQ cotton. 

Prospects for coming season 

Despite a couple of challenging seasons in Central 

Highlands, there is a lot of optimism towards this 

coming season. Prices are good, water is plentiful and 

it seems like a cracker of a season is due. Irrigated 

planting area should be similar to last season with 

23,000 hectares to be planted, although some of this 

area is dependent on turnaround from last season’s 

late crop. 

The Northern Highlands’ dryland crop could be 

as high as 8000 hectares, with a small amount of irrigated 

area in the North also set to be planted. 

The Mackenzie Big Bend Area seems set to continue 

to cement its place in the landscape as a new 

and expanding cotton area With 1000 hectares of 

irrigated cotton planned for 2011–12, there is potential 

for more than 5000 hectares to be planted if 

planting rain eventuates. 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 



AREA ROUNDUP 



Emerald 2010–11 seasonal climate 


Rainfall (mm) 


Rain 2010–11 

*Average day degrees from 1957 to 2011 


 

DD variation 

20 

0 

-20 

-40 

-60 

-80 

-100 


Cold shock 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 (–9) 

Hot shock 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 4 (–37) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emerald: Area and production 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 




AREA ROUNDUP 



Burdekin 

By Paul Grundy 

The 2011 season saw a considerable reduction 

in the total acreage planted to cotton 

in the Burdekin. A significant dislocation of 

the sugarcane crush caused by persistent wet conditions 

throughout spring meant very little summer 

fallow ground was available to plant to cotton. 

Approximately 25–30 per cent of the region’s sugarcane 

remained unharvested 

at the close of 

the crushing season, a 

result not seen for over 

30 years in the Burdekin 

and yet another painful 

statistic associated with 

Queensland’s record summer 

wet in 2010–11. 

For those who did 

have fallow land, the persistent 

wet conditions made for a nerve-racking 

sowing window, with three relieved growers planting 

a total of 350 hectares by the end of January. But 

within weeks the Burdekin region was menaced by 

not one, but two cyclones. 

Cyclone Anthony (category 2) was predicted to 

make landfall in the Burdekin on Sunday, January 30 

but in its final hours strayed further south, crossing 

directly over Bowen. Three days later, severe tropical 

cyclone Yasi terrorised most of the NQ coast, finally 

crossing near Tully (some 340 km to the north) as 

a large category 5 system. Despite the distance, the 

Burdekin was still lashed with winds of 110 km per 

hour for about eight hours and received four to six 

inches of rain. 

The combination of the first cyclone to affect the 

Burdekin region in nearly 20 years and the saturated 

Sugarcane growers are looking at the potential for cotton 

as a summer rotation option for cane. 

Ayr 2010–11 seasonal climate 


Rainfall (mm) 

400 

300 

200 

100 

0 


Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul 

20 

10 

0 

-10 

-20 

-30 

-40 

-50 


Rain 2010–11 

DD variation 

Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Total 

Cold shock 0 0 0 0 0 9 17 16 42 (+21) 

Hot shock 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (–2) 



Shedding associated with cloudy weather in March 

reduced yield potential for the 2011 season. 


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AREA ROUNDUP 



conditions leading up to the event, caused significant 

damage to powerlines and trees, leaving most of the 

irrigation area without power for a week or more. 

Thankfully damage to crops in the local area was relatively 

minor with some lodging of sugarcane while 

cotton crops that ranged between three and seven 

nodes at the time were virtually unaffected. 

The passing of Yasi did break the monotony of six 

months of wet weather with nearly a month of sunny 

weather that followed. 

By early March all Burdekin cotton crops looked 

in excellent condition as flowering commenced. But 

during mid-March overcast weather returned for two 

New grower Layton McDonald discusses his first crop of 

Siokra 24 BRF with local AgnVet TSP Barry Braden. 

FIGURE 2: Cotton yields from the Cotton CRC climatic 

yield potential experiment running in the Burdekin 

since 2008. 

Yield potential was excellent in 2008 and 2009 in spite of these seasons having much 

wetter than normal summers (1060 mm and 1780 mm in 2008 and 2009). The return 

of sunny conditions in March after the wet season allowed crops to recover and set 

a large boll load. In contrast, the autumn period in 2010 and 2011 had periods of 

cloudy weather particularly in March (see Figure 1) which reduced available radiation 

(sunlight) for boll setting and filling resulting in significantly lower yield potential. 

weeks, causing extensive shedding and a significant 

reduction in yield potential. 

The difficulty of overcoming late March shedding 

losses with compensatory fruit set was compounded 

with winter arriving early in May with mean nightly 

temperatures of 13.5°C, several degrees below normal. 

The result was that many crops finished with 

fruit counts of 80–100 bolls per metre, with reduced 

boll size further compounding yield potential losses. 

Defoliation got underway in June with picking 

completed by late July. Many modules still remain 

to be transported to Emerald in what must be one 

of the worlds longest gin runs. But early indications 

from ginning are suggesting that the early onset of 

winter has affected the crop with seed cotton turnouts 

ranging between 30–34 per cent — well down 

on the previous three seasons. 

A significant percentage of bales have also had 

low micronaire (again largely attributable to the early 

onset of winter). With ginning still underway the 

Burdekin average is estimated to be around 7.0 bales 

per hectare. 

This was disappointing given how well crops 

had performed during the wet and how much crop 

husbandry has improved since 2008. This result does 

unfortunately highlight that a climatic constraint 

in the Burdekin is not necessarily always rainfall (as 

many would expect) but cloudy weather, particularly 

if it occurs in March. 

While climatic records indicate that these conditions 

are sporadic (about 20 per cent seasons) and 

more closely associated with La Niña years, when it 

does occur there are few solutions for recouping associated 

mid-season lost yield potential. Results from 

yield potential studies over the past four seasons have 

confirmed this with high yields attained with sunny 

autumn conditions while lower yields are achieved 

when cloudy weather persists throughout March. 

Despite this climatic constraint occurring in some 

seasons, the Burdekin still has tremendous potential 

for cotton production, with the strengths of enduring 

abundant irrigation water, the ability to double crop 

annually and an autumn climate that in the majority 

of years is excellent for boll filling and fibre quality. 

Even with the current run of wetter than average 

seasons, sugar grower interest in cotton is again 

increasing due to the need for a viable rotation crop 

and the increase in the bale price over the last 12 

months. An industry bus tour conducted in July was 

well attended by local growers wanting to know more 

about cotton production in the region. 

For 2012, it appears likely that the area of land 

planted to cotton will increase to about 650 hectares 

with four to five new growers considering cotton 

production as a summer rotation for cane and a 

couple of growers from earlier seasons interested in 

growing cotton again. 

But with the sugar crush already running behind 

due to the significant amount of crop carryover from 

2011, fingers are being crossed that the anticipated 

fallow land will materialise in time for the 2012 

season. 



WATER MATTERS 


Cutting seepage losses from on-farm storages..................... 72 

Cotton industry student at world conference..................... 76 

Cotton water storage snapshot.......................................... 78 

71

• W A T E R M A T T E R S B Y V A L M O N T • W A T E R M A T T E R S B Y V A L M O N T • W A T E R M A T T E R S B Y V A L M O N T • 


WATER 

MATTERS 

Cutting seepage losses from 

on-farm storages 



Recent whole farm water balance studies have 

indicated that around 30 to 40 per cent of 

all water on farm can be lost in storages. This 

comprises the biggest proportion of on farm water 

loss out of any component of the irrigation system. 

To determine the extent of storage losses, the 

National Water Commission, through its Raising 

National Water Standards Program, funded the 

Cotton Catchment Communities CRC to undertake 

a project “Measurement to improve the water 

efficiency of on-farm storages in the cotton industry.” 

The project has used commercial consultants 

to determine evaporation and seepage losses from 

individual storages using the Irrimate Seepage and 

Evaporation Meter. The project has now measured 

over 135 storages to determine the magnitude of 

these losses. 

A booklet of case studies was produced with 

examples of works that growers have undertaken in 

the past to remedy storages with unacceptable seepage 

losses. 

As the causes of seepage issues are often difficult 

to identify, some of these case studies have been 

effectively resolved while others remain a work in 

progress. 

Seepage remediation options 

The publication includes a range of works that 

growers have implemented to address seepage issues. 

Note that other options are available which may not 

have been discussed (for example plastic liners). 

Compaction is an important component of seepage 

remediation. 

Measurement and identification 

The first step in seepage remediation is identification 

of the problem. Measurement of seepage losses 

has traditionally been challenging as it is difficult to 

differentiate seepage losses from evaporation losses. 

For storages with very high seepage, this assessment 

is often made visually, as water levels may drop very 

rapidly over a period of weeks. 

However, an accurate measure of seepage is still 

very useful for determining the cost effectiveness 

of possible solutions. Until recently, there was no 

widely available technology for undertaking such 

measurements. However a relatively new technology, 

the Irrimate Seepage and Evaporation Meter, has 

been used with success within this project and is able 

to cost effectively separate seepage and evaporation 

losses within a storage. 

Once a seepage problem is identified, the next 

challenge is determining the nature of the seepage 

loss. Evidence in the case studies in this publication 

suggests that most seepage problems occur in discrete 

locations within a storage, rather than uniformly 

across the storage floor. Such problems are often due 

to the presence of small sections of sandy or gravelly 

soil. 

In many of the case studies, a combination of 

EM surveys and physical inspections (test holes or 

excavation pits) were used to identify these regions. 

As one of the case study growers noted, EM surveys 

can be very useful for identifying particular problem 

areas, but they are not completely foolproof, and 

ground truthing the results is important to ensure 

that potential issues do not go unnoticed. 

Another method of investigation, resistivity imaging, 

was used by one grower to look at cross sections 

of soil profile in significant detail. 

Clay lining and compaction 

Most seepage solution employed by growers 

involved the application of additional clay material 

over suspect areas, sometimes with additional compaction. 

Compaction of existing materials was also used 

on some occasions. 

The case studies indicate that the methods for 

undertaking these works can vary significantly. The 

depth of clay lining varied from 0.25 metres up 

to two metres. Some growers chose to overlay this 

compacted clay with additional material of around 

0.5 metres thick to prevent the compacted area from 

drying out. 

Compaction was provided by various means, with 

some growers relying on the compaction provided by 

earthmoving machinery (bulldozers, scrapers or laser 

buckets) while others applied additional compaction 

with sheepsfoot rollers or square impact rollers. 


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WATER 

MATTERS 



The level of compaction provided by different 

equipment should be considered when undertaking 

this type of work. In particular, tractors and 

bulldozers are designed to spread their load over 

a large area to avoid compaction and ensure traction. 

Equipment designed for compaction provides 

many times more compaction than a bulldozer, even 

though the machine weight is lower. 

Soil type is also a key consideration. Many clay 

soils in cotton growing regions have a large shrinkswell 

capacity. So if compacted clay is allowed to dry 

out, it will most likely crack open and the effectiveness 

of the compaction will be diminished. This 

is why some growers have chosen to overlay their 

compacted soil with additional material to try and 

prevent cracking. 

Planting crops in empty storages will dry the soil 

more than evaporation alone and will almost surely 

reduce or completely remove the effectiveness of 

compaction. For this reason, planting crops in storages 

is strongly discouraged. 

Bentonite 

Bentonite is a type of clay which has a very large 

shrink-swell characteristic that results in a very low 

permeability when wet. 

Bentonite suppliers should be able to provide 

advice regarding the best application method for specific 

applications and soil types. The most common 

methods of application are: 

• Pure blanket – a layer of pure bentonite of around 

10mm thickness is used with a protective compacted 

covering of soil. 

• Mixed blanket – bentonite is incorporated into 

the existing soil at a rate of around 50 to 150 

tonnes per hectare depending upon the existing 

soil characteristics. 

• Broadcast – bentonite is applied to the surface 

of a storage which contains water and allowed to 

settle to the bottom of the storage. 

It is suggested that blanket techniques are more 

effective, with the potential to reduce seepage by 65 

to 95 per cent, while broadcasting is more likely to 

result in a 30 to 50 per cent reduction. It is critical to 

ensure that bentonite is applied at the recommended 

rates and in the recommended manner as the results 

may not be satisfactory when the rate of application 

is too low. As with clay lining, a protective cover of 

at least 0.5 metres of soil is likely to improve performance 

and longevity. 

Polyacrylamide 

Polyacrylamides (PAM) are chemicals used in a 

variety of industries including the food and water 

industries. Specific PAM formulations, typically high 

molecular weight products, have been found to provide 

seepage reduction in some cases. 

PAM can be applied to the soil surface, where 

it may or may not be incorporated into the soil. It 

can also be broadcast over a body of water. While 

evidence of PAM effectiveness exists, the only use of 

the product within these case studies does not seem 

to have reduced seepage loss. 

CASE STUDY 

Property: Boolooroo, Moree 

Grower: Ray Fox 

Background 

‘Boolooroo’ is an irrigated cotton property 

north of Moree in the Gwydir Valley, which has 

been recently leased by Australian Food and 

Fibre (AFF). Manager Ray Fox noticed water 

levels on a 30 hectare, 700 ML storage were 

dropping more rapidly than he believed could 

be attributed to evaporation. 

The problem 

Ray observed that the storage lost water 

regardless of how full it was, which suggested 

to him that the seepage was occurring through 

the floor. He measured water height changes 

and estimated seepage losses of approximately 

6 mm per day. The storage was built around 

2001, but as ‘Boolooroo’ had only recently 

been leased by AFF, Ray was unsure of how 

long it had been losing water. 

The solution 

The storage was emptied to allow soil pits 

to be dug and an EM survey conducted. It was 

identified that the water losses were likely to 

be attributed to some gravelly soil found on the 

storage floor. In 2008, remediation work was 

initiated. 

The entire floor of the storage was covered 

with a 30–40 cm layer of clay imported from 

elsewhere on the property. The spreading 

and levelling work was completed using a 

scraper to compact the clay. The storage was 

utilised immediately after completion of the 

work and has not been completely empty since 

renovations took place. 

The outcome 

“To date the renovation has been successful 

and only evaporation losses are now being 

observed from the storage” says Ray. 

Ray Fox. 


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ECR249276 09/11 

1 9/11 49276 09/11



WATER 

MATTERS 



Cotton industry student at 

world water conference 

University of Queensland PhD student Olive 

Hood is undertaking research focused on 

integrated Condamine catchment water governance 

during the development of Coal Seam Gas 

(CSG) and the reform of the Murray Darling Basin 

management. 

She recently travelled to the Austrian Alps to 

Olive Hood. 

deliver a summary of this Cotton CRC and CRDC 

funded research at the Water Governance Meeting the 

Global Challenge conference. The conference, which 

was hosted by the European Science Foundation and 

convened at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, 

brought together researchers from at least 20 different 

countries. 

The Condamine catchment is at the headwaters 

of the Murray Darling Basin, which contains wetlands 

and springs and overlays alluvial freshwater systems 

that interact with artesian groundwater systems. 

The Condamine catchment communities participate 

in a number of governance initiatives, including 

Murray Darling Basin activities, Great Artesian Basin 

activities, Natural Resource Management Activities, 

state water planning and administration activities, 

stream rehabilitation activities and water buy back 

activities for example. 

Olive’s first question is – how is this governance 

enacted across the totality of initiatives? That is, how 

does the range of initiatives perform and interact, 

and what do they produce together in terms of outcomes 

for the participants and the resources being 

contested? 

The Condamine river catchment water assets 



are also the subject of elevated deliberation due to 

the governance changes initiated through the Water 

Act 2007, Murray Darling Basin reform and the 

development of the Coal Seam Gas industry. These 

changes have implications for water governance in 

the catchment at present, across a number of areas 

including surface, alluvial and groundwater management 

systems. 

Olive’s second question, then, is how do the set 

of governance initiatives relating to the Condamine 

River catchment interact and manage these proposed 

changes? What is lost and gained for the participants 

and the resources being contested during this reorganisation? 

Olive considers the conference an extremely valuable 

opportunity. “The conference aimed to address 

the global problem of persistent issues in water governance 

that remain unresolved in conditions that 

are increasingly difficult to manage due to complexity 

and unpredictability,” she said. 

“The conference was seeking input from researchers 

who are taking a complex system view of water 

governance and understanding the mechanisms 

through which these systems produce outcomes. It 

was great to see how my research aligned with international 

trends and how it will uniquely contribute 

to the body of knowledge about water governance in 

an increasingly water scarce world.” 


WATER 

MATTERS 



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WATER 

MATTERS 



Cotton water storage 

snapshot 

The wet La Niña inspired summer of 2010-11 

has provided cotton irrigators with the best 

water supply outlook for the past two decades. 

Almost all of the major storages serving the cotton 

industry are at or near full capacity. The exception is 

Copeton Dam, but even here, the level is higher than 

it has been for many years. 

1: Murrumbidgee – Burrinjuck 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacity 

(ML) 

Volume 

Sep 30 

(ML) 

% 

full 

Burrinjuck Dam 1,026,000 1,015,000 99% 

2: Lachlan Valley – Wyangala 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacity 

(ML) 

Volume 

Sep 30 

(ML) 

% 

full 

Wyangala Dam 1,220,000 1,132,000 93% 

Full capacity 

(ML) 

Current (ML) 

(Sep 30, 2011) 

% full 


% full 

2010 

Queensland 

Fairbairn Dam 1,301,000 1,233,000 95 100 

Beardmore Dam 82,000 77,000 94 100 

Leslie Dam 106,000 105,000 99 39 

New South Wales 

Glenlyon Dam 250,000 251,000 100 78 

Pindari Dam 312,000 313,000 100 100 

Copeton Dam 1,362,000 707,000 52 23 

Split Rock Dam 397,000 83,000 21 10 

Keepit Dam 425,000 422,000 99 73 

Burrendong Dam 1,188,000 1,033,000 87 98 

Windamere Dam 368,000 170,000 46 27 

Wyangala Dam 1,220,000 1,132,000 93 36 

Burrinjuck Dam 1,026,000 1,015,000 99 93 

TOTAL 8,037,000 6,541,000 81.4 65.4 

Wyangala Dam 

3: Macquarie Valley – combined 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacity 

(ML) 

Volume 

Sep 30 

(ML) 

% 

full 

Burrendong 1,188,000 1,033,000 87% 

Windamere 368,000 170,000 46% 



4: Namoi Valley – combined 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacity 

(ML) 

Volume 

Sep 30 

(ML) 

% 

full 

Keepit Dam 425,000 422,000 99% 

Split Rock Dam 397,000 83,000 21% 

5: Gwydir Valley – Copeton 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacity 

(ML) 

Volume 

Sep 30 

(ML) 

% 

full 

Copeton Dam 1,362,000 707,000 52% 

Copeton Dam 

6: Border Rivers – combined 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacity 

(ML) 

Volume 

Sep 30 

(ML) 

% 

full 

Glenlyon Dam 250,000 251,000 100% 

Pindari Dam 312,000 313,000 100% 

7: Darling Downs – Leslie 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacity 

(ML) 

Volume 

Sep 30 

(ML) 

% 

full 

Leslie Dam 106,000 105,000 99% 

8: Balonne River – Beardmore 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacity 

(ML) 

Volume 

Sep 30 

(ML) 

% 

full 

Beardmore 82,000 77,000 94% 

9: Emerald – Fairbairn 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacity 

(ML) 

Volume 

Sep 30 

(ML) 

% 

full 

Fairbairn Dam 1,301,000 1,233,000 95% 

Pindari Dam 


WATER 

MATTERS 




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ENVIRONMENT & EDUCATION 


New cotton production lecturer at UNE............................ 82 

New technology improves cotton health and safety............ 84 

Schools servicing the cotton industry............................88–89 

Sustainable cotton landscapes........................................... 90 

81

• e n v i r o n m e n t a n d e d u c a t i o n B Y D U P O N T • e n v i r o n m e n t a n d e d u c a t i o n B Y D U P O N T • 


environment & 

education 



TAKING ENROLMENTS 

NOW FOR 2012 

In May of this year Brendan Griffiths took over 

the role of lecturer in cotton production at the 

University of New England. The previous lecturer 

Dr John Stanley has taken up a post doctoral 

fellowship with the CRC for Spatial Information, 

based at UNE. 

Brendan has been an agronomist in the cotton 

industry for the past 20 years and has operated as an 

independent consultant based in Goondiwindi for the 

past 12 years. For the past four years he has also been 

a PhD student at UNE, with a Cotton Catchment 

Brendan Griffiths. 

New cotton production 

lecturer at UNE 

Educating today’s cotton industry 

for tomorrow! 


Cotton CRC, UNE, Armidale, 2351 

Brendan Griffiths – bgriffi2@une.edu.au – www.une.edu.au 

Communities CRC funded project looking at high 

yielding wheats in the cotton farming system. 

Brendan hopes to able to retain the high standard 

of presentation of content in the course by his predecessors, 

and add value as a result of years of practical 

experience at field level. 

The cotton course has been going since 1994 and 

is the only industry funded course focussing on cotton 

production at the tertiary level. The course has 

been a flagship project throughout the three iterations 

of the Cotton Catchments Communities CRC. 

Not all CRCs embed courses in their education program, 

but it is a testimony to the cotton course that 

several other CRCs are now emulating. 

Students can study at various levels achieving 

a diploma in cotton production at undergraduate 

level, or at the postgraduate level, a grad-certificate 

or even Masters degree in Agriculture. 

This year enrolments have risen sharply as a result 

of renewed interest in the cotton sector. The drought 

has caused a large gap in the entry of agronomists 

and other young professionals into the industry for 

some time. 

Brendan believes the role of the course is to 

address this skills deficit in the industry and provide 

new industry personnel with the knowledge and 

skills necessary to hit the ground running, or to 

answer some of the questions raised after a couple of 

years working in the industry. 

Brendan will be based in Goondiwindi and will 

continue his work in the field, adding value to the 

course and being able to answer real questions being 

faced in the field. 

For information on the cotton production subjects 

Brendan can be contacted at bgriffi2@une.edu.au 

The Cotton Production Course: 

Undergraduate and Post-Graduate 

Courses in Cotton Production 


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environment & 

education 



New technology improves 

cotton health and safety 

Research by the Australian Centre for 

Agricultural Health and Safety has highlighted 

the overwhelming positive health and 

safety benefits which have flowed from the introduction 

of a range of new technologies in the Australian 

cotton industry over the past 30 years. 

The study, by Lyn Fragar and John Temperley, 

concentrated on the impact of biotechnology on cotton 

industry OH&S, but also identified a number of 

other technology changes which have had beneficial 

effects. 

Key positive safety impacts have been associated 

with changes in: 

• Vehicle and on-farm traffic systems; 

• Irrigation systems; 

• Cultivation technology; 

• Pesticides and pesticide application technology; 

• Harvest technology; 

• GM technology; 

• Adoption of OHS management systems; and, 

• Government regulation. 

The study was hampered by the lack of comprehensive 

long term records of cotton farm work-related 

injury and ill-health. But some major improvements 

in safety were identified. 

The review has demonstrated a high degree of 

interdependency between technologies, producing 

higher levels of positive impact than would have 

been effected by each alone. For example, the clear 

insecticide reduction advantage of Bollgard has been 

greatly enhanced by parallel introduction of more 

benign pest-specific chemicals which don’t adversely 

affect beneficial organisms. 

The introduction of Roundup Ready cotton has 

directly reduced cotton chipping work that is physically 

risky, and its impact on safety has also been 

enhanced by the changes made in ground preparation 

and spray application technology. 

Table 1: Number of presentations 

to Emergency Departments of 

persons injured on cotton farms to 

three NSW hospitals, November 

1990 to October 1991 

Work context 

Number 

injured 

% 

Cultivating 2 3.5 

Irrigating 3 5.3 

Chipping 4 7.0 

Picking 5 8.8 

Carting 3 5.3 

Machinery/equipment 

maintenance 

20 35.1 

Building maintenance 2 3.5 

Fencing 1 1.8 

Driving/riding vehicle 4 7.0 

Work related- not specified 

7 12.3 

Leisure 4 7.0 

Total 57 100.0 

Early information 

A profile of persons injured while on cotton farms 

who presented to hospitals of Narrabri, Moree and 

Wee Waa for a one year period November 1990 to 

October 1991 showed that most injury occurred in 

the work context of machinery or equipment maintenance 

(Table 1). 

Workshop equipment was associated with more 

than 20 per cent of injuries. It is also worth noting 

that only one case was related to farm chemicals. 

Although pesticides poisoning cases were not 

commonly reported in this and other studies, there 

was concern about exposure of cotton chippers to 

pesticides following the finding of lower than normal 

blood cholinesterase levels in a small group of Moree 

cotton chippers in the 1990–91 season. (Blood cholinesterase 

levels decline with exposure to organophosphate 

insecticides.) 

A follow-up study of pesticide exposure in cotton 

chippers in the Gwydir Valley was undertaken 

the following year and it found a six per cent decline 

from baseline levels – a drop which was highly statistically 

significant. A number of chippers’ results 

dropped by more than 30 per cent, which was considered 

to be of medical importance, although they 

did not report symptoms of toxicity. 

Other symptoms reported by chippers included 

sunburn, skin rashes on forearms and lower legs, cuts 

and abrasions from plants and weeds. In addition, 

significant levels of endosulfan and profenofos were 

recovered from clothing worn by chippers. 

Key improvements to OH&S on 

cotton farms 

Vehicle and on-farm traffic systems 

The more recent availability of dual-cab fourwheel 

drive vehicles has provided much safer options 

for all. 

These improvements have been complemented by 

widening and improvement of laneways and traffic 

systems that occurred with the farm redesigns needed 

to accommodate eight metre and 12 metre rigs. 

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) were introduced and 

widely used during the late 1980s, and have been 

demonstrated to pose risk of serious injury and death 

across Australian farms, particularly as they provide 

no protection for operators in the event of an ATV 


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environment & 

education 



roll-over. More recently, cotton growers have reported 

switching to alternative transport of workers 

involved in field checking, supervision and irrigating. 

Most cotton farms implement on-farm trafficsafety 

rules, with increased attention to training, 

speed limits, signage, helmet wearing and no drinking. 

Irrigation systems 

Irrigation activity in the past has been associated 

with serious injury and death associated with 

unguarded pumps, as well as non-life-threatening 

manual handling injury associated with picking up 

and throwing syphons. Improved OHS management 

in recent years has seen these risks addressed in a 

number of ways on cotton farms. 

Pump sites are now more routinely caged and 

guarded, although not universally. 

Cotton producers have made differing modifications 

to irrigation systems that have improved safety. 

Examples include switching to smaller siphons on a 

permanent layout. Or replacing channel stops made 

from tarps and star pickets with safer, more stable 

metal structures. 

The introduction of telemetry for monitoring 

pumps, gates, storages and channel water height has 

significantly reduced the need for in-field activity. 

Cultivation technology 

Early tractors were small, had no roll-over protection 

for the operator, and lacked the comforts associated 

with modern tractors that have air-conditioned 

cabins, improved seating and ergonomically designed 

features for the operator. 

There have been marked improvements in the 

ergonomic design of controls, seating noise levels 

and air-conditioning in subsequent design of new 

tractors, resulting in improved operator comfort. 

But some of the greatest improvements have 

come from the increasing horse power and hydraulic 

capacity of tractors. In 1978 the common row-crop 

configuration was six rows; by 1982 eight row configurations 

were common; and by 2005 many were 

12 rows. With this came increased efficiency. The 

increased hydraulic capacity allowed for more than 

one operation to be carried out – lift, depth control 

and powering of spray pumps, resulting in a reduction 

in the number of people employed, effectively 

eliminating a high proportion of hazardous work 

associated with tractor operation. 

The advent of Global Positioning System (GPS) 

has further enhanced these improvements. A further 

important development was the introduction of 

‘quick-hitch’ systems for hooking up trailing cultivation, 

seeding and spray equipment. This meant fewer 

hand and finger injuries. 

There have been significant safety advances in a 

number of key implements used in cotton production. 

For example, slashers now have guards. A major 

improvement was the introduction of Orthman 

cultivators which eliminated clamps and wedges used 

to secure knives, rolling cultivators and sweeps to the 

tool-bar and reduced hand injuries. 

Pesticides and pesticides application 

technology 

The dependence of the cotton industry on pesticides 

for control of pests through most of its history 

has been associated with health and safety impacts 

on workers and on local communities and this has 

required significant investment by the industry, by 

governments, and by farmers and communities to 

control those risks. 

During the 1980s, researchers turned their attention 

to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and these 

approaches were integrated to varying degrees into 

agronomic systems and advice. 

Introduction of less toxic and target-specific 

insecticides in recent years has improved pest control 

and reduced the numbers of sprays. Application rates 

on a total grams of active ingredient per hectare basis 

was very high in the late 1990s and early 2000s for 

conventional cotton, associated with high pest loads 

in those years. 

The reduction in number of pesticide sprays as a 

result of more effective regimes, and use of less toxic 

chemicals has contributed to the very low numbers 

of pesticide-related human poisoning events in the 

industry since the early 1990s. 

There have also been significant developments in 

pesticides handling systems. In the early 1990s the 

move from smaller containers to shuttles and minibulk 

containers associated with hoists for the backs 

of utilities led to improved ease of handling and 

reduced risk of manual handling injury. Improved 

handling systems have reduced splash and dust exposure. 



Early aerial spraying of pesticides was associated 

with poorly controlled exposure risk for operators 

and bystanders. Operation Spraysafe was initiated 

in early 1985 by the Aerial Agricultural Association 

of Australia. This program markedly improved protection 

from pesticide exposure safety for operators 

and for field markers and bystanders to cotton fields 

being sprayed, along with improvements in airstrip, 

mixing and loading facilities, including quick attachments/ 

lock on Camlock fittings. 

The Cotton BMP program, while focussing on 

positive environmental outcomes, has also played a 

key role in improving safety of workers and bystanders 

to spraying operations. 

Cotton harvest technology 

The cotton harvest process has been associated 

with a wide range of risks to human health. In the 

past, injury was often due to being caught up in 

machinery, associated with earlier poorly designed 

mechanical systems. But injury risk was also high 

as a result of high traffic at the interfaces of picking, 

module building and carting of harvested cotton. 

Before the mid 1980s cotton picking was undertaken 

using single then 2-row pickers. Operators 

typically worked up to 28 days without a break or 

a weekend off. One weekend off per month was the 

norm during picking in the late 1970s. Picking crews 

worked on average three hours per day longer than 

today. 

In 1986-87 the industry moved to 4-row pickers. 

This more than doubled the acres harvested per 

person per day and resulted in reduced fatigue. 1996 

saw the introduction of on-board greasing systems 

(central and self-greasing heads) in new pickers, 

reducing the risks associated with manual in-field 

maintenance and greasing. 

A few years later new pickers were designed with 

side-dumping delivery systems into in-field bollbuggies. 

New round bale pickers have the potential to further 

enhance safety by eliminating module builders, 

boll buggies, chain lifts and infield loaders. 

The introduction of automated module builders 

in 2002 reduced the number of people in picking 

crews, with subsequent reduction in total OHS risk. 

Round bale pickers should further reduce the injury 

risk. 

GM technology 

There has been a reduction in pesticide use in Bt 

cotton crops compared to conventional cotton. 

A study by Oliver Knox in 2006 demonstrated 

the environmental benefits of Bt cotton over conventional 

cotton using the environmental impact 

quotient (EIQ). Results of the EI evaluation indicate 

that, due to changes in insecticidal choice and reduction 

in usage, there was a reduction of over 64 per 

cent in EI from growing Bt cotton compared with 

conventional non-GM cotton in Australia. 

Surveys have shown that cotton growers increasingly 

consider lifestyle benefits and improvements to 

worker safety as important reasons to plant Bollgard. 

Many more growers now plant GM cotton for 

lifestyle and OH&S benefits rather than improvements 

in pest management, environment issues or 

economic and yield benefits. 

The reduction in overall insecticide use associated 

with GM cotton represents a clear health and 

safety benefit as the potential exposure to pesticides 

by workers and bystanders is significantly reduced. 

There has also been a major reduction in the toxicity 

of the pesticides which are being used in the GM 

cotton crops. 

So our analysis demonstrates that, not only has 

Bollgard resulted in less total insecticide application 

rates, the proportion of more toxic chemicals used is 

reduced. 

Other impacts of safety associated 

with GM cotton 

While the effect of GM cotton on potential exposure 

to pesticides by workers and bystanders is of 

clear benefit, there are significant positive impacts on 

other safety hazards. These include: 

• Reduced vehicle movement associated with 

reduced in-field activity; 

• Reduced chipping associated with Roundup 

Ready varieties; 

• Reduced need for aircraft guidance from personnel 

on the ground; 

• Reduced tractor and machinery operation associated 

with RR cotton; 

• Reduction in the risk of aircraft death and injury 

associated with fewer sprays; 

• Reduced exposure to fuel hazards – aviation, vehicle 

and machinery, associated with fewer sprays 

and less vehicle movement; 

• Reduced exposure of outdoor in-field workers to 

a range of risks; 

• Reduced stress associated with night work associated 

with reduced in-field ground preparation 

and RR cotton; and, 

• Reduced management stress and anxiety about 

spray failures and potential insect resistance. 

In summary 

The incidence of pesticides poisoning associated 

with cotton production prior to the introduction of 

GM cotton was low primarily because of high community 

standards and the strict regulatory arrangements 

within which cotton is produced in Australia, 

along with the attention given to reducing exposure 

risk by the cotton industry. 

This was is in contrast to such countries as China, 

India and South Africa, where introduction of Bt 

cotton has been demonstrated to reduce the actual 

incidence of ill health associated with exposure to 

pesticides. Notwithstanding this position, the introduction 

of GM cotton has been demonstrated to be 

associated with a significant health and safety benefit 

relating to reduced exposure to pesticides, and reduction 

in worker exposures to mechanical and traffic 

hazards of previously high risk. 


environment & 

education 





Schools servicing 

Name of school Address Phone Fax Enrolment contact 

CO-ED SCHOOLS 

Barker College 91 Pacific Highway HORNSBY NSW 2077 02 9847 9399 02 9476 8210 Elizabeth Harrison 

Caulfield Grammar School 217 Glen Eira Rd ST KILDA Vic 3182 03 9524 6300 03 9524 6299 Kay Mitchell 

Dalby Christian College Mary St DALBY Qld 4405 07 4672 4222 07 4672 4250 Melissa Burt 

Downlands College PO Box 250 TOOWOOMBA Qld 4350 07 4690 9500 07 4690 9610 Debbie Carpenter 

Gippsland Grammar PO Box 465 SALE Vic 3853 03 5143 6388 03 5143 6347 Marji Craven 

Hurlstone Agricultural High School Roy Watts Road GLENFIELD NSW 2167 02 9829 9222 02 9829 2026 Kerrie Wratten 

Macquarie Anglican Grammar School 11 Currawong Rd DUBBO NSW 2830 02 6882 1668 02 6882 6468 Susan Curtin 

Monivae College 133 Ballarat Road HAMILTON Vic 3300 03 5551 1200 03 5571 1074 Kaylene Mailer 

Red Bend Catholic College PO Box 312 FORBES NSW 2871 02 6852 2000 02 6852 3768 Toni Lennane 

The Scots PGC College 60 Oxenham St WARWICK Qld 4370 07 4666 9811 07 4666 9812 Wendy Persse 

The Scots School 4172 O’Connell Rd BATHURST NSW 2795 02 6331 2766 02 6333 4795 Megan Johnstone 

Toowoomba Prepatory School 2 Campbell St TOOWOOMBA Qld 4350 07 4639 8111 07 4639 8100 Jacintha Essa 

GIRLS SCHOOLS 

Canberrs Girls Grammar School Melbourne Ave DEAKIN ACT 2600 02 6202 6400 02 6273 2554 Barbara Connolly 

Clayfield College PO Box 387 CLAYFIELD Qld 4011 07 3262 0262 07 3262 0225 Ross Thomson 

MacKillop College PO Box 691 BATHURST NSW 2795 02 6338 2200 02 6332 3365 Kathy Ashley 

St Hildas School PO Box 290 SOUTHPORT 07 5577 7232 07 5532 4056 Louise Lewis 

St Ursulas College Toowoomba PO Box 2284 TOOWOOMBA Qld 4350 07 4632 7611 07 4638 5634 Kathy Sperling 

The Glennie School 246A Herries St TOOWOOMBA Qld 4350 07 4688 8888 07 4688 8848 Annie Muller 

BOYS SCHOOLS 

Brisbane Grammar School Gregory Terrace BRISBANE Qld 4000 07 3834 5212 07 3834 5202 Catherine McMahon 

Cranbrook School 5 Victoria Road BELLEVUE HILL NSW 2023 02 9327 6864 02 9327 7619 Michael Atkins 

Marist College Ashgrove PO Box 82 ASHGROVE Qld 4060 07 3858 4586 07 3858 4563 Kim Taylor 

Shore School PO Box 1221 NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2059 02 9923 2277 02 9922 2689 Mahdi Deaton 

St Brennans College 139 Adelaide Park Rd YEPPOON Qld 4703 07 4939 9300 07 4939 5273 Kylie Hedges 

St Josephs College, Hunters Hill Locked Bag 5009 GLADESVILLE NSW 1675 02 9816 0900 02 9879 6804 Stephen Litherland 

St Josephs Nudgee College 2199 Sandgate Rd BOONDALL Qld 4034 07 3865 0555 07 3865 0500 Enrolments office 

St Stanislaus College PO Box 97 BATHURST NSW 2795 02 6331 4177 02 6331 4481 Cheryl Gewin 

The Kings School Pennant Hills Rd NORTH PARRAMATTA NSW 2151 02 9683 8405 02 9683 8415 Bruce Hilliard 

Toowoomba Grammar School PO Box 2900 TOOWOOMBA Qld 4350 07 4687 2547 07 4687 2582 Ben Foley 

Xavier College Barkers Rd KEW Vic 3101 03 9854 5411 03 9854 5328 Di Odgers 

*Denotes sibling discounts available 



the cotton industry 

Religious affiliation 

Day/ Boarding 

enrolments 

Boarding years/ 

Courses 

Tuition fees Boarding fees Website 

Anglican 1930/50 10–12 From $13,480* From $22,820* + tuition fees www.barker.nsw.edu.au 

Anglican 1300/95 9–12 $21,075* (Year 9 /2011) $21,075* www.caulfieldgs.vic.edu.au 

Non-denominational 208/7 8–12 $2495–$4295* $10,750 (full) $8750 (5 days)* www.dalbycc.qld.edu.au 

Catholic Independent 560/240 8–12 $7700–$8300* $14,800–$15,200* www.downlands.qld.edu.au 

Anglican 1030/56 7–12 $10,800* (Year 7 pa) $14,260* pa www.gippslandgs.vic.edu.au 

— 980/120 7–12 $8548 Less than $900 www.hurlstone.com.au 

Anglican 380/0 — —* —* www.mags.nsw.edu.au 

Catholic, MSC 573/65 7–12 $3800–$4655* 

$13,250 (full) 

$11,925 (5 days)* 

www.monivae.com 

Catholic 570/160 7–12 $2960–$3310* $9640–$13,285* www.redbendcc.nsw.edu.au 

Non-denominational 300/180 6–12 $3272–$9765* $15,021* www.scotspgc.qld.edu.au 

Presbyterian 210/100 6–12 $11,812–$15,900* $15,500* pa www.scots.nsw.edu.au 

Anglican — 1–7 $6852–$9160* pa $17,800* pa www.tmbaprep.qld.edu.au 

Anglican 1500/90 7–12 $10,990–$17,350 (fees 2011) $20,810 (fees 2011) www.cggs.act.edu.au 

Uniting and Presbyterian Churches 840/110 5–12 $12,960* $17,242* www.clayfield.qld.edu.au 

Catholic 576/60 7–12 Call college for details $14,500* www.mkc.nsw.edu.au 

Anglican 1250/170 6–12 

$14,600–$15,200* 

(fees 2011 Yrs 6–12) 

$16,200–$16,700* 

(fees 2011 Yrs 11–12) 

www.sthildas.qld.edu.au 

Catholic 780/100 8–12 $6160* $14,980* www.st-ursula.qld.edu.au 

Anglican 580/200 7–12 $4500–$10,100* (2011) $14,360–$15,831* (2011) www.glennie.qld.edu.au 

Non-denominational 1300/100 7–12 $15,195–$18,270* $14,355–$17,955* www.brisbanegrammar.com 

Anglican tradition 750/100 7–12 $25,000* On application* www.cranbrook.nsw.edu.au 

Catholic 1283/226 7–12 See website* See website* www.marash.qld.edu.au 

Anglican 1000/200 6–12 $20,780* (Yr 7) $20,860* (Yr 7) www.shore.nsw.edu.au 

Catholic 360/290 8–12 $4220* $12,160* www.stbrendans.qld.edu.au 

Catholic 377/606 7–12 $32,670* (inclusive) www.joeys.org 

Catholic 1450/300 6–12 $9664–$11,368* (2011) $13,828–$17,044* (2011) www.nudgee.com 

Catholic 420/187 7–12 From $3878* pa $15,206* pa www.stannies.com 

Anglican 920/380 5–12 $21,680* $15,252* www.kings.edu.au 

Nil 800/300 7–12 $10,992–$11,196* $15,584–$15,976* www.twgs.qld.edu.au 

Catholic 2014/76 9–12 $17,724–$19,448 $16,266 www.xavier.vic.edu.au 




environment & 

education 



Sustainable cotton 

landscapes 

Natural enemies, or 

The Australian cotton industry 

beneficials, suppress 

populations of a wide Development and Delivery Team 

range of pest insects, reducing recently published a ute guide to 

the potential for pest species to Pests and Beneficials in Australian 

reach outbreak levels in field 

Cotton Landscapes. The guide 

crops. Conserving and enhancing 

populations of beneficials is includes an important section on 

an important component of any ways to make Australian cotton 

integrated pest management 

landscapes sustainable. 

(IPM) strategy. 

Perennial native vegetation is an important alternate 

habitat for beneficials. The stability of perennial 

vegetation provides resources otherwise not found in 

cropping fields, especially when in fallow. While pest 

species can be found in native vegetation, most do 

not use native hosts, so native vegetation has a low 

risk of increasing pest numbers. 

Beneficial are highly mobile and must be able to 

move between suitable habitats through the landscape 

to be effective. 

There are a range of beneficial insects described 

in this guide that help control insect pests. In addition, 

birds, bats, frogs, lizards and some small mammals 

also prey on insect pests, further adding to the 

opportunity to reduce the overall 

need to spray insecticides. 

Managing native vegetation 

also provides other benefits 

including carbon sequestration, 

erosion control, nutrient 

cycling, waste assimilation, 

water filtration and climate 

regulation. 

The following principles can 

be used to guide native vegetation 

management to maximise its value for natural 

pest control. 

Principle 1: 

Think beyond the crop 

To improve the abundance and diversity of beneficials 

consider native vegetation as part of pest 

management, in particular the health of individual 

stands of native vegetation and how they are placed 

within your landscape. 

• Beneficials need habitat to persist during periods 

of fallow, drought and insecticide spraying. 

• Native vegetation in the landscape can provide 

this habitat. 

ST HILDA’S SCHOOL 

2013 SCHOLARSHIPS 

St Hilda’s School, an Anglican Diocesan Day and Boarding School 

for Girls, is committed to innovative learning programs and 

excellence in pastoral care. Boarding is offered in Years 6 to 12. 

2013 Scholarships 

Academic, Music and Excellence Scholarships providing part 

remission of fees are offered to students entering in 2013. 

A prestigious Science Scholarship offering full remission of 

tuition fees will be awarded to a student entering Year 11. 

All applicants are required to sit a scholarship test (and Music 

audition if applicable) on Friday 9 March 2012. Test centres can 

be arranged for country students. 

Online applications only at www.sthildas.qld.edu.au 

Applications close Saturday 3 March 2012. 

Boarding Bursaries also are available for new students 

entering the School in 2013. 

Further information, Director of Admissions 

☎ 07 5577 7232 

✉ enrolments@sthildas.qld.edu.au 

CHEMICAL ACCREDITATION & 

ACDC COURSES 

Dalby 31/10, St George 1/11, Dirranbandi 4/11, Toowoomba 19/9, 

Mungindi 4/11, Goondiwindi 8/11, Moree 10/11, Narrabri 25/11, 

Wee Waa 25/11, Gunnedah 24/11, Warren 17/11, Narromine 16/11, 

Trangie 17/11, Biloela 24/10, Theodore 26/10, Emerald 25/10, 

Moura 26/10 

If dates/location do not suit please advise of your 

requirements to enable future planning 

Accreditation is valid for 5 years – New & Update courses available 

Supervision Skills COURSE 

Moree/Goondiwindi 8–9/11 

Formal management training for managers, supervisors, 

leading hands or foremen 

Key Topics: 

Time Management, Delegation, Establishing people as “People 

Managers”, Developing “results-oriented” employees, How to develop 

team work, Coaching & Counselling, Disciplining, Praising, Conducting 

Staff Appraisals, Occupational Health & Safety, Setting Objectives 

In-house courses can be arranged 

* Please call for updated information on course schedules * 

* Courses can be arranged elsewhere if required * 

A Top Queensland Performer in NAPLAN and OP 1-15 Results 

SHGS1329 

Inquiries and Bookings: 

Geoff Paton 1800 626 681 

Countryco Training Pty Ltd 



• Patches of native vegetation need to be linked to 

each other and cropping areas to assist movement 

of beneficials across the landscape. 

• Consider a range of scales (eg individual patches 

of vegetation), crops and entire landscapes. How 

well are these areas connected and how healthy is 

the native vegetation? 

Management actions 

• Use planning tools such as myBMP to develop a 

map of native vegetation surrounding cropping 

areas on the farm and in the local area. 

Beneficials like this spined predatory shield bug, feed on 

native plant feeding insects to sustain their population 

in areas of native vegetation. (Photo: S. Gamez) 

• Assess the size, distance from crops and health of 

native vegetation on the farm and local area. 

• Identify areas between or around native vegetation 

which could be planted with trees, shrubs 

and grasses or protected to allow natural regrowth 

to occur. 

• Include areas such as fence line tree plantings, 

wind breaks, riparian corridors, open grasslands 

and roadside verges as they all provide habitat for 

beneficials. 

• Plan plantings of crops to maximise natural pest 

control value. Will this crop require intensive pest 

control and what implications does this have for 

other crops and native vegetation? 

• Contact your local Natural Resource 

Management Body, Catchment Management 

Authority or Landcare Office. There may be 

incentive funds to assist you. 

Principle 2: 

Encourage beneficials with diverse, 

messy vegetation 

Vegetation which is diverse and may appear to 

us to be messy, provides a suite of resources for beneficials 

as different organisms have different habitat 

preferences and food requirements. 

• Native vegetation with many layers, from trees 

and shrubs through to grasses and small herbs 

encourages a diversity of beneficials. 

• Beneficials use a range of vegetation types from 

woodlands through to open grasslands and pastures. 


environment & 

education 






environment & 

education 



Eucalyptus and other species in the Myrtaceae family 

(eg bottlebrushes, tea trees, etc) provide excellent habitat 

and food resources for a range of beneficial bugs, as well 

as birds and bats. (Photo: S. Vogel) 

• Logs, rocks, dead standing trees and litter provide 

important habitat. 

• Prolifically flowering plants attract many beneficials 

as well as birds and small mammals. 


• Maintain and protect as many layers in areas of 

existing native vegetation as possible, by controlling 

weeds and feral animals such as pigs. 

• Leave logs, rocks, dead trees and litter as they provide 

habitat too. 

• Reduce where possible grazing impacts as, if not 

managed well, these can simplify vegetation by 

preventing establishment of new plants. 

• Incorporate areas of native grassland. Consider 

introducing a native perennial pasture buffer 

around crop margins as a refuge for beneficials. 

• Revegetate areas of your property with a mix of 

native plants especially those that flower prolifically 

such as eucalypts and tea trees or salt bushes. 

• Contact your local state forestry nurseries, catchment 

management authorities or natural resource 

bodies to find out what species of plants are 

suitable for your area and where you can source 

them. 

Principle 3: 

Do not disturb, 

conserve your beneficials 

Conserving a good population of beneficial 

insects starts with making well informed and rational 

pest management decisions using the following considerations; 

• Pesticide use can reduce beneficial abundance. 

• Bollgard II ® reduces the need to spray. 

• Pesticide drift onto areas of native vegetation may 

deplete beneficial numbers there as well. 

• Effective pest and plant damage sampling and use 

of pest thresholds will ensure pesticides are only 

applied when needed. 

• Pesticides vary in their effect on beneficials. 

Monitoring crop health and pest damage. Pest numbers 

alone do not give an accurate indication of the need for 

pest control. (Photo: M. Dillon) 


• Regularly sample and correctly identify pest and 

beneficial populations. Observe beneficial activity 

(eg thrips in mite colonies, parasitised aphid 

mummies). 

• Regularly sample plant damage and observe plant 

health. 

• Use industry pest and damage thresholds. 

• If control is required use the most selective effective 

pesticide. This will leave beneficials to help 

control any survivors or other pests. Often a more 

expensive selective spray will save money in the 

longer term by reducing the risk of inducing pest 

outbreaks. 

• Seed treatments are generally more selective than 

foliar sprays for control of seedling pests. 

• Avoid spray drift into neighbouring crops and 

areas of native vegetation. 

• Consider collating data on gross margins and 

yields and benchmarking against other farms and 

farming systems to determine the economic benefits 

of beneficials. 

Sampling techniques, industry pest and plant damage 

thresholds and insecticide impact tables are updated 

annually in the Cotton Pest Management Guide. 

Principle 4: 

Consider birds and bats as 

beneficials 

In addition to the beneficial arthropods (insects, 

spiders and mites) that live in cotton growing areas, 

birds and bats also inhabit these areas and make a 

significant contribution to pest management. These 

animals live in areas of native vegetation, but forage 

for insects within and over the canopy of crops. 

• Birds and bats can disturb moth feeding and mating 

activities and can consume up to 50 per cent 

of pests in a crop. 

• Birds and bats need suitable habitat so that they 

can persist in the landscape and contribute to pest 

management. 

• Big old trees with hollows provide habitat for a 

range of native animals including bats and birds. 


PERFECT IF YOUR GENES START TO FADE. 

New cotton varieties with inbuilt pest control genes have changed cotton protection. 

But when a crop requires a chemical insecticide, look no further than DuPont Steward ® 

EC. It is highly effective against Heliothis and has the added benefit of controlling Mirids, 

while remaining gentle on beneficial insects. Furthermore, Steward ® EC is simpler to pour, mix 

and spray. 

New Steward ® 

EC has no odour, has good residual activity, is rainfast after 2 hours, is UV 

stable and offers reduced buffer zones. 

DuPont 

Steward ® EC 

insecticide 

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environment & 

education 



Cotton grower James Thomas has built bat boxes to 

encourage insectivorous bats onto his farm and integrate 

them into pest management strategies at ‘Bloomfield’, St 

George. (Photo: G Roth) 


• Go to the Cotton CRC’s ‘Natures Workforce Fact 

Series Issue 5’ to assist in determining what constitutes 

healthy native vegetation. 

• Read the ‘Birds on Cotton Farms’ guide to learn 

more about the birds occupying the farm and 

what their habitat preferences are. 

• Protect big old trees with hollows, dead and living. 

• Install bat boxes where old trees with hollows are 

limited. 

• Revegetate or restore areas of native vegetation on 

farm to encourage birds and bats. 

• Consider the effects of spraying at dawn and dusk 

when birds and bats are most active and vulnerable. 

Principle 5: 

Control weeds on the farm 

Many cotton pests use weeds as an alternative 

host prior to moving into crops. Controlling weeds 

on farm helps to minimise pest species numbers. 

• Weeds on the farm and in areas of native vegetation 

can provide a host for pests and diseases. 

• Cotton volunteers and ratoons are a host for cotton 

pests and diseases. 

• Maintaining healthy native vegetation helps to 

reduce weed recruitment. 

• Overgrazing areas of native vegetation can 

encourage the spread of weeds by removing competition 

from native species. 


• Be on the lookout for new weed populations and 

control them before they can spread. 

• Map and monitor weeds so that the effectiveness 

of your weed management program can be monitored 

and modified. 

• Control cotton volunteers and ratoons, preferably 

before cotton crops emerge. 

• Work with neighbours to control weeds. 

Grazing weeds while they are flowering can reduce seed 

set and hence their populations, however avoid grazing 

during periods of native vegetation flowering and seed set. 

(Photo: M. Hobson) 

• Be careful spraying herbicide in native vegetation 

as some species are sensitive to herbicides. Other 

weed control options such as spot spraying or 

chipping may be better. 

• Follow up control of weeds each year to minimise 

re-establishment. 

• Careful use of grazing methods, such as time control 

grazing, can minimise soil disturbance and 

protect native understorey species during establishment. 

• Practice ‘come clean go clean’ guidelines and minimise 

vehicle movement in native vegetation to 

reduce spread of weed seeds, pests and diseases. 

• Contact your local weeds officer for advice on 

control of weeds in sensitive areas such as along 

waterways, creeks and rivers. 

Principle 6: 

Consider water availability 

The availability of water in the landscape significantly 

impacts the number of beneficials present to 

assist in pest management. 

• Native vegetation near water sources such as rivers, 

creeks, water storages or channels have much 

higher populations of beneficials than vegetation 

that is not near water. 

• Many beneficials need water to survive. 


• Restore and or maintain riparian vegetation along 

creeks and streams. 

• Consider positioning revegetation areas near artificial 

water sources (eg channels, storages, head 

and tail ditches) or table drains. 

• Allow floodwaters to inundate areas of native vegetation, 

such as river red gum, coolibah or black 

box woodland to maintain vegetation condition. 

• Be extra considerate of beneficials during a dry 

spell. Beneficials need to drink water or their 

populations will decline. 

• Keep open water sources clean and healthy. 

Further reading: Natural resource publications and 

on-line bird and weed ID tools can be referenced 

at www.cottoncrc.org.au 



RESEARCH & EXTENSION 


End of an era of cotton research............................. 96 

New directors appointed to CRDC......................... 98 

Rotating towards carbon-neutral cotton crops........ 99 

Cotton industry development and delivery team.. 100 

Cotton Catchment Communities CRC 

research projects............................................... 102 

CRDC research projects summary........................ 106 

95

• R E S E A R C H a n d E X T E N S I O N B Y I N C I T E C P I V O T • R E S E A R C H a n d E X T E N S I O N B Y I N C I T E C P I V O T • R E S E A R C H a n d E X T E N S I O N B Y I N C I T E C P I V O T • 


research & 

extension 



End of an era of 

cotton research 

The announcement that the Cotton Catchment 

Communities CRC was unsuccessful in its bid 

for a further five years of funding brings to 

an end 19 years of collaborative research under the 

CRC program. 

Over this time the Cotton Catchment 

Communities CRC has brought together government 

agencies, universities, farmers, catchment bodies, 

local government and private businesses to invest 

over $320 million in research and development since 

1994. 

This concerted effort has resulted in at least $2 

billion worth of value for the cotton industry, its 

catchments and communities over the 19 years of 

the CRC’s operation. 

Phil Armytage, CEO of the Cotton Catchment 

Communities CRC, said there was great disappointment 

across the industry and associated partners and 

communities that the request for funds to extend the 

operations of the Cooperative Research Centre was 

unsuccessful. 

“Regional Australia is experiencing rapid and significant 

social, economic and environmental change 

and a lot of this change is happening in cotton 

regions. 

“These regions are struggling to keep pace with 

the challenges of declining population, the resources 

boom, drought recovery, new agricultural technologies 

and climate variability,” said Phil. 

Professional Recruiters 

of Agribusiness 

Professionals 

SYDNEY 

Lucy Purcell Steve Badgery 

Tim Vidler Suzie Ward 

Al Kellaway 

02 9223 9944 

BRISBANE 

Dominica Carolan – 07 3832 9866 

MELBOURNE 

David Reid – 03 9866 6133 

Agribusiness Recruiters – 

LEADING THE WAY SINCE 1979 

www.agri.com.au 

U78496 

Phil Armytage. 

The additional funding being sought in the 

extension bid was aimed at finding science based 

strategies to deal with these issues through its proposed 

Regional People, Water, Carbon and Energy, 

and Green GM Farming programs. 

“These are important issues with our bid application 

gaining support from some 98 different partners 

who collectively committed over $87 million of cash 

and in-kind support to undertake this work over the 

next five years,” said Phil. 

Partners included research providers, farmers, 

industry groups, private businesses, catchment bodies, 

community groups, state agencies, regional 

development bodies and local government. 

“While there has been significant disappointment 

that the Cotton Catchment Communities CRC was 

unsuccessful the industry does appreciate the funding 

it has received over 19 years and the significant 

difference it has made to our regions” 

“The CRC program, founded on collaboration, 

is an excellent example of how science can solve 

problems. 

“Yet we believe the whole CRC program needs 

higher priority in science investment strategies to 

ensure Australian research and development has a 

robust funding base,” concluded Phil. 

The Cotton Catchment Communities CRC was 

one of three agricultural based CRC’s to miss out on 

a five year extension. It will formally close its doors 

on June 30, 2012. 


PRECISION STARTS WITH



research & 

extension 

New directors appointed 

to CRDC 



Five new directors have been appointed to 

the Cotton Research and Development 

Corporation, while one director has been reappointed 

for a second term. 

The appointees are: 

Dr Mary Corbett 

Mary is the managing director of Australian 

Business Class, which specialises in providing senior 

executive training in the areas of leadership, resilience, 

communication, change and strategic and 

operational planning. She has extensive experience 

in the areas of research and development, notably as 

a director of the Sugar Research and Development 

Corporation and most recently, the Cotton Research 

and Development Corporation. 

Richard Haire 

Richard is the Australian and New Zealand 

managing director and regional head of Olam 

International, which is one of the world’s largest cotton 

companies and the largest private ginner in the 

world. He was the Chief Executive of Queensland 

Cotton Corporation Pty Ltd and has been director 

of several organisations including Sunwater Limited, 

the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable 

Cotton Production and the CSIRO Advisory Board 

for Field Crops. 

Hamish Millar 

Hamish farms 200 hectares of irrigated land in 

Queensland. He worked in the United States as 

a cotton classer and trader and with Queensland 

Cotton Corporation in marketing. Hamish 

has extensive experience in several cotton industry 

organisations including Chair of the Australian 

Cotton Growers Research Association, director of 

the Australian Cotton Industry Council and Chair 

of Cotton Industry Development in Northern 

Australia. In 2008, he won the Australian Cotton 

Industry Achiever of the Year Award. 

Hamish Millar. 

Richard Haire. 

Dr Michael Robinson 

Michael is the CEO of FrOG Tech Pty Ltd, a private 

company specialising in geological reconstructions 

and interpretations across a range of sectors 

including oil and groundwater. Dr Robinson was 

the Executive Director of Land and Water Australia, 

Centre Director of the Primary Industries Climate 

Challenge and a member of the National Research 

and Development Framework Extension Working 

Group, a part of the subcommittee of the Primary 

Industries Standing Committee. 

Cleave Rogan 

Cleave has been farming and marketing cotton, 

grains and beef cattle for 30 years. He has been 

in an advisory role to the Cotton Research and 

Development Corporation working on research projects 

related to biosecurity, insects, weeds, diseases, 

cotton fibre processing and quality enhancement. 

Cleave was a director of Cotton Australia and has 

been an industry representative on various other 

cotton industry associations and research advisory 

committees. 

Dr Lorraine Stephenson 

Lorraine is the Principal Consultant for Lighting 

Consulting Services, an independent energy and 

climate change strategic advisory business. Lorraine 

has over 30 years experience in the energy sector and 

has a strategic focus on creating opportunities for 

Australian businesses and governments to respond 

to climate change challenges. She is the clean energy 

advisor to the Queensland Government; a member 

of the Expert Panel on Emissions Intensive 

Trade Exposed Industries; a research associate at the 

Australian National University’s Crawford School of 

Economics and Policy and a member of the NSW 

Climate Change Council. 



Rotating towards carbonneutral 

cotton crops 

Carbon sequestration is an important national 

issue for cropping in Australia. CSIRO’s and 

Cotton CRC’s Dr Ian Rochester is leading 

research that has identified opportunities for sequestering 

carbon in soil. 

The experiments compare numerous cottonbased 

crop rotation systems that include wheat and 

legumes (such as faba beans and vetch) that have 

improved soil nitrogen (N) status and reduced the 

need for N fertiliser. 

Ian found that soil organic carbon stocks measured 

in the surface 30 cm of soil increased in all the 

cropping systems examined over a period of 12 years. 

On average, soil organic carbon stocks increased 

by almost one tonne of CO 2 

equivalents (CO 2 

e) per 

hectare per year. In the best system, he found 1.4 

were sequestered. This amount of carbon sequestration 

accounts for much of the CO 2 

emissions generated 

from cotton farming practices, including tillage 

and nitrogen fertiliser use. 

Data also shows that the stocks of organic carbon 

in the 30–60 cm soil layer have also increased. 

These levels of carbon sequestration are a consequence 

of the crops grown, the fertile soil type, use 

of irrigation and conservative tillage practices. So the 

levels quoted here may not be achieved in other lessproductive 

cropping systems or on poorer soils. 

“The carbon sequestration process is beneficial in 

removing CO 2 

from the atmosphere while improving 

soil health by building soil carbon levels which 

promotes soil fertility”, said Ian. 

Improved management practices have helped 

achieve and maintain higher soil carbon stocks more 

effectively. These practices include: 

• Introduction of legume rotation crops, as they 

provide high nitrogen content and release carbon 

into the soil more quickly; 

• Adoption of reduced tillage practices with permanent 

ridges, as ploughing breaks down soil carbon 

storage; and, 

• Incorporation of all crop stubbles into the topsoil, 

instead of leaving them on the soil surface. 

This research is funded by the Cotton Catchment 

Communities CRC, an organisation established to 

ensure world’s best practice in cotton production, 

environment and catchment management. 

Philip Armytage, Cotton CRC CEO said these 

positive results demonstrate the importance of 

investment in on-going agricultural research not only 

for people in cotton communities, but the wider 

Australian community. 

Dr Ian Rochester with gas collection chambers. 


research & 

extension 



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NAME TITLE ORGANISATION LOCATION PHONE EMAIL 

Ken Flower 

General Manager Research 

Implementation and myBMP 

Cotton CRC, CRDC 

& CA 

Narrabri NSW 0457 811 627 kenneth.flower@csiro.au 

Farm Hygiene and Disease Lead 

Susan Maas Extension Officer DEEDI Emerald Qld 0409 499 691 Susan.Maas@dpi.qld.gov.au 

Soil and Plant Nutrition Lead 

Duncan Weir Extension Officer DEEDI Toowoomba Qld 0410 518 214 duncan.weir@deedi.qld.gov.au 

myBMP 

Jim Wark myBMP Business Manager CSD Toowoomba Qld 0427 050 832 jwark@csd.net.au 

Sandra 

Deutscher 

Experimental Scientist, 

myBMP Research Coordinator & 

Web Tools 

CSIRO, ACRI Narrabri NSW 02 6799 1589 Sandra.Deutscher@csiro.au 

Rebecca Rogan myBMP Service Officer Cotton Australia Toowoomba Qld 0418 775 726 rebecca@cotton.org.au 

Cotton Pest Management Lead 

Sally Ceeney Cotton CRC Warren NSW 0459 189 771 ms.ceeney@gmail.com 

New Grower Program Lead 

James Hill Cotton Australia Regional Cotton CRC Hay NSW 0408 892 317 Jh2solutions@bigpond.com 

Manager 

Cotton Weed Management Lead 

Ian Taylor Weed Management Lead CRDC and GRDC Narrabri NSW 0427 921 480 tayloredagservices@bigpond. 

com 

Farming Systems and Energy Efficiency 

Dallas King Farming Systems Lead Cotton CRC St George Qld 0427 635 621 Dallas.king.bac@bigpond.com 

Tracey Leven Program Manager, 

CRDC Narrabri NSW 0427 921 555 Tracey.leven@crdc.com.au 

Farming Systems Investment 

Education, Training and Communications Team 

Mark Hickman Training and Education Lead DEEDI Toowoomba Qld 0407 113 096 Mark.hickman@deedi.qld.gov.au 

Brendan Griffiths Post Graduate Course in Cotton UNE Armidale NSW bgriffi2@une.edu.au 

Production 

Loretta Clancy Software developer Web Tools, CSIRO 02 6799 1547 Loretta.Clancy@csiro.au 

Yvette 

Communications Manager Cotton CRC, ACRI Narrabri NSW 0438 992 454 Yvette.Cunningham@csiro.au 

Cunningham 

Janine Powell Research Economist I&I NSW, ACRI Narrabri NSW 02 6799 2469 Janine.Powell@industry.nsw. 

gov.au 

Dave Larsen 

Technology Resource Centre 

Coordinator 

I&I NSW, ACRI Narrabri NSW 0418 432 007 David.larsen@industry.nsw. 

gov.au 

Irrigated Farming Systems Team 

Graham Harris Water Use Efficiency Lead DEEDI Toowoomba Qld 0427 929 103 Graham.Harris@deedi.qld.gov.au 

Geoff McIntyre Principle Extension Officer, Qld 

Irrigated Farming Systems Lead 

DEEDI Dalby Qld 0419 667451 GeoffMcintyre@deedi.qld.gov.au 

Janelle 

Montgomery 

Water Use Efficiency Officer I&I NSW Moree NSW 02 6750 6302 janelle.montgomery@industry. 

nsw.gov.au 

Catchments 

Jane Mcfarlane Catchment Target Lead CMA Narrabri NSW 02 699 2417 jane.macfarlane@cottoncrc. 

org.au 

Peter Verwey 

Namoi Catchment Development 

Officer 

COTTON INDUSTRY 

Development and Delivery Team 

Cotton CRC and 

Namoi CMA 

Namoi NSW 0408 972 516 Peter.Verwey@csiro.au 

Sally Dickinson Regional Landcare Facilitator Cotton CRC Moree NSW 0458 548 430 sally.dickinson@gvia.org.au 

Communities 

Kate Schwager Community Officer Cotton CRC, ACRI Narrabri NSW 02 6799 2477 kate.schwager@cottoncrc.org.au 


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The Cotton Catchment Communities CRC started operation on July 1, 2005. 

It funds projects related to cotton production and the river catchments and 

communities in which the cotton industry operates. 

COTTON CATCHMENT COMMUNITIES 

CRC RESEARCH PROJECTS 

Project Title Researcher Organisation Phone 

The Farm Program 

Postgraduate: James Hereward Is the source of mirids in cotton Dr Paul De Barro CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 07 3214 2811 

derived from local dispersal or long distance migration? 

IPM for silver leaf whitefly Dr Lewis Wilson CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500 

Ecology of Helicoverpa punctigera Professor Peter Gregg University of New England 02 6799 1500 

Weed management strategies for farming systems with herbicide Dr Steve Walker Qld DEEDI 07 4639 8838 

tolerant cotton 

Cotton refuges within BMP Dr Mary Whithouse CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500 

Postgraduate: Baoqian Lu – Thresholds for Bt susceptible 

Dr Sharon Downes University of New England 02 6799 1500 

Helicoverpa survivors on Bollgard II 

Postgraduate: Christopher Carr Optimising the establishment, A/P Nick Reid University of New England 02 6773 2759 

persistance and impact of Trichogramma in NSW 

Postgraduate: Todd Green – Ecology of fleabane (Conyza spp.) Assoc.Prof.Brian Sindel University of New England 02 6773 3747 

Linking cotton-pathogen molecular interactions and black rot rot Dr Lily Pereg-Gerk University of New England 02 6773 2708 

management 

Postgraduate: Getachew Ali – Genetic factors involved in 

Dr Lily Pereg-Gerk University of New England 02 6773 2708 

pathogenicity of Thielaviopsis basicola towards cotton 

Management of mirids and stinkbugs in Bollgard II Dr Moazzem khan Qld DEEDI 07 4688 1310 

IPM in Bollgard II: Coping with changes in pests and climate Dr Lewis Wilson CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500 

Managing weeds and herbicides in a genetically modified cotton Graham Charles NSW DPI 02 6799 1500 

farming system 

Enhancing the efficiency of Bt refuge crops within a changing cotton Dr Geoff Baker CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 02 6246 4406 

environment 

Diseases of Cotton X Karen Kirkby NSW DPI 02 6799 1500 

Postgraduate: Warren Conaty – Irrigation scheduling in cotton based Assoc Prof Bruce Sutton The University of Sydney 02 9351 2050 

on leaf thermal optimal 

Maximizing profitabillity with limited water in cotton farming systems Dr Jose Payero Qld DEEDI 07 4688 1513 

Measurements to improve water efficiency of on-farm storages in the 

cotton industry 


Dr Erik Schmidt 

University of Southern 

Queensland 

07 4631 1347 

Postgraduate: Paul Coop – Evaporative mitigation in water storages Dr David Lamb University of New England 02 6773 3565 

Automation and realtime control of furrow irrigation Professor Rod Smith University of Southern 07 4631 2510 

Queensland 

Postgraduate: Richard Koech – Automation and real time control of Professor Rod Smith University of Southern 07 4631 2510 

furrow irrigation 

Queensland 

Postgraduate: Jay Dhungel – Field aspects of multigation – Prof David Midmore Central Qld University 07 4930 9770 

fertigation and oxygation 

Postgraduate: John Bennett Getting the best out of gypsum and lime Dr Stephen Cattle The University of Sydney 02 9351 2944 

to combat sodicity in the Macquarie and Lachlan valleys 

Postgraduate: Meredith Errington – Nutrient redistribution within Dr Lindsay Campbell The University of Sydney 02 9351 2941 

cotton plants 

Postgraduate: James Quilty – Separating snake-oil from valuable Dr Stephen Cattle The University of Sydney 02 9351 2944 

organic amendments: improving topsoil physical condition in central 

and southern NSW cotton-growing valleys 

Developing cotton systems that are nutrient-efficient and promote 

healthy soils 

Dr Ian Rochester CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500



Postgraduate: Tim McLaren – Improving P and K fertiliser use Dr Chris Guppy University of New England 02 6773 3567 

efficiency in depleted or sodic Vertosols 

Postgraduate: Katie Broughton – Improving prediction of cotton Dr Michael Bange CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500 

growth 

Integrating agronomic inputs to improve profitability and 

Michael Braunack CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500 

sustainability 

High yielding irrigated grains in cotton cropping systems Phase III Verity Gett NSW DPI 02 6799 1500 

Best management practices for establishing and irrigating winter Brendan Griffiths Griffiths Agriculture 07 4671 5990 

cereals grown in rotation with cotton in the Border Rivers 

Postgraduate: Brendan Griffiths – Addressing agronomic constraints Dr Chris Guppy The University of New England 02 6773 3567 

in irrigated wheat production in the northern grain region 

Irrigation scheduling in wheat Dr Allan Peake CSIRO 

Masters: Alison Devereux – Quantifying effects of maize rotation on Prof Shu Fukai The University of Queensland 07 3365 2340 

soil quality and nutrient availability on cotton growth and yield 

Completion of Burdekin cotton feasibility study Dr Paul Grundy Qld DEEDI 0427 929 172 

Postgraduate: Brooke Sauer – An assessment and evaluation of Dr Chris Guppy University of New England 02 6773 3567 

current PA tools: commercial broad acre applications to the irrigated 

and rainfed, cotton and grains industry in Northern NSW and 

Southern Qld 

Maintaining profitability and soil qualilty in cotton farming systems Dr Nilantha Hulugalle NSW DPI 02 6799 1500 

III 

Postgraduate: Stephen Yeates – The development of Sustainable Dr Stephen Yeates CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500 

Cotton Farming Systems for Coastal North Qld 

Dynamic deficits – matching irrigation to plant requirements Dr Rose Roche CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500 

Understanding greenhouse gas emission from broadacre irrigated Dr Ian Rochester CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500 

cropping systems 

Behaviour modifying plant extracts for managing cotton pests Dr Robert Mensah NSW DPI 02 6799 1500 

Improving the efficiency of Bollgard II refuges with semiochemicals Dr Alice Del Socorro University of New England 02 6773 3021 

Postgraduate: Habibullah Bahar – A new fungus for controlling 

Helicoverpa spp. and other cotton pests 

Prof Peter Gregg University of New England 02 6799 1500 

The Catchment Program 

Postgraduate: Sue Powell – Development of a model of flood Prof Tony Jakeman 

dynamics for water management in the Gwydir wetlands 

Capturing our understanding of soil water balance and deep drainage 

under irrigation in models – a basis of design of efficient farming and 

for assessing impacts on catchments 

Postgraduate: Peter Berney – Gwydir wetlands: environmental flows, 

grazing and biodiversity. 

Postgraduate: Andrew MacCallum – Development of a 3D geological Prof Ian Acworth 

mapping and database interface to support interconnected 

groundwater and surface water management 

Postgraduate: Kathryn Korbel – Robust and sensitive indicators of Dr Grant Hose 

groundwater health and biodiversity 

Postgraduate: Sarah Bennett – Groundwater modelling projects: Coxs 

Creek – Developing stochastic deep drainage surfaces for the Coxs’ 

creek catchment 

Postgraduate: Jamal Nejem – Coupled streamflow and groundwater Dr Noel Merrick 

modelling for improved irrigation allocation estimates 

Postgraduate: Dawit Berhane – Transmission losses in semi-arid 

rivers, a loss or a gain 

Deep drainage under irrigated cotton – surface and groundwater 

implications 

The impact of climate change on surface and ground water resources Dr Martin Sogaard 

Andersen 

The Australian National 

University 

02 6125 4742 

Dr Mark Silburn Qld DERM 07 4688 1281 

Dr Glenn Wilson University of New England 02 6773 3078 

The University of New South 

Wales 

University of Technology, 

Sydney 

02 8071 9826 

02 9850 6296 

Dr Willem Vervoort The University of Sydney 02 9351 8744 

University of Technology, 

Sydney 

02 9514 9881 

Dr Willem Vervoort The University of Sydney 02 9351 8744 

Dr Des McGarry Qld DERM 07 3896 9566 

University of New South Wales 02 8071 9824 




Postgraduate: Mitchell Burns – Catchments scale risk assessment for 

agrochemicals 

Evaluation and development of herbicide test kits and sustainablility 

indicators 

Postgraduate: Oliver Robertson – Healthy cotton catchments: 

integrating biodiversity, ecosystem services and landscape pattern 

for sustainable production 

Professor Ivan Kennedy The University of Sydney 02 9351 3546 

Dr Angus Crossan/ 

Professor Ivan Kennedy 

The University of Sydney 02 9351 3546 

Dr Yvonne Buckley The University of Queensland 07 3365 7085 

Postgraduate: Megan Good – Managing invasive native scrub in the A/P Nick Reid University of New England 02 6773 2759 

endangered ecological community of coolibah-black box woodland of 

the northern riverine plains in the Darling riverine plains and brigalow 

belt south bioregions – a case study in the lower Namoi. 

Bt cotton in pest suppressive landscapes Dr Nancy Schellhorn CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 07 3833 5710 

Pump modifications to reduce fish entrainment Craig Boys NSW DPI 02 4916 3851 

The Community Program 

Studying the relationship betwen cotton industry and cotton Judith Stubbs Judith Stubbs and Associates 02 4283 7300 

communities 1996–2006 

Socio economic impacts climate change, technology and water policy Professor Tony Jakeman The Australian National 02 6125 4742 

University 

Postgraduate: Alison Wilson – Economic-environmental water tradeoffs 

Dr Alex Pannell 

in the Namoi under climate change and variability 

Postgraduate: Madeleine Hartley – The legal framework for Dr Alex Pannell The University of Queensland 07 5460 1337 

economic-environmental water trade-offs in the Namoi under climate 

change and variability 

Sustaining Rural Communities conference Dr Paula Jones Cotton CRC 02 6799 1500 

Social economic and environmental sustainability Dr Guy Roth Guy Roth Consulting 02 6799 1500 

Qld Rural Women’s Network Community Action Fund 2010 Paula Jones Cotton CRC 02 6799 1500 

Sally Hunter Community Action Fund 2010 Sally Hunter Sally Hunter 0459 944 778 

Postgraduate: Donna Moodie – Inclusive engagement and 

Dr Iean Russell The University of Queensland 07 5460 1337 

development: an indigenous perspective of community, business and 

sustainable development 

Innovative regional businesses and options for economic growth in Dr Tony Sorensen University of New England 02 6773 2830 

cotton communities 

Community engagement officer Kate Schwager Cotton CRC 02 6799 1500 

A historical geography of cotton farming in NSW and Qld. Dr Wendy Shaw University of New South Wales 02 9385 3715 

Australian cotton futures Dr Roel Plant University of Technology, 02 9514 4973 

Sydney 

Nigyanni Indigenous Corp Community Action Fund 2010 Dr Paula Jones Cotton CRC 02 6799 1500 

Joblink Plus Community Action Fund 2010 Dr Paula Jones Cotton CRC 02 6799 1500 

Postgraduate: Sarah Hood – Collective NRM and Socio-economic Dr Toni Darbas The University of Queensland 07 3214 2667 

scenarios in cotton communities 

2011 Calendar Fishes on Farms Anthony Townsend NSW DPI 02 6763 1440 

Promoting science and agriculture in schools Trudy Staines Cotton CRC 02 6799 1500 

Career pathways into the cotton industry Ross Hanley Skills Queensland 07 3406 7500 

PICSE Schools Dr David Russell University of Tasmania 03 6430 4935 

Cotton CRC primary school enviro stories 2011 Trudy Staines Cotton CRC 02 6799 1500 

The Product Program 

Cottonspec – Predicting yarn performance from cotton fibre quality 

parameters 

Dr Stuart Gordon 

CSIRO Material Science and 

Engineering 

Technical support of SiroMat on the Australian Market Dr Stuart Gordon CSIRO Material Science and 

Engineering 

Validation of Cottonspec Dr Shouren Yang CSIRO Material Science and 

Engineering 

Agronomic management to optimise textile performance 

Dr Robert Long and Dr 

Michael Bange 


Engineering 

03 5246 4000 

03 5246 4000 

03 5246 4000 

03 5246 4000 




Masters: Kevin Bagshaw – Improving ginning efficiency and fibre 

quality of long staple Australian cotton 

Industrial testing and commercial development of moisture and 

contamination sensors 




Engineering CSIRO Plant 

Industry 


Engineering 

Upgrade and evaluate modified lint cleaner Dr Stuart Gordon CSIRO Material Science and 

Engineering 

Cotton Field to Fabric Training Course Rene van der Sluijs CSIRO Material Science and 

Engineering 

Postgraduate: David Foley – Silver perch aquaculture on cotton farms Dr Stuart Rowlands and 

Dr Glenn Wilson 

NSW DPI and University of 

New England 

03 5246 4001 

03 5246 4000 

03 5246 4000 

03 5246 4000 

02 6640 1691 

The Adoption Program 

NCMA Schedule 1.2 NRM technical advice and investment Stacey Vogel Namoi CMA 02 6799 1500 

Sharing on-farm innovation to reduce the cost of cotton production 

in the lower Namoi. 

Phil Firth 

Lower Namoi Cotton Growers 

Assoc 

0427 657 532 

Professional development manager Mark Hickman Qld DEEDI 07 4688 1206 

Delivering regional extension in Central Queensland farming systems Susan Maas Qld DEEDI 07 4983 7403 

Delivering Regional Extension in Qld Farming Systems – Darling Geoff McIntyre Qld Qld DEEDI 07 4669 0801 

Downs 

Cotton industry development specialist Jim Wark Cotton Seed Distributors 0427 050 832 

RWUE 4 Lance Pendergast Qld DEEDI 07 4983 7416 

Regional extension St George and Dirranbandi Dallas King Balonne Agricultural 0427 635 621 

Target Lead Pest Management and Macquarie local delivery Sally Ceeney Sally Ceeney 02 6888 9771 

Target Lead Weeds and New Growers and CA Rep D&D Team James Hill James Hill (JH2 Solutions P/L) 02 6993 1453 

Regional Landcare Facilitator – Border Rivers Gwydir and Namoi 

Catchments 

Regeneration of floodplain vegetation in response to large-scale 

flooding in the Condamine-Balonne and Border Rivers 

Sally Dickinson NE NW Landcare Network 0427 521 498 

Chairs 

Dr Samantha Capon Griffith University 02 6680 2093 

Australian Cotton Industry Technology Transfer Centre II David Larsen NSW DPI 02 6799 1500 

Linking research, extension and BMP – Decision aid development Loretta Clancy CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500 

Linking research, extension and BMP – Facilitation Dr Michael Bange CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500 

Pest and Beneficial Insects in Australian Cotton Landscapes – 

booklet 

Sandra Williams and 

Stacey Vogel 

Cotton CRC 02 6799 1500 

NCMA BMP Officer Namoi valley Peter Verwey Namoi CMA 02 6799 1500 

BMP Service Officer Philip Armytage Cotton CRC 02 6799 1500 

General Manager: Best Practice and Research Implementation Ken Flower Cotton CRC/CRDC/Cotton Aust 0457 811 627 

The economics of best management practices in cotton Janine Powell NSW DPI 02 6799 1500 

CCA Surveys 2010–11 Philip Armytage Cotton CRC 02 6799 1500 

Cotton Production Course II Brendan Griffith University of New England 02 6773 3758 

SS: Garth Cooper – Numerical modelling of river-aquifer interactions: 

impacts of pumping near streams 

SS: Melissa Mullee – Can domestic video cameras monitor 

arthropods? 

Dr Martin Sogaard University of New South Wales 02 8071 9824 

Andersen 

Dr John Stanley University of New England 02 6773 2447 

SS: David Harris – Correlating refuge attractiveness with productivity Dr Mary Whitehouse CSIRO Plant Industry 02 6799 1500 

SS: Alice Woodforth – 3D regolith mapping to improve site location Dr John Triantafilis University of New South Wales 02 9385 8087 

of storages 

Honours: Carl Zimmermann – Characterisation of groundwatersurface 

Dr D.C. McPhail The Australian National 02 6125 2776 

water connections in the Namoi Basin (NSW) using 

hydrogeochemical methods 

University 

Honours: Robert Gentile – Molecular factors associated with T. 

basicola pathogenicity 

Dr Lily Pereg University of New England 02 6773 2708 



The Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) is the major 

industry research funding organisation. The CRDC is funded from a grower 

levy with matching Commonwealth government grants. 

CRDC RESEARCH PROJECT SUMMARY 

PROJECT CODE RESEARCHER ORGANISATION 

Program One: VALUE CHAIN 

Premium Cotton Initiative spinning trials CMSE1102 Rene van der Sluijs CSIRO 

Warehousing and despatch best management practice CMSE1103 Rene van der Sluijs CSIRO 

Identifying the glass transition temperature behaviour of Australian cotton CMSE1201 Stuart Gordon CSIRO 

Preliminary investigation into gin blending CMSE1202 Rene van der Sluijs CSIRO 

Post harvest BMP (including classing/ginning and harvesting) CMSE1203 Rene van der Sluijs CSIRO 

Australian cotton fibre elongation CMSE1204 Shouren Yang CSIRO 

Agronomic management to optimise textile performance CRC1004 Mike Bange CRC 

Industrial testing and commercial development of moisture and contamination CRC1009 Stuart Gordon CSIRO MSE 

sensors 

Validation of Cottonspec – a program for predicting yarn fibre quality CRC1114 Shouren Yang CSIRO 

Development of low twist fine count yarns and fabrics from Australian long staple DU1102 Xungai Wang Deakin University 

upland cotton 

Accounting for value chain sustainability and competitive advantage UTS1201 David Brown UTS 

Program Two: FARMING SYSTEMS 

Building industry capacity for continual improvement of application and drift BGC1001 Bill Gordon Bill Gordon P/L 

management 

Biosecurity training for growers and agronomists 

CA1201 Greg Kauter CA 

(training of an industry-wide network in emergency response procedures) 

Helicoverpa egg collecting in cotton regions to support Bt and insecticide CCA1101 Fiona Anderson CCA 

resistance monitoring 

The development of sustainable cotton farming systems for coastal north Qld CRC1001 Steve Yeates CRC 

Diseases of cotton 10 CRC1002A Karen Kirkby I&INSW 

Managing weeds and herbicides in a genetically modified cotton farming system CRC1003 Graham Charles CRC 

Enhancing the efficiency of Bt refuge crops within a changing cotton environment CRC1005 Geoff Baker CRC 

Dynamic deficits – matching irrigation to plant requirements in a variable climate CRC1006 Rose Brodrick CRC 

CCA consultants post season and grower context surveys (2008–09, 

CRC1010 Amber Dimond CRC 

2009–10, 2010–11 seasons) 

Collective NRM and socio economic scenarios in cotton communities CRC1012 Olive Hood CRC 

PhD: Economic-enviromental water trade-offs in the Namoi under climate change CRC1015 Alison Wilson CRC 

and variability 

Improving prediction of cotton growth and production in a changing climate CRC1101 Michael Bange CSIRO 

IPM for silverleaf whitefly and emerging pests in central regions CRC1102 Lewis Wilson CSIRO 

Improving ways to manage cotton refuges within the BMP framework CRC1103 Mary Whitehouse CSIRO 

Completion of Burdekin cotton feasibility study CRC1106 Paul Grundy QDEEDI 

Ecology of Helicoverpa punctigera revisited: migration, overwintering and CRC1109 Peter Gregg UNE 

implications for Bt resistance 

PhD: Ecology of Helicoverpa punctigera revisited: migration, overwintering and CRC1109A Kris Le Mottee UNE 

implications for Bt resistance 

Developing cotton systems that are nutrient-efficient and promote healthy soil CRC1115 Ian Rochester CSIRO 

Assessing greenhouse gas emissions from broadacre irrigated cropping systems CRC1117 Jeff Baldock CRC 

Benchmarking furrow irrigation efficiency in the Australian cotton industry CRC1215 Malcolm Gillies CRC 

Biochemical markers of host plant origin in Helicoverpa moths CRC1218 Ben Greatrex CSIRO 

Substitutes for pupae busting – targeting larvae or moths CRC1220 Peter Gregg UNE 

Building industry capacity to adopt IWM in the cotton/grains farming system 

through research-client linkages 

CRDC1207 Ian Taylor GRDC cofunded. 

Taylor Ag Systems 




Genomics of Helicoverpa armigera insecticide resistance (PhD) CSE0801 Claire Farnsworth CSE 

Bt resistance monitoring CSE1103 Sharon Downes CSIRO 

The characterisation of Vip3A resistance in Helicoverpa spp. CSE1201 Tom Walsh CSIRO 

Efficacy of Bollgard III cotton against Helicoverpa CSE1202 Sharon Downes CSIRO 

Late travel request – Bt conference August 2011 CSE1203 Sharon Downes CSIRO 

Applying plant-based measurements for irrigation in water limited environments CSP1104 Post Doc CSIRO PI and USDA 

New tools for IPM 1: Development of fungal insecticides against cotton pests DAN1101 Robert Mensah I&INSW 

Scholarship: Molecular genetic methods to detect neonicotinoid resistance in DAN1201 Kate Marshall I&INSW 

cotton aphid 

Managing carbon in cotton-based farming systems DAN1202 Nilantha Hulugalle DAN 

Sustainable resistance management of mites, aphids and mirids in Australian DAN1203 Grant Herron NSW I&I 

cotton 

Helicoverpa resistance management and novel method to protect Bollgard II DAN1204 Lisa Bird NSW I&I 

Defining critical soil nutrient concentrations in soils supporting irrigated cotton in DAQ1001 Mike Bell GRDC 

northern NSW and Qld 

Fusarium wilt management DAQ1103 Linda Smith QDEEDI 

Whitefly resistance monitoring 2010-2013 DAQ1104 Zara Hall QDEEDI 

Surveillance and monitoring for endemic and exotic virus diseases of cotton DAQ1201 Murray Sharman QDEEDI 

Cross-industry preparedness for cotton leaf curl disease DAQ1202 Cherie Gambley QDEEDI 

Improved integrated weed management systems in transgenic farming landscapes DAQ1203 Jeff Werth QDEEDI 

Management of mirids, stinkbugs and Solenopsis mealybug DAQ1204 Moazzem Khan QDEEDI 

The impact of improved WUE on paddock and catchment health DERM1201 Thusitha Gunawardena DAQ 

A protocol for assessing on farm energy use and associated greenhouse gas NEC1101 Craig Baillie NCEA 

emissions 

The feasibility and development of alternate energy sources for cotton NEC1201 Craig Baillie NCEA 

Developing a national life cycle inventory database for Australian agriculture RIRDC1102 RIRDC 

PostGrad: The use of biological control agents in resistance management of UA1101 Mahbubur Rahman UA 

Helicoverpa 

Positioning growers to take advantage of future ecosystem service markets UNE1201 Rhiannon Smith UNE 

Next generation rural landscape governance: the Australian dimension UNE1202 PhD Student, TBA UNE 

Flight characteristics of Helicoverpa spp. in relation ot the efficacy of trangenic UQ1001 Jason Callander UQ 

cotton refuges 

Optimal irrigation of cotton via real-time adaptive control USQ1101 Alison McCarthy NCEA 

Program Three: HUMAN CAPACITY 

Sponsorship 2012 Science and Innovation Awards ABA1201 Award Recipient ABARES 

Capacity building via small projects for St George CGA members and community CGA1201 Ed Willis ST George CGA 

Pushing the boundaries II: Agribusiness careers CGA1202 Nigel Corish Macintyre CGA 

Feasibility study into utilising a biomass burner at Tandou gin CGA1203 David McClure Menindee and Lower 

Darling CGA 

Encouraging cotton by Gwydir Valley Cotton Growers Association CGA1204 Zara Farrell Gwydir Valley CGA 

Promoting local employment opportunities in the Mungindi cotton community CGA1205 Barbara Grey Mungindi CGA 

Macquarie cotton growers welcome back project CGA1206 Sharanne Turnbull Macquarie CGA 

Cotton Field to Fabric training course CRC1007 Rene van der Sluijs CSIRO MSE 

Delivering regional extension in Qld farming systems – Darling Downs CRC1011 Duncan Weir CRC 

Primary industry centre for scientific education CRC1016 David Russell CRC 

Adoption of my BMP – General Manager: Best practice and research 

implementation 

CRC1018 Ken Flower CRC 

Social, economic, environmental performance information repository and reporting 

for the cotton industry 

CRC1108 Guy Roth Roth Rural and 

Regional 

St. George/Dirranbandi Cotton Extension Officer CRC1110 Dallas King Western Rivers 

Target lead pest management and Macquarie local delivery CRC1111 Sally Seeney CRC 

Target lead weed management, new growers and southern local delivery CRC1112 James Hill CRC 

WCRC – 5 Travel funding CRC1201 Ivan Kennedy CRC 

WCRC – 5 Travel funding CRC1202 Rene van der Sluijs CRC 




WCRC – 5 Travel funding CRC1203 Daniel Tan CRC 

WCRC – 5 Travel funding CRC1204 Lily Pereg CRC 

WCRC – 5 Travel funding CRC1206 Meredith Errington CRC 

Understanding the value added by vocational training investment in the cotton CRC1207 Warwick Waters Waters Consulting 

industry 

WCRC – 5 Travel funding CRC1207 Steve Yeates CRC 

WCRC – 5 Travel funding CRC1208 Robert Mensah CRC 

WCRC – 5 Travel funding CRC1209 Katie Broughton CRC 

WCRC – 5 Travel funding CRC1211 Nicola Cottee CRC 

National extension development and delivery – crop protection CRC1212 Susan Maas QDEEDI 

Professional development manager (cotton) CRC1213 Mark Hickman QDEEDI 

WCRC – 5 Travel funding CRC1214 Tom Walsh CRC 

WCRC – 5 Travel funding CRC1216 Francois Visser CRC 

Dryland cotton growers study tour to USA CRDC1201 Geoff O’Neill CGA 

Field to Fabric course sponsorship CRDC1202 Johnelle Rogan 

Field to Fabric course sponsorship CRDC1203 Jacques Minnaar 

RaboBank Executive Development Program, Hamish Millar CRDC1204 Hamish Millar 

Field to Fabric course sponsorship CRDC1205 Louise Hill 

Field to Fabric course sponsorship CRDC1206 Wal Dunsdon 

The mechanics of government and how to influence change – rural womens CRDC1208 Barbara Grey 

workshop 

Linking research, extension and myBMP – Decision aid development CSP1201 Michael Bange CSIRO 

Human capacity assessment and benchmarking DAN1102 Charlie Bell Tocal Agricultural 

Centre 

Promoting water smart infrastructure investment in NSW DAN1205 Janelle Montgomery I&INSW 

Attend the Resistance 2011 Conference – Rothamstead, UK DAQ1205 Zara Hall QDEEDI 

ARLP Course 17 RIR1101 Arthur Spellson ARLP 

Farm health and safety new joint venture RIRDC002 Helen Moffet RIRDC 

Investing in youth undergraduate studentship program ($10k pa) RIRDC1001 Bruce Pyke RIRDC 

Investing in youth undergraduate studentship program ($10k pa) RIRDC1103 Bruce Pyke RIRDC 

Australian Future Cotton Leaders program 3 RSPL1201 Jo Eady Rural Scope 

Capacity building of CGAs in project planning and grant applications SH1201 Sally Hunter 

Innovative work: Cotton workforce development for sustained competitive UM1201 Ruth Nettle Uni Melbourne 

advantage 

Managing cotton farm safety review and update US1201 Tony Lower US 

On-Farm environmental resources survey WIN1101 Barbara Grey Wincott 

Educational tour of rural industries WIN1102 Grey, Coote Wincott 

KEY 

CRC = Cotton Catchment Communities CRC 

ACSA = Australian Cotton Shippers Association 

USQ = University of Southern Queensland 

I&I NSW = Industry and Innovation NSW 

UA = University of Adelaide 

CA = Cotton Australia 

GRDC = Grains Research and Development Corporation 

NPSI = National Program for Sustainable Irrigation 

QUT = Queensland University of Technology 

UQ = University of Queensland 

BGC = Bill Gordon Consulting 

CCA = Crop Consultants Australia 



processing & marketing 


ABARES forecasts good, but lower, prices 110 

New international cotton quality centre 112 

Preliminary results point to high quality crop 114 

World Commodity Watch 116–117 

Processing organisations 118 

Marketing consultants 124 

Merchants 124 

Independent classing services 128 

109

• P R O C E S S I N G & M A R K E T I N G B Y J O H N D E E R E • P R O C E S S I N G & M A R K E T I N G B Y J O H N D E E R E • 


PROCESSING & 

MARKETING 



ABARES forecasts good, 

but lower, prices 

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural Resource 

Economics and Sciences (ABARES) predicts a 

record Australian cotton crop in the 2011–12 

season. In the June quarter report, the prediction is 

for attractive prices, although down on last season’s 

highs, combined with the best irrigation water outlook 

for many years. 

Returns to Australian cotton growers at the gin 

gate are forecast to fall by $79 a bale in 2011–12, to 

$571 a bale (including the value of cottonseed and 

net of ginning costs). This forecast fall in returns to 

Australian growers is in line with the lower forecast 

world cotton price and an assumed high Australian 

exchange rate against the US dollar. Nevertheless, 

the forecast returns are still favourable compared 

with the average return received by Australian cotton 

growers over the past 10 years. 

Record high Australian cotton production in 

2011–12 

Lint production in Australia is forecast to increase 

by 23 per cent in 2011–12 to a record 1.1 million 

tonnes (4.8 million bales). The forecast increase 

reflects strong cotton prices, abundant supplies of 

irrigation water and a return to more normal yields 

following the floods of 2010–11. As at 24 May 

2011, the average storage level of the public dams 

serving the cotton regions was at 82 per cent of 

capacity, compared with 32 per cent at the same time 

in 2010. 

Exports to double 

Australian cotton exports are forecast to more 

than double in 2011–12 to a record 965 000 tonnes 

(4.25 million bales). Higher exports are expected to 

move Australia to third place in the ranking of world 

cotton exporters, behind the United States and India 

in 2011–12. 

World prices lower 

The world indicator price for cotton (the Cotlook 

‘A’ index) is forecast to average around US116c a 

pound in 2011–12 (August to July), US46c a pound 

lower than the estimated average in 2010–11. Despite 

the forecast fall, world cotton prices in 2011–12 are 

expected to remain favourable in historic terms. 

Record world cotton production 

World cotton production is forecast to increase 

by 11 per cent in 2011–12 to a record 27.7 million 

tonnes, compared with a recent high of 26.6 million 

tonnes in 2006–07. The world cotton area harvested 

is forecast to rise by 7 per cent in 2011–12 to around 

36 million hectares, the largest in 17 years. 

World cotton consumption growing 

World cotton consumption is forecast to increase 

by 3.5 per cent in 2011–12 to 26.3 million tonnes. 

The forecast increase is expected to be driven by 

growth in world income and lower world cotton 

prices. But forecast low prices for competing fibres, 

especially polyester fibres, are likely to constrain the 

growth in world cotton consumption in 2011–12. 

The largest increases in mill use of cotton are forecast 

to take place in India, China, Pakistan and Turkey. 

The world textile industry was buoyant in 2010– 

11, with world production of natural and manmade 

fibres increasing by a total of 8.6 per cent in 2010, 

the strongest growth in 25 years. 

The rate of growth in production was higher for 

manmade fibres than for cotton, and this resulted in 

the gap between world polyester and cotton prices 

widening in 2010–11. 

World cotton trade growing 

World cotton exports are forecast to increase by 

eight per cent in 2011–12 to 8.7 million tonnes, 

driven by strong growth of cotton import demand 

in China, Bangladesh and Turkey. Larger export supplies 

are forecast in 2011–12 for the United States, 

India, Australia, Brazil and Uzbekistan. 

Recovery in world cotton stocks 

World cotton production is forecast to exceed 

world consumption in 2011–12 for the first time 

since 2004–05 and, as a result, world cotton stocks are 

forecast to increase by 1.3 million tonnes in 2011–12 

to 10.6 million tonnes. The world cotton stocks-to-use 

ratio is forecast to increase to 40.3 per cent in 2011– 

12, compared with 36.5 per cent in 2010–11. 


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PROCESSING & 

MARKETING 



New international cotton 

quality centre 

The International Cotton Association (ICA) 

and the Bremer Baumwollboerse (BBB) have 

reached an historic agreement to combine their 

specific expertise around quality testing, training and 

research to create a new international quality testing 

and research centre. 

The ICA Bremen International Quality Testing 

and Research Centre will be a centre of excellence for 

all quality related matters. Operating from the BBB’s 

laboratory facility in Germany, the new centre will 

build on the BBB’s existing international reputation 

for cotton/fibre research and testing, while capitalising 

on the ICA’s global reputation and reach. 

ICA Managing Director Kai Hughes will assume 

overall responsibility for managing the new venture. 

Assisting in the development will be Dr Axel 

Drieling from the Bremen Faserinstitut, Karsten 

Froese from the BBB and Dr Robert Jiang from 

the ICA. The day to day running of the centre will 

be under the direction of Axel and Karsten, while 

administration and marketing will be conducted 

from the ICA office in Liverpool. 

Speaking ahead of the announcement, ICA 

President Ray Butler said: “This is a significant 

step forward for both the ICA and Bremer 

Baumwollboerse. It provides a unique opportunity 

to combine the skills and expertise of both organisations 

to produce a really world class laboratory 

that can lead the way in areas of testing, research, 

quality training and accreditation. This new venture 

underlines our joint commitment and enables us to 

effectively pool our resources to develop a centre of 

excellence.” 

BBB President Jens Lukaczik added: “This cooperation 

between the two associations is a novelty 

in our industry and will be a milestone in our joint 

aspiration to lift cotton quality testing and research 

to the next level. We have gone a long way and 

worked together in a spirit of partnership and trust 

in order to realise this project. This bodes well for 

the future and we are both agreed that the centre 

will be of immense benefit to the global cotton community.” 

It is envisaged that the new centre will be fully 

operational in October 2011. 

Cargill’s Cotton Division – 

Buying cotton bales 

direct from the grower 

Phil Sloan 

PO Box 1203 

GOONDIWINDI Qld 4390 

Ph: (07) 4671 0222 

Fax: (07) 4671 3833 

Roger McCumstie 

Brisbane 

Ph: (07) 3367 2629 

AGENTS: 

Pete Johnson 

Left Field Solutions 

Mob: 0409 893 139 

Paul Kelly 

Moree Real Estate 

Moree 

Ph: (02) 6751 1100 

David Dugan 

Trangie 

Ph: (02) 6888 7122 

cotton_aust@cargill.com 

www.cargill.com.au 

Mr Jens Lukaczik, BBB President and Mr Kai Hughes, 

ICA Managing Director 


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PROCESSING & 

MARKETING 



Preliminary results point to 

high quality crop 

Picking and ginning the 2010-11 cotton crop 

has been a long drawn out affair. A wet and 

cloudy season created significant delays in 

maturity and by the end of August, slightly less than 

three million bales had been ginned and classed, out 

of a total estimated crop of just over four million. 

Not surprisingly, the weather also had a negative 

impact on the quality of some of the early, flood 

affected cotton. But as these preliminary results 

FIGURE 1: Staple length of the 2011 crop 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

show, the overall quality has been good, with the 

final quality result likely to be even better. 

Staple length 

Fibre length has been generally very good, with 

only four per cent below the industry base grade of 

36. The average over the crop was a staple length of 

about 38. 

Strength 

On the preliminary results, almost 75 per cent of 

the crop had a strength of 30 grams per tex or higher 

which is good. 

Micronaire 

Micronaire was very good with less than three per 

cent of the national crop outside the range of 3.5 to 

4.9, with 63 per cent in the prime range of 3.8–4.5. 

Grade 

Almost half the crop graded 21-2 or 21-3 or better. 

Uniformity 

Over 94 per cent of the crop had a uniformity of 

above 80. This is a good result and slightly higher 

than the previous season. 

 

 

FIGURE 2: Quality of the 2011 crop – Grade 

FIGURE 3: Micronaire of the 2011 crop 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIGURE 4: Strength of the 2011 crop 

FIGURE 5: Uniformity of the 2011 crop 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


3100% Australian Cotton 

3100% Australian Owned 

Wee Waa Trangie Moree Goondiwindi Toowoomba 

Ph: 02 6790 3000 Ph: 02 6888 9611 Ph: 02 6752 5599 Ph: 07 4671 6900 Ph: 07 4631 6100 

Fax: 02 6795 4036 Fax: 02 6888 9678 Fax: 02 6752 5357 Fax: 07 4671 6999 Fax: 07 4631 6190 

www.namoicotton.com.au 


World COMModity Watch 

US 

The US crop overall is pitched at 16.6 

million bales according to the USDA. 

Figures reveal a diminishing crop in Texas 

(down to 4 million bales due to extreme 

drought), however supply is more than 

offset by improving yields in Georgia, 

Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri. Over 

1.9 million bales has now been classed, 

55% of which is tenderable. To date, 

quality has been marked by short staple 

with majority 33 staple. 

India 

India’s crop is expected to produce 27.5 

million bales according to the USDA, with 

further upside possible. With such large 

supplies of low to middling grade hitting 

the market in November, the Trade waits 

nervously to see what impact (if any) is 

felt to basis. The Indian Government has 

removed all trade restrictions, and is now 

allowing all bales to be freely exported in 

the marketplace. 

New York cotton futures 

Source: Queensland Cotton 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australian dollar vs US dollar 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the field to t 

Queensland Cotto 

Queensland Cotton has the longest suppl

World COMModity Watch 

China 

Despite their recent National Holidays, 

China’s activity in the import market has 

picked up slightly of late. Rumours of 

large government owned spinning mills 

procuring large volumes of Indian bales 

has sparked a bit of trade interest. Fine 

weather has allowed harvest to progress 

with the inland provinces now over 50% 

picked. Progress in Xingjiang has been 

delayed to the lack of human labour for 

required picking. A wide divergence of 

quality in the cotton has been reported 

due to the variable conditions throughout 

the season. 

Chinese Reserve Policy 

The Chinese Reserve has commenced 

purchasing, albeit in small volumes. Pace 

of this procurement has been slow due to 

slow arrivals by growers, and a general 

unwillingness to sell by growers due to 

low prices. Physical prices have however 

stabilised recently, so procurement 

volumes by the State are expected to pick 

up in the coming weeks. 

Australian cotton price* 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australian basis* 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia 

Planting of the 2012 crop has commenced 

with a generally wet, cool start. Many 

growers will be faced with the task of 

re-planting due to the cool conditions, 

however others have relished the recent 

rainfalls and have been able to plant into 

excellent moisture. Crop forecasts range 

from 4.7 to 5 million bales. 

* Ex-gin price bids and basis for 

middling 1 1/8 inch cotton 

he shirt you wear, 

n is at every step. 

y chain in the Australian cotton industry. 

55 Wyandra Street, Newstead 

Queensland Australia 4006, 

Tel: 61 7 3250 3300 

Fax: 61 7 3852 1600


Processing organisations 

Australian Cotton 

Ginning Company 

The Hillston ginning facility is located 

15 kilometres north of the township of 

Hillston. The gin services the Lachlan and 

Murrumbidgee Valleys. 

The gin was commissioned in 2000 and 

consists of three lines of Continental Eagle gin 

equipment capable of processing in excess of 

750 bales per day. The gin incorporates state 

of the art drying and cleaning equipment. 

Since February 2002 the gin has been 

jointly owned and operated by Twynam 

Cotton Pty Limited and Namoi Cotton 

Co-operative Limited. 

Management and staff 

Management Committee 

Tim Demesta and Les Leven 

Site Manager 

John Morris 

Ginners 

Tom Mahy 

Office 

Hillston Ginners 

Australian Cotton Ginning Co. 

Phone: 02 6967 2951 

Fax: 02 6967 2960 

Mobile:0428 966 052 

E: ginners@austcottongin.com.au 

Auscott Limited 

Auscott Limited was established in 1963 

as a subsidiary of the US based JG Boswell 

Company. 

The company is vertically integrated 

through the growing, ginning and marketing 

sectors of the industry. Auscott is also a large 

producer of wheat and other grains, grown 

both as a cotton rotation and as a dryland crop. 

The geographical spread of the company’s 

farming operations over the Gwydir, Namoi 

and Macquarie Valleys has allowed for the 

hedging of production risk, and delivered 

benefits to customers during periods of 

adverse climatic conditions. Auscott operates 

five gins over the three valleys. 

Auscott’s involvement with the Australian 

cotton industry does not stop at the farm gate. 

Participation within the industry is actively 

encouraged and is demonstrated through 

an association with 27 industry bodies. 

Company employees freely give their time to 

these bodies at no cost to the associations. 



Chief Executive Officer 

Dave Anthony 

Chief Financial Officer 

Des Boucher 

Operations Manager 

Harvey Gaynor 

GM – Cotton Marketing 

George Gallacher & Arthur Spellson 

GM – Marketing, Ginning & Logistics 

Ashley Power 

Grains Merchandising Manager 

Peter Webb 

Classing/Shipping Manager 

Greg Parle 

Corporate Warehouse Business 

Manager 

Sharon Wheeler 

Head office 

Suite 3.01, 56 Pitt Street 

Sydney NSW 2000 

Phone: 02 9295 4800 

Fax: 02 9295 4888 

Web site: www.auscott.com.au 

Regional offices 

Gwydir Valley 

“Midkin,” Mungindi Road, PO Box 711 

Moree NSW 2400 

Phone: 02 6759 1700 

Fax: 02 6759 1788 

General Manager: Harvey Gaynor 

Grower Services: Rod Gordon 

Namoi Valley 

Wee Waa Road, PO Box 303 

Narrabri NSW 2390 

Phone: 02 6799 1400 

Fax: 02 6799 1488 

General Manager: Bernie George 

Grower Services: Peter-John Gileppa 


Oxley Highway, PO Box 160 

Warren NSW 2824 

Phone: 02 6883 7306 

Fax: 02 6847 4399 

Manager: Chris Hogendyk 

Grower Services: Mike Shields 

Brighann Ginning 

Brighann Ginning is a family partnership 

cotton gin owned by prominent cottongrowing 

Seery family in the Gwydir Valley. 

The three-stand gin is being increased to 

4-stands and incorporates the 

latest Lummus ginning equipment 

including the recently released Sentinel Lint 

Cleaners along with three lines of pre-cleaning 

to ensure that the cotton produced is of 

the highest quality achievable. Also included 

is the latest Samuel Jackson cotton conditioning 

equipment. 

To supplement the gin, the Brighann 

operation is vertically integrated to undertake 

warehousing, marketing and shipping 

of cotton. Warehousing facilities incorporate 

capacity for 60,000 bales and 15,000 tonne 

of seed with humidified bale warehousing 

sheds and an automatic temperature controlled 

aerated seed shed. 

Gin office 

Water Course Road 

PO Box 443, Moree NSW 2400 

Phone: 02 6753 3737 

Fax: 02 6753 3701 

Board members 

Chairman 

John Seery 

Directors 

Ada Seery 

Richard Seery 

Ian Seery 

Stephen Seery 

Michael Seery 

General Manager 

Ian McDonald 

Gin Manager 

Damien Tonkin 

Carrington 

Ginning 

Carrington Ginning Pty Ltd was established 

in 1998 and has successfully completed 14 ginning 

seasons. Carrington Ginning Pty Ltd is a 

wholly owned subsidiary of Carrington Cotton 

Limited, which has been successfully producing 

cotton since the early 1980s. 

The ginning complex includes four stateof-the-art 

warehouses, a multi-purpose seed 

storage facility with a direct link to Brisbane 

via onsite rail siding. 

Administration 

Boggabilla Lane, PO Box 139 

Goondiwindi Qld 4390 

Phone: 07 4671 4710 

Fax: 07 4671 4719 


Susan Marchant 

Distribution & Customer Services 

Manager 

Andrea McCosker


Carroll Cotton 

Carroll Cotton was established in 

September 1995. It is a privately owned ginning 

company located between Carroll and 

Breeza, up off the flood plain. 

The four-stand Continental gin, is a 

medium capacity gin. Being a smaller gin 

with throughput of 27 bales per hour, 

Carroll Cotton can easily tailor the ginning 

of cotton to both grower and merchant specifications. 

The gin yard is flood free with a capacity 

of 1900 modules, and the company has flexible 

delivery times to allow quicker delivery 

from farm to gin yard. 

Office 

‘Avondale’ 

Carroll NSW 2340 

Phone: 02 6744 5282 

Fax: 02 4017 2481 

E: admin@carrollcotton.com.au 

Gin 

Phone: 02 6744 5228 

Gin Manager 

Dan Tickle 

E: danny@carrollcotton.com.au 

Grower Services 

Scott Davies 

Phone: 0427 445 282 

E: scott@carrollcotton.com.au 

Darling River 

Cotton 

Darling River Cotton is a subsidiary of 

Clyde Agriculture, part of the Swire group 

of companies. Clyde Agriculture is a major 

cotton grower on several farms in the Bourke 

district of western New South Wales. 

The Darling River Cotton processing 

operation provides ginning services to local 

growers. 

The operation has a dual ginning facility, 

with a three stand Continental upland 

gin and a six stand roller gin to handle Pima 

cotton. 


General Manager Cotton Operations 

Mitchell Abbo 

Phone: 02 6870 8501 

Fax: 02 6870 8599 

Bourke address 

Darling River Cotton Pty Ltd 

PO Box 33 Gorrell Avenue 

Bourke NSW 2840 

Phone: 02 6870 8500 

Fax: 02 6870 8599 

Sydney office 

Clyde Agriculture Limited 

Level 11, 10 Spring Street 

GPO Box 3920 

Sydney NSW 2000 

Phone: 02 9272 9282 

Fax: 02 9232 1209 

Dunavant Ginning 

Dunavant operates three cotton gins at 

Moree (Gwydir Valley), Emerald (Central 

QLD) and Dalby (Darling Downs). 

Management and Staff 


Mike Kimball 

Dalby Site 

07 4669 6988 

Moree Site 

Steve Brown 

02 6752 5188 

Emerald Site 

David Reiner 

07 4982 3888 

Head Office 

Level 1 

17/76 Doggett Street 

Newstead, QLD 4006 



Phone: 07 3252 9020 

Fax: 07 3252 7095 

Procurement and Grower 

Services 

AgPro Services Pty Ltd is a procurement 

company established in 2010, representing 

Dunavant Ginning in Australia. Please contact 

Agpro Services Pty Ltd for all ginning 

enquiries. 

All Services 

Head Office 

17/76 Doggett St 


Phone: 07 3852 3321 

Fax: 07 3252 7081 

Cathy Cook 0407 253 784 

Tobin Cherry 0418 244 699 

Rodney St Clair 0438 768 609 

Simone James 0427 005 063 

Juanita Park 0428 753 282 

Administration Manager 

Angela Rottenberry (Brisbane Office) 

Koramba 

Koramba is a privately owned integrated 

cotton growing and ginning operation 

situated on the Macintyre River between 

Goondiwindi and Mungindi. 

There are 5300 hectares developed for 

large-scale irrigation on Koramba complemented 

with a cotton gin. 

The four-stand Lummus gin built in 

1992 is not reliant on a power supply from 

local authorities as all power is generated on 

site. This feature provides total flexibility, 

allowing Koramba to process cotton day or 

night and without the expensive start up 

costs levied on other gins. The current power 

generation system has been active since 2001 

and comprises state of the art equipment. 

The gin not only processes Koramba’s 

production but contract-gins for growers 

in an area stretching from Goondiwindi to 

Mungindi and up to St George. Contract 

ginning takes priority over Koramba’s own 

cotton unless otherwise requested by the 

grower. Large gin runs are individually tailored 

to suit growers’ requests. 

The ginning facility is complemented by 

a seed storage shed and a large flood free allweather 

module yard. Cottonseed and other 

by-products are sold to both the export and 

domestic market. 

Offices 

‘Koramba’ 

Boomi NSW 2405 

Phone: 02 6753 5250 

Fax: 02 6753 5323 



Phone: 02 6751 1355 

Fax: 02 6751 1359 

Gin 

Phone: 02 6753 5344 

Fax: 02 6753 5347 



Toby Makim 

Phone: 02 6751 1355 

Fax: 02 6751 1359 

Mobile: 0417 857 975 

Grower Services Manager 

Lauryn Hanna 

Phone: 02 6751 1355 

Fax: 02 6751 1359 

Mobile: 0429 774 649 

Gin Manager 

Steve Bryan 

Mobile: 0428 511 359 

Namoi Cotton 

Cooperative Ltd 

Namoi Cotton was established in 1962 

and is one of Australia’s largest cotton processing 

and marketing organisations. Namoi 

Cotton is 100 per cent Australian owned 

and has an extensive network of ginning, 

marketing and logistic operations throughout 

the cotton regions of New South Wales 

and southern Queensland. Namoi Cotton 

has offices in Wee Waa, Moree, Toowoomba, 

Trangie, Goondiwindi and also has a representative 

office in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

Namoi Cotton owns and operates 13 

cotton ginning facilities within NSW and 

Qld. It is the industry leader in implementing 

Round Module handling technology. In 

addition to providing superior ginning and 

marketing services, it also provides cottonseed 

marketing services. 

Our dedicated grower services team operates 

from a network of regional offices based 

in Wee Waa, Moree, Toowoomba, Trangie 

and Goondiwindi to service the needs of our 

cotton growers. Namoi Cotton has obtained 

its Australian Financial Services Licence. 

This allows the organisation to continue to 

provide a high standard of financial services 

and financial products to growers. 

Namoi Cotton has warehouse operations 

in Wee Waa and Warren in New South 

Wales and Goondiwindi in Queensland. The 

warehouse facilities are atmospherically controlled 

and give the capacity to store 675,000 

bales under cover. 

Namoi Cotton’s marketing book is 100 

per cent Australian cotton. Over 98 per cent 

of the cotton purchased by Namoi Cotton is 

sold to overseas markets, primarily to Asian 

spinning mills. 

In 2007, Namoi Cotton established a grain 

trading subsidiary known as Namoi Cotton 

Commodities. This new entity utilises Namoi 

Cotton’s infrastructure and capacities to target 

select grains and pulses for export and domestic 

trade opportunities. The commodities 

business is underpinned by our competitive 

regional presence, extensive grower relationships, 

supply chain efficiencies and Namoi 

Cotton’s financial strength. 

Namoi Cotton employs 130 full time 

staff and over 200 seasonal staff and casual 

employees. Staff training and development 

and the implementation of stringent safety 

standards are key priorities at Namoi Cotton. 

Namoi Cotton is committed to best practices 

in corporate governance and has implemented 

ASX’s best practices. 

Senior Management 


Jeremy Callachor 

Chief Financial Officer 

Stuart Greenwood 

Company Secretary 

Bailey Garcha 

General Manager Grower Services & 

Marketing 

David Lindsay 

General Manager Commodities 

Shane McGregor 

General Manager Export Sales 

Eimear McDonagh 

Logistics Manager 

Laurie Hoad 

Board of Directors 

Chairman 

Stuart Boydell 

Directors 

Richard Anderson 

Michael Boyce 

Norman Fussell 

Ben Coulton 

Glen Price 

Bruce Longworth 

Offices 

Wee Waa 

Phone: 02 6790 3000 

Fax: 02 6790 3087 

Toowoomba 

Phone: 07 4631 6100 

Fax: 07 4631 6184 

Goondiwindi 

Phone: 07 4671 6900 

Fax: 07 4671 6999 

Moree 

Phone: 02 6752 5599 

Fax: 02 6752 5357

SYDNEY PORTS 

GROWING AND WORKING TOGETHER 

Sydney PortS CorPoration iS SuPPorting trade growth by offering 

Cotton exPorterS more Streamlined SuPPly Chain ServiCeS. 

In 2010/11, cotton export through Sydney’s ports increased by 32%. 

Sydney Ports has a unique view of the entire supply chain. We work with all stakeholders 

in the freight logistics network to help create a more efficient supply chain and to ensure 

that these services meet the needs of cotton exporters both now and in the future. 

To find out more, please visit www.sydneyports.com.au 

www.sydneyports.com.au


Trangie 

Phone: 02 6888 9611 

Fax: 02 6888 9678 

Web site 


Gins 

Ashley 

Phone: 02 6754 2150 

Boggabri 

Phone: 02 6743 4084 

Hillston 

Phone: 02 6967 2951 

Macintyre 

Phone: 07 4671 2277 

Merah North 

Phone: 02 6795 5124 

Moomin 

Phone: 02 6796 5102 

Mungindi 

Phone: 02 6753 2145 

Trangie 

Phone: 02 6888 9729 

Wathagar 

Phone: 02 6752 5200 

Yarraman 

Phone: 02 6795 5196 

North Bourke 

Ginning 

The company is owned by three prominent 

cotton growers in the Bourke district. 

The gin specialises in ginning to grower 

specifications. It processes upland cotton and 

Pima cotton from all major cotton growing 

areas in northern New South Wales. 

Farm and gin offices 

Wanaaring Road, PO Box 573 

Bourke NSW 2840 

Office 

Phone: 02 6872 2833 

Fax: 02 6872 1072 


Chairman — Managing Director 

Ian Cole 

Phone: 02 6872 2833 

Gin Manager 

Phil Kavanagh 

Phone: 0419 287 940 

Directors 

Steve Buster 

Dan Buster 

Ian Cole 

North West 

Ginning 

North West Ginning is owned by three 

prominent industry people. Plant, facilities 

and services to North West Ginning customers 

are world class and the entire operation is 

certified by internationally recognised ISO 

9001 Quality Assurance Standards. 

The Lummus plant is capable of processing 

in excess of 130,000 bales per season 

and is renowned for the quality of cotton 

produced. Fully-gravelled, flood free module 

yard, covered bale storage and loading bay 

enables North West Ginning to maintain 

and deliver a quality product. 

North West Ginning also operates its own 

module field loaders and module transport 

operation to service its customers “from the 

field to the bale.” 

Office 

Whittakers Lagoon 

PO Box 916 Moree 2400 

Phone: 02 6752 3966 

Fax: 02 6751 1067 

E: manager@nwgin.com.au 

Board members 

Directors 

John Howes 

James Mulligan 

Paul Swansbra 

Management 


Wayne Clissold 


Robert Kennedy 

Queensland 

Cotton 

Queensland Cotton offers a full range of 

marketing options including daily cash prices, 

seasonal, area, minimum price and fixed 

bale pools. In additional, “on call” contracts 

are available. 

Services to growers are supported by 

seven gins in Queensland, (Cecil Plains, 

Dalby, Moura, Emerald, Dirranbandi and 

two in St George) as well as four in New 

South Wales, (Collymongle, Mungindi, 

Warren and Wee Waa) with a total capacity 

in excess of one million bales. 

Head office 

55 Wyandra Street 

Newstead Qld 4006 

PO Box 2245 

Fortitude Valley BC Qld 4006 

Phone: 07 3250 3300 

Fax: 07 3852 1600 

Web: www.qcotton.com.au 



Richard Haire 

Executive General Manager Marketing 

Bob Dall’Alba 

Executive General Manager Operations 

Jeff Ballentine 

E: jballentine@olamnet.com 

Gins 

Cecil Plains 

Phone: 07 4668 0106 

Collymongle 

Phone: 02 6756 2545 

Dalby 

Phone: 07 4662 5590 

Dirranbandi 

Phone: 07 4625 8464 

Emerald 

Phone: 07 4982 1522 

Moura 

Phone: 07 4997 1422 

Mungindi 

Phone: 02 6753 2600 

St George 

Phone: 07 4625 2145 

Beardmore, St George 

Phone: 07 4625 4144 

Warren 

Phone: 02 6847 4766 

Wee Waa 

Phone: 02 6795 7188 

Seed and grain 

Mt Tyson 

Phone: 07 4693 7166 

Marketing division 

Collymongle 

Phone: 02 6756 2545 

Dalby 

Phone: 07 4662 5220 

Emerald 

Phone: 07 4982 1522 

Goondiwindi 

Phone: 07 3250 3310 

Hemmant 

Phone: 07 3890 4333 

St George 

Phone: 07 4625 2145 

Warren 

Phone: 02 6847 4586 

Wee Waa 

Phone: 02 6795 3422 

Tandou 

Tandou is a public company with operations 

centred around the irrigated cropping 

of cotton and cereals on Tandou Farm, situated 

immediately south of the Menindee 

Lakes in south west NSW. 


The Quality & Service Ginning 

Company from Field to Bale 

North West will handle 

and process your cotton 

for the best results 

Step up to 

Quality Assured ginning 

by Australia’s premier 

independent ginning company 

North West Ginning is proud to 

announce two big achievements: 

• Its 20th Anniversary (1990 to 2010) 

• And ginning its 2,000,000th bale 

in 2010 

Whittaker’s Lagoon, PO Box 916, Moree, NSW, 2400 

Phone: (02) 6752 3966 —‐Fax: (02) 6751 1067 

If you want quality ginning talk to Wayne Clissold


Tandou has a Consolidated gin on-farm 

with two saw and eight roller gin stands to 

cater for the mix of upland and Pima varieties 

grown. When excess capacity is available, 

Tandou has on occasion contract ginned 

Pima cotton for other growers. 

Farm and gin office 

PO Box 19 

Menindee NSW 2879 

Farm office 

Phone: 08 8091 1513 

Fax: 08 8091 1512 

E: farm@tandou.com.au 

Administration office 

PO Box 5062 

Mildura VIC 3502 

Phone: 03 5018 6500 

Fax: 03 5018 6599 

E: tandou@tandou.com.au 


Guy Kingwill 

Gin Manager 

Steve Jesset 

Farm Manager 

Pat Sullivan 

Marketing consultants 

Commodity Hedging Company 

Manager: David Burton 

PO Box 216, Caloundra Qld 4551 

Phone: 0419 917 443 

E: dkb8@bigpond.com 

Web site: www.commhedge.com.au 

Farmarco Australia Pty Ltd 

Farmarco provides risk management and 

commodity marketing services and has been 

advising cotton growers on marketing since 

1985. 

Contacts: 

Robert Imray or David Thompson 

Toowoomba: 07 4637 6400 

E: farmarco@farmarco.com.au 

Web site: www.farmarco.com.au 

Cargill Cotton 

Cargill Cotton Australia specialises in 

buying cotton bales direct from the grower. 

In their current form they have been trading 

cotton for 10 seasons and have a good 

coverage over the cotton growing regions. 

Increasing marketshare and cotton community 

exposure have both been achieved with 

the support of growers in all areas. Today 

they have buying outlets in Toowoomba, 

Goondiwindi, Moree and Trangie. 

Their aim is to provide a competitive 

marketing service to the Australian cotton 

grower reflecting the true and fair market 

value of their product. Cargill Cotton utilises 

truly independent cotton classing at no cost 

to the grower, has a large pool of global 

industry resources and has strong financial 

stability. 

Cargill in Australia is involved in a wide 

range of agricultural sectors, as well as cotton, 

to cater for the Australian farmer. These 

services include the marketing of beef, grain 

and oilseeds and expertise in crop nutrition. 

Offices 

Brisbane Office 

Roger McCumstie 

Suite 2, 175 Given Terrace 

PO Box 875 

Paddington QLD 4064 

Phone 07 3367 2629 

Fax: 07 3367 3531 

Goondiwindi Office 

Phil Sloan 

PO Box 1203 

Goondiwindi QLD 4390 

Phone: 07 4671 0222 

Fax: 07 4671 3833 

Agents 

Gwydir Valley Agent 

Paul Kelly 

Moree Real Estate 

175 Balo Street 


Phone: 02 6751 1100 

Southern Area Agent 

Dave Dugan 

Joe Jones & Associates 

24 Dandaloo Street 

Trangie NSW 2823 

Merchants 

In addition to the integrated ginning and marketing services offered by 

processing companies — detailed on previous pages — the following 

companies are merchants of Australian cotton. 

Phone: 02 6888 7122 

Agent 

Pete Johnson 


Mobile: 0409 893 139 

General Email & Web sites 

E: cotton_aust@cargill.com 

Wesbites: www.cargillcotton.com 


ECOM 

Commodities 

ECOM Commodities is a fully owned 

subsidiary of ECOM Agroindustrial 

Corporation. ECOM Agroindustrial Corp 

is a family owned, global agribusiness that 

produces, processes and markets high value 

agricultural commodities such as cotton, coffee 

and cocoa. 

The foundations of the ECOM Group of 

Companies were laid in Barcelona, Spain, by 

the Esteve family during the 1840s. ECOM 

has since evolved into an international vertically 

integrated agribusiness. 

The ECOM Cotton Group established 

a domestic trade presence in Australia during 

1999, opening a marketing and logistics 

operation in Sydney, along with major 

regional procurement centres. ECOM 

Commodities in conjunction with our offices 

located in Singapore and Shanghai, services 

Australia and the Far East. The Singapore 

and Shanghai offices have been simultaneously 

established to further strengthen the 

group’s presence in the Asian and Pacific 

Rim regions. ECOM Commodities has a 

presence in most cotton producing and consuming 

markets worldwide. 

ECOM Commodities presents itself as a 

partner to the Australian cotton grower, not 

merely as a service provider. The strategic 

aims and objectives of ECOM Commodities 

revolve around a well-established vertically 

integrated group focus on procurement and 

distribution of Australian lint to the four 

corners of the globe. 

Cotton Trade Desk 

Matthew Bradd 

Scott Biffin 

Shipping and Logistics Manager 

Monique Lewis 


A tradition of service since 1849 

Namoi Valley 

Gwydir Valley 


Steve Dalton 

AgVantage 

Commodities Pty Ltd 

Ph: 02 6792 2962 

Your worldwide partner promoting a sustainable cotton supply chain from field to mill. 

MacIntyre Valley 

Geoff Webb 

AgVantage 

Commodities Pty Ltd 

Ph: 07 4671 1225 

Darling Downs 

Simon Donaldson 

Gebar Farming 

Ph: 0428 636 924 

St George & 

Dirranbandi 

Kelvin Bella 

Our-Tek Pty Ltd 

Ph: 0428 717 284 

Central 

Highlands & 


Don Cooper 

Cooper Consulting 

Ph: 0428 794 698 

Riverina 

Ross Harvie 

Ph: 0458 567 776 

webcottonoz@ecomtrading.com | www.ecomcommodities.com.au | www.ecomtrading.com


Head Office 

Suite 801, Level 8 

15 Castlereagh Street Sydney NSW 2001 

GPO Box 29 Sydney NSW 2001 

Phone: 02 9223 3631 

Fax: 02 9233 6206 

E: webcottonoz@ecomtrading.com 

Websites: 

www.ecomcommodities.com.au 

www.ecomtrading.com 

Agents 

Namoi Valley, Gwydir Valley and 


Steve Dalton 

AgVantage Commodities Pty Ltd 

Phone: 02 6792 2962 


Geoff Webb 


Phone: 07 4671 1225 

Darling Downs 


Gebar Farming 

Phone: 0428 636 924 

St George and Dirranbandi 

Kelvin Bella 


Phone: 0428 717 284 

Central Highlands and 


Don Cooper 


Phone: 0428 794 698 

Riverina 

Ross Harvie 

Phone: 0458 567 776 

Louis Dreyfus 

Commodities 

Through its acquisition of Dunavant 

Enterprises Pty Ltd and Dunavant 

Warehousing Pty Ltd, Louis Dreyfus entered 

the Australian cotton scene in 2010 as a substantial 

full time participant. 

Dunavant Enterprises Pty Ltd has been 

actively involved in marketing Australian 

Cotton since 1984. Head office is in 

Brisbane and Regional warehouse assets are 

located at Dalby (QLD) and Moree (NSW). 


Managing Director 

Gordon Cherry 

Treasury/Trading Manager 

Michael Thompson 

Lint Sales 

Bryan Haddad 


pace is easy going... 




Where you stroll the treelined streets 

simply for the sights or to meet 


drinks at the bar. The village itself 

helps set the community 

atmosphere, natural building 

materials and earthy tones blur 


alpine environment. Over 200 









Cotton Seed Sales 

Shane Taunton 

Warehouse & Business Development 

Manager 

Adam Nisbett 

Warehouses 

Moree: 02 6752 4655 

Dalby: 07 4662 6033 

Head Office 

2/130 Commercial Road 

Teneriffe QLD 4005 

PO Box 2142 

Fortitude Valley BC QLD 4006 

Phone: 07 3253 5999 

Fax: 07 3257 4131 

Grower Services 

AgPro Services Pty Ltd is a procurement 

company established in 2010, initially 

to represent core clients Louis Dreyfus 

Commodities Pty Ltd and Dunavant 

Ginning Pty Ltd, in Australia. 

Head Office 

Level 2 

17/76 Doggett St 


Phone: 07 3852 3321 

Fax: 07 3252 7081 

All Services 

Cathy Cook (Brisbane) 0407 253 784 

Tobin Cherry (Darling Downs) 

0418 244 699 

Rodney St Clair (Macquarie) 

0438 768 609 

Juanita Park (Namoi) 0428 753 282 

Simone James (Gwydir) 0427 005 063 

Administration Manager 

Angela Rottenberry (Brisbane office) 

Reinhart Australia 

Reinhart Australia Pty Limited is a 100 

per cent owned subsidiary of Paul Reinhart 

AG, Switzerland. The company was founded 

in 1788. 



Tim Storck 

Phone: 0417 269 063 

E: t.storck@reinhart.net.au 

Logistics Manager 

Cheng Zhang 

Phone: 0417 497 463 

E: c.zhang@reinhart.net.au 

Head Office 

Unit 10A Central Plaza 

532–542 Ruthven St 

Toowoomba QLD, 4350 

Phone: 07 4637 0970 

Fax: 07 4613 0947 


Loveland Products is a proprietary products company owned by Landmark. The Loveland 

Product range specialises in enhanced products within adjuvant, crop protection, seed 

treatment, and plant nutrition segments. 

Loveland Products is proud to introduce 2 new nutritional products available in Australia 

for the first time for the 2011/12 cotton crop. 

Awaken is a 16-0-2 with a very extensive chelated micronutrient 

package. Awaken can be used in furrow or applied as a 

foliar treatment. This is a nutrient solution containing ACA 

Chemistry - ACA stands for Agricultural Crop Additive. The 

technology behind ACA is zinc ammonium acetate and has 

been in the Loveland portfolio for many years. ACA, when 

used alone or in combination with other fertilizers, works as 

an extraction agent in the soil releasing tied up nutrients and 

making them more available to the plant as well as increasing 

photosynthetic activity when applied as a foliar treatment. 

New technology foliar nutritional, designed to remobilise 

key nutrients through its unique Inositol Technology - A 

proven plant nutrient uptake and transport synergist. This 

proprietary technology works to remobilise nutrients within 

the plant to maximise your current fertiliser program. This is a 

pharmaceutical grade formulation technology used to maximize 

nutrient ion uptake and mobilization within the plant. The 

formulation includes a micronutrient package specific to dicots. 

Loveland Products is dedicated to bringing the newest technology to Australia. If you have any questions 

on Loveland Products please contact your local Landmark branch, or visit lovelandproducts.com 

LM2890 

landmark.com.au



PROCESSING & 

MARKETING 



Independent classing services 

Australian Classing 

Services 

Australian Classing Services (ACS) commenced 

business in 2003 and quickly became the most technologically 

advanced independent cotton classing 

facility in Australia. 

ACS has an unrivalled in-house quality assurance 

program. This includes ‘cross checking’ HVI results 

between nine HVI Instruments, a service that no 

other classing room in Australia can perform. They 

also do ‘check tests’ where cotton with a known value 

is tested hourly to ensure the HVI machines are 

testing correctly. ACS also employs a qualified HVI 

technician to oversee any problems that might occur 

with the HVI machines. 

Purpose built software, streamlined systems and 

barcode scanners ensure classing results are delivered 

in an efficient timely fashion. They also enable traceability 

throughout the whole process. 

ACS realises trust is everything, that’s why they 

invite their clients to watch them work. This is a 

novel idea and aims to build trust and educate growers 

on the finer details of classing to assist them in 

making better agronomic and ginning decisions. 

The ACS facility boasts nine HVI, two Rapid 

Conditioners, and capacity to passively condition 

and test over 2.5 million samples per season. Cotton 

samples are conditioned and tested under precise 

atmospheric conditions in line with Classer’s BMP, 

USDA and the International Textile Manufacturers 

Federation (ITMF) standards for cotton testing. This 

is backed up by six USDA qualified classers. 

Head Office 

Pilliga Road 

PO Box 143 

Wee Waa NSW 2388 

Phone: 02 6790 3059 

Fax: 02 6790 3030 

E: admin@ausclass.com.au 

Manager 

Michael Howard 

Phone: 02 6790 3052 

Mobile: 0428 267 043 

E: mhoward@ausclass.com.au 

Administrator 

Marianne Phelps 

Phone: 02 6790 3059 

E: mphelps@ausclass.com.au 

ProClass Pty Ltd 

At ProClass every bale is treated individually, 

we understand consistency of results is essential 

and classing without bias is critical in gaining the 

industry’s trust and respect as a professional independent 

classing operation. We also encourage growers 

and merchants to view their cotton being tested 

and classed in our specially designed viewing room, 

where all aspects of our operation can be overseen 

and cotton samples can be viewed without jeopardising 

the independence of our operation. 

ProClass has invested in the most efficient HVI 

classing technology, which is serviced and maintained 

by the industry’s leading HVI technician. 

This, along with an expert team of USDA qualified 

classers with long term domestic and global experience 

ensures the accuracy of our results is second to 

none. 

ProClass also believes it has the most technically 

advanced passive air conditioning system in the 

industry, essential for accurate instrument testing 

and results. 

Not only does this benefit Australian growers and 

merchants, but will also meet the future needs of our 

mill customers that are increasingly demanding data 

from cotton classed using the best available technology. 

ProClass has adopted and again passed all requirements 

of the annual CSIRO/CCAA BMP audit. 

The service is open to all growers and merchants. 

Office and Classing Facility 

7 Troy Drive, Goondiwindi Qld 4390 

Phone: 07 46 710333 

Fax: 07 46 711333 

Staff 


Jon Hurford 

Mobile: 0428 710 333 

E: jon@proclass.com.au 



INDUSTRY ORGANISATIONS 


Major industry organisations 

Australian Cotton Industry Council....................................... 130 

Cotton Australia.................................................................... 130 

Associated industry bodies 

Aerial Agricultural Association of Australia........................... 132 

Australian Cotton Ginners’ Association................................. 132 

Australian Cotton Shippers’ Association................................. 132 

Cotton Agricultural Products Association............................... 133 

Cotton Classers’ Association of Australia................................ 133 

Cotton Catchment Communities CRC................................... 134 

Cotton Research and Development Corporation.................... 134 

Cotton Seed Distributors....................................................... 135 

Crop Consultants Australia.................................................... 135 

WinCott Women’s Industry Network – Cotton....................... 136 

Regional cotton grower associations........................................... 138 

129

• I N D U S T R Y O R G A N I S A T I O N S B Y E X C E L A G R I C U L T U R E • I N D U S T R Y O R G A N I S A T I O N S B Y E X C E L A G R I C U L T U R E • 

Cotton industry organisations 

Australian 

Cotton Industry 

Council 

The Australian Cotton Industry Council 

(ACIC) was established in March 1997 as a 

body representing all sectors of the cotton 

industry. ACIC meetings give the opportunity 

for communication across the different 

sectors of the Australian Cotton Industry. 

Office Bearers 

Chair 

• Peter Graham 

Phone: 02 6795 0000 

Mobile 0428 950000 

Deputy Chair 

• Mike Logan 

Phone: 0418 657111 

Company Secretary 

• Adam Kay 

Suite 4.01, 247 Coward Street 

Mascot NSW 2020 

Phone: 02 9669 5222 

Fax: 02 9669 5511 

E: adamk@cotton.org.au 

Web site: www.acic.org.au 

Members 

• Australian Crop Consultants Association 

• Australian Cotton Ginners Association 

• Australian Cotton Planting Seed 

Association 

• Australian Cotton Shippers Association 

• Cotton Agricultural Products Association 

• Cotton Australia Limited 

• Cotton Catchment Communities 

Cooperative Research Centre 

• Cotton Classers Association of Australia 

• Cotton Research and Development 

Corporation 

• Croplife Limited 

Cotton Australia 

Cotton Australia is the key representative 

body for the Australian cotton growing industry, 

led by a board of growers and ginners. 

Established in 1972 as the Australian 

Cotton Foundation, the organisation 

merged with the Australian Cotton Growers 

Research Association in 2009 and now provides 

one united voice for cotton growers 

across research, natural resource management 

and cotton production issues. 


THIS SECTION brought to you in 

asSociation with 

Cotton Australia Board 

Chair 

• Andrew Watson 

Deputy Chair 

• Lyndon Mulligan 

Directors 

• George Gallacher 

• Simon Corish 

• Andrew Parkes 

• Bob Dall’Alba 

• Jeremy Callachor 

• Liz Alexander 

• Stuart Armitage 

• Hamish McIntyre 

Head Office 

Suite 4.01, 247 Coward Street 

Mascot NSW 2020 

Phone: 02 9669 5222 

E: talktous@cottonaustralia.com.au 

Web site: www.cottonaustralia.com.au 

Head Office Staff 


• Adam Kay 

Mobile: 0437 695 222 

NSW Policy Manager 

• Greg Kauter 

Mobile: 0429 700 711 

NSW Policy Officer 

• Angela Bradburn 

Mobile: 0448 016 824 

National Communications Manager 

• David Bone 

Mobile: 0488 189 502 

Finance Manager 

• Therese Wooden 

Brisbane Office 

Level 6, 183 Quay St 

Brisbane QLD 4000 

Phone: 07 3837 4737 

Policy Manager Queensland and Water 

• Michael Murray 

Mobile: 0427 707 868 

Toowoomba Office 

115 Campbell Street 

Toowoomba QLD 4350 

Phone (07) 4639 4908 

Field Officer (Emerald) 

• Renee Anderson 

0448 125 156 

Narrabri Office 

Level 2, 2 Lloyd St 


Phone: 02 6792 6041 

Regional Manager NSW 

• James Houlahan 

Mobile: 0407 956 586 

Field Officer (Southern Region) 

• James Hill 

0408 892 317 

Cotton Australia Members 

• Auscott Limited 

• Biloela Cotton Growers’ Association 

• Brighann Ginning 

• Caroll Cotton Company Pty Ltd 

• Central Highlands Cotton Growers & 

Irrigators Association Inc 

• Cotton Seed Distributors 

• Crop Consultants Australia Ltd 

• Darling Downs Cotton Growers’ Inc 

• Darling River Cotton Pty Limited 

• Darling River Food and Fibre 

• Dawson Valley Cotton Growers’ 

Association 

• Dirranbandi Cotton Growers’ Association 

• Dunavant Enterprises Ltd 

• Gwydir Valley Cotton Growers’ 

Association 

• Lachlan and Murrumbidgee Cotton 

Growers’ Association 

• Lower Namoi Cotton Growers’ 

Association 

• Macintyre Valley Cotton Growers’ 

Association 

• Macquarie Cotton Growers’ Association 

• Menindee and Lower Darling Cotton 


• Mungindi Water Users’ and Cotton 


• Namoi Cotton Co-op 

• North Bourke Growers Ginning 

• North West Ginning Pty Limited 

• Queensland Cotton Corporation Limited 

• St George Cotton Growers’ Association 

• Tandou Ltd 

• Twynam Cotton Pty Ltd 

• Upper Namoi Cotton Growers 

Association 

• Walgett Cotton Growers’ Association 

• Wathagar Ginning Company

A DIVISION OF 

Agriculture 



Aerial Agricultural 

Association of 

Australia 

The Aerial Agricultural Association of 

Australia (AAAA) comprises operators of 

agricultural aircraft engaged in spraying, 

spreading and seeding and has membership 

of 90 per cent of those working in cotton 

growing areas. 

It has a commitment to maintaining and 

upgrading the training needs of all pilots, operations 

supervisors and ground support staff. 

This has been formally recognised in the 

development of Spraysafe, an AAAA initiative 

involving education, training and 

accreditation of industry personnel. 

Agricultural pilots must pass an examination 

based on the Spraysafe Pilots’ and 

Operators’ Manual. 

Ground support staff receive training 

under the program on the occupational 

health and safety aspects of their job as mixers 

and loaders. 

Aircraft operators must employ only 

approved pilots and have on-the-job training 

in place for their ground staff. 

Cotton growers are encouraged to support 

Spraysafe by having their aerial application 

carried out by accredited operators. 

AAAA contacts 


• Phil Hurst 

PO Box 353 

Mitchell ACT 2602 

Phone: 02 6241 2100 

Fax: 02 6241 2555 

Web: www.aerialag.com.au 

President 

• Peter Travers 


Ginners’ 

Association 

The Australian Cotton Ginners’ 

Association was formed on December 4, 1992 

and became an association of all the cotton 

processing organisations within Australia. 

Its aims are: 

• To promote the common business interests 

of persons engaged in the cotton ginning 

industry within Australia; 

• To encourage and promote co-operation; 

• To sponsor technical development; and, 

• To seek improvement of communications, 

education and safety within the 

ginning industry. 





President 

• Jeff Ballentine 

Queensland Cotton 

Phone: 07 3250 3360 

Fax: 073252 0593 

Mobile: 0427 173 768 

E: jballentine@olamnet.com 

Secretary/Treasurer 

• Wayne Towns 

Auscott Ltd 

Phone: 02 6799 1400 

Fax: 02 6799 1488 

Mobile: 0428 991 480 

E: wtowns@auscott.com.au 

Member Organisations 

• Auscott, Sydney 

• Brighann Ginning, Moree 

• Carroll Cotton, Carroll 

• Clyde Agriculture, Bourke 

• Dunavant Ginning, Brisbane 

• Koramba Ginning, Moree 

• Namoi Cotton, Wee Waa 

• North West Ginning, Moree 

• Queensland Cotton, Brisbane 


Shippers’ 

Association 

The Australian Cotton Shippers 

Association (ACSA) is principally involved in 

the enhancement of Australia’s cotton industry 

in our export and domestic markets. It 

also aims to promote best management practices 

and prosperity within the industry and 

the communities in which we operate. This 

especially includes the preservation of contract 

sanctity and adherence to established 

international trading terms; arbitration procedures 

and protection of the forward marketing 

platform. 

ACSA merchant members comprise the 

following: 

• Auscott Marketing 

• Cargill Cotton 

• Dunavant Ginning 

• Ecom Commodities 

• Namoi Cotton Cooperative 

• Queensland Cotton 

• Twynam Agricultural Group 

The organisation has the support of over 

30 Associate member firms who deliver 

finance, insurance, marketing, controlling, 

shipping and logistics services to the post 

farm gate supply chain. 

ACSA plays an active role in the local 

and international cotton arena through 

its membership of the Australian Cotton 

Industry Council (ACIC), the Australian 

Peak Shippers Association (APSA), the 

Committee for the Cooperation between 

Cotton Associations (CICCA) and the 

International Textile Manufacturers 

Federation (ITMF). All merchant members 

are also affiliated with the International 

Cotton Association (ICA). 

The Association is represented on the ACIC 

Trade Committee and Cotton Evaluation and 

Advancement Committee (CEAC), Cotton 

Australia and is a contributor to the Cotton 

Catchment Communities CRC. 

ACSA subscribes to the implementation 

of industry wide best management practices 

and has been supportive of developing BMP 

modules at each stage of the movement of 

cotton beyond the farm gate. 

ACSA has continued to support BMP by 

collaborating with Cotton Australia providing 

education to brand owners and more 

recently has partnered with Cotton Australia 

and CRDC in the Premium Cotton 

Initiative. ACSA also undertakes regular visits 

to both traditional and emerging markets 

to promote Australian cotton. 

It has been improving dialogue with 

growers, seed breeders, seed companies, 

CSIRO Plant Industry and CSIRO Materials 

Science and Engineering to ensure that 

messages from the market are fed back to 

those who can influence the direction of our 

research and development. The interaction 

afforded by participation in these activities 

demonstrates ACSA’s commitment to the 

industry as a whole. 


Chairman 

• Phil Sloan 

Cargill Cotton 

Phone: 07 4671 4638 

Vice Chairman 

• Bryan Haddad 

Louis Dreyfus Commodities 

Phone: 07 3253 5999 

Contact 

Secretariat 

• Tracey Byrne-Morison 

Phone: 07 3848 3823 

PO Box 4 

Annerley QLD 4103 

Web: www.austcottonshippers.com.au 

E: cottonshippers@bigpond.com


Cotton Agricultural 

Products 

Association 

The Cotton Agricultural Products 

Association (CAPA) was formed in 1995 to 

lift the profile of the cotton merchandise distributors 

and to present a common voice to 

other industry associations. 

CAPA provides a forum for objectively 

discussing industry issues involving product 

supply, industry practices, service levels and 

new technology introduction. It is a member 

of the Australian Cotton Industry Council. 

Members 

• Ag-N-Vet 

• B and W Rural 

• Cotton Growers Services 

• Elders Ltd 

• McGregor Gourlay Agricultural 

Services 

• North West Seed Producers 

• Pursehouse Rural 

• Total Ag Services 

• Landmark 

Chairman 

• Peter Weal 

B & W Rural 

Phone: 02 6752 5300 



Secretary 

• Rob Dugdale 

CGS Wee Waa 

Phone: 02 6795 3100 

Cotton Classers’ 

Association of 

Australia 

The Cotton Classers’ Association of 

Australia (CCAA) has four members and two 

Associate members. 

The aim of the CCAA is to promote consistency 

between classing facilities within 

Australia, both merchant and independent. 

The CCAA monitors this consistency 

through regular internal check tests for 

both visual and HVI testing. The CCAA is 

also involved in an international program – 

Commercial Standardisation of Instrument 

Testing (CSITC). All data from testing programs 

are analysed indepently and results 

sent to classing facilities. 

The CCAA is firmly committed to its 

BMP program to ensure that Australian cotton 

growers and end users worldwide have 

their cotton graded consistently under the 

best possible conditions. 

CCAA Best Management Practice 

If Australia is to maintain its reputation as 

a consistent supplier of high quality cotton 

it will need to ensure that classing facilities 

in Australia consistently specify their cotton. 

To do this the cotton classing sector is 

assessed independently to, amongst others, 

determine compliance with the current Best 

Management Practice (BMP) for Classing 

handbook, compiled by the Cotton Classers 

Association of Australia (CCAA), via formal 

audits. These audits are conducted currently 

by René van der Sluijs of CSIRO’s Materials 

Science and Engineering (CMSE), an organisation 

which is considered to be independent. 

These audits allow individual facilities to 

make technical and operational corrections 

to their practice so that ultimately the industry 

can achieve consistent and better prediction 

of classing grades. 

There are currently six classing facilities in 

Australia, all of which are certified by Cotton 

COTTON YEARBOOK 2010 2011 — 133


Australia as compliant to the current version 

of the BMP handbook for classing. 

The six classing facilities are: 

• Australian Classing Services, WeeWaa; 

• Auscott Limited, Sydney; 

• ProClass Pty Ltd,Goondiwindi; 

• Queensland Cotton, Brisbane; 

• Northern Rivers Independent classing, 

Moree; and, 

• 1ST Classing, Goondiwindi. 


President 

• Greg Parle, Auscott Ltd 

Phone: 02 9439 0514 

Secretary 

• Krista Page, Queensland Cotton 

07 33503300 

Treasurer 

• Michael Summers, Auscott Ltd 

Phone: 02 9439 0514 

Cotton Catchment 

Communities 

Cooperative 

Research Centre 

The Cotton Catchment Communities 

CRC is an industry partnership leading 

research, development, education and 

commercialisation in the Australian cotton 

industry. The Cotton CRC over the past 

seven years has provided innovative knowledge 

to stimulate economic, social and environmental 

outcomes at farm, regional and 

national levels. 

The Cotton CRC aims to: 

• Develop internationally competitive cotton 

farming systems; 

• Best practice cotton enterprises delivering 

sustainable ecosystems and reduced 

impacts on catchments; 

• Mutually beneficial interactions between 

industry and regional communities; 

• High quality, consumer preferred cotton; 

and, 

• Increased adoption of new knowledge 

and enhanced decision-making capability 

of people working in or with the cotton 

industry, its catchments and communities. 

The activities of Cotton CRC have contributed 

to industry development in many 

areas including insect management, water 

use efficiency, natural resource management 

and social science. 

The collaborative research, education 

and commercialisation model that forms the 

foundation of the Cotton CRC concept is 

readily transferable on a global scale, as are 




many of the goals pursued and outcomes 

achieved. 

The Cotton CRC is due to wind up in 

June 2012. 

Address 

Australian Cotton Research Institute 

Locked Bag 1001 


Phone: 02 6799 1500 

Fax: 02 6793 1171 

Web: www.cottoncrc.org.au 

Cotton Research 

and Development 

Corporation 

The Australian Government and the cotton 

industry established Cotton Research 

and Development Corporation (CRDC) in 

1990 as a research and development partnership. 

This successful model has provided 

valuable industry-driven investments in 

R&D to secure cotton industry innovation 

and sustainability. 

The vision of CRDC is for a globally 

competitive and responsible cotton industry. 

To achieve this, CRDC works closely with 

its government and industry stakeholders 

to invest in innovation, knowledge creation 

and technology transfer to the cotton farmers 

who invest through their levies. Much of 

the value of CRDC’s work extends beyond 

the farm and capacity of industry to the post 

farm gate sector, the cotton communities 

and the public. 

CRDC works directly with cotton farmers 

and their industry in a partnership that 

sets the strategic direction for investment in 

research and development. From this interaction 

with cotton farmers and their industry, 

CRDC annually invests in knowledge creation 

to maximise the benefits of public and 

industry funds. 

CRDC delivers economic, social and 

environmental outcomes to cotton growers, 

regional communities and the nation. 

Economically, there are benefits from productivity 

gains, employment and human 

capital attributed to the cotton value-chain. 

Environmentally, the industry is actively 

working towards reducing the impact it has 

on the environment, and socially, regional 

communities benefit through greater 

employment and opportunity. 

The Australian Government sets priorities 

for national rural R&D and these priorities 

include productivity and adding value, supply 

chain and markets, natural resource management, 

climate variability and change and 

biosecurity. CRDC investment strategies are 

also geared to deliver against these government 

policies. 

Through its five-year strategic R&D plan 

the CRDC expresses the industry’s vision of 

a globally competitive and responsible cotton 

industry. Hence the CRDC strategic mission 

is the ‘quest for sustainable competitive advantage’. 

Within the current CRDC Strategic 

R&D Plan 2008–13, three goals guide the 

Corporation’s investment decisions; they are: 

• Add value to the Australian cotton industry 

with premium products operating in 

improved routes to market; 

• Cotton in a highly productive farming 

system with improved environmental performance; 

and, 

• A culture of innovation and learning. 

CRDC R&D investment funds are 

derived through a $2.25 per bale levy on 

all cotton produced in Australia. This 

grower contribution of levies is matched by 

Australian Government matching contributions 

up to 0.5 per cent of the gross value 

of cotton production; or up to an amount 

not exceeding the average contribution from 

grower levies over a rolling three year period. 

Additionally, CRDC receives income from 

royalties paid from exploitation of IP developed 

through R&D investment. 

CRDC co-invests these funds with a 

wide range of research providers to achieve 

a balanced set of R&D outcomes to meet 

the goals described in the Strategic R&D 

Plan. CRDC has invested in successive 

cotton industry cooperative research centres 

(CRCs). CRDC has invested up to $4 

million annually in the current CRC, The 

Cotton Catchments Communities CRC, 

which concludes in June 2012. 

Key research partners include CSIRO, 

universities, state agricultural departments, 

specialist consultants and individuals. 

Annually CRDC advertises for new project 

investment with proposals and expressions of 

interest with current researchers. Information 

associated with applications and how to 

apply is available from CRDC and from our 

website: www.crdc.com.au. 

Given the linkages between cotton 

production and CRDC’s revenue, the 

Corporation has necessarily managed down 

R&D investment in recent years. The resurgence 

in production has resulted in a much 

improved outlook for R&D investment.

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Address 

2 Lloyd Street 

PO Box 282 Narrabri NSW 2390 

CRDC Board of Directors to 

September 30 2011 

Chairman 

• Mike Logan 

Executive Director 

• Bruce Finney 

Non-executive directors 

• Mary Corbett 

• Richard Haire 

• Hamish Millar 

• Michael Robinson 

• Cleave Rogan 

• Lorraine Stephenson 

R&D Management Team 

General Manager R&D Investment 

• Bruce Pyke 

General Manager Business & Finance 

• Graeme Tolson 

Communications Manager 

• Rohan Boehm 

Manager Farming Systems Investment 

• Tracey Leven 

Manager Value Chain Investment 

• Dallas Gibb 

Executive Assistant 

• Dianne Purcell 

Project Administration Officer 

• Margaret Wheeler 

Trainee Accountant 

• Elizabeth Eather 

Cotton Seed 

Distributors Ltd 

With a heritage of over 45 years, Cotton 

Seed Distributors Ltd (CSD) has been the 

leading supplier of quality cotton planting 

seed to the Australian Cotton Industry. CSD 

was formed through the vision of Australia’s 

foundation cotton growers in 1967 and today 

is a company which remains proudly owned 

and controlled by Australian cotton growers. 

CSD has developed a long successful partnership 

with the CSIRO Cotton Breeding 

Program which has evolved over time to see 

CSD become a major investor in cotton 

breeding and cotton research and development. 

Our objective is to deliver the cotton 

industry leading varieties which are specifically 

bred and adapted to suit local growing 

conditions which keep Australian growers at 

the premium end of the global fibre market. 

On behalf of the cotton industry, CSD 

takes an active role in the development and 




licensing of biotechnology traits that add 

value to the overall performance of CSD varieties 

and to Australian growers. Dedicated 

research is very important to the cotton 

industry and to CSD. CSD is a core partner 

in the Cotton Catchment Communities 

Cooperative Research Centre (Cotton CRC) 

which services cotton industry research needs. 

Among the core activities of CSD are: 

• Large-scale replicated trials focused on 

new and existing varieties to assess performance 

under different environmental 

conditions. These trials are an extension 

of the CSIRO breeding program. 

Annually we aim to conduct approximately 

60 trials across the length and 

breadth of industry, all managed in accordance 

with industry protocols. 

• Provision of industry wide extension services 

focused on cotton production and agronomy. 

This service is provided by our dedicated 

Extension and Development team. 

• The development and production of a 

range of timely and topical publications 

which address important seasonal issues 

for growers and consultants. 

• Development of a comprehensive, constantly 

updated interactive website, featuring 

weekly video material, trial tracking capacity, 

crop in progress reports, trial results, 

research, varieties, pest, disease, agronomy 

and management details and data. 

• Delivery of annual Information Tour 

which covers all major cotton growing 

regions, facilitating face to face interaction 

and feedback. 

• The growing of seed crops with dedicated 

seed increase growers, based on world’s 

best seed production practices to ensure 

that CSD is able to supply commercial 

volumes of elite varieties to growers ‘in 

full on time’. 

• The development of modern cotton seed 

storage, processing and treatment facilities 

which offer growers unmatched flexibility 

and service. 

For further information please visit the 

CSD website at www.csd.net.au. 

Staff 

Managing Director 

• Peter Graham 

Personal Assistant to MD 

• Belinda Steigrad 

Executive Assistant 

• Alison Woods 


• Stephen Ainsworth 

Group Chief Financial Officer 

• David Coleman 

Extension and Development Agronomists 

• Rob Eveleigh (Namoi valleys) 

• Bob Ford (Macquarie, Lachlan and 

Bourke) 

• John Marshall (Darling Downs and 

Central Queensland) 

• Alex North (Border Rivers, Dirranbandi 

and St George) 

• James Quinn (Gwydir valley) 

Group Operations Manager 

• Tony Stove 

Product Development Manager 

• Phil Steel 

Laboratory and Quality Assurance Manager 

• Brett Ross 

Seed Product Manager 

• Stephen Beale 

CSD Farming Manager 

• Jack Murray 

Logistics Co-ordinator 

• Jarred Hetherington 

Plant Pathologist 

• Dr Stephen Allen 

Address 

Head Office 

Cotton Seed Distributors Ltd 

‘Shenstone’ 

2952 Culgoora Road 


or 

PO Box 117, Wee Waa NSW 2388 

Phone: 02 6795 0000 

Fax: 02 6795 4966 

Web: www.csd.net.au 

Dalby Office 

Cnr Edward and Napier Streets 

PO Box 756 

Dalby Qld 4405 

Phone: 07 4662 6050 

Fax: 07 4662 6060 

Crop Consultants 

Australia 

The CCA supports those that provide agronomic 

advice to Australia’s cotton, grain, pulse 

and oilseed producers. The association provides 

a forum for information exchange, networking, 

professional development and technical training 

of agronomists and those with an interest 

in agronomy. CCA promotes and enhances 

crop consultancy as a profession.


Independent and Corporate membership 

categories are available in recognition 

of those that are self-employed or work 

for an independent consultant or farming 

enterprise and those that are attached to an 

industry organisation including researchers, 

government employees, chemical company 

employees and sales agronomists. 

CCA publishes a fortnightly e-newsletter 

and hosts professional development events such 

as the Cropping Solutions Seminars, held each 

year in Queensland and New South Wales. 

Each two day seminar includes technical 

updates, research information, product updates 

and plenty of opportunities for networking. 

Other activities include participation in 

industry resistance monitoring activities, the 

publication of a membership directory and 

representation at industry forums to ensure 

consultants and agronomists continue to 

have a voice as issues arise. 

Each season CCA members contribute 

data to the Cotton Market Audit and the 

Cotton Consultants Survey. 

This data indicates industry trends, product 

usage and helps industry to better understand 

on-farm practices. The data represents 

excellent coverage of Australia’s cotton production 

area and is available for purchase 

from the association. 

CCA and its members play a vital role in 

the production, management and development 

of Australia’s cotton and broadacre 

cropping systems. 

For further information contact: 

Crop Consultants Australia Incorporated 

PO Box 11380, 

Centenary Heights QLD 4350 

Mob: 0429 925 459 

Fax: 07 3036 6357 

E: info@cropconsultants.com.au 

www.cropconsultants.com.au 

WinCott 

Women’s Industry 

Network – Cotton 

Wincott – Women in Cotton – was 

established in December 2000 to help develop 

knowledge, opportunities and learning 

for women involved in any aspect of the 

Australian cotton industry. Wincott has since 

grown and expanded to provide professional 

and personal development for all women living 

in rural communities. 

Wincott functions with the dedication of 

a group of volunteers-geographically spread 

across the cotton industry who are passionate 

about their industry and assisting others to 

achieve personally growth, develop business 

skills, have influence as community members 



and to support our environment. 

2010–11 achievements were made possible 

by the support of ANZ our major sponsor, 

access to various grants through the CRDC, 

and various initiatives by individuals. 

• Dawson Valley and the devastating Qld 

floods – Wincott was able to step up and 

help with the Recovery Appeal. A film 

night in Narrabri raised over $2000 for 

the Dawson Valley. The money was used 

for counselling and coaching workshop 

for growers. 

• Discovery Tour – To Where All the Rivers 

Run – partially funded by CRDC – an 

educational tour to the Murray River 

Mouth in SA learning about other agricultural 

and environmental issues along 

the way. A unique aspect of this tour 

group is that they continue to support 

each other with industry issues on a regular 

basis. 

• A Natural Resources Management Survey 

– Aimed to identify various on-farm barriers 

and challenges and the important 

role that women can play in supporting 

their businesses. Results from this survey 

have been used to inform various industry 

organisations. 

• Education-Farm Skills-Employment – 

Driven by Georgie Carrigan working 

with Calrossy High School – has hosted 

field days on farm, work experience visits, 

and commercial industry involvement to 

showcase what agriculture has to offer. 

2011–12 projects 

• Community Action Fund – Wincott, in 

conjunction with Goondiwindi Training 

and Technology (GTT), is facilitating 

a full day workshop in October 

2011 with Ian Plowman on Community 

Conversations – Meetings without 

Discussions. The purpose of the workshop 

is to build the capacity and sustainability 

of rural communities. 

• Northern Agricultural discovery tour. 

• Supporting women to utilise the myBMP 

cotton industry resource centre. 

Wincott provides free membership to all 

women in rural Australia. Registering is easy 

via our website www.wincott.net.au. The 

network is an inclusive organisation and is 

unique in that it brings all industry sectors 

together, sharing information and increasing 

their knowledge. 

• Is a support network, not only for women 

in the cotton industry, but for women in 

wider rural Australia. 

• Promotes communication between 

women. 

• Aims to increase awareness of industry 

and rural issues. 

• Is an avenue for constructive feedback to 

both industry and government. 

• Provides support for women new to the 

industry by providing a starter kit and 

other industry information. 

• Distributes an informative bi-monthly 

newsletter. 

• Supports regional activities such as field 

days, training and networking events. 

Wincott is an excellent ‘vehicle’ to work 

with and support the industry, and learn 

valuable leadership skills in a friendly environment. 

For more information on how you can 

become involved visit the website www.wincott.net.au 

or contact one of our 2011–12 

committee members. 

Chair 

• Anne Coote (Moree) 

E: annecoote@cgs.com.au 

Vice Chair 

• Georgie Carrigan (Boggabri) 

E: kiag@westnet.com.au 

Secretary 

• Heike Watson (Boggabri) 

E: heike.feiler@gmx.net or 

wincott.news@ozcotton.net 

Ph: 0267 434 263 

Mobile: 0488 434 263 

Treasurer and Public Officer 

• Libby Gardiner 

E: libgardiner@bigpond.com 

Communications/Publicity 

• Helen Dugdale (Narrabri) 

E: helend@northnet.com.au 

Website/Newsletter 

• Kate Schwager (Wee Waa) 

E: ks@webteamaustralia.com 

Committee 

• Barb Grey (Mungindi) 

E: rgr33982@bigpond.net.au 

• Sally Ceeney (Warren) 

E: ms.ceeney@gmail.com 

• Elissa Wegener (Dalby) 

E: Elissa.Wegener@olamnet.com 

• Alison Benn (St.George) 

E: kabenn1@activ8.net.au 

• Sally Dickinson (Moree) 

E: sally.dickinson@gvia.com.au 

• Laura McPherson (Hillston) 

E: lauramacpherson@cgs.com.au 

• Danni Stanton (Emerald) 

E: dannistanton@cgs.com.au 



Regional cotton grower associations 

Biloela 

Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

President 

• Tim Sullivan 

Phone 07 4992 1354 

Fax: 07 4992 1187 

Mobile: 0429 340 759 

Secretary 

• Phillip Wilkie 

Phone: 07 4992 1716 

Fax: 07 4992 1716 

Mobile: 0427 982 410 

Darling River 

Food & Fibre 

(Bourke) 

President 

• Ian Cole 

Phone: 02 6872 2833 

Fax: 02 6872 1072 

Vice Presidents 

• Tony Thompson 

Phone: 02 6872 1999 

Fax: 02 6872 3061 

• Mitch Abbo 

Phone: 02 6870 8501 

Fax: 02 6870 8599 

Darling 

Downs Cotton 

Growers Inc. 

President 

• Stuart Armitage 

Phone: 07 4668 0190 

Fax: 07 4668 0558 

Mobile: 0428 680 190 

Vice-President 

• Glenn Bischof 

Mobile: 0427 580 638 

Secretary 

• Meg Kummerow 

Phone: 07 4693 8527 

Mobile: 0427 606 983 

Fax: 07 4693 8601 

Treasurer 

• Jonathon Mengel 

Phone: 07 4668 0681 

Fax: 07 4668 0624 

Mobile: 0427 790 402 

Address 

Cotton House 

PO Box 114 

Dalby Qld 4405 

www.ddcgi.com.au 

Dawson 

Valley 

Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

Address 

PO Box 18 

Theodore, Qld. 4719 

President 

• Fleur Anderson 

Phone: 07 4993 1003 

Mobile: 0409 620 302 

E: dvcga@me.com 

Vice President 

• Peter French 

Phone: 07 4993 1198 

Fax: 07 4993 1295 

Treasurer 

• Lester Anderson 

Phone: 07 4993 1518 

Fax: 07 4993 1290 

Secretary 

• David Moore 

Phone: 07 4993 1039 

Mobile: 0428 931 039 

E: dvcga@me.com 

Dirranbandi 

Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

Address 

PO Box 332 

Dirranbandi Qld 4486 

President 

• Donald Crothers 

Phone: 07 4625 0826 

Fax: 07 4625 0827 

E: crothersp@bigpond.com 

Secretary 

• Martin Sullivan 

Phone: 07 4625 8329 

Fax: 07 4625 8380 

E: mandksullivan@ 

bigpond.com 

Treasurer 

• Garth Ferguson 

Phone: 07 4625 0960 

Fax: 07 4625 0909 

Central 

Highlands 

Cotton 

Growers’ and 

Irrigators’ 

Association 

President 

• Ross Burnett 

Mob: 0427 336 340 

E: rossb81@hotmail.com 


• George Sypher 

Mob: 0428 741 972 or 07 

4938 0184 

E: gksypher@bigpond.com 

Treasurer 

• Brad Anderson 

Mob: 0409 840 008 

E: kerrydownscotton@bigpond.com 

Secretary 

• Emma McCullagh 

Mob: 0438 789 488 

E: secretary@ 

centralhighlandsirrigators.org.au 

5th member 

• Brad Whittington 

Phone: 07 4982 8707 

E: bradley.whittington@ 

aacc.edu.au 

Immediate Past President 

• Cam Geddes 

Mob: 0400 009 190 

E: cam.geddes@bigpond. 

com 

this section brought to 

you in asSociation with 

Address 

PO Box 33 

Emerald Qld 4720 

\ 

Gwydir 

Valley Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

Chair 

• Tony Bailey 

Phone: 02 6754 2147 

Fax: 02 6754 2099 

Mob: 0428 657 455 

E: tbailey@aff-limited. 

com.au 

Vice Chairs 

• Sarah Ball 

Mob: 0427 667 522 

Fax: 02 6752 4658 

E: sarah@ballfm.com.au 

• Nick Gillingham 

Phone: 02 6753 3000 

Mob: 0427 253 581 

E: nick.gillingham@sundownpastoral.com.au 

Secretary/Treasurer: 

• Zara Lowien 

Mob: 0427 521 399 

Phone: 02 6752 1399 

E: gwydircotton@gwydircotton.com.a 

Address 

PO Box 824 




Lachlan and 

Murrumbidgee 

Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

Address 

PO Box 50 

Hillston NSW 2675 

President 

• Mal Pritchard 

Mobile: 0448 130 072 

Secretary 

• Alastair Cochrane 

Mobile: 0427 674 143 

Lower Namoi 

Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

Chairman 

• Brendon Warnock 

434 Kaputar Rd 


Phone: 0429 944 800 

E: brendonwarnock@ 

bigpond.com 

Vice Chair 

• Amanda Gilmour 

Arnfarm Pty Ltd 

PO Box 60 


Phone: 02 6795 5355 

Fax: 02 6795 5356 

E: arnfarm1@bigpond.com 

Secretary 

• Phil Firth 

PO Box 335 


Phone: 02 6793 3167 

Mob: 0427 657 532 

E: pjfirthy@bigpond.com 

Treasurer 

• Robert Eveleigh 

PO Box 218 

Narrabri 2390 

Phone :02 6792 2772 

Mobile: 0427 915 921 

E: roberte@csd.net.au 

Cotton Australia 

• James Houlahan 

PO Box 322 


Phone: 02 6792 6041 

Fax: 02 6792 6042 

Mobile: 0407 956 586 

Executive Officer: 

• TBA 

PO Box 388 


Phone: 02 6795 3777 

Fax: 02 6795 4904 

All correspondence to: 

PO Box 388 


Macintyre 

Valley Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

Chairman 

• Nigel Corish 

Phone: 07 4671 1530 

Mobile: 0409 904 500 

E: yambocully@bigpond. 

com 

Vice-Chairman 

• Hamish Johnstone 

Phone: 07 4676 5134 

Mobile: 0428 765 125 

E: hjohnstone@primeag. 

com.au 

Vice-Chairman 

• Tony Taylor 

Phone: 07 4677 5164 

Fax: 07 4677 5174 

Mobile: 0428 775 164 

E: nfagroman@bigpond. 

com.au 

Executive Officer 

• Cate Wild 

Mobile: 0409 714 107 

E: mvcga@hotmail.com 

Treasurer 

• Belinda Duddy 

Phone: 07 4671 1878 

Fax: 07 4671 2241 

Mobile: 0411 094 024 

E: belinda.duddy@gmail. 

com 

Management Committee 

• Simon Corish 

• Anthony Morgan 

• Tom Coulton 

• John Norman 

• Andrew Dayas 

• Ben Coulton 

• Ben Taylor 

• Craig Collier 

Macquarie 

Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

Chairman 

• Jamiee Carrigan 

PO Box 99 

Trangie NSW 2823 

E: jcarrigan@namoicotton. 

com.au 

MRFF Representative 

• Susan Madden 

PO Box 1657 

Dubbo NSW 2830 

Phone: 02 6884 9577 

Fax: 02 6882 8838 

Mobile: 0400 849 577 

E: mrff@bigpond.com 

Department of Ag 

• Leigh Jenkins 

Dept Ag 


Phone: 02 6847 4507 

Fax: 02 6847 3664 

Mobile: 0419 277 480 

E: leigh.jenkins@agric.nsw. 

gov.au 

Secretary 

• Michele Martin 

PO Box 204 


Phone: 02 6847 3244 

Fax: 02 6847 4176 

Mobile: 0428 688 222 

E: michele@ 

martinmulcahy.com.au 

Committee 

• Craig McDonald 

Phone: 02 6889 1600 

Mobile: 0427 891 600 

E: craigmcdonald@agnvet. 

com.au 

• Luke Sampson 

PO Box 246 

Narromine NSW 2821 

Mobile: 0427 701 986 

E: luke.sampson@monsanto.com 



• James Austin 

Phone: 02 6888 9666 

Mobile: 0458 889 331 

E: jsa_austin@hotmail.com 

• Broker McAlary 

Milawa 


Mobile: 0408 410 228 

E: milawa1@bigpond. 

com.au 

• Sally Ceeney 

Phone: 02 6888 9771 

Mobile: 0459 189 771 

E: ms.ceeney@gmail.com 

• Gus Obrien 

Hatton 


Phone: 02 6847 4748 

Mobile: 0418 686 129 

E: gus.obrien@bigpond. 

com 

• Cam Ferguson 

Phone: 02 6888 7755 

E: camferg@bluemaxx. 

com.a 

Cotton Australia Reps 

• Bill Tyrwhitt 

Auscott 


Phone: 02 68476390 

E: btrywhitt@auscott.com. 

au 

• Sally Ceeney 


Phone: 02 6883 7100 

Fax: 02 68473664 

Mobile: 0429 604489 

E: sally.ceeney@dpi.nsw. 

gov.au 

Acting Secretary 

• Sharanne Turnbull 

PO Box 204 


Phone: 02 6847 3244 

Mobile: 0488 242 231 

E: sharanne@martinmulcahy.com 



Menindee 

and Lower 

Darling 

Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

The MLDCGA was formed 

in 1998 by employees of Tandou 

Ltd to improve the flow of information 

and Cotton Australia’s 

services and resources to our isolated 

location. Tandou Ltd is the 

only cotton growing enterprise 

in the area. 

Office 

‘Tandou’ via Menindee 

PO Box 19 

Menindee NSW 2879 

Phone: 08 8091 1513 

Fax: 08 8091 1512 

President 

• Brendan Barry 

E: bbarry@tandou.com.au 

Secretary 

• David McClure 

Phone: 08 8091 1513 

E: dmcclure@tandou. 

com.au 

Treasurer 

• Sammy Jo Field 

Phone: 08 8091 1513 

F.ax: 08 8091 1512 

E: sfield@tandou.com.au 

Mungindi 

Cotton 

Growers’ and 

Water Users’ 

Association 

Chairman 

• Anthony Barlow 

Phone: 02 6753 2338 

Fax: 02 6753 2386 

Mobile: 0427 537 253 

E: wyadrigah@bigpond.co 



Vice Chairman 

• Barbara Grey 

Phone: 02 6753 2280 

Mob: 0427 448712 

Fax: 02 6753 2077 

E: rgr33982@bigpond. 

net.au 


• Ralph Grey 

Phone: 02 6753 2280 

Fax: 02 6753 2077 

Mobile: 0427 532 280 

E: rgr33982@bigpond. 

net.au 

Cotton Australia Rep 

• Geoff Brownlie 

Phone: 02 6753 2018 

Mobile: 0428 935 094 

E: brownlieg@bigpond.com 

BRFF Reps NSW 

• Bruce Coward 

Mobile: 0427 535326 

E: ab.barra@bigpond.com 

• Brett Corish 

Phone: 02 6753 2031 

Fax: 02 6753 2435 

Mobile: 0427 743 846 

E: tundunna@bigpond.com 

BRFF Reps QLD 

• Rob Harpham 

Phone: 02 6753 7294 

Fax: 02 6753 7315 

Mobile: 0427 728866 

E: rhharpham@fastmail.fm 

• Glen Price 

Phone: 02 67532391 

Fax: 02 67532382 

Mobile: 0429 169676 

E: gsprice@bigpond.net.au 

NSW Border Rivers Council 

• Bruce Coward 

Mobile: 0427 535326 

E: ab.barra@bigpond.com 

NSW Customer Service Committee 


Phone: 02 6753 2031 

Fax: 02 6753 2435 

Mobile: 0427 743 846 


Mobile: 0427 537253 

E: wyadrigah@bigpond.com 

BRWSAC 


Phone: 02 6753 2031 

Fax: 02 6753 2435 

Mobile: 0427 743 846 


St George 

Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

Address 

PO Box 424 

St George 4487 

President 

• Ed Willis 

Phone: 07 4625 9158 

Fax: 07 4625 9057 

E: bullamonplains@bigpond.com 


• Craig Saunders 

Phone: 07 4625 4277 

Fax: 07 4625 4418 

Treasurer 

• Nick Rinaudo 

Phone: 0428 710 298 

Secretary 

• Johnelle Rogan 

Phone: 07 4625 2123 

Fax: 07 4625 2103 

Upper Namoi 

Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

Address 

PO Box 855 

Gunnedah 2380 

President 

• Ron Smith 

Mobile: 0448 228 511 

E: rsmith@primeag.com.au 


• Julie Glover 

Mobile: 0427 426 393 

E: Weetaliba@bigpond.com 

Walgett 

Cotton 

Growers’ 

Association 

President 

• Wally Friend 

Phone: 02 6828 5234 

Fax: 02 6828 5302 

Mobile: 0419 611 722 

Secretary 

• Lori Nemec 

c/- ‘Carlton’ 

Walgett NSW 2832 

Mobile: 0427 693 796 

E: lanemec@yahoo.com 

Mungindi to Menindee 

• Anthony Barlow 

Phone: 02 6753 2338 

Fax: 02 6753 2386 


S E C T I O N 1 0 


Ag chemicals & fertilisers... 142 

Cotton classing................... 145 

Education.......................... 146 

Employment....................... 146 

Ginning............................. 146 

Ginning & marketing........ 146 

Insurance........................... 147 

Irrigation........................... 147 

Machinery......................... 149 

Marketing.......................... 151 

Precision agriculture.......... 151 

Real estate......................... 151 

Seed supplies...................... 152 

Shipping & handling......... 152 

Tarps................................. 152 

Tillage............................... 153 

Transport........................... 155 

Transporter tanks.............. 155 

Travel/Study Tours............ 155 



S E C T I O N 10

• T R A D E D I R E C T O R Y • T R A D E D I R E C T O R Y • T R A D E D I R E C T O R Y • T R A D E D I R E C T O R Y • 

✦ AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS & FERTILISERS ✦ 

Why go past… 



For all your cotton 

requirements, look to 

Landmark. 

Chinchilla (07) 4662 7806 

Croppa Creek (02) 6754 5241 

Dalby (07) 4669 0000 

Emerald (07) 4982 2055 

Goondiwindi (07) 4671 1155 

Gunnedah (02) 6741 9000 

Hay (02) 6993 1347 

Hillston (02) 6967 2475 

Moree (02) 6759 1555 

Mungindi (02) 6753 2200 

Narrabri (02) 6799 1111 

Narromine (02) 6889 1177 

Pittsworth (07) 4693 2122 

St.George (07) 4625 1455 

Walgett (02) 6828 1033 

Warren (02) 6847 4562 

Wee Waa (02) 6795 4406 

Corporate John Bennett 0429 891 185 


LM2958 Cotton Directory Ad 58x100 AW v2.indd 1 

BTB/LM2958 

25/10/11 1:13 PM 

BAYER CROPSCIENCE AREA MANAGERS: 

Scott Ariell 0409 961 794 

Annabel Twine 0428 718 932 

Honi Anderson 0409 778 979 

Brett Mawbey 0428 638 918 

Kevin Sternberg 0428 657 781 

TECHNICAL ENQUIRIES: 1800 804 479 

enquiries.australia@bayer.com 

Bayer CropScience Pty Ltd. ABN 87 000 226 022 

Head Office 

391-393 Tooronga Road Hawthorn East, Vic, 3123 

Phone: 03 9248 6888 Fax: 03 9248 6800 

www.bayercropscience.com.au 

For the best 

all-round value 

in crop protection 

• Dependable supply. 

• Competitive pricing. 

• Full range of quality 

products. 

Backed with 

• Professional advice 

and service from 

qualified and 

experienced people. 

COTTON GROWERS 

SERVICES Pty. Ltd. 

Phone Facsimile 

Head Office 02 6795 3100 02 6795 4275 

Gunnedah 02 6742 6444 02 6742 6440 

Hillston 02 6967 1133 02 6967 2909 

Moree 02 6752 6500 02 6752 2065 

Narrabri 02 6792 2022 02 6792 2866 

Warren 02 6847 4703 02 6847 4998 

Wee Waa 02 6795 4055 02 6795 4469 

Dalby 07 4662 4933 07 4662 4930 

Emerald 07 4982 2255 07 4982 3986 

Dirranbandi 07 4625 2294 07 4625 2295 

Goondiwindi 07 4671 3517 07 4671 3552 

St George 07 4625 2294 07 4625 2295 

CGS IS COMMITTED TO THE 

UPGRADING OF SAFETY 

STANDARDS IN CHEMICAL 

HANDLING, STORAGE & 

TRANSPORT 

HEAD OFFICE: 

52 Boolcarrol Rd, 


Ph: (02) 6795 3100 Fax: (02) 6795 4275



DuPont Altacor ® 

insecticide 

DuPont Steward EC 

® 

insecticide 

Contact the 

DuPont Team. 

You can visit our website at 

www.dupont.com.au or call your 

local representative 

Aaron Prendergast 

Northern NSW 

0428 783 004 

Doug McCollum 

Southern Qld & Darling Downs 

0427 270 708 

Lance Loughrey 

Southern NSW 

0428 365 677 

Kent Bell 

Central Qld 

0408 780 680 

Scott Campbell 

Burdekin 

0418 695 600 

DuPont Altacor ® 

insecticide 

DuPont Steward EC 

® 

insecticide 

Du Pont (Australia) Ltd. ACN 000 716 469. 

Level 3, 7 Eden Park Drive, Macquarie Park NSW 2113. 

Visit www.dupont.com.au 

The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont, TM The miracles of science, ® 

Altacor ® , and Steward ® EC, are trademarks or registered 

trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates. 

Helping 

to grow 

your 

business 

Elders has an extensive 

network of branches 

throughout all of 

Australia’s cotton growing 

regions with experienced 

agronomists and branch 

staff on hand to assist with 

all your requirements. 

• merchandise 

• chemicals 

• fertiliser 

• insurance 

• finance 

For further 

information please 

contact your local 

Elders branch or visit 

www.elders.com.au 

Quality Solutions 

Quality in Cotton Solutions 

in Cotton 

HERBICIDES 

HERBICIDES 

Clincher ® Plus 

Clincher Cotogard ® Plus WG 

Cotoran Cotogard ® ® WG 

Cotoran Diuron 900 ® WG WDG 

Diuron Firepower 900 ® WDG 

Platinum Firepower ® ® 

Platinum Prometrex ® ® 900 WDG 

Prometrex INSECTICIDES 

® 900 WDG 

INSECTICIDES 

Alpha Scud ® Elite 

Endosulfan Alpha Scud ® 350 Elite EC 

Endosulfan Venom ® 100350 EC EC 

Venom Wizard ® 100 18 EC 

GROWTH Wizard ® 18REGULANTS 

GROWTH Escalate ® 500 REGULANTS 

SC 

Escalate ® 500 UltraSC 

Escalate Promote ® 720 Ultra 

Promote Reward ® 

720 

Reward ® 

For more information: www.farmoz.com.au 

® Registered trademarks of a Makhteshim-Agan company. 

For more information: www.farmoz.com.au 

® Registered trademarks of a Makhteshim-Agan company. 



S E C T I O N 10


M O N 0 3 8 7 _ A C Y _ 2 4 0 x 5 8 . p d f P a g e 1 1 4 / 0 9 / 1 1 , 8 : 4 4 A M 


Incitec Pivot 

Fertilisers 

Contact Details 

Area 

Sales Managers 

Darling Downs 

Bede O’Mara 

0411 074 448 

North West NSW 

Craig Foreman 

0427 311 656 

Dubbo 

Noni McCarthy 

0408 935 613 

Griffith 

Rik Pumpa 

0428 101 354 

Summer Crop 

Brand Manager 

Brett Priebe 

0417 678 466 

Mick Fing 

Emerald, 

Dawson-Callide, Darling Downs 

0417 305 717 

michael.fi ng@monsanto.com 

Tom Luff 

MacIntyre, St George, Dirranbandi, 

Mungindi, Gwydir 

0400 491 902 

thomas.bernard.luff@monsanto.com 

Mark Dawson 

Namoi, Walgett 

0428 106 090 

mark.m.dawson@monsanto.com 

Luke Sampson 

Bourke, Macquarie, Southern NSW 

0427 701 986 

luke.sampson@monsanto.com 

Admiral ® 

Dipel ® SC 

Maxx 

Organosilicone 

Surfactant 

Pledge ® 500 WG 

Resource ® 

Rizolex ® Liquid 

Shield Systemic 

Insecticide 

Status ® Herbicide 

Sumi-Alpha ® Flex 

www.bign.com.au 

SUMITOMO CHEMICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 

ABN 21 081 096 255 

www.sumitomo-chem.com.au 

Suite 402, Building B 

242 Beecroft Road EPPING NSW 2121 

Tel: 02 8752 9000 Fax: 02 8752 9099 




Admiral, Pledge, Resource, Rizolex, Status and Sumi-Alpha are 

registered trademarks of Sumitomo Chemical Co. Limited Japan. 

DiPel is a registered trademark of Valent BioSciences Corporation, 

Libertyville, IL USA. 

Maxx Organosilicone Surfactant and Shield Systemic Insecticide 

are trademarks of Sumitomo Chemical Australia Pty Ltd.



✦ COTTON CLASSING ✦ 

Professional Independent Classing 

Independent classing 

for the 

Australian 

cotton industry 

✦ COTTON CLASSING ✦ 

Independent 

cotton classing services 

Services include: 

4 Manual classing for colour and leaf grade. 

4 Instrument fibre testing using world leading Uster 

HVI technology. 

4 Conditioning of classing samples for correct 

moisture content, essential for accurate fibre 

quality results. 

4 Third party review classing and testing. 

4 Tendering of uncommitted cotton. 

4 Reporting tailored to individual client 

requirements. 

4 Australian BMP and USDA certified cotton 

classing laboratory. 

4 Servicing all cotton growing regions for both 

committed and uncommitted cotton. 

To maximise your returns through 

Independent classing contact: 

Stuart Thompson 

Phone: 0488 714 777 

Fax: 07 4671 1206 

Email: stuart@1stclassing.com 

1ST Class Pty Ltd 

Carrington Cotton Classing Office 

Boggabilla Lane, Goondiwindi Qld 4390 

ProClass offers: 

➣ Manual Classing (colour & leaf) by 

professional experienced independent 

classers ensuring completely impartial 

and accurate grades. 

➣ Instrument testing using 5 HVI lines, 

including 3 x Uster HVI 1000. These 

machines represent the very latest 

technology from the world’s leading 

manufacturer of cotton fibre testing 

equipment. This means that ProClass 

now have a greater number of these 

machines than any other classing 

facility in the country. 

➣ State of the art passive sample conditioning 

technology, providing the 

optimum testing laboratory environment 

for HVI lines to operate in. 

➣ Reporting tailored to individual client 

needs. 

➣ Tendering of uncommitted cotton. 

➣ International Standard Laboratory 

(ITMF, USDA & Australian BMP 

Standards). 

➣ Professional, efficient service 

with a reputation for an unbiased 

assessment of your cotton. 

ProClass means 

quality assurance. 

Who’s controlling your quality? 

Contact us today to discuss your 

Independent classing requirements 

or cotton classing in general 

Tel: 07 4671 0333 

Fax: 07 4671 1333 

Mobile: 0428 710 333 

Email: jon@proclass.com.au 

ProClass Pty Ltd 

7 Troy Drive Goondiwindi Qld 4390 



S E C T I O N 10


✦ EDUCATION ✦ 

✦ GINNING & MARKETING ✦ 

The Cotton Production Course: 

Undergraduate and Post-Graduate 

Courses in Cotton Production 

Educating today’s cotton industry 

for tomorrow! 


Cotton CRC, UNE, Armidale, 2351 

Brendan Griffiths – bgriffi2@une.edu.au 

Taking enrolments now for 2012 

TOOWOOMBA GRAMMAR 

SCHOOL 

An education designed for boys 

enrol@twgs.qld.edu.au 

www.twgs.qld.edu.au 

✦ EMPLOYMENT ✦ 



his place 

enrolments@brisbanegrammar.com 

www.brisbanegrammar.com 

(07) 3834 5200 

Countryco 

Training Pty Ltd 

Geoff Paton 

76 Russell Street, Toowoomba, Qld 4350 

Tel: (07) 4639 4919, Fax: (07) 4639 4920 

Mob: 0428 667 939, 

Email: countrycotrain.audit@bigpond.com 

TRAINING: • Ag Chem Accreditation (Qld) • Vet Chem 

Accreditation (Qld) • Farm Chemical Accreditation (NSW) 

• Agsafe Accreditation • Supervision Skills 

QA: • Cattlecare/Flockcare/Graincare Audits & Training 

OH&S TRAINING & Audits: • NSCA • Managing Farm 

Safety 

St Hilda’s School 

Gold Coast 

St Hilda’s School, an Anglican Diocesan Day 

and Boarding School for Girls, is committed to 

innovative learning programs and excellence in 

pastoral care. Boarding is offered in Years 6 to 12. 

Further information, Director of Admissions 

Ph: 07 5577 7232 

E: enrolments@sthildas.qld.edu.au 

www.sthildas.qld.edu.au 

St Saviour’s College 

For every student… a quality 

education, a pathway to her future 

and an opportunity to reach out to 

the community. 

Further information 

Ph: 07 4637 1664 

E: welcome@stsav.qld.edu.au 

www.stsav.qld.edu.au 


SYDNEY – 02 9223 9944 

BRISBANE – 07 3832 9866 

MELBOURNE – 03 9866 6133 

✦ Ginning ✦ 

NORTH WEST 

GINNING 

PTY. LTD. 

your 

QUALITY 

AND 

SERVICE 

GINNING COMPANY 

FROM 

FIELD TO BALE 

Talk to Wayne Clissold about 

your individual ginning 

requirements 

Whittaker’s Lagoon, 

PO Box 916, MOREE, NSW, 2400 

Ph: 02 6752 3966 – Fax: 02 6751 1067 

head office 

Wee Waa 

Telephone: 02 6790 3000 

Fax: 02 6795 4036 

corporate office 

Toowoomba 

Telephone: 07 4631 6100 

Fax: 07 4631 6190 

regional offices 

Trangie 

Telephone: 02 6888 9611 

Fax: 02 6888 9678 

Moree 

Telephone: 02 6752 5599 

Fax: 02 6752 5357 

Goondiwindi 

Telephone: 07 4671 6900 

Fax: 07 4671 6999 


100% 

Australian 

Cotton


*AR cotton strip ad 2011:Layout 1 1/11/11 2:12 PM Page 1 

✦ GINNING & MARKETING ✦ 

✦ INSURANCE ✦ 

✦ IRRIGATION ✦ 

SPENDING MONEY ON 

YOUR IRRIGATION 

SYSTEM? 

From the field to 

the shirt you wear, 

Queensland Cotton 

is at every step. 

As Australia’s largest cotton 

company, Queensland Cotton’s 

success is attributed to quality 

products, services and valued 

relationships with suppliers, 

growers and spinners. 

1500 cotton 

growers. 

One specialist broker. 

Before you part ways with 

your cash get qualified 

experienced advice on: 

– existing system performance 

– system upgrades and alterations 

– full system design 

– flood studies 

– environmental studies 

– water management plans 

Contact: Jim, Anthony, Jonathan or Kieran 

NARRABRI 

Ph: 02 6792 1265 

Fax: 02 6792 4570 

WARREN 

Ph: 02 6847 3446 

Fax: 02 6847 3392 

www. aquatechconsulting.com.au 

office@aquatechconsulting.com.au 

www.qcotton.com.au 

55 Wyandra Street, Newstead 

Queensland Australia 4006 

Tel: 61 7 3250 3300 Fax: 61 7 3852 1600 

Brisbane (07) 3250 3300 

Cecil Plains – Gin: (07) 4668 0106 

Collymongle – Gin: (02) 6756 2545 

Dalby – Office: (07) 4662 5220 

Gin: (07) 4662 5590 

Dirranbandi (07) 4625 8464 

Emerald – Gin: (07) 4982 1522 

Goondiwindi (07) 4671 5526 

Moura – Gin: (07) 4997 1422 

Mt Tyson Seeds (07) 4693 7166 

Mungindi – Gin: (02) 6753 2600 

St George – Beardmore 

Gin: (07) 4625 4144 

St George – Gin: (07) 4625 2145 

Warren – Office: (02) 6847 4766 

Gin: (02) 6847 4631 

Wee Waa – Office: (02) 6795 4420 

Gin: (02) 6795 7188 

For all your 

crop and 

agribusiness 

insurance 

requirements 

call us on 

Sydney 02 9965 1100 

Tamworth 02 6765 1400 

Dubbo 0268 820 829 

Toowoomba 07 4637 9770 

or visit us at www.agririsk.com.au 

AgriRisk ® 

MEASURE 

WHERE IT 

MATTERS 



S E C T I O N 10



SMK CONSULTANTS PTY. LTD. 

surveying – irrigation – environmental 

Moree: Ph (02) 6752 1640 

Fax (02) 6752 5070 

Email: ptaylor@smk.com.au 

Contact: Paul Covell, Peter Taylor 

Goondiwindi: Ph (07) 4671 2445 

Fax (07) 4671 2561 

Email: qld@smk.com.au 

Contact Ralph Kinsella, Mike Henderson 

Superior 

CoTToN YieldS 

BeGiN WiTH 

THe liNdSAY 

AdVANTAGe 

Strong, long-lasting pivot, 

lateral and mobile irrigation 

systems, combined with 

our innovative irrigation 

technology, can provide 

a significant impact on 

your cotton yields. 

Does your 

water budget 

balance? 

WaterTrack has a range of products to help 

you manage your most precious commodity 

WT Rapid – easy online check on your 

performance 

WT Divider – easy online check to 

determine where the biggest savings can be 

made and check the $ return on investment 

WT Optimiser – P.C based daily water 

balance for detailed management of the 

irrigation system 

Ph: 02 6792 1265 

M: 0429 902 584 

To find out how a Zimmatic ® 

by Lindsay irrigation system 

can increase your cotton yields 

or to find a dealer near you, 

contact us. 

Lindsay International (ANZ) Pty Ltd 

19 Spencer Street 

Toowoomba QLD 4350 

Phone: 07 4613 5000 

Fax: 07 4613 5033 

Mobile: 0458 967 424 

Email: infoaustralia@lindsay.com 

s Center Pivots 

s Towable Pivots 

s Lateral Move 

s Fertigation 

s Monitoring Systems 

s GPS Surveys 

s Servicing all brands of 

Pivots & Laterals 

Centre Pivot & Lateral 

Move Specialists 

AUTHORISED 

VALLEY DEALER 




Gunnedah – Mark Schmitt – mob: 0408 089 036 

ph: 02 6742 6501, fax: 02 6742 7629, 

e: mark@pivotirrigation.com.au 

Goondiwindi – Richard Gower – mob: 0408 089 619 

www. pivotirrigation.com.au



✦ MACHINERY ✦ 

The 

most 

trusted 

name in 

irrigation 

DRIVING 

YOUR 

COTTON 

HARVEST 

FURTHER 

Bonfiglioli’s advanced 

design and quality drives 

deliver outstanding 

performance, cost-savings 

& flexibility 

Combined with their talented solutions 

orientated engineers and specialised 

Drive Service Centre the Heavy Duty (HD) 

bevel or parallel helical and its modular 

combinations are engineered to provide 

outstanding quality, performance and fl 

exibility. 

Use genuine AkcelA 

engine oil to maximise 

your Case IH machinery’s 

performance 

It’s specially formulated for 

the off-highway heavy grind 

Visit www.caseih.com today for details 

and the address of your 

nearest Case IH dealer 

CENTRE 

PIVOT 

and 

LATERAL 

MOVE 

IRRIGATION 

From the customised HD Drive Power 

Packs, to the NEW smarter HD Alignment 

Free Drives (capable of further reducing 

your drive costs) are the perfect choice 

for your demanding bulk handling 

requirements. 

Advanced design technologies and 

scrupulous attention to detail, place these 

units at the top of their class, perfectly 

complementing Bonfiglioli’s established 

industry approved A Series helical bevel 

and F Series shaft mounted helical 

gearboxes. 

In conjunction with substantial 

warehoused stock levels, there’s a team 

of highly qualified technicians, safeguarding 

assembly and quality control. 

All is united to provide second-to-none, 

quick deliveries, service and 24/7 

support. 

Make the right decision for you 

and your New Holland farm 

machinery … 

always choose a genuine 

off-highway oil 

VALMONT 

AUSTRALIA 

PO Box 225, Carole Park, Qld 4300 

Ph: 07 3879 3622 

http:\\www.valmont.com 

vaus@valmontinternational.com.au 

PHONE 1300 656 757 

Visit www.newhollanddealers.com.au 

for the location of your 

nearest New Holland dealer 



S E C T I O N 10


✦ MACHINERY ✦ 

Wa n t a 

B e t t e r B u i l t A u g e r ? 



Australia’s longest 

serving 

John Deere 

cotton dealers, 

our expertise keeps 

you in control of 

your operation 

Call today for 

n Fast Response 

n Robust Backup 

n Qualified People 

n Early Order 

Planning 

n Precision Farming 

Solutions 

Toowoomba 

07 4631 4800 

St George 

07 4625 3666 

Chinchilla 

07 4662 7006 

www.vanderfield.com.au 


from the name you’ve grown to trust 

WESTFIELD 

WESTFIELD AUGERS 

(AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD 

Freecall 1800 635 199 

Cotton Picker Dealers 

Biloela 

Biloela 

Centracks - Biloela 

Centracks – Biloela 

Ph: 07 074992 4992 1800 1800 

Dalby 

Chesterfield – Dalby - Dalby 

Ph: 07 4662 3688 

07 4662 3688 

Dubbo 

Emerald 

Chesterfield – Dubbo 

Centracks 02 6885 3300 - Emerald 

Ph: Emerald 07 4682 1556 

Goondiwindi 

Centracks – Emerald 

Ph: 07 4682 1556 

Chesterfield - Goondiwindi 

Finley 

Ph: 

Hutcheon 

07 4671 

A&G 

1700 

Griffith 03 5883 1655 

A&G Goondiwindi Machinery 

Ph: Chesterfield 02 6964 – Goondiwindi 3422 

Ph: 07 4671 1700 

Gunnedah 

Griffith 

Peel 

A&G Machinery 

Valley Machiney Service 

Ph: 02 026964 6742 34220644 

Inverell Gunnedah 

Chesterfield Peel Valley Machiney - Inverell Service 

Ph: 02 

026742 6722 

06442888 

Moree 

Inverell 

Chesterfield – Inverell 

02 6722 2888 

- Moree 

Ph: 

Moree 

02 6752 2311 

Narrabri 

Chesterfield – Moree 

Peel Ph: 02 Valley 6752 2311 Machinery Service 

Ph: Narrandera 02 6792 1966 

North Hutcheon Mackay A&G 

02 6959 1522 

Centracks - North Mackay 

North Mackay 

Ph: 07 4966 3300 

Centracks Machinery 

St 07 4966 George 3300 

Vanderfield St George - St George 

Ph: Vanderfield 07 4625 – St 3666 George 

Ph: 07 4625 3666 

Toowoomba 

Vanderfield 

Toowoomba 

- Toowoomba 

Vanderfield – Toowoomba 

Ph: 

Ph: 07 

074633 4633 

4822 

4822 

Warren 

Chesterfield – Warren - Warren 

Ph: 02 026847 6847 3522 3522 

Wee Waa 

Waa 

Peel Valley Machinery Service 

Peel Valley Machinery Service 

Ph: 02 6795 4305 

Ph: 02 6795 4305 

JDParts... it’s like having 

keys to the dealership 

✔ 

✔ 

✔ 

View parts catalogues & parts 

information 

Check prices & inventory 

Order parts from your dealer


✦ MARKETING ✦ 

✦ PRECISION AGRICULTURE ✦ 

Cargill’s Cotton Division – 

Buying cotton bales 

direct from the grower 

Phil Sloan 

PO Box 1203 

GOONDIWINDI Qld 4390 

Ph: (07) 4671 0222 

Fax: (07) 4671 3833 

Roger McCumstie, Brisbane 

Ph: (07) 3367 2629 

AGENTS: 

Pete Johnson 


Mob: 0409 893 139 

Paul Kelly 

Moree Real Estate, Moree 

Ph: (02) 6751 1100 

David Dugan, Trangie 

Ph: (02) 6888 7122 

cotton_aust@cargill.com 


Cotton Trade Desk 

Matthew Bradd 

Scott Biffin 

Shipping and Logistics Manager 

Monique Lewis 

Head Office 

Suite 801, Level 8 

15 Castlereagh Street Sydney NSW 2001 

GPO Box 29 Sydney NSW 2001 

Ph: 02 9223 3631 

Fax: 02 9233 6206 

Agents: 

Namoi Valley, Gwydir Valley & Macquarie 

Valley 

Steve Dalton 


Ph: 02 6792 2962 


Geoff Webb 


Ph: 07 4671 1225 

Darling Downs 


Gebar Farming 

Ph: 0428 636 924 

St George & Dirranbandi 

Kelvin Bella 


Ph: 0428 717 284 

Central Highlands & Dawson–Callide 

Don Cooper 


Ph: 0428 794 698 

Riverina 

Ross Harvie 

Ph: 0458 567 776 

HARVEST WITH 

CUTTING EDGE PRECISION 

Laser & Agtech Moree 

Contact Fred Nolan, Mobile: 0428 522 430 

www.omnistar.com.au 

1800 062 221 

✦ REAL ESTATE ✦ 


Specialists in 

the Sale and 

Valuation 

of Irrigation Properties 

• Rural Properties 

• Town Sales 

• Property Management • Auctions 

• Clearing Sales 

• Cargill Cotton Agents 

• Registered Valuers 


ww.moreerealestate.com.au 

Phone: (02) 6751 1100 

Fax: (02) 6751 1766 

Phone: 

02 6766 3442 

AH: Paul Kelly 0428 281 428 

Cliff Brown 02 6752 3970 

Allan Gobbert 0428 523 375 

Fax: 

02 6766 5801 

RURAL VALUATIONS 

URBAN VALUATONS 

SPECIALISED VALUATIONS 

www.opteonproperty.com.au tamworth.info@opteonproperty.com.au 

E: webcottonoz@ecomtrading.com 

www.ecomcommodities.com.au 

www.ecomtrading.com 



S E C T I O N 10


✦ SEED SUPPLIES ✦ 

Growing with 

you for over 

40 years 

For over 40 years, Cotton Seed 

Distributors (CSD) has had a proud 

heritage of supporting Australian 

Cotton Growers. 

Being grower owned and controlled, 

no one knows the needs of the 

Australian Cotton Grower like CSD. 

Contact your local CSD Agronomist 

today to discuss your growing options. 

Namoi Region 

Rob Eveleigh 0427 915 921 

Central QLD/ Darling Downs Regions 

John Marshall 0428 950 010 

Border Rivers Region 

Alex North 0428 950 021 

Central & Southern NSW Regions 

Bob Ford 0428 950 015 

Gwydir Region 

James Quinn 0428 950 028 

✦ SHIPPING & HANDLING ✦ 

SYDNEY 

PORTS 

GROWING 

AND 

WORKING 

TOGETHER 

Sydney PortS 

CorPoration iS 

SuPPorting trade 

growth by offering 

Cotton exPorterS 

more Streamlined 

SuPPly Chain 

ServiCeS. 

To find out more about 

Sydney Ports, visit 

www.sydneyports.com.au 

e enquiries@sydneyports.com.au 

t +61 2 9296 4999 

✦ TARPAULINS ✦ 

COTTON MODULE 

COVERS 

BULK STORAGE 

COVERS 

FOR COTTON SEED AND GRAIN 

DDT has been covering cotton modules 

and grain bunkers since 1983 

COST EFFICIENT 

WATER 

MANAGEMENT 

EVAPORATION CONTROL 

using the latest E.C.S. floating covers 

DAM LINERS 

to prevent loss through seepage 

FLEXIBLE FLUMING 

to move water to where you need it 

Darling Downs 

Tarpaulins 

LOW COST 

33 Industrial Avenue 

PO Box 6267 

Toowoomba West, QLD 435O 

Ph: (07) 4634 2166 

Fax: (07) 4634 7725 

Email: ddt@ddt.com.au 

www.ddt.com.au 

COTTON MODULE COVERS 

Available at 

Auscott sites 

Ratch-e-tarp ® 

& BULK STORAGE COVERS 



Culgoora Road, Wee Waa, NSW 2388 

Phone (02) 6795 0000 

www.csd.net.au 


Tamworth 

Moree 

Ph: 02 6766 3442 Ph: 02 6751 1084 

Fax: 02 6766 5801 Fax: 02 6751 1086 

www.sydneyports.com.au 

RURAL VALUATIONS 

URBAN VALUATONS 

SPECIALISED VALUATIONS 

www.tremainprowse.com.au — info@tremainprowse.com.au 

SPC9997 Cotton YB2011_Dlist_Mono_AD_v2.indd 1 

23/09/11 8:40 AM 

Keeping you covered … rain, hail or shine! 

Phone: 1300 059 003 

Fax: 1300 858 626 

Email: info@polytex.net.au 

www.polytex.net.au 

See advertisement on page 000


✦ TILLAGE ✦ 

Quality 

Australian 

equipment 

H Tandem discs 

H Offset discs 

H Go-Devils 

H Rotobucks 

H Rubber & steel rollers 

H Cultipackers 

H Grader sloper blades 

H Toolbars built to order 

Countrywide Industries 

Manufacturers of Agricultural Equipment & 

General Engineering 

Factory – Cnr River & Morgan Sts, Dubbo NSW 2830 

Phone: (02) 6882 8933 

Fax: (02) 6882 2106 

Email: cwi@hwy.com.au 

www.countrywideindustries.com.au 

Agriculture 

Excellent product. Excellent service. 

PO Box 665 

Toowoomba Qld 4350 

74–92 Buckland Street 

Toowoomba Qld 4350 

www.excelagr.com.au 

Ph: 07 4636 9100 

Fax: 07 4636 9140 

PARTS: 

Ph: 07 4636 9100 

Fax: 07 4636 9140 

Contact us 

for the most 

comprehensive 

range of row 

crop tillage 

machinery and 

shank systems 

✔ Stubble Warrior Planters 

✔ Parallelogram Cultivators 

✔ Guess Row Averagers 

✔ Cultipackers 

✔ Listering Rigs 

Stewart Kings 

0427 700 549 

Ray Finnie 

0427 343 477 

Peter Smyth 

0407 345 318 

✔ Lilliston Rigs 

GESSNER INDUSTRIES 

ACN 010 117 610 

✔ Fertiliser Rigs 

✔ Shielded Sprayers 

✔ Rubber Tyre Rollers 

PO Box 7422 

Toowoomba 

South 4350 

QLD, AUSTRALIA. 

20 MOLLOY ST, 

TOOWOOMBA. 4350. 

PH 07 4634 3477 

FAX 07 4633 1973 

Email: manager@gessner.com.au 

Website: www.gessner.com.au 



S E C T I O N 10


✦ TILLAGE ✦ 

Speed 

up your 

farming! 

Rotavator 

– More than 

a match for 

stubble trouble 

www.muddyriver.com.au 

l Honey Bee Harvester and 

Windrow Fronts 

l Trioliet Vertical Mixers 

Kronos 

– just what 

a contractor 

needs 

l Degelman Rock Pickers, 

Rakes and Bale Processors 

l Renn Grain Baggers, 

Unloaders and Roller Mills 

l Orthman Strip Tillage 

Systems 

l Cotton Master Mulchers 

l Anderson Round and 

Square Bale Wrappers 

l Agway Accelerator Hay 

Conditioner 

l Redekop MAV Straw 

Spreaders 



Howard Australia 

Pty Ltd 

167 Prospect Highway, 

Seven Hills NSW 2147 

Ph: 02 9674 2966 

Fax: 02 9674 6263 

www.howard-australia.com 

E: Info@ howard-australia.com 


l Valmar Row Crop 

Applicators 

Contact your nearest representative 

Northern NSW/Queensland 

Sam Sawley 0437 082 968 

Southern NSW/Victoria/Tasmania 

Cameron West 0459 575 566 

Western Australia/South Australia 

Terry Durance 0417 820 897


✦ TRANSPORT ✦ 

✦ TRANSPORTER TANKS ✦ 

BMC 

Partnership Pty Ltd 

is a multi faceted 

business 

F E L C O 

MANUFACTURING PTY LTD 

TRANSPORTER TANKS 

TRACTOR TANKS 

many styLES OF TANKS 

TANK KITS AVAILABLE 

32–34 BOOTHBY ST, TOOWOOMBA QLD 4350 

Ph 07 4630 2213, Fax 07 4630 2183 

Email: felco@bigpond.com – www.felco.net.au 

✦ TRAVEL/study tours ✦ 

Manufacturer of: 

• Moonbuggies 

• Chainbeds and 

Round Bale 

Chainbeds 

• Round bale 

attachments 

– Fork 

– Spear 

– Grapple 

ALSO 

Excavation, 

Earthworks at 

Pump Stations, 

Pipe Laying, 

Cotton Module 

& Round Bale 

Carting, 

& Gravel Carting 

Contact: 

Manager 

Ross Munro 

PH: 04 28 657 033 

E: rosm@bmcpartnership.com.au 

Office 

PH: 02 67 511 533 

Fax: 02 67 522 182 

E: admin@bmcpartnership.com.au 

2012 

Farm Study 

Tours 

For more than 18 years Greenmount Travellers have criss-crossed 

the globe visiting amazing agricultural, geographical and cultural 

destinations in China, Russia, South & North Americas, Canada, India, 

Tibet, Africa, Eastern & Western Europe, Scandinavia, United Kingdom, 

SE Asia, Japan, The Kimberleys and Nuigini. 

We know where to go – and have established excellent farming and 

agribusiness contacts. We also have valuable experience in dealing with 

the unique challenges ‘out of the square’ travel presents. 

In 2012 we plan to visit: 

• SOUTHERN EUROPE / MEDITERRANEAN (Aug–Sep) 

• CANADA / New ENGLAND (USA) in the Fall (Sep–Oct) 

• SouthERN AFRICA FARM & GAME PARK SAFARI (Feb & July) 

• vIETNAM / Cambodia (Feb–Mar) 

Express your interest by giving us a call on 

07 4659 3555 or 

email travel@greenmountpress.com.au 

or visit www.greenmounttravel.com.au 



S E C T I O N 10


1st Class 145 

Advanced Nutrients 142 

Agririsk Services 31, 147 

Aquatech Consulting 147 

Aust Cotton Coop Research 82,146 

Australian Farm Institute 27, 

Barcoo 156 

Bayer CropscienceIBC, 142 

Bmc Partnership 39, 155 

Bonfiglioli 2, 149 

Brisbane Grammar School 146 

Caltex Australia 19, 142 

Cargill Cotton 112, 151 

Charlton 99 

Cnh Parts & Service 13, 149 

Cotton Growers Services IFC, 142 

Cotton Seed Distributors 47, 53, 152 

Countryco Training 90, 146 

Countrywide Industries 7, 153 

Darling Downs Tarps 59, 152 

Dinner Plain 51, 64 

Dupont 83, 85, 93, 143 

Ecom Commodities 125, 151 

Elders 75, 143 

Excel Agriculture 131, 135, 153 

Farmoz 80, 143 

Felco Manufacturing 51, 155 

Gessner Industries 15, 153 

Howard Australia 20, 21, 154 

Incitec Pivot Limited 97, 101, 144 

Irrimate 147 

Irritek 76, 148 

Advertisers’ Index 

John Deere Limited 111, 113, 150 

Landmark 127, 142 

Lindsay International 65, 148 

Mace 133, 148 

Monsanto 9, 144 

Moree Real Estate 64, 151 

Muddy River 63, 154 

Namoi Cotton 115, 146 

Neil’s Parts 35, 150 

Network Marketing 17, 152 

North West Ginning 123, 146 

Omnistar 17, 151 

Opteon 55, 151 

Pivot Irrigation 77, 148 

Polytex 61, 152 

Proclass Pty Ltd 145 

Queensland Cotton 119, 147 

Smk Consultants 48, 148 

St Hilda’s School 90, 146 

St Saviour’s College 91, 146 

Study Tours 155 

Sumitomo Chemical Australia OBC, 5, 144 

Sydney Ports Corporation 121, 152 

Syngenta Australia 25, 29, 145 

The Appointments Group 96, 146 

Tillage Trafers Queensland 11, 154 

Toowoomba Grammar School 91, 146 

Ultimate Agri-Products 145 

Valmont Australia 73, 149 

Vanderfield Pty Ltd 69, 150 

Watertrack 148 

Westfield 55, 150 

Barcoo… 



Enjoy a cool holiday this 

year, and at a great rate 

Barcoo is a superbly appointed lodge at Dinner Plain in the heart of Victoria’s high country. 

This year round playground offers trout fishing, magnificent scenery, great restaurants, peace & 

quiet and other cool activities. 

• 4 bedrooms (all with queen size beds) • 3 bathrooms • Spa pool 

• Sleeps up to 16 • Fully equipped with All mod cons 


GREAT VALUE FOR LARGE OR FAMILY GROUPS 

Further details phone 1800 670 019 or www.dinnerplain.com

COTTON YEARBOOK 2011 - Greenmount Press

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