Cotton production footprint getting bigger

Cotton production footprint is getting bigger

By Sam Lee, CSD Extension & Development Manager – Queensland

Cotton has gradually begun its expansion into northern Australia over the past couple of seasons, under both irrigation and dryland, and we now see cotton being grown in almost every state and territory in Australia. This season in northern Queensland saw cotton being grown in the Belyando region, the Burdekin, just outside Mareeba and near Georgetown, where the crop has been grown for a few seasons now.

And closer to the more traditional cotton growing regions in Queensland, cotton was also grown in a number of places around the Fraser coast last season. While some of these regions have previously grown cotton, others are completely new to the cotton industry.

In the Northern Territory, cotton is being grown in the Katherine and Douglas-Daly regions, with a mix of dryland and irrigated cotton. Although it is very early days, indications of results look promising. This follows a season which mirrored many of the regions across the far north, where the wet season rainfall was only about half or even less than half of the annual average. There is much interest in not just cotton, but cropping in general across the Northern Territory, as landholders look to diversify.

In the Ord River region of Western Australia, cotton has made a return to cropping systems over the past couple of seasons, with the introduction of new varieties containing Bollgard 3 technology. Results for both yield and quality were positive following last year’s picking and the crops in the area this season also look very good.

There were challenges faced by growers in the north this past season, as was the case with the rest of the industry. While some regions battled very wet and cloudy conditions, others fell short of their required rainfall to finish the crop.

As the industry builds in these northern areas and the opportunity to expand continues, the establishment of infrastructure such as cotton gins will no doubt see an increase in cotton production, as part of a cropping system.

As anyone who is involved in the cotton industry knows, there is a great unity within and a large amount of information is willingly shared by all. This includes not only growers, but extends to all of those who have an active involvement in the industry, both past and present. The northern regions are no different and they are keen to be involved in such an innovative and proactive industry.

Further to this, they are also uniting as a northern industry, as they share many of the same common and often unique issues and challenges, whether located in northern Queensland, the Northern Territory or Western Australia.

The prospect of the northern Australian cotton industry is an exciting development and one that will be keenly watched by all as it continues to grow and progress.

Cotton is making a return to the Ord. SECTION 2 THE FUTURE This section brought to you in association with