Looking back at the 2020-21 season, yields are better than expected. Despite a late crop, most growers have been pleasantly surprised by their yield outcomes. Within farms and valleys there has also been a significant mix of the good and the bad. Regarding quality, most regions are securing base grade or better, whereas in the Southern Valley, for a second year in a row quality has been a challenge, particularly low micronaire. In contrast, although a long time since picking and ginning – Central Queensland had the opposite issue of high micronaire. There have, however, been good results where well managed crops in the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan Valleys haven’t received discounts.
Looking forward, the combination of low water prices, a decent water allocation and a low Australian dollar (0.74-0.75 US cents) has seen cotton prices fluctuate to above $550, nearing $600, for the current crop and next season’s crop. Growers and consultants have been on the front foot organising and planning for the coming summer crop plant. This will be the sixth year of Bollgard® 3 Roundup Ready cotton varieties grown in Australia. Most growers and consultants have a good feel for the varieties and are comfortable with their variety choices. This season CSD will gin the first of the potential XtendFlex® varieties being brought to the market by Bayer CropScience, CSD and CSIRO.
Excellent rainfall has fallen within the Murray Darling Basin and this has been promising for winter crops. In some regions, it has been hard to traffic paddocks for in-crop sprays and urea application due to the good rainfall and soil moisture. One downfall for growers applying nitrogen to winter crops and in preparation for summer crops, is the high urea price. With the season shaping up to be good, some growers are having to bite the bullet and secure product supply.
Most ginning enterprises are only partially through their committed ginning bales, with some crops in Southern NSW yet to be picked. Persistent wet and winter dominant rainfall has been a huge delay for late crops. Most weather analyses are indicating a La Nina event for the coming summer.