This season planting started in the first week of August in Central Queensland. The forecasted area at this stage for Central Queensland is 12, 500 hectares, which will be planted in the first half of the planting window. The majority of early planted cotton has been dry sown with an irrigation to follow, with the remaining cotton growers opting to irrigate first and plant into moisture.

Soil temperatures have been more favorable this season than previous years. Utilising the FastStartTM Cotton Soil Temperature Network in the Emerald region, the period from 1 August – 11 September has only experienced 12 cold shock days with an average soil temperature of 19.6ᵒC.  The CSD Day Degree Calculator has indicated that this season has been the warmest start since 2017.

Soil temperatures in the Dawson Valley have followed a very similar pattern from those of the previous years with planting starting in the first week of September.

Early planted cotton has produced some good yields over the last couple of years and has also given the grower flexibility on how to manage the crop during the season. The “grown on” style of cotton has produced some incredible yields from last season, with this in mind growers may be running with the same strategy this season.

A major benefit gained by the early plant is the time growers have to prepare beds, especially in back to back cotton situations. With less cotton planted last season, new season cotton has been planted into long fallow fields.

Planting across Central Highlands will be similar to last season with the Fairbairn Dam current capacity at 14.5%. Growers that have planted cotton have reduced planting areas to limit the amount of risk for the coming summer.

While there is no allocation at the moment, cotton growers have prepared fallow paddocks with fertiliser and hilled up eagerly awaiting any opportunity that comes their way. The hope from the entire industry is that we will see a change in the weather soon, which will bring some welcome moisture for a dryland cotton planting opportunity and some runoff to boost irrigation water availability going forward into the season, which will be backed by good cotton prices.