BORDER RIVERS
Angus Marshall

Planting is just around the corner in the Border Rivers region with final ground preparation being carried out as we speak. The winter period was relatively dry compared to last season enabling more time to get seed beds in good condition and better timing of fertiliser application. The irrigated plating area for the 2023/24 season is expected to be around two thirds of last season, the dryland area remains uncertain at this stage. However, with plenty of fallow fields in the area and good subsoil moisture, just a few substantial storms in October could trigger a substantial dryland area planted this season. As soil temperatures continue to rise, it’s only a matter of time before planters start rolling.

The gins are slowly making their way through last seasons cotton, some will continue ginning into December. The numbers coming out of the gins, both yields and quality, have been fantastic. Late last month the Macintyre Valley Cotton Field Day Committee held the annual Macintyre Valley awards night with a number of growers recognised for their hard work. Some of the awards presented on the night included Corish Farms and the team at “Yattelwondi” who took out the highest-yielding irrigated crop, Coulton Farming at “Getta Getta” took out the highest-yielding dryland crop and Perry Farming and the team at “Fairfield” took out the award for farm of the year.

Leading up to planting this year be sure to keep an eye on local soil temperatures via the CSD website, although things are starting to warm up a common cold snap in October can quickly turn things around. Additionally, to ensure an optimal plant stand, look up the germination results of your seed and adjust your planting rate accordingly.

 

BOURKE
Craig McDonald

Planting has commenced at Bourke as soil temperatures quickly warmed. This season will see a smaller total planting area compared to recent years, including some XtendFlex Bollgard 3® cotton. This will include a CSD Variety trial to assess these new varieties in the region. An early plant may help crops get through to finish in good time next year. Ginning operations continue for last season’s successful Bourke cotton crop.

A highly attended soil health event took place on August 16, 2023, featuring three ACRI researchers. The event covered topics such as soil health, crop rotations, compaction and the use of NIR scanning devices to measure plant nitrogen levels. Questions centred around soil health, sustainability, and production. Participants engaged in hands-on learning, with a soil pit dug on farm across some wheel track and non-wheel track rows, including deep ripped rows. Soil samples were taken and assessed for different characteristics during the event. Cotton field walks to assess the performance of new cotton varieties are planned throughout the season. This will be followed through to picking and ginning for yields and fibre quality.

 

BURNETT REGION & FRASER COAST
Chris Barry

September in the Burnett Region and Fraser Coast finds some growers still waiting to get their cotton ginned after the big season. There is hope that the ginning process will be completed by November. Currently, based on the available results, there have been some great results in both areas. At this stage, yield results are forecasted to be better than in previous years.

As growers look forward to the coming season, they are getting ready for the upcoming cotton season with field preparation. Most growers have nearly finished their earthworks for the year and are busy getting pre-plant fertiliser into the ground and hilling up in preparation for plating. Despite the prolonged dry period, both regions are fortunate to have full water allocation again this season. However, at this stage, we will see a reduction in the dryland areas due to the absence of soil moisture. Some late winter crops may run into the cotton planting window. As a result, we may see crops baled for hay rather than grain, or reduced areas of cotton planted and rotated into sorghum or mung beans instead.

 

CENTRAL QLD
Stewart Brotherton

Approximately 28,000 ha of irrigated cotton will be planted in Central Queensland this season, with 20,000 ha from the Emerald region and 8,000 from Dawson/Callide. Cotton planting for the 23/24 season kicked off in the first week of August, bolstered by soil temperatures that have been more favourable this year than in previous seasons. Central Queensland cotton growers experienced one of their best seasons in 2022/23, resulting in exceptional yields across many farms, with growers producing some of their best average yields.

Unfortunately, this has led to some field challenges for the new season, with the absence of rain during the winter to help break down the trash load left from the previous cotton crop. Cotton growers have worked hard and done a great job of turning their fields around in some trying conditions. Fertiliser has been added and the beds are well consolidated, the early planted cotton crop has emerged well. In a notable development, 15-16 Central Queensland growers have had the opportunity to plant the new XtendFlex varieties, covering a total of 3,600 ha, allowing cotton growers to utilise new and different chemicals to control hard-to-kill weeds in crops.

 

DARLING DOWNS
Larissa Holland

After a notably dry winter, the outlook for the approaching summer seems to follow suit, with an El Nino watch still active. But before moving on to the next season let’s finish off last season. There are still rounds being processed through the gins with most expected to run until late October and into November. Yields were variable, largely dependent on how much water could be applied through the season. However, phenomenal results of over 16 bales/ha were recorded in irrigation. Dryland cotton did it tough with yields on average down from the previous wet year. Despite the setback the yields that were achieved with resources available were good. In terms of quality aside from some high leaf scores possibly relating to frost damage, there were no widespread issues on the Downs with most crops making base grades.

Despite the less-than-ideal outlook for rain with September rolling on, many growers already are in the process of field preparation for the coming season. Clods of soil due to the dry conditions are a common sight at this stage alongside cotton trash yet to break down. Cotton trash that was not able to be incorporated may cause issues with volunteer cotton and does present increased soil disease risk. At this stage to reach planting, dryland growers are estimating anywhere from two to four inches of rain is required. Meanwhile, irrigators are looking to introduce water into the fields by early to mid-October.

Forecasts for planting for the 2023-24 cotton season on the Downs are reduced on last year, due to lack of rainfall particularly in dryland with uncertainty hanging in the air. At this stage planting in earnest looks to start early October, though some are looking to delay well into November to avoid flowering in the peak heat of January. Fingers are crossed for early spring rainfall to alleviate some pressure. Soil temperatures at this stage are above 14oC however, cool nights persist for those looking to plant early. As it is forecasted to be warm this season the cold shocks that slowed down planting last season will hopefully not impact planting this time round.

 

GWYDIR VALLEY
Stuart McFadyen

Persistent dry conditions leading into planting this season has provided excellent field preparation conditions for this season, with many fields looking immaculate. Persistent warm weather so far through Spring, has some growers eager to begin, with some fields already planted in September. It has been several years since we have seen September planted cotton in the Gwydir valley, it will be interesting to see how it performs if the season is a hotter one as is predicted.

Dryland fields continue to bake as they have all winter, it will take significant rainfall to get the dryland season underway. With prices set to be around the $700/bale mark at planting and the sorghum window rapidly closing with few hectares locally planted, many growers will be eagerly waiting on early summer storms, hoping they’ll bring sufficient rain to set the stage for the season.

There’s been significant interest in XtendFlex across the Macintyre, Gwydir, and Mungindi regions. The new XtendFlex variety, CSX1049B3F, outperformed all others in the dryland trials from the past season. Improvements were seen in the 3-7% range over Sicot748B3F when trialled concurrently. The dryland trials will undergo increased scrutiny this season, with six intended trials spread between Bellata, Pallamallawa, Moree, Tulloona and North Star, all will include Sicot 606B3F.

 

LOCKYER & SOMERSET VALLEY’S
Chris Barry

Moving into the Lockyer and Somerset Valleys, the cotton has been fully ginned, and overall the cotton crop this season stands as one of the best they have seen. Both dryland and irrigated crops had good results with yields being fantastic despite some later rainfall that fell just prior to picking. The quality of the cotton was also good.

As for the coming season, some growers are in the process of wrapping up their ground preparations, while others have already commenced planting. In the Somerset region, planting is underway, with soil temperatures currently at 18oC and a good outlook in the coming days. Regarding precipitation, both regions have been lucky to experience a beneficial storm, bringing rainfall across both the Somerset and Lockyer Valleys.

 

MACQUARIE
Amanda Thomas

After a period of prolonged flooding, the valley is now experiencing drier conditions, with Burrendong Dam currently at 91%. Environmental water releases began in August 2023. This water will inundate up to 40,000 hectares of wetland vegetation in the Macquarie Marshes. Source: Macquarie River Valley 2023–24 Water Use Update, September 1, 2023). The 22/23 cotton season is mostly concluded, yielding positive results in both quality and yield. While one gin is still operational with cotton still to be ginned, the overall outcome has been outstanding, with the majority of crops meeting base- grade standards and minimal quality issues observed.

The forecast area for Macquarie Valley lays somewhere between 35 000 – 37 000 ha for the 23/24 season. The winter cropping season faced challenges due to a dry period, leading to some crops being used for feed or being sprayed out. Ground preparation for cotton has been adequate however there is some rainfall required to consolidate the beds. Ground temperatures are favourable for the start of the cotton season, and many growers plan to begin planting after the long weekend in October.

In noteworthy industry recognition, Emma Bond, the Daughter of Kevin and Maddi Simmons from Nevertire, was honoured with the CRDC Chris Lehmann Cotton Young Achiever Award for 2023. Emma, a fashion designer and founder of label Madi & Pip, is passionate about Australian cotton and is actively involved in educating brands and customers about our fibre. She is a graduate of the CRDC & Cotton Australia Future Cotton Leaders program, attended the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen this year, and has even designed a bridal collection featuring Australian cotton. As part of CRDC’s support, Emma will have the opportunity to attend the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation’s TRAIL program, to further support her development as one of our industry’s future leaders.

 

NAMOI & WALGETT
Emma Chorley

The winter dry spell, while harmful to some winter crops, created ideal conditions for ground preparation ahead of planting, a significant improvement from the cloddy fields, poorly formed beds, and weeds experienced a year ago. However, the lack of early fertilizer applications due to soil moisture and product availability may necessitate side dressing and water run applications throughout the season.

The summer outlook includes roughly 60,000ha of irrigated cotton and up to 50,000ha of dryland cotton, depending on rainfall. Unfortunately, due to the lack of rainfall, many winter crops were either sprayed out or chopped for hay, opening a large potential area for summer cropping. Whether this area is planted to cotton or other summer crops, will depend on when the rain falls, and how much is received.

Irrigated fields are well formed but dry, meaning that growers were sending water around the farms early. A mixture of pre-irrigation and watering-up tactics were required to ensure that water could be sent around the farm to where it is needed. Both Keepit Dam and Split Rock Dam have over 90% water supply and growers are planning for a fully irrigated crop.

Warm weather throughout the end of September saw planters hit the paddocks a few weeks earlier than usual. However, caution is advised when planting into cool soils, for instance, after pre-irrigating, or when the forecast is not conducive to germination and crop establishment. Monitoring soil temperatures and forecasts via the FastStart™ Soil Temperature Network on the CSD website is recommended.

The season ahead may pose challenges with the El Nino system keeping conditions dry throughout spring, and warmer than normal temperature predictions. Finally, last season the CSD Trials Program was smaller than anticipated due to XtendFlex® stewardship and flooding impacting planting. This year, the trials program is back bigger than ever and will showcase the new XtendFlex® lines across a broader geographical area of the Namoi. Keep an eye out for several Cotton Catch-Ups and Field Days that will provide opportunities to examine the new lines.

 

SOUTHERN NSW
Kieran O’Keefe

The ginning season has successfully concluded, and although the initial forecast of a 7- 8 bale average for the south, has slightly dipped to just under 6 bales/ha, growers remain optimistic as they eagerly anticipate the upcoming summer crop season.

Warm and exceedingly dry conditions have characterised the beginning of spring, and as we reach mid-September, the prospects for rainfall in the near future appear limited, particularly for the developing dryland cereal crops at a critical growth stage. Irrigated winter crops have excellent potential and will get fully irrigated throughout spring.

With good water availability in anticipation of a warm summer coupled with buoyant price prospects for lint and cotton seed, the cotton area is likely to expand in Southern NSW.