In late March, the Gwydir and Mehi rivers experienced major flooding which significantly affected cotton crops around the Moree area and downstream. Close to 200mm of rainfall fell over three days onto soils that were already near full moisture capacity, which resulted in a rapid increase in the runoff into the Gwydir and Mehi river systems. This rain alone falling on to irrigated cotton farms resulted in significant water capture, which made it difficult in the subsequent few days with on-farm water storage near or at capacity, to clear the over land flows that resulted from the major flooding event. Where farm water storages were full, growers were forced to pump the excess water off their farms or face complete crop losses due to the extended time the crops would remain submerged.Crops inundated with floodwater suffered varying amounts of damage. While many were cleared of water within 1-2 days, some cotton planted in flood ways fared much worse. Flood water carries with it a great deal of debris and silt. This flood carried an enormous amount of winter crop stubble with it and deposited this in great rafts, mostly on the edges of cotton fields as it flowed through. The result of these deposits for picking and ginning should be minimal, although it will add more dust to the modules, they should still gin out fine. Most cotton crops lost the low fruiting positions this season to high green mirid numbers through late November and early December, and locally our day degree accumulation is lower than the 10-year mean. This has culminated in a reduced amount of early low fruit on the plants and a slightly later maturing crop, which helped with the reduction in open cotton at the time of flood inundation. Of the bolls the were open at the time of flooding many won’t be picked as they remain tight locked. Those bolls that have opened since the flooding have fluffed out quite normally and are largely unaffected.Hilled up fallow fields inundated with floodwater have in some cases (depending on water speed) suffered wash and are in need of pulling up again. While denitrification as a result of waterlogging is an issue, it is going to impact mineralised nitrogen primarily, because applied nitrogen through anhydrous gas or urea occurs closer to planting. The result will mean flood affected fallow fields will receive more fertiliser nitrogen to remediate the denitrification caused by the flood event. It is the extra work in pulling the hills back up in the flooded fields that is the causing the most concern for workload heading into next season. The best establishing fields have good seedbed preparation, achieved by pulling hills early and rolling them many months prior to planting, and allowing frosts and rain to break down the larger clods.The on-farm water capture and inflow to Copeton Dam means the local cotton planting for next season will receive a significant boost and cotton growers are thankful for the break. The challenge growers are now facing is picking the current crop and preparing fields for next season in time to take advantage of the water held in on-farm storages before it is lost to evaporation.