The Australian cotton industry is continuing to expand and evolve, with the 2018-19 season seeing cotton planted from the NSW/VIC border, right through to Central Queensland and in pockets of far Northern QLD, NT and WA.

The extended planting window means that cotton seed is being ordered and dispatched from mid- July until late January (in the northern regions). In order to meet demand, CSD’s seed dispatch team, led by John Galagher (Customer Sales and Logistics) work around the clock to ensure seed orders are received in a timely manner.

Let’s have a closer look at what goes into the seed dispatch from order to delivery.

In 2019, the first early order date closed on 26 June to ensure seed was delivered between 24 July and 6 September. This order date is particularly beneficial to the August plant in Central Queensland.

The second early order date closed on 7 August, for seed to be delivered between 6 September and 4 December. Utilising the early order dates ensures that seed variety and treatment are guaranteed for the grower and allows growers the choice of 800 kg packaging or 20 kg bags. The 800 kg bags are only available under early order and for certain varieties.

If growers miss the early order dates or are waiting for the weather outlook to improve, there are still plenty of options. CSD keeps floor stock of the most popular varieties and treatments, so that we are able to quickly respond to the needs of the market. We continually assess stock numbers, but if seed is required urgently, variety and treatment may be limited to floor stock availability. This season, CSD has large volumes of untreated seed on the floor ready for a break in the season, which can be treated at short notice.

When producing seed, the production team start with the most popular varieties – Sicot 714B3F, Sicot 746B3F and Sicot 748B3F. A complete clean down of the system is required every time there is a variety change, so orders are collated for efficiency.

In terms of treatment, the orders with the highest grade treatment are completed first (e.g. V2X or V2C) and then the team work their way through the other treatment options.

The 2019-20 season will see our core varieties treated in our new plant, which boasts two treatment lines to further improve time and efficiency. Smaller orders or niche variety orders are treated using CSD’s nursery facility.

Once treatment is completed, a sample of the AUSlot is sent for a quality assurance (QA) analysis at our onsite Quality and Research Centre (lab). The QA analysis takes a minimum of 7 days to complete and seed will not be released until it has passed QA, to ensure quality for germination.  Once the seed has passed QA it is ready to ship. Growers and agents should be aware that a minimum 24 hours notice is required if an order is made for floor stock, so it can be shipped onward to its final destination.

Growers should contact their agents in regards to their seed orders and availability of stock throughout the season.