Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD) in the 2021/22 season will run a pilot program to introduce a cotton crop optimisation benchmarking concept to the Australian cotton industry, highlighting the categories and garnering feedback and improvements. Peter White, CSD’s Marketing and Development Lead, said, “The program will harness the desire of Australian cotton growers to improve their performance and the principle of ‘What gets measured gets managed and what gets managed gets done’.”The overall Champion for the best-optimised cotton crop will be named in honour of Frank Hadley, one of the pioneering Californian farmers who brought modern cotton production to Northern NSW. He was also the first Chairman of CSD. Mr White said, “The grower who receives the Frank Hadley award will be the best cumulative score across the whole program, the standout crop.”CSD is currently assessing crops in eight categories: plant stand and establishment, early season growth and potential yield, crop efficiencies in time to crop maturity, nitrogen application, water use, boll number and boll weight, final yield and fibre quality. “Each subcategory will have a champion and an award, recognising past Australian cotton industry luminaries who have greatly contributed to the industry we see today. The grower who stands above the rest for the year in that particular category. Then, we will extend to the industry what we can learn from these growers, what management and conditions contributed to, and influenced the results.”CSD has embarked on this program to capitalise on the findings of the successful CSD Ambassador Network. Collaboration with the industry over the last seven years has provided insights into better cotton production allowing growers to benchmark their cotton crop performance against that of their peers and the industry at large, not only for yield performance but other efficiencies and crop growth metrics as well. Mr White said “Growing a cotton crop is a cumulative process of several different operations and in-crop decisions. Yield generation is a complex system with many layers. This pilot program looks at enhancing aspects of cotton production.”The only way to prove efficiency is to measure it. Through this cotton crop optimisation program, growers will have the tools to not only measure efficiency, but to demonstrate it.With the world market becoming more environmentally aware and interested in how the products they buy is grown and manufactured, Australian cotton growers need to be able to prove they are efficient in their production system.In running the pilot this season CSD’s internal team of agronomists and extension officers will be liaising with cotton growers to introduce the program to them. “We have also engaged our Agent network as well as growers and consultant groups to test the system outside of our employees.” Mr White said. CSD has strived to simplify the data collection and entry process’ while ensuring value and insights are delivered back to participating growers. CSD is looking to work with industry to ensure that there is continual improvement of the Australian cotton crop so that Australia production remains a leader globally.