Case study property - Greenmount Press

Print Post Approved Publication No. PP 424022/1583 

JUNE–JULY 2011 

www.cottongrower.com.au 

The Australian Cottongrower 

P.O. Box 766, Toowoomba, 4350. 

Ph: (07) 4659 3555. Fax (07) 4638 4520. 

Email: cotton@greenmountpress.com.au 

Website: www.cottongrower.com.au 

DELIVERIES: 120 Herries St, Toowoomba, Qld. 4350. 

EDITOR: 

David Dowling 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Lloyd O’Connell 

GROUP SALES MANAGER: Norm Neeld 

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Mick Allan 

OFFICE MANAGER: Catherine O’Connell 

ADVERTISING: Norm Neeld 

Ph: (07) 5450 1720 

Fax: (07) 5450 1102 

Mobile: 0428 794 801 

CONTENTS OF ADVERTISEMENTS are the responsibility of the 

advertisers. All statements and opinions expressed in The Australian 

Cottongrower are published after due consideration of information 

gained from sources believed to be authentic. The following of advice 

given is at the reader’s own risk, and no responsibility is accepted for the 

accuracy of the matter published herein. No portion in whole or part may 

be reproduced without permission of the publisher. Copyright 2011. 

Published by Berekua Pty. Ltd., 40 Creek Street, Brisbane. Registered 

by Australia Post Print Post Approved Publication number 

PP 405518/00026. ISSN 1442–5289. 

PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY, APRIL, JUNE, AUGUST, OCTOBER, 

DECEMBER. COTTON YEARBOOK PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER. 

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contents 

8 Cotton bunchy top threat to high yielding cotton 

10 2011 Cotton Trade Show wrapup 

14 The impact of early defoliation on textile performance 

19 Saluting finalists in the Cotton Awards 

22 Scheme offers irrigators funding to improve water efficiency 

24 Queensland producers invest in Healthy HeadWaters 

Water Matters 

25 Case study property: ‘Long Meadows’, Bourke 

ginning & fibre quality series 

36 Quarantine treatments on the physical properties of 

cotton – Part 2 

42 Is mite pest-resistant cotton a little closer? 

43 Change in cotton production lecturer 

44 Assessment of cotton soils essential 

45 CottonSafe guide tops the charts 

regular features 

2 Editorial 

4 Cotton Research Roundup 

marketing 

28 World Commodity Watch 

30 The World Cotton Market 

32 What is fair value for the 2011–12 cotton crop? 

39 Classic Tractor Tales: The 1930s 

46 Germinating Ideas 

48 News & New Products 

51 District Reports 

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j/24d01072/270808 

INSIDE 

CBT threat to 

high yielding 

cotton 

Impact of early Saluting 

defoliation finalists in 

on textile the Cotton 

performance Awards 

Gordon and David Brownhill are finalists 

in the Australian Cotton Industry Awards 

to be presented at a dinner in Narrabri 

on August 10. For full story and details of 

all the finalists see page 19. 

JUNE–JULY 2011 THE AUSTRALIAN COTTONGROWER — 1

Professional Recruiters 

of Agribusiness 

Professionals 

SYDNEY 

Susan Leslie Lucy Purcell 

Tim Vidler Suzie Ward 

Al Kellaway 

02 9223 9944 

BRISBANE 

Dominica Carolan – 07 3832 9866 

MELBOURNE 

David Reid – 03 9866 6133 

Agribusiness Recruiters – 

LEADING THE WAY SINCE 1979 

www.agri.com.au 

U78496 

Editorial… 

David Dowling, Editor 

How refreshing it is to be part of a cotton industry which is 

surging back after a hibernation which has lasted for the past 

six years or more. It has taken 10 years to match and exceed 

the previous record cotton crop, even though the season 

just past has not been kind to everyone – and a downright 

disaster for some. But assuming we can finally get this never-ending crop to 

the gin before spring, next season could be anything. 

It is probably the best set-up for a season for the past 20 years. Water 

is available for irrigators and most areas also have decent subsoil moisture. 

Prices are still at historically high levels and better than other competitive 

crops. And the La Niña weather influence that created such havoc last season 

has finished, so we can possibly look forward to a season with slightly 

fewer deluges. On the negative side, much more of the crop will be planted 

in back-to-back situations this season after limited preparation, which could 

put pressure on yields. 

The new mood of optimism is best exemplified by the plan to build a gin 

in southern NSW, the first new gin in Australia for many years, to be backed 

up by an expected 40,000 hectares or more of cotton next season. Back in 

the boom times of the 1980s and 90s, there weren’t many years that went 

by without a new gin opening, and they were often pretty elaborate affairs. 

The ginners were competing for cotton while up to a dozen merchants 

were out there buying aggressively. At the same time there were probably 

20 chemical companies of one form or another and many of them had a 

rep in just about every cotton town. The cotton farms themselves often had 

a number of staff and teams of bug checkers, cotton chippers, aerial operators 

and spray markers made a living from the industry. In many ways the 

industry was much more visible because of the large number of service staff 

employed. 

No doubt things are more efficient now. Bollgard, Roundup Ready and 

now round bales have made a big difference. We grew a record crop last year 

with many, many fewer people than would have been needed 20 years ago. 

The cost of that efficiency is a reduction in the ‘social life’ of the industry, but 

that’s progress, I guess. 

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SERVING NORTHERN NSW AND CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND 

MOREE 

39 Frome Street, PO Box 774, Moree NSW 2400 

Ph (02) 6752 1640; Fax (02) 6752 5070 

Contact: Paul Covell, Peter Taylor 

Email: ptaylor@smk.com.au 

GOONDIWINDI 

130 Marshall St, PO Box 422, Goondiwindi Qld 4390 

Ph (07) 4671 2445; Fax (07) 4671 2561 

Contact Ralph Kinsella, Mike Henderson 

Email: qld@smk.com.au 

2 — THE AUSTRALIAN COTTONGROWER JUNE–JULY 2011

In this issue... 

CBT threat 

The recent Cotton 

Australia General Meeting 

in Moree confirmed that 

growers across most valleys 

are very concerned about 

the high prevalence of 

cotton bunchy top (CBT) 

this past season. 

See story............................ Page 8 

Impact of early 

defoliation 

Immature cotton 

fibres have less cell wall 

thickening with more 

hollow space and are 

often associated with low 

micronaire (less than 3.8). Immature fibre 

is undesirable for textile manufacture 

because it does not take up dye as 

effectively as mature fibres. 

See story.......................... Page 14 

Saluting finalists 

In a salute to the 

drivers of the Australian 

cotton industry, finalists 

were announced in the 

2011 Australian Cotton 

Industry Awards at the Cotton Trade 

Show in Moree, heart of cotton country. 

With the cotton industry in resurgence, a 

strong field of candidates was nominated 

across all cotton valleys. 

See story.......................... Page 19 

Healthy HeadWaters 

Producers interested in water use 

efficiency technology are encouraged to 

contact the DEEDI Healthy HeadWaters 

project team to discuss the latest decision 

support tools and project updates. Round 

2 of the DERM run Healthy Headwaters 

Infrastructure Program opened on May 3 

and will close at the end of July. 

See story.......................... Page 24 

Mite pest-resistant 

cotton? 

While managing major 

pests such as Helicoverpa 

has been the most 

significant focus of cotton industry R&D 

in the past 20 years, CSIRO has also 

been devoting resources and expertise 

towards managing other pests that affect 

cotton. One pest that can potentially 

decrease yield and cause quality losses in 

cotton is the two-spotted spider mite. 

See story.......................... Page 42 

The 1930s 

Planet Earth was a 

very disturbed place 

in the 1930s. As the financial world 

struggled to pull itself out of The Great 

Depression, shocked and impoverished 

Wall Street bankers continued leaping out 

of skyscraper windows. 

See story.......................... Page 39 

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A D I V I S I O N O F T R I M B L E 


COTTON COTTON COTTON 

RESEARCH ROUNDUP 

BRUCE PYKE 

BRUCE FINNEY 

Industry bunchytop specialists, Murray Sharman and Susan Maas of QDEEDI are 

recommending all farmers eliminate ratoon and volunteer cotton in and around farms 

over winter to halt the spread of bunchytop virus infestations. 

Bunchytop threat means 

winter clean-up is essential 

Industry biosecurity and pest experts 

are reinforcing the need for good farm 

hygiene over winter to avoid a renewed 

threat from the yield-sapping bunchytop 

virus spread by aphids. 

“We‘re extremely concerned about Cotton 

Bunchy Top (CBT),” says industry Biosecurity 

Specialist Susan Maas. 

“We have seen CBT go from some isolated 

incidences to become widespread. 

Some fields in both NSW and QLD recorded 

greater than 70 per cent of plants 

infested late in the season. Bunchytop virus 

resulted in serious yield loss in the affected 

fields. 

“This virus can only survive in living 

plants so we have a critical opportunity 

over winter to break the disease cycle by 

controlling hosts, in particular volunteer 

and ratoon cotton. If we have a wet spring 

we have the potential to see CBT worse 

than in 1998–99 when CBT reduced 

yields by 25 per cent on 21 per cent of 

the growing area, which equates to a 5.2 

per cent loss across the whole industry at a 

cost of $140 per hectare.” 

Weeds and rogue cotton provide the 

‘green bridge’ for pests to survive over 

winter and then infest the following cotton 

crop. 

According to industry Development and 

Delivery (D&D) Pest Management Specialist 

Sally Ceeney, of all the weeds, volunteer 

and ratoon cotton is the largest problem. 

It is a host for cotton insect pests, is difficult 

to control and is also a host for disease 

and potential biosecurity risk. 

“Allowing volunteer and ratoon cotton 

to survive over winter also carries a risk for 

Bollgard II resistance,” Sally warns. 

“By having weeds on your farm hosting 

insects you are effectively increasing the 

base population of pests at the start of the 

next season. 

“At the grower level this can be costly as 

it may lead to having to control these pests 

early in the season, and potentially numerous 

times during the season. 

“At an industry level, weeds hosting insect 

pests can increase chances of insecticide 

resistance developing. For example, 

after spraying aphids in-crop last season 

the survivors may be resistant individuals.” 

CRDC Board meets highland 

growers 

The CRDC Board held its mid-year 

meeting in Emerald in the first week of 

June. The meeting also provided valuable 

opportunites for growers and the Central 

Highlands CGA to host CRDC on-farm 

visits. The open discussions held in the 

field proved useful for all parties to jointly 

explore the role of R&D investments 

specifically tailored to secure improved 

productivity and sustainability across the 

central Queensland region. 

The field trips were designed by the 

cotton industry development and delivery 

specialist, Susan Maas of QDEEDI with 

the assistance of the CGA. Topics of interest 

were farmer responses to repeated 

Field discussions between the CRDC Board and Central Highlands growers in June. 


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flood events and how those events created 

further issues of disease and on-farm biosecurity. 

Brad and Renee Anderson, and Andrew 

and Julie Geddes hosted the CRDC Board 

on their farms. 

New web tool for SLW 

decisions 

CSIRO Plant Industry as part of the 

Cotton Catchment Communities CRC has 

recently developed a web tool to make silverleaf 

whitefly (SLW) management easier 

and more predictable. 

The SLW Matrix web tool allows users 

to enter regular sampling information to 

track the development of SLW populations 

over time. The tool then compares 

these populations with the control thresholds, 

which are based on the pest population 

size, day degrees and crop stage. 

The development of this SLW Matrix 

tool has been the combined effort of 

web developer Loretta Clancy, development 

specialist Sandra Williams, both of 

CSIRO, Emerald based QLD DEEDI SLW 

researcher Richard Sequeria and Industry 

Development and Delivery Biosecurity 

Specialist Susan Maas. 

“This is a fantastic development and a 

huge step forward because it reduces a 

multi-dimensional whitefly spray decision 

and takes the process down to a simple 

and practical exercise that any crop manager 

will be able to use with confidence 

and ease,” Richard said. 

The SLW threshold matrix tool can be accessed 

through www.cottassist.crc.org.au. 

Once you have set-up farms and crops, 

the only required information is SLW sample 

data. 

The recommendation page presents 

the industry’s threshold matrix with your 

whitefly population data overlayed. In addition 

to this is a full explanation of the 

threshold that applies to your current SLW 

population and crop stage. 

Know energy use in order 

to reduce it 

Research into energy use is increasing 

our understanding of the range, costs and 

contributions of energy use to cotton production 

and greenhouse gas emissions. 

The research, undertaken by the National 

Centre for Engineering in Agriculture 

(NCEA), and funded by the CRDC, is 

enlisting growers to further the study. 

NCEA Deputy Director, Craig Baillie 

said on the average irrigated cotton farm, 

the main energy uses were irrigated water 

pumping, heavy tillage operations and 

harvesting. 

But there are significant opportunities 

for irrigators to reduce energy use and 

costs. 

The NCEA is developing a methodology 

to evaluate on-farm energy use. It involves 

three levels of assessment: 

The NCEA’s methodology is supported 

by EnergyCalc (www.kmsi.ncea.biz), a 

web-based tool that assesses direct onfarm 

energy use, costs and greenhouse gas 

emissions associated with the consumption 

of diesel, petrol, LPG and electricity. 

The NCEA has made some changes to 

the EnergyCalc software, such as automatic 

report generation (in PDF format) 

that includes summaries of machinery inputs 

and on farm energy use within the 

farming system, and performance indicators 

for benchmarking on-farm energy use. 

Other developments include an exporting 

feature that allows the user to manipulate 

data in an Excel spreadsheet format. 

By undertaking the multi-level assessment 

process and using the supporting 

tools (ie EnergyCalc), Craig said that farmers 

would discover plenty of areas to start 

saving energy and money. 

Email to: craig.baillie@usq.edu.au or visit 

EnergyCalc – http://www.kmsi.ncea.biz 

Look into space to save 

water 

Griffith-based researcher with CSIRO 

Land & Water, Dr John Hornbuckle, has 

been trialling a system that monitors irrigated 

crops using satellite imagery and 

on-ground measurements of evapotranspiration. 

This ongoing project funded by 

CRDC and Industry & Investment NSW 

could change the way Australian cotton 

growers schedule irrigation. 

John has been delivering the service to 

horticultural growers in southern Australia 

for the past two years. Last cotton season, 

he trialled the service with 10 consultants 

in the Gwydir region. 

For growers, the biggest benefit of this 

system is hoped to be its low cost. While 

the price has yet to be determined, John 

said that they hoped to commercialise the 

service within the next two seasons. The 

satellite data applied is free. 

A further benefit is that the system detects 

spatial variability across the farm, 

which ties in well with existing technology 

like soil moisture probes. According to 

John, if you only have 10 (soil moisture) 

probes, but you’ve got 50 paddocks, this 

approach could be used to fill the gaps in 

those paddocks that are not being measured 

by the probes. 

At this stage, the project is mostly operating 

at the feasibility level in cotton, but 

independent benefit–cost ratios completed 

for the Grape & Wine Research Development 

Corporation for the wine grape industry 

were good. John said this indicated 

that similar benefits could be achieved in 

other crops and other irrigation areas. 

Barb puts cotton on 

women’s agenda 

Mungindi cotton grower Barb Grey has 

been named the Rural Industries Research 

and Development Corporation (RIRDC) 

Australian Rural Women’s Award runnerup. 

Barb was named the 2011 Queensland 

RIRDC Rural Women’s Winner earlier this 

year before going on to compete for the 

national title, with the winners announced 

at a ceremony in the Great Hall, Parliament 

House on May 24. 

“To implement a pilot education program 

to empower aspiring rural and regional 

women leaders by giving them a 

better understanding of the political process 

and government decision making“ is 

Barb’s mission statement. 

“This would collectively and individually 

build a stronger, more effective voice for 

rural industries and regional communities, 

which I am passionate about,“ Barb said. 

“I will use the award bursary to build my 

skills in project facilitation to give me the 

competencies to deliver on this pilot program. 

If successful, I believe this could be 

replicated and become a regular training initiative 

for rural and regional women.” 

Mungindi’s Barb Grey, recognised 

nationally through the Rural Industries 

Research and Development Corporation 

(RIRDC) Australian Rural Women’s Award, 

is presented with the award by Mike Kelly, 

Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, 

Fisheries and Forestry. 


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Cotton bunchy top threat to 

high yielding cotton 

By Greg Kauter, Cotton Australia 

The recent Cotton Australia General 

Meeting in Moree confirmed that 

growers across most valleys are very 

concerned about the high prevalence of 

cotton bunchy top (CBT) this past season. 

A recent tour with QDEEDI’s Emerald 

based cotton extension officer Susan Maas 

and the cotton industry pathology survey 

also helped identify that current levels of 

the disease are now a cause of concern 

for next season. The crop consultants association 

has gone so far as to state that 

“cotton bunchy top is currently the greatest 

threat to high yielding cotton production 

in Australia.” 

CBT symptoms were visible in almost 

half of the fields inspected as part of the 

industry’s disease survey this year, with 

some problematic patches. On some fields 

on the Downs for example, up to 70 per 

cent of plants were affected and significant 

yield impacts are likely. This is an industrywide 

problem requiring an industry-wide 

response, and Cotton Australia has taken 

a coordinating role. 

Cotton bunchy top is a viral disease 

spread by cotton aphids, with the last big 

outbreak back in the 1998–99 season. It 

causes stunting in cotton including reduced 

leaf and fruit size and reduced internode 

and petiole length, all having significant 

impacts on yield. Symptoms include leaves 

having pale green angular patterns around 

the margins, darker green centres and a 

leathery texture. 

In response to this issue, Cotton Australia 

is working with the CRC Extension 

Team to ensure up to date research and 

best practice information is shared with 

growers and is also advising CRDC on the 

research needs of growers in this area. 

The TIMS Committee, led by Cotton 

Australia, is also in the process of consulting 

with industry on the development of 

the Insect Resistance Management Strategy 

for 2011–12, with CBT set to be addressed 

by this plan. 

CSIRO Program Leader Dr Greg Constable 

addressed the Cotton Australia General 

Meeting on the CBT issue, updating members 

on the research program’s efforts to 

address it. The meeting expressed a clear 

desire for new varieties that are resistant to 

the disease, with Greg Constable informing 

Greg Kauter. 

the group that commercialisation of such 

varieties is about two years away. 

Because this technology is still in the 

pipeline, growers need to be on top of 

aphid control, and have strategies in place 

well ahead of next season. 

According to Crop Consultants Australia, 

“Cotton bunchy top cannot be prevented 

by controlling aphids” and growers 

should not rely on this. Not only are there 

limited insecticide options for aphid control, 

but their management has become 

particularly challenging in recent years due 

to growing resistance issues. 

Host management during winter is crucial 

in minimising the number of severely 

impacted fields next year. A number of 

broadleaf weeds such as marshmallow 

CBT could be a major threat next season. 

weeds can be hosts, but the biggest problem 

is volunteer and ratoon cotton as they 

provide the ‘green bridge’ that allows 

aphids to survive season to season. If these 

are not controlled, CBT can fast become 

an area-wide problem. 

Adding to the problem is the fact that 

volunteer and ratoon cotton can appear 

symptomless, because there is a latent period 

from initial infection to the presence 

of visual symptoms. The best rule of thumb 

is to remove any weeds, volunteer and ratoon 

cotton from the farm over winter and 

to not leave it until after cotton planting. If 

left too late, growers run the risk of CBTcarrying 

aphids leaving these host plants, 

resulting in sudden and widespread crop 

infestation and the risk of high yield loss. 

Ten reasons why ratoon and volunteer 

cotton must go: 

• Mealybugs survive from one season to 

the next on these food sources, infesting 

crops early in the following season. 

• Cotton aphids with resistance to neonicotinoids 

survive between seasons on 

these plants, reducing insecticide effectiveness. 

• Cotton bunchy top can be transmitted 

by cotton aphids from infected ratoons 

to new cotton crops. 

• Silverleaf whitefly survive between seasons 

on these plants, resulting in earlier 

infestation in the following season. 

• They provide a winter host for pale cotton 

stainers and Solenopsis mealybugs. 

• Inoculum of soil-borne diseases such as 

black root rot, Fusarium and Verticillium 

builds up in ratoons. 

• Ratoon plants place extra selection 

pressure on Bt. 

• Fields with ratoons from Bt cotton are 

unsuitable for planting refuge crops, as 

the refuges cannot be effective if contaminated 

with Bt cotton plants. 

• Removing ratoons may be a costly exercise, 

but cheaper than the costs of problems 

resulting from not removing them. 

• They are a biosecurity risk. Ratoons 

harbour pests and are a potential point 

of establishment for exotic pests. 

For further information, please contact your 

nearest CRC Extension Officer for a copy of the 

April On Farm Disease Update that takes 

a closer look at control of Cotton Bunchy Top. 


Cotton Choices 

Y O U ’ R E I N C O N T R O L . 

w w w . c o t t o n c h o i c e s . c o m . a u

2011 Cotton Trade Show wrapup 

The mood was good at the Cotton 

Trade Show and that was a very 

pleasant and long awaited change for 

all in the industry. 

The signs were encouraging with the 

level of exhibitor interest leading up to the 

event. Not only did we have the regular 

supporters who, along with the growers, 

have weathered a few too many difficult 

seasons – we had many new faces. In racing 

parlance – these included maiden starters 

and those returning from a long spell. 

This was most noticeable amongst the 

major machinery exhibitors – numbers 

were up by 50 per cent on what we had 

seen for at least four trade shows. And this 

year most had new products on display! 

The growers and their staff on site also 

included a lot of ‘maidens’. Among the 

1000 or so who turned up over the two 

days we had visitors from as far afield as 

Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, Far 

North Queensland and all the more traditional 

growing regions. 

I’m not sure about the guys from Tassie 

– they must have been on the look out for 

some very short season varieties and those 

from up past Cairns are perhaps keen to 

do some seed multiplication – they would 

have the water and the heat units for four 

or five crops a year, surely? 

The post-show feedback largely 

matched the mood on the day – most 

were happy. The growers showed interest 

in anything new on offer and all were 

busy catching up with suppliers and fellow 

producers. The ‘newer’ growers – both 

dryland and irrigated – from areas like 

southern NSW and the Downs were there 

in numbers and keen to see the technology. 

Some expressed disappointment that 

there were no pickers on site. Not just the 

new picker/module builders, but pickers of 

any sort. 

We would have liked a few too but they 

were busy bringing in 4,000,000 plus 

bales. I’m sure we could all put up with no 

pickers on display every year if it meant 

that they were always hard at work on a 

crop this size! 

Excel Agriculture national sales manager Brian Moran, 

Toowoomba, shows the features of an Excel Penetrator to Marc 

O’Brien, Mallawa, and John Ellis, Carinda. 

Countrywide Industries director Rodney Carr, Dubbo, chats with 

cotton grower Mark Ricketts, Moree, and Andrew Madden, 

Keytah, Moree. 

Benchmarking 

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New cotton seed treatment 

SEED TREATMENTS that control a range of insect 

pests in early season cotton are delivering signifi cant 

productivity benefi ts while greatly reducing occupational 

safety and environmental worries. 

Cotton Seed Distributors senior extension and 

development agronomist, Robert Eveleigh, has been 

trialling Syngenta’s CRUISER and CRUISER EXTREME † 

seed treatments during the past three years. 

Both products provide robust control of thrips, aphids 

and wireworms in the convenience and fl exibility 

of a seed treatment. 

In effect, they protect seedlings from germination 

right through to stand establishment, allowing plants 

to express their full genetic and yield potential. 

Robert Eveleigh says the withdrawal of the in-furrow 

granular insecticide, Temik*, from the market will trigger 

strong growth in seed treatment use by cotton growers. 

“Temik was probably the treatment of choice for a lot 

of cotton growers, as it had been around for 20 or 30 

years,” he says. 

“CRUISER gives us 

a healthy start, even 

emergence and vigorous 

seedlings while being 

very soft on benefi cials. 

There’s no way I’d go 

back to an in-furrow 

granular insecticide.” 

Jeff Hamblin 

“Riverway” 

Pilliga, NSW 

“It gave excellent control of early season insects. 

“CRUISER EXTREME gives comparable protection 

against early stage insects but is far more user-friendly 

than in-furrow granules – you just pour the treated seed 

in your planter and out it goes. 

“When you’re sowing with in-furrow granules, you have to 

worry about what’s happening in your seeds box as well 

as the granules box. 

“The more even the plant stand and 

the more vigorous the seedlings, the 

more likely you are to have an even, 

healthy, high-yielding crop at picking. 

CRUISER gives us several weeks 

protection after emergence, cutting 

the need for two or three sprays to 

control thrips..” 

“CRUISER is a critical management 

input for insect control at emergence. 

Anything that improves the uniformity 

and plant stand average is highly 

valuable because it reduces the risk 

of re-planting.” 

Chris Humphries 

“Caroale” 

Moree, NSW 

Howard Rother 

“Howard’s Place” 

Cecil Plains, Qld

educes in-furrow woes 

“CRUISER is a good 

product with an even 

application. It’s just a lot 

easier than the in-furrow 

granular alternative.” 

Mike Pearce 

“Karminya” 

Cecil Plains, Qld 

“While the operator has a seed fl ow monitor, 

he normally doesn’t have a clue if there’s a 

blockage in the granules box as it’s diffi cult 

to monitor.” 

Robert says convenience is becoming 

increasingly important due to a shortage of 

experienced labour in the cotton sector. 

“The long drought in the cotton industry saw 

a lot of experienced farm workers move on 

to seek alternative employment outside the 

industry,” Robert says. 

“Now they are being replaced by workers who 

perhaps lack the close level of training required 

to safely handle in-furrow granular treatments. 

“There are a lot of people out there who will 

need training in the use of granular treatments 

before they could safely use the product.” 

He predicts CRUISER and CRUISER 

EXTREME will play an increasingly important 

role in providing early season pest control 

throughout all Australia’s major cotton valleys. 

“Growers can enjoy the convenience of a 

commercially-applied seed treatment and 

have confi dence that their seed is well 

protected,” he says. 

“CRUISER is a robust seed treatment in 

its own right that works very well in regions 

of the Namoi, Gwydir, Macintyre and 

Darling Downs. 

“CRUISER EXTREME is best formulated 

for conditions in eastern and southern 

cotton growing regions where extra control 

is required.” 

Both treatments are available as options on 

all CSD varieties in 2011 and are compatible 

with DYNASTY COMPLETE to provide 

complete protection against disease and 

insect pests. 

“We switched to a seed 

treatment for safety 

reasons. CRUISER gets 

us through that early crop 

stage and gets the cotton 

off to a good start, very 

important, especially in 

marginal country like this.” 

Ryan Hanes 

“Myalla” 

Wee Waa, NSW 

For more information please contact your local Territory Sales Manager, 

call the Syngenta Advice Line on 1800 067 108 or visit www.syngenta.com.au 

†APVMA registration pending. ®Registered trademark of a Syngenta Group Company. Trademark of a Syngenta 

Group Company. All products written in uppercase are registered trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. 

*Registered trademark. SYN2271 ED 11/167 R

The impact of early defoliation on 

textile performance 

By Robert Long 1 and Michael Bange 1 

At a glance… 

Defoliation earlier than 60 per cent open bolls can result in increased amounts of 

immature fibre (low maturity ratio and micronaire). (Photo: CSIRO) 

Immature cotton fibres have less cell wall 

thickening with more hollow space and 

are often associated with low micronaire 

(less than 3.8). Immature fibre is undesirable 

for textile manufacture because 

it does not take up dye as effectively as 

mature fibres and will often appear lighter 

in colour. Immature fibre will also entangle 

more easily and form neps (knots) which 

can appear as ‘white specks’ or flecks on 

finished fabric. 

Immature fibre and neps even in small 

amounts are undesirable as they decrease 

mill processing efficiency and ruin the 

appearance of finished yarns and fabrics 

and can negatively affect an industry’s 

reputation when cotton arrives at spinning 

mills. The number of immature bolls 

with immature fibre in a crop at harvest 

can increase as a result of actively growing 

crops experiencing an abrupt end to 

the season caused by cold temperatures 

and/or premature applications of defoliants 

or boll openers that force immature 

bolls to open. Both situations may increase 

chances of immature fibre and neps once 

cotton is harvested and ginned. 

In a previous article (see The Australian 

Cottongrower vol. 31(4) August–September 

2010, pages 39–41) the results of 

the effects of differences in the timing of 

harvest aids on maturing cotton crops (defoliants 

and boll openers) on yield and fibre 

quality were reported. This article reports 

on the same studies, but with an emphasis 

on textile performance. This information 

Significant amounts of immature fibre in ginned cotton will affect textile quality and thus 

can affect Australia’s reputation for high quality. A study conducted in three seasons varied 

the timing of defoliation to determine what per cent of open bolls at the time of application 

contribute to differences in the amount of immature fibre leading to differences in the 

quality of yarn and fabric. Although early defoliation treatments produced less mature 

fibre, both yarn and fabric strength was not affected. 

Interestingly, less mature cotton from a cooler growing season produced stronger yarn 

which was attributed to the smaller ribbon width of this fibre which increased fibre packing 

density (that is more fibres in a given volume of yarn). Yarns made from more immature 

cotton in this season also contained more neps. 

Percent open bolls at the time of harvest aid application related well to changes in the 

colour of blue dyed fabric, with the earlier defoliation treatments having lighter coloured 

fabric. While there were gradual improvements in fabric colour with later defoliations there 

were only distinct changes in colour to the visible eye when there was less than 26 per 

cent open bolls at the time of treatment application. 

This work supports the current recommendation of applying harvest aids at greater 

than 60 per cent open bolls, and the information generated in this study may be used to 

predict the quality of yarn and fabric generated from cotton varying in maturity. 

will be valuable in refining crop monitoring 

and harvest preparation strategies that aim 

to optimise both lint yield and fibre quality. 

This will optimise returns to growers and 

help to improve the quality and reputation 

of cotton delivered to overseas spinning 

mills. 

Methods 

Defoliation timing field experiments 

were conducted over three seasons at 

the Australian Cotton Research Institute 

(ACRI) at Narrabri from 2005 to 2008. 

Replicated experiments (four reps per 

experiment) consisted of five to seven defoliation 

application dates with a control 

which allowed all bolls to fully mature. 

A mixture of leaf defoliant (0.2 L/ha 

Dropp Liquid) and a boll opener (3 L/ha 

Prep 720) with 2 L/ha D-C Tron was applied 

at approximately 5 day intervals in 

2005–06 (Sicot 71BR), 2006–07 (Sicot 

71BR), and 7 day intervals in 2007–08 

(Sicot 71) from low to high per cent open 

bolls. Initiation of defoliant treatments was 

targeted to generate treatments with increased 

immature fibre, so the first defoliant 

treatment was at five per cent to 20 

per cent open bolls. To establish crop condition 

when defoliant treatments were applied, 

per cent open bolls were recorded 

on control plots. 


the way forward 

Lint was collected from machine picked 

samples used to measure Cnr Buckland yield. & Yaldwyn Samples Sts 

were ginned and Toowoomba HVI tested Qld at 4350 CSIRO 

Narrabri and then Phone: subjected 07 4635 to fibre 9872qual- 

parameters (yarn strength and yarn nep 

content). Yarns were then knitted into fabric 

and dyed with a standard Cibacron blue 

reactive dye. 

the naked eye. Fabric samples for the control 

(or latest) defoliant timing treatment 

were compared to each previously applied 

defoliant treatment. Dyed fabric samples 

ity testing at CSIRO Fax: 07 Geelong 4635 6633 using the Reflectance colorimetric measurements were also tested for strength. 

CSIRO instrument www.excelagr.com.au 

Brian Moran Sirolan-Laserscan to were taken on fabrics using a spectrophotometer. 

The appearance of dyed fabric 

Results and Outcomes 

measure fibre diameter Brian Moran (ribbon 0427 width). 722 925 

Enough cotton was Dan collected Ryan 0427 from 700 each 779 samples were assessed in terms of delta E. Fibre quality 

plot to enable yarn to be spun (20 tex This Millennium describes the mathematical Planter distance In each 

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of defoliation 

treatments ✓ Construct affected and refine the maturity seed-beds of prior to pla 

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e lower in micronaire (Figure 1). Direct 

measurements of fibre maturity also confirmed 

that earlier treatments were less 

mature (Figure 2). 

Ribbon width was not affected by the 

timing of application of harvest aids. In 

the 2007–08 season fibre was less mature 

(substantially lower micronaire) and had 

a smaller ribbon width. This season was 

markedly cooler resulting in a delayed crop 

with more immature bolls. 

Yarn 

The lack of differences in yarn strength 

between treatments was unexpected; as 

more immature fibres would have been 

needed in a yarn cross section to make the 

specified mass per unit length of yarn, this 

should have increased yarn strength. But 

lack of improvement in yarn strength with 

more immature fibre from early defoliation 

treatments was most likely due to shorter 

fibres in these treatments. There were no 

differences between treatments for ribbon 

width which suggested that there were little 

differences in the fibre packing density 

of yarns (fibres per yarn volume). 

Figure 1: Micronaire of collected lint samples from defoliation 

treatments applied at various per cent open bolls over three 

seasons 

Figure 2: Electron microscope images of yarn cross sections 

taken from the earliest and latest defoliation treatments in 

each season (a µm is one millionth of a metre) 

Interestingly for the markedly less mature 

fibre for the 2007–08 season, yarns 

were stronger (on average stronger by approximately 

3 cN/tex) (Figure 3) and the 

ribbon width was smaller. So yarns made 

from this fibre either had a smaller fibre 

perimeter, or the very low fibre maturity 

caused fibres to collapse more and fold up 

on themselves. 

This is an avenue for more in depth 

work examining the methods of measuring 

ribbon width, how ribbon width contributes 

to the mechanics of yarn strength, 

as well as how the factors maturity and 

perimeter affect ribbon width. 

Although the level of fibre neps was 

significantly greater for earlier harvest aid 

treatments, this did not translate into increases 

in yarn neps. It is most likely that 

the two carding processes prior to spinning 

removed a significant proportion of 

these neps. 

Carding is the process where fibre in the 

mill is blended and cleaned before being 

condensed into a single strand of overlapping 

fibres called a ‘sliver’. But more neps 

would have increased the waste coming 

from the carding process which is less acceptable 

in the mill. 

But differences in the amount of neps 

were found between seasons. In the 

2007–2008 season, approximately 100 

more neps occurred in yarns and was associated 

with this very immature fibre (Figure 

3). 

Fabric 

Earlier harvest aid application treatments 

resulted in lighter coloured fabrics 

and they were significantly different in appearance 

(delta E values greater than 1) 

compared with fabrics taken from later 

harvests. These changes were strongly related 

to micronaire and the maturity of the 

fibre used for production. 

Per cent open bolls at the time of defoliation 

harvest aid application related well 

to changes in fabric colour when the three 

seasons were assessed collectively (Figure 

4). While there were improvements in colour 

(dye uptake) with defoliation occurring 

later, distinct fabric colour changes occurred 

when there was less than 26 per 

cent open bolls (which equates to approximately 

seven nodes above cracked boll). 

For fabric strength, there was no significant 

difference among treatments for the 

three seasons. But across seasons, fabric 

from the 2007–2008 season was stronger 

than fabric produced from the first two 

seasons which were not different to each 

other (Figure 5). 


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Figure 3: Yarn strength and neps between seasons measured in this study – there were no 

differences between defoliation treatments in any season 

Outcomes 

On the basis of textile performance the 

results here support the current recommendation 

of applying defoliants at 60 

per cent open bolls or around 4 NACB in 

uniformly maturing cotton crops. But this 

is dependent on seasonal conditions and 

management practices. 

Research is currently being undertaken 

to refine the boll cutting technique to determine 

the status of a crop prior to applying 

harvest aids that may allow cotton 

producers to better predict final quality and 

ensure the best time for defoliation to optimise 

quality. 

Such information will also help the supply 

chain in general to pre-empt some of 

the processing performance issues of harvested 

fibre and improve fibre processing, 

e.g. ensure lay downs are more consistent. 

1 

CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering 

(Geelong) and CSIRO Plant Industry (Narrabri) 

Cotton Catchment Communities Cooperative 

Research Centre. Narrabri. 

Further details on issues affecting cotton textile 

production are detailed in FIBREpak which can 

be ordered online at the Cotton CRC’s website 

www.cottoncrc.org.au/content/Industry/ 

Publications/Fibre_Quality/FIBREpak/ 

Or you may also wish to read the full peer 

reviewed articles associated with this work: 

Long, R.L., Bange, M.P. (2011) Consequences of 

immature fiber on the processing performance 

of Upland cotton. Field Crops Research 121, 

401-407. 

Bange, M.P., Long, R.L. (2011) Optimizing 

timing of chemical harvest aid application 

in cotton by predicting its influence on fiber 

quality. Agronomy Journal 103, 390-395. 

Acknowledgments: Thanks to J. Caton, D. 

Hodgson, R. Giles, Mark Freijah, Fred Horne, 

Sue Horne, and Margaret Pate for technical 

assistance. The CRDC and the Cotton CRC both 

provided financial support for this work. We 

also thank Cotton Seed Distributors for 

provision of planting seed. 

Figure 4: The influence of the timing of defoliation on fabric 

colour 

Delta E values greater than 1 mean that colour changes are visible to the naked eye. 

Figure 5: Fabric strength between seasons measured in 

this study – there were no differences between defoliation 

treatments within any season 


Saluting finalists in the 

Cotton Awards 

In a salute to the drivers of the Australian 

cotton industry, finalists were today 

announced in the 2011 Australian Cotton 

Industry Awards at the Cotton Trade 

Show in Moree, heart of cotton country. 

With the cotton industry in resurgence, 

a strong field of candidates was nominated 

across all cotton valleys, with 12 finalists 

picked across five categories. 

According to Cotton Australia CEO 

Adam Kay, who made the announcement, 

the Awards are not so much a contest but 

a celebration of the industry’s innovation 

and progress. 

“All of our finalists are talented people 

– researchers, growers, agronomists and 

young stars of the future – who contribute 

to our industry not only through their work 

but through an enormous personal commitment,” 

Adam said. 

“The Awards are an opportunity to 

showcase this commitment and to share 

the visions and innovations of our highest 

achievers in order to strengthen the industry 

as a whole. 

CSD’s Steve Ainsworth and Cotton Australia’s Adam Kay discuss the Cotton Awards 

poster display at the Australian Cotton Trade Show. 


“Our finalists are always optimistic, dedicated 

and passionate about their work as 

well as major contributors to the broader 

industry and their cotton communities. 

The Australian Cotton Industry Awards 

showcase our exciting and dynamic industry, 

and point to a healthy future for the 

cotton sector,” he said. 

“I want to congratulate all of the finalists 

and wish them well for the final rounds of 

judging over the next month.” Adam said. 

Top honours will be announced during 

the Australian Cotton Industry Awards dinner 

and presentation night in Narrabri at 

the Crossing Theatre on Wednesday, August 

10, 2011. Tickets for this event will 

go on sale at the end of June. 

Monsanto 

Grower of the Year and 

AgriRisk 

Innovative Grower Award 

Hamish Johnstone 

Hamish Johnstone manages the 

Primeag Australia properties ‘Macintyre 

Downs’, ‘Wirrindi’ and ‘Riverview’ on the 

Macintyre River at Goondiwindi producing 

cotton, seed sorghum and winter cereals 

on an irrigated and dryland mixed cropping 

and grazing enterprise. 

Craig and Sharron Saunders 

Conducting an irrigated cotton, dryland 

wheat and grazing enterprise on three 

properties in the St.George Irrigation area. 

Craig has developed an innovative irrigation 

system with pipes through the banks 

which have adjustable flow rates. The system 

has resulted in a 20 per cent water 

saving and significant yield increases. 

Donald and Douglas Crothers 

‘Booligar’ is an irrigated cotton and dryland 

farming and grazing enterprise at Dirranbandi 

in the Lower Balonne region. 

Ed Willis and Von Warner 

The Bullamon Plains Pastoral Co operated 

by Ed and Bill Willis and Von Warner 

conduct an irrigated and dryland farming 

and grazing enterprise at Thallon in 

Queensland. 

Gordon and David Brownhill 

Merrilong Pastoral Co is an irrigated 

and dryland farming and grazing business 

at Spring Ridge NSW. The team has established 

a no-till controlled traffic system 

since 1995 growing winter and summer 

grain crops and has commenced growing 

irrigated and dryland cotton in the current 

season. 

Maxine and Stuart Armitage 

The Armitage’s conduct an irrigation 

cropping enterprise at ‘Wamara’, Cecil 

Plains on the Darling Downs. Some 

200–250 hectares of irrigated cotton are 

grown annually on the 600 hectare property. 

Crops are grown in long fallow rotations 

with opportunity crops of sorghum 

produced in a no till system with stubble 

retention. 


Cotton Seed Distributors 

Researcher of the Year 

Award 

enthusiasm and passion for the cotton industry, 

being president of her local grower 

association and leading by example in 

what has been a tough period for all growers 

in the Dawson Valley. 

Kristen Knight, 

Monsanto Australia Entomologist, 

Toowoomba, Qld 

Kristen leads the Monsanto Australia 

insect resistance management program 

in addition to managing the company’s 

research efforts into allele frequency, field 

survival on Bollgard II cotton, alternative 

refuges and the entomological assessment 

of new traits. 

Dr Warwick Stiller, 

CSIRO Plant Industry, Narrabri 

NSW 

Warwick is a cotton breeder employed 

by CSIRO Plant Industry to develop new 

cotton varieties adapted to Australian 

management and conditions. As an important 

member of this team, Warwick has 

delivered new varieties for all production 

regions with higher yield, better disease 

resistance and with fibre properties sought 

by spinners. 

Chris Lehmann Trust 

Young Achiever of the 

Year Award, sponsored 

by Bayer CropScience 

Nick Gillingham, 

NG Agronomic Consultancy, Moree 

NSW 

Nick was appointed to the position of 

farm agronomist in July 2005 and currently 

holds the role of cropping manager 

at ‘Keytah’, in the Gwydir Valley. Nick is 

part of the next cotton generation, taking 

on more responsibility each year and getting 

involved in industry activities at every 

opportunity. 

Dr Sharon Downes, 

Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO, 

Narrabri NSW 

Sharon has made an outstanding contribution, 

over a relatively short timeframe, 

to the monitoring of resistance to the Cry 

proteins in Bollgard II. She has made important 

scientific contributions to this research, 

for example identifying the value 

of and implementing the F2 and F1 tests. 

Fleur Anderson, 

Cahoots Communications, 

Theodore Qld 

Fleur’s involvement in the community 

and industry has demonstrated her natural 

leadership abilities. She has an obvious 

Dr Rose Brodrick, 

CSIRO Plant Industry, Narrabri 

NSW 

Rose has been involved with the cotton 

industry for over 10 years, starting as a 

PHD student and now as a scientist with 

CSIRO Plant Industry. Her research into 

physiology and management has helped 

to change the way cotton is grown with 

row configurations to improve water use 

efficiency. 


Scheme offers irrigators funding to 

improve water efficiency 

By Rosie Hannah, Project Officer, Healthy HeadWaters Water Use Efficiency Project 

The Healthy HeadWaters Water Use 

Efficiency (HHWUE) Project will 

help irrigators across the Queensland 

Murray-Darling Basin to improve efficiency 

of water use. 

Overseen by the Department of Environment 

and Resource Management 

(DERM) with funding from the Australian 

Government’s Water for the Future initiative, 

the HHWUE Project is supported by 

a range of projects to help irrigators make 

informed decisions about improved infrastructure, 

and ultimately to participate in 

the project. 

Infrastructure project 

Under round two of the HHWUE 

Project, $20 million is available for irrigators 

to upgrade irrigation infrastructure, 

saving water while also returning a share 

to the basin’s rivers, wetlands and floodplains. 

Ten applications totaling over $35 million 

have been approved ranging from 

$300,000 to $5.9 million under round 

one of the project. The water saved is approximately 

15,541 ML – more than half 

of which is returned to the environment 

and the rest is returned to irrigators. 

Applications cover a range of on-ground 

works including raising embankment 

heights of on-farm storages, optimising 

surface irrigation and converting from furrow 

irrigation to lateral move and centre 

pivot irrigation systems. 

Applications for round two close on 29 

July 2011. The round is open to the holders 

of tradable surface water entitlements 

in all catchments of the Queensland Murray-Darling 

Basin. 

Supporting Projects 

The HHWUE project is complemented 

by a range of measures to help irrigators 

across the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin 

catchments improve the efficiency of 

their water use and assess potential irrigation 

modernisation mechanisms. 

In addition, the Department of Employment, 

Economic Development and Innovation 

(DEEDI) is also providing officers 

in St George, Goondiwindi and on the 

Darling Downs to advise and educate irrigators, 

industry specialists and communities 

about on-farm water saving practices. 

Officers will also help irrigators compare 

the efficiency of their existing systems to 

the new technologies available under the 

project. 

Various projects to help irrigators make 

informed decisions about potential water 

savings are also being conducted including 

irrigation benchmarking on centre pivot 

and lateral move (CPLM) machines, a review 

of CPLM machines to determine the 

lessons learnt from installations over the 

past 10 years, storage efficiency options 

and quantification of on-farm water losses 

and training of irrigation professionals. 

In recognition of the number of irrigation 

professionals who may not hold irrigation 

certifications, but who can offer 

considerable experience and expertise, 

training in Irrigation Australia Limited 

(IAL) certifications to improve the skill base 

through formal training and assessment 

are also being offered. 

Training is available in the following IAL 

certifications: 

• Irrigation designer; 

• Irrigation agronomist; 

• Irrigation operator; 

• Irrigation contractor; 

• Irrigation installer; and, 

• Irrigation manager. 

Information on the supporting projects is 

available at www.derm.qld.gov.au. Application 

forms can be obtained by calling 4688 1185 

or by emailing HHWUE@derm.qld.gov.au 

Training is an important component of 

Healthy HeadWaters. 

Storage efficiency options are being studied. 

Conversion to CPLM systems is a feature of some applications. 


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Queensland producers invest in 

Healthy HeadWaters 

Producers interested in water use 

efficiency technology are encouraged 

to contact the DEEDI Healthy 

HeadWaters project team to discuss the 

latest decision support tools and project 

updates. Round 2 of the Department of 

Environment and Resource Management 

(DERM) run Healthy Headwaters Infrastructure 

Program opened on May 3 and 

will close at the end of July. This program 

is open to all surface irrigators with a 

tradeable water licence in the Queensland 

Murray Darling Basin. 

Two Healthy HeadWaters Investment 

Tool workshops, held in Goondiwindi and 

St George in March, were well attended 

with participants from a variety of backgrounds. 

The workshops were part of the 

DERM’s Healthy HeadWaters Water 

Use Efficiency project, which is federally 

funded under the Water for the Future Initiative. 

The extension and support project 

is delivered by the Department of Employment, 

Economic Development and Innovation 

(DEEDI). 

DEEDI Goondiwindi’s irrigation development 

extension officer, Bec Raymond, 

said the workshops were designed for irrigators 

who were considering being involved 

in the project and for producers 

wanting to make a more informed decision 

when considering investment in water 

use efficiency technology. 

“For anyone considering upgrading 

their infrastructure this workshop is a great 

place to identify a suitable process to follow 

and tools to assist you.” 

The half-day workshop provides an 

overview of the Healthy HeadWaters 

project, the investment decision process 

including financial and taxation considerations 

and the Investment Tool spreadsheet. 

The workshops are presented by DEEDI 

Economist Mary Philp and extension staff 

Bec Raymond, Jenelle Hare, Graham 

Harris and Nikki Pilcher. 

“Workshops already held flowed well 

with a high amount of interaction from the 

groups and great feedback received,” says 

Nikki. 

DEEDI officers are planning future 

workshops to coincide with subsequent 

funding opportunities, or on an as requested 

basis. If this could be of interest 

to irrigators in your region don’t hesitate 

to contact the More Profit per Drop team 

for more information, or head to the blog 

moreprofitperdrop.wordpress.com 

For further information contact one of the team 

members: 

Graham Harris 07 4688 1559 

Bec Raymond 07 4671 6711 

Nikki Pilcher 07 4620 8109 

Jenelle Hare 07 4669 0825 

Mary Philp 07 4688 1211 

Guide process 

Guide decision process for involvement 

in Healthy HeadWaters Infrastructure 

Program: 

• Step 1. Pre-planning. 

• Step 2. Determine current losses. 

• Step 3. Determine potential water savings. 

• Step 4. Assess cost of water savings. 

• Step 5. Determine on-farm benefits. 

• Step 6. Finance assessment. 

• Step 7. Tax implications. 

• Step 8. Economic analysis. 

• Step 9. Decide on participation. 

• Step 10. Comnplete application form (if 

applicable). 

Healthy HeadWaters Investment Tool workshops were held in Goondiwindi and 

St George in March. 

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Water Matters 

Case study property: 

‘Long Meadows’, Bourke 

By David Wiggington, NCEA 

In 2003 Clyde Agriculture had access to 

a Broons Impact Roller and decided to 

compact several storage floors and to 

repair the damage caused to storage walls 

due to wash. The decision to renovate was 

opportunistic – there had not been any 

significant seepage issues observed. 

The Long Meadows storage (cell 1) was 

one of the storages that was renovated in 

2003. The storage has a capacity of 4700 

megalitres and covers an area of approximately 

137 hectares. The wall height is 4.5 

metres, with a water storage depth of 3.5 

metres and originally a three in one batter. 

The storage was constructed in 1990 

and soil tests were undertaken at that time. 

The Problem 

By 2003 the wash from the prevailing 

winds had started to significantly damage 

the downwind storage walls. It had removed 

a significant amount of soil from 

the walls. A cliff face was starting to form 

and storage capacity was being lost. Additionally 

the road around the storage wall 

was being affected. 

There may also have been some seepage 

from the storage floor, but there were 

no accurate measure of how much was 

possibly being lost. Some moisture had 

been observed outside the storage, which 

may have been due to seepage. 

The Solution 

The work focused primarily on the 

downwind storage wall where the wash 

damage was most significant. The original 

batter had been three in one. The renovations 

adjusted this so that the top two 

metres of the wall had a batter of five in 

one. The lower two metres had a batter 

of three in one. This was done to create 

more of a beach like effect. Soil needed to 

make these adjustments was sourced from 

the centre of the storage. 

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Water Matters 

The Broons Impact Roller was used 

across the entire storage floor. After the 

initial passes, holes were dug with an excavator 

in a grid like pattern. These holes 

were used to assess the effect of the roller 

passes and were focused primarily on the 

areas where Clyde Agriculture’s Mitch 

Abbo expected losses could have been occurring. 

These locations correlated with 

where seepage had been observed in isolated 

points outside the storage. 

The storage walls were not compacted 

because it was felt that there was not a lot 

to be gained by compacting a completed 

wall. They could not justify rebuilding the 

walls and compacting the core, as this may 

have created more issues and was not cost 

effective. 

The Outcome 

In 2004 the storage was filled to capacity. 

It remained with water in it until 2006. 

There was no seepage observed during 

this time, although no specific measurements 

were taken. 

The storage was dry again for two years 

during 2007 and into 2008. During this 

dry cycle there was considerable cracking 

with cracks to a depth of at least one metre 

observed. The storage floor formed a 

block like structure. The blocks were quite 

well compacted but were broken by deep 

expansion cracks. There was an expectation 

for a reasonable amount of seepage. 

In 2009 the storage was dry again. During 

this most recent dry cycle Clyde Agriculture 

sourced funding from the Western 

Catchment Management Authority. The 

funding was designed to do water balance 

calculations on farms. Additionally there 

was investment in metering equipment and 

information collected on the suitability of 

different soil types for storage construction. 

During 2009 there were quite a number 

of measurements taken. There was an EM 

survey conducted by Terrabyte Services. 

Core samples were taken of the areas 

identified in the EM survey as suspect. 

Additional to this a Geo Tech engineer 

used the EM survey as a basis to select sites 

for excavator pits. These pits were used to 

assess soil types, infiltration characteristics 

and the feasibility of increasing wall height 

and hence stored water depth. Soil samples 

were collected and soil analysis completed 

at each of the pits. 

The 2009 funding provided for Irrimate 

Seepage and Evaporation meters, storage 

volume meters and Mace meters for inlets 

and outlets. 

The storage was again filled in late 

2009. The seepage and evaporation readings 

indicate that seepage is very low (

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World COMModity Watch 

US 

USDA have US crop pitched at 17 mb 

(reduction of 1.1mb YOY), however 

internal estimates believe crop will be 

not much bigger than 15 million bales – 

clearly a lot of downside left in the USDA 

numbers. The crop is now virtually 100% 

planted as growers scrambled to get the 

seed planted before the 15 June insurance 

cut-off date. Due to ongoing drought 

conditions in West Texas with no reprieve 

in sight, the crop conditions are not 

encouraging with the most recent report 

showing 10% as being rated very poor, 

17% poor, 38% fair, 20% good and only 

1% excellent. 

Yarn Market 

Yarn prices, although still soft, are not 

coming off as heavily as they were 3-4 

weeks ago. Lack of demand in the yarn 

market has forced yarn spinners to reduce 

their prices to lower inventory. With yarn 

inventories bulging, cloth prices sinking, 

and downstream demand wavering, 

Chinese fabric manufacturers are showing 

little interest right now in procuring more 

domestic cotton yarns and even less in 

sourcing yarns from abroad. At $1.91 per 

pound, the average landed cost of cotton 

yarns still trails the $2.14/lb. average cost 

of cotton last month. 

New Crop Supply 

While the total 2011–12 production number remains to be seen, the general consensus 

is global production will be at least 120 million bales, some 5 million bales more 

cotton than the 2010–11 market year. Obviously the large unknowns are the 3 

biggest producers – China, India and the US – however generally speaking, the world 

will produce more cotton due to larger crops in Australia, Brasil and Pakistan, and 

improving yield technology in India. 

Export Sales 

We have now had 11 consecutive weeks of negative export sales reports confirming 

ongoing concerns that demand destruction is still prevalent. Looking at US export 

sales, 5.4 million bales of 2011–12 (new crop) have already been committed for export. 

If you consider that the US started this current crop marketing year with 21 mb of 

supply (18.1 mb production + 2.95 mb beginning stocks), less the 15.4 mb already 

committed and the 3.8 mb to be consumed domestically, you can see how stocks are 

tight. Furthermore, from this 1.8 mb stock number, if you consider that 5.4 mb of new 

crop have already been sold, some for August shipment, you can see how quickly the 

US can climb into negative stocks – almost making a case for the need for sale contract 

cancellations. 

New York cotton futures 

Source: Queensland Cotton 

US cents/lb 

205 

190 

175 

160 

145 

130 

115 

100 

85 

70 

55 

40 

2009 2010 

Australian dollar vs US dollar 

$AUD vs $USD 


1.1 

1.05 

1 

0.95 

0.9 

0.85 

0.8 

0.75 

0.7 

0.65 

2009 2010 

From the field to t 

Queensland Cotto 

Queensland Cotton has the longest supply

World COMModity Watch 

Demand 

Despite ongoing demand destruction, global consumption numbers year-on-year 

are still positive, with USDA estimating the world to consume 118.95 million bales 

of cotton, up from 115.51 mb in the 2010–11 marketing year. This number will be 

impacted greatly by macro-conditions in China and its GDP, and the textile industry in 

both China and Bangladesh, assuming it picks up from current conditions. Mills are 

reportedly still sitting on reasonably high levels of high-price cotton stocks. As a result 

of ongoing demand destruction, value in basis has eroded, as shown in the movements 

of the A Index. Current crop A Index has been withdrawn as there are only 3 growths 

available for offer. 

China 

Planting of cotton in China is winding 

up and conditions have been generally 

favourable. Crop size in China is not 

forecast to change dramatically year-onyear, 

and remains estimated at 33 million 

bales. Conditions in Northern Xinjiang 

(largest producing region in china – 

approx 25% of total production) have 

been generally favourable since planting 

(April/May). Although slightly cooler than 

desirable, at this stage it is not forecast to 

impact yield. The crop along the Yangtze 

River is currently receiving heavy rainfall 

which is forecast to continue for the next 

week or so. Whilst mostly welcomed, 

fears of torrential downpours may cause 

landslides, presenting a threat to the 

cotton that has been planted in this area. 

Australian cotton price* 

$AUD per bale 


950 

900 

850 

800 

750 

700 

650 

600 

550 

500 

450 

400 

350 

2009 2010 

Australian basis* 

US cents/lb 


10 

8 

6 

4 

2 

0 

-2 

-4 

-6 

-8 

-10 

-12 

2009 2010 

India 

Planting in India is being accelerated by 

the prospects of monsoonal rains. To date, 

over 2 million hectares have been planted, 

approx 40% more than this time last year. 

Year-on-year, the Indian crop is expected 

to increase dramatically to an estimated 

27 million bales (up from USDA’s 24 mb 

in 2010–11). Crops are not yet effected by 

monsoon, and is providing a good start to 

the crop. 

Indian Government 

Export Policy 

The Indian Government finally announced 

last week they will be releasing an 

additional 1 million bales of Indian 

cotton to the export market. Timing of 

this export registration process remains 

unannounced, however there are reports 

of Indian shippers already making offers 

in the market. 

* Ex-gin price bids and basis for 

middling 1 1/8 inch cotton 

he shirt you wear, 

n is at every step. 

chain in the Australian cotton industry. 

55 Wyandra Street, Newstead 

Queensland Australia 4006, 

Tel: 61 7 3250 3300 

Fax: 61 7 3852 1600

marketing 

The World Cotton Market 

By Michael Edwards, Cotton Outlook 

The period since we last contributed 

to The Australian Cottongrower, in 

late March, has seen a rapid deterioration 

in trading conditions on the international 

raw cotton market. A glance at the 

accompanying graph illustrates the astonishing 

speed with which prices have fallen. 

From the all-time high of 243.65 cents 

per lb attained on March 8, the 2010–11 

Cotlook A Index has collapsed to the mid- 

160’s at the time of writing. 

The loss of roughly one third of the 

value of the Index has coincided with a 

‘perfect storm’ of negative influences: resale 

of existing contracts (including some 

of Australian cotton) to trade sellers, virtual 

paralysis of demand for both raw cotton 

and cotton yarn, building stocks of unsold 

cotton yarn, growing financial pressures 

on some spinning mills, and fears for the 

integrity of existing, high-priced raw cotton 

sales contracts. 

Of course, few observers of the market 

anticipated that prices above two dollars 

would be sustainable for long. But the 

speed of the downturn was spectacular, 

FIGURE 1: A Index and July 11 New York 

and the almost total absence of demand 

as the market has moved lower during 

April and May has also taken many by 

Cargill’s Cotton Division – 

specialising in buying cotton bales 

Phil Sloan 

PO Box 1203 

GOONDIWINDI Qld 4390 

Ph: (07) 4671 0222 

Fax: (07) 4671 3833 

AGENTS: 

Pete Johnson 

Left Field Solutions 

Mob: 0409 893 139 

Paul Kelly 

Moree Real Estate 

Moree 

Ph: (02) 6751 1100 

David Dugan 

Trangie 

Ph: (02) 6888 7122 

Roger McCumstie 

Brisbane 

Ph: (07) 3367 2629 

cotton_aust@cargill.com 

www.cargill.com.au 

Specialists in the 

Sale and Valuation 

of Rural Properties 

• Rural Properties • Cargill Cotton Agents 

• Town Sales 

• Registered Valuers 

• Property Management • Auctions 

• Clearing Sales 

MOREE REAL ESTATE 

www.moreerealestate.com.au 

Phone: 02 7651 1100 

Fax: 02 6751 1766 

After Hours: 

Paul Kelly 0428 281 428 

Cliff Brown 02 6752 3970 

Allan Gobbert 0428 523 375 


marketing 

FIGURE 2: Apparent changes in world stocks 

surprise. Given the scale of the decline, it 

seems probable that it is by now not the 

absolute level of prices per se that is the 

principal factor behind the current hiatus 

in demand, but rather the sudden absence 

of a stable relationship between raw cotton 

replacement costs and cotton yarn selling 

rates. 

As prices have weakened progressively 

in recent weeks, buying confidence has 

deserted prospective customers for cotton 

yarn. Many spinners – especially those 

who bought (or fixed on-call purchases) 

at the top of the market, have thus been 

placed in the invidious position of holding 

high-priced raw cotton stocks during a period 

in which the prices obtainable for cotton 

yarn have been progressively revised 

downward, and demand has all but disappeared. 

The exceptional behaviour of cotton 

prices over the past several months has 

meant that weavers and knitters have been 

studying the international market as never 

before. They will not have been unaware 

of the disparity between the prices quoted 

for cotton for what remains of the 2010– 

11 crops, and those for new crop cotton, 

available from the main Northern Hemisphere 

crops, from around October/November 

onward. Although much reduced, 

at the time of writing the July/December 

spread in New York still amounts to a not 

insubstantial 23.00 cents per lb or so, 

while the difference between the Cotlook 

Current and Forward Indices is closer to 

20.00 cents. The transition between the 

two seasons – which is far from complete 

– is proving every bit as hazardous as 

many had feared. 

Thus, in recent weeks, contract performance 

has clearly displaced the generation 

of new sales as the international 

trade’s paramount priority. The integrity 

of some two-dollar plus contracts is now 

clearly in jeopardy, prompting the International 

Cotton Association to issue a 

circular in late May, reminding contracting 

parties of their obligations, and of the 

crucial importance of contract sanctity to 

the longer-term stability of the world cotton 

market. 

Given the immediate difficulties facing 


marketing 

the various market participants, the supply 

and demand outlook for next season 

has perhaps received less attention than 

might otherwise have been the case. 

Cotton Outlook’s figures continue to indicate 

that world cotton production will 

set a new record in 2011–12, surpassing 

27,000,000 tonnes for the first time 

in history. The United States Department 

of Agriculture’s initial forecast, released on 

May 11, takes a broadly similar view. 

That cotton producers around the world 

should have responded positively to record 

high prices was of course predictable. But 

planting is not yet complete in the Northern 

Hemisphere, and nature may yet have 

a part to play in determining the season’s 

eventual output. In the United States, the 

weather has already conspired to dispel 

thoughts of a major expansion of output. 

At the time of writing, conditions in West 

Texas dryland areas remain far too dry, 

whereas in the Mississippi Delta, the impact 

on cotton of the disastrous flooding 

that occurred in late April is still being assessed. 

USDA’s initial view is that output 

will be of similar proportions to last season. 

But if export commitments for next season 

are taken into account, as well as the needs 

of the domestic spinning industry, roughly 

half of that crop is already sold. 

On the demand side, we take the admittedly 

optimistic view that an easier 

supply position, accompanied by a return 

of some measure of stability to both 

raw cotton and cotton yarn markets, will 

allow spinning activity to regain momentum 

during 2011–12. Our current forecast 

of world consumption also implies a 

new record next season, though at around 

26,350,000 tonnes, the figure is not dramatically 

higher than the levels estimated 

immediately prior to the financial crisis of 

2008–09. 

Our current figures indicate only a 

partial net recovery of world stocks next 

season, equivalent to less than one third 

of the volume we estimate will have been 

added during the 2009–10 and 2010–11 

campaigns. 

A setback to production in one or more 

major producing countries could radically 

alter that picture, with potentially bullish 

consequences. 

What is fair value for the 

2011–12 cotton crop? 

It is, perhaps, a question many growers 

have asked themselves more than 

once this year, and which still remains 

unanswered for some. This is not surprising 

given 2010–11 pricing action and the 

mix of complex factors that impact prices 

offered to Australian farmers today. 

One can become easily confused with 

the market’s volatility. Sensitivity to both 

market fundamentals and outside influences 

can result in no action while waiting 

for a clear market signal or pricing at 

lower levels. With such volatility, it is more 

important to stay focused on the key factors 

that you feel will drive the price direction 

and ensure your market intelligence is 

right and timely. 

When you consider the majority of Australian 

growers sell in AUD/bale, they are 

knowingly or unknowingly accepting the 

futures, basis and currency levels offered 

in the market that day. Or in other words, 

they accept the AUD/bale price is fair 

value. So, in an attempt to answer ‘what 

is fair value’ we will consider the outlook 

for basis, futures and currency given the 

current market outlook and identify a short 

term price target. 

Basis 

Basis, in its simplest definition is ‘a reflection 

of demand’. Although its weighting 

is currently less than 10 per cent of 

By Cambel Ball, IMAC Ltd 

the overall AUD/bale price, it cannot be 

directly distorted by speculators, and is 

instead directly determined by industry 

participants (merchants and mill demand). 

It is therefore a window into the physical 

business being undertaken each day and 

also the trade’s outlook into the future and 

should be considered alongside the futures 

market when forming a market view. 

Although basis does not have the volatility 

of futures (and currency), which is 

welcomed in today’s market, it can, over 

time strengthen or soften according to 

market demand, and gains and losses can 

be large. The chart below represents the 

Australian indicative basis versus May-12 

futures for the previous 12 months. 

Clearly the 2012 basis firmed when 

mill buying activity peaked in February/ 

March 2011 as forward cover was sought 

to avoid the same lack of supply and high 

prices occurring for a possible second 

time. While the bidding basis peaked at 

around 900–1000 points on May-12 (or 

about AUD$50.00/bale) it has since been 

pressured lower as mill demand has basically 

ceased. 

As mill demand came to a standstill in 

April, merchants began to encounter counterparty 

risk as futures collapsed, followed 

by concerns over selling remaining stocks 

on hand in a falling market. At the time of 

writing the bidding basis level appears to 

FIGURE 1: Australian Quoted Basis and Cash Prices 


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marketing 

have consolidated for the moment around 

300–400 on May-12 but had reached 

‘evens’ May-12, and in the process wiping 

all the AUD$50.00/bale basis gains since 

March 2011. 

The outlook for basis in the longer term 

is mixed as the northern hemisphere crop 

is only just getting established and, like the 

past year, much can happen to world crops 

in the late third and early fourth quarters. 

On the other hand current mill demand is 

virtually non-existent and mill managers 

are clearly pessimistic about the short term 

outlook. But with the world estimated to 

produce a record crop of 123.77 million 

bales for the year ahead, about 9.5 million 

bales more than the current season, we 

expect the basis to track back to historical 

levels. 

That is not to say that basis cannot 

rally. Today US merchants are concerned 

about not being able to supply high grades 

against sales made to date, let alone offering 

additional high grades. With potentially 

no more US high grades being offered, 

mills will turn to Australia, West African, 

Uzbekistan and India with no guarantees 

that weather, strikes or government action 

will not being repeated again this year. 

This is particularly true for India where 

regular government intervention means 

merchants and mills will have to price in 

a risk discount. 

Even when we take into account that 

mills need to cover a significant amount 

of cotton for later this year, this will more 

than likely just lead to a short term basis 

spike. In addition, Australian merchants 

for the first time in a number of seasons 

will have carryover stocks to meet forward 

demand, while significant hedging costs 

will need to be factored into the basis levels 

offered. Given this, any opportunity 

to lock in a basis close to or above 750 

on May-12 should be considered, unless 

you feel global ending stocks are over estimated 

today. 

Futures 

As much as basis levels are directly determined 

by merchants and mills, the recent 

rally in futures has indirectly impacted 

basis levels, particularly foreign basis levels 

(including Australia) as the futures rally has 

been largely due to the current crop issues 

in the US. 

Since February, May-12 futures have 

traded within a large range from 105.00c/ 

lb to 125.00c/lb or around AUD$100/ 

bale – which has been reflected in cash bidding 

levels peaking at around AUD$660 

and bottoming closer to AUD$560. But it 

has been Dec-11 where IMAC has focused 

its attention given it has the greater liquidity 

which allows it to push and pull May- 

12 for the time being. Dec-11 during this 

time has traded in a wider range between 

113.00c/lb and 144.00c/lb or around 

AUD$150/bale. 

Given Dec-11 has traded in a wide ranging, 

mildly bullish channel, it indicates that 

it is too early to assume the 2011–12 crop 

will reach or exceed 123.77 million bales. 

Additionally it is likely the US will run out of 

bales at some point in September and new 

crop issues are already being witnessed. 

Texas and Georgia, which represent about 

60 percent of the planted acreage in the 

US, currently have 81 per cent and 55 per 

cent of their states respectively classed as 

being in extreme drought. If both states do 

not see significant rain before June 30, US 

crop estimates will have to be scaled back 

yet again. 

Worst case, the US crop could fall below 

16.0 million bales and possibly as low 

as 15.0 million bales which would at least 

support the market around current levels, 

if not propel the market higher. To offset 

any shortage in the US will be a smaller 

foreign production gap estimated at 8.4 

million bales for the 2011–12-season. 

This indicates that outside of the US, global 

crops are large when you consider the 

2009–10 season had a foreign production 

gap of 25.75 million bales. 

For the moment the market will remain 

focused on the US crop as we enter the 

critical crop establishment stage ahead of 

the June 30 USDA Planted Acreage Report. 

Thereafter, futures will require additional 

bullish news to maintain any upside 

momentum and the focus will turn to the 

progress of foreign crops and signs of global 

consumption. 

Additional bullish news may not necessarily 

come from the cotton world. Outside 

commodities such as corn are likely to offer 

broad support to agricultural commodities 

given the US’s historically low ending 

stocks while managed money currently favours 

commodities. 

We need to be aware that managed 

money flows can abruptly pull money out 

of cotton as testified by Goldman Sachs’ 

recent efforts to reduce exposure in commodities. 

At the same time we have the 

ongoing European debt and US growth 

concerns keeping investors highly cautious. 

So if Dec-11 nears 140.00c/lb, 

IMAC would consider hedging May-12 futures 

at the corresponding level given the 

current market outlook and the inability of 

Dec-11 to hold these levels previously. 

Currency 

Our focus when considering the AUD 

direction has been largely driven by our 

view of the USD, in particular the USD 

Index (a measure of the value of the USD 

relative to a basket of foreign currencies). 

Australia has the highest interest rates in 

any of the G10 nations, and will continue 

to attract investors. US interest rates, on 

the other hand, are forecast to remain 

near-zero as ‘quantitative easing’ (money 

printing) can be expected to continue for 

an extended period. 

With US public debt at 14.5 trillion dol- 


marketing 

FIGURE 2: USD Index 

lars (growing by about 1.7 trillion dollars 

annually) and household debt measuring 

11.5 trillion dollars, the US government 

and Federal Reserve are running out of 

options. The most desirable course of 

action would be economic growth, from 

which debt could be serviced and eventually 

be repaid. But the US economy is 

moribund and it currently takes over six 

dollars of new credit (= debt) to create one 

dollar of GDP. 

Another option would be for the US to 

default on some treasury debt by forcing 

investors to take a ‘haircut’. This is not a 

viable option either as the US is too proud 

to join the ranks of Argentina and Greece. 

This leaves only the third option, which 

is the same we have been seeing in years 

past, namely to print money and to engineer 

a controlled devaluation of the US 

dollar. Since the US dollar is the world’s 

reserve currency and its counterpart, the 

Euro, is also in a state of disarray, the Federal 

Reserve has so far managed to let the 

US dollar sink in an orderly manner. Currencies 

with better fundamentals, such as 

the Swiss Franc, the Singapore Dollar, the 

Brazilian Real and the Australian Dollar 

have become attractive alternatives to the 

US dollar and the Euro, and this is likely to 

continue in the future. 

Conclusion 

If we consider only the period from February, 

then the average value of Australian 

2012 crop has been just under AUD$600/ 

bale. But we should not confuse average 

value with fair value. After considering 

each pricing component we can conclude 

that basis and currency levels are not likely 

to offer long term upside pricing opportunities 

given the current market outlook. 

It is more likely they will offer short 

term opportunities that are not likely to 

last for extended periods. So futures offer 

the greatest opportunity for upside pricing 

but are also subject to the greatest volatility 

and have a large weighting of the overall 

AUD/bale price. 

From a mathematical point of view, if 

Dec-11 moves into the 135.00-140.00c/ 

lb range and assuming a 15.00c/lb 

spread to May-12 (125.00c/lb), and a 

basis around 300 on, and spot currency 

at around 1.0650 and forwards at -450 

points (1.020 delivered May 2012), 

fair value equates to AUD$620/bale to 

AUD$630/bale. But fair value also depends 

on your current hedge position, 

budgeted levels and your attitude to risk. 

In summary, ensure you have access to 

a well researched market view that is also 

able to change as market factors change, 

consider in advance all hedging strategies 

and consider strategies that take advantage 

of market volatility. The alternative 

to AUD/bale hedging is to hedge each 

pricing component separately (and often 

at different times) which has often been 

viewed as a higher risk hedging strategy. 

In reality, hedging each component separately 

reduces your exposure to the market 

and your dependence on all three components 

aligning at the same time. But how 

you hedge each leg is the risk which often 

deters growers and where education and 

expert advice is required. 

The above report is IMAC’s opinion and for 

general advice only. IMAC does not take any 

responsibility for its accuracy or otherwise. For 

specific advice or any queries on any of the above 

please contact Cambel Ball at IMAC on 

0407 645 675 or cambel@imacqld.com.au 


Ginning & Fibre Quality Series 

Quarantine treatments on the 

physical properties of cotton – Part 2 

By Marinus H.J van der Sluijs 1 

In Part 1 of this study, published in a previous edition of The 

Australian Cotton Grower we showed that the sanitary treatments 

prescribed by AQIS do have an effect on the quality of 

both Upland and Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton lint. The fumigation 

treatments by either ethylene oxide or methyl bromide 

had little or no significant effect on the physical properties of the 

cotton fibre. 

But gamma irradiation, even at the lower dosages (21 and 29 

kGray), did have an effect on the physical properties of the fibre, 

with these effects becoming more apparent and significant as the 

dosage strength increased (57 and 74 kGy). Results showed that 

the physical fibre properties of the cotton such as strength, elongation, 

length uniformity, short fibre and to a lesser extent length 

and colour are affected by gamma irradiation. 

In Part 2 of this study we will report on what the effects are 

of gamma irradiation on the textile processing performance of 

cotton lint. 

Yarn Production 

In order to determine textile performance of the cotton samples, 

a hybrid system was used which consists of a re-furbished 

‘Shirley’ miniature spinning plant manufactured by the Platt Company 

of the UK. This system allows for the processing of small 

quantities of fibre and consists of a miniature card and draw frame 

to produce slivers, which are then transferred to a full-scale spinning 

system for further processing through a further draw frame 

passage and the production of roving prior to spinning. Draft and 

twist was optimised for each sample to deliver a 20 Tex (30 Ne) 

FIGURE 1: Yarn strength of the untreated (NT) 

and treated cotton 

FIGURE 2: Yarn elongation of the untreated 

(NT) and treated cotton 

carded yarn with a twist factor of αe 3.7 (792 turns per metre). 

One yarn bobbin per irradiation dosage was tested for quality parameters. 

Spun yarns were conditioned under standard laboratory conditions 

for 24 hours and tested for linear density (count) and twist. 

Evenness, hairiness and imperfections were determined using an 

Uster Technologies 4-SX Evenness tester. Tensile properties, such 

as yarn strength and elongation, were determined using the Uster 

Technologies Tensorapid 3. The average results of these tests are 

shown in the forthcoming figures with error bars representing 

one standard deviation giving an indication of the variation in the 

samples. 

Yarn RESULTS 

There were no real significant differences in the evenness and 

imperfection values between the untreated and treated fibre samples 

and so these are not reported. But as can be seen in Figure 

1, the yarn strength significantly decreases as the irradiation dosage 

strength increases, with the results typically following the fibre 

strength and elongation results. 

The yarn strength, for both the Upland and ELS cotton, did not 

reduce significantly from the untreated (NT) and the 21 kGy irradiated 

cotton. But there was a significant reduction in yarn strength 

with an irradiation dosage of 29 kGy. In the case of the Upland 

cotton the yarn strength reduced by almost 5 cN/tex, from the 

untreated yarn to 10.8 cN/tex. 

This yarn strength would make this yarn impossible to process 

into fabric by the weaving and also the knitting process. With an 

Ginning & Fibre Quality 

proudly brought to you with the support of… 

A tradition of service since 1849 



irradiation dosage of 57 and 74 kGy the yarn strength decreased 

even further to below 10 cN/tex. In the case of the ELS cotton the 

yarn strength reduced by almost 6.5 cN/tex from the untreated 

yarn to 18.7cN/tex. This yarn strength would make processing of 

fabric on high speed weaving impossible. The yarn strength was 

further reduced to 14.8 cN/tex with an irradiation dosage of 57 

kGy and 74 kGy. 

As can be seen in Figure 2, this decrease in yarn strength corresponded 

with a gradual decrease in yarn elongation. As was the 

case with the yarn strength there was no significant difference in 

yarn elongation between the untreated Upland and ELS cotton 

and the 21 kGy radiated cotton. But there was a significant reduction 

in yarn elongation between the untreated Upland and ELS 

cotton and the 29 kGy irradiated cotton. 

In the case of the Upland cotton the yarn elongation dropped 

from 6.6 per cent to 5.0 per cent with a dosage of 57 kGy 

providing similar results. A dosage of 74 kGy almost reduced the 

yarn elongation by half when compared to the untreated cotton 

(6.6 per cent to 3.7 per cent). In the case of the ELS cotton the 

yarn elongation dropped from 6.2 per cent to 5.4 per cent with 

a dosage of 29 kGy with a dosage of 57 kGy providing similar 

results. A dosage of 74 kGy reduced the yarn elongation by 1.5 

per cent when compared to the untreated cotton (6.2 per cent to 

4.8 per cent). 

This reduction in yarn elongation together with the loss in yarn 

strength will make it virtually impossible to convert these yarns 

into fabrics without processing performance and subsequent quality 

issues. 

Fabric Production 

To determine the processing performance and subsequent quality, 

the yarns were waxed and wound using a Schlafhorst 238 RM 

winder. Wound yarns were then knitted on a Lawson Hemphill 

25.4cm (10 inch) F.A.K. circular knitting machine, using a cover 

factor of 1.37 to produce a fabric weight of 153 g/m 2 . The resultant 

knitted fabric was then scoured and dyed with Cibacron red 

LS6G (1 per cent) reactive dye. 

Fabric RESULTS 

The dyed fabric was conditioned under standard laboratory conditions 

for 24 hours and tested for mass per unit area and for fabric 

strength by determining the bursting strength in kilopascal (kPa). 

As can be seen in Figure 3, the fabric bursting strength significantly 

decreases as the dosage strength increases, indicating that 

the fabric strength decreases as the irradiation dosages increases; 

typically following the yarn strength results in Figure 1. Fabrics 

Figure 3: Fabric Bursting Strength of the 

untreated (NT) and treated cotton 

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became significantly weaker with each irradiation dosage. In the 

case of Upland cotton there was a decrease in fabric strength of 

163 kPa from the untreated (NT) and the 21 kGy irradiated cotton. 

The fabric strength decreased by a further 90 kPa with a 29 

kGy dosage and a further 107 kPa with a 57 kGy dosage. 

There was a slight reduction in fabric strength between the 57 

and 74 kGy irradiated cotton. In the case of the ELS cotton, there 

was a decrease in fabric strength of 170 kPa from the untreated 

(NT) and the 21 kGy irradiated cotton. The fabric strength decreased 

by a further 94 kPa with a 29 kGy dosage, a further 65 

kPa with a 57 kGy dosage and a further 60 kPa with a 74 kGy 

dosage. 

Conclusion 

As highlighted in Part 1 of this study, fumigation treatments by 

either ethylene oxide or methyl bromide have little or no significant 

effect on the physical properties of cotton fibre. But gamma 

irradiation does have an effect on the physical properties of the 

fibre, with these effects becoming more apparent and significant 

as the dosage strength increases. 

In Part 2 of this study we looked at what affect the various dosages 

of gamma irradiation applied to the cotton fibre has on its 

textile processing performance. The yarn results show that the 

various irradiation dosages did not have a significant impact on the 

evenness and imperfection values. 

But gamma irradiation had a significant effect on the yarn 

strength and elongation results of both the Upland and ELS cotton, 

with the results typically following the fibre strength and elongation 

results reported in Part 1. The fabric results also show that 

gamma irradiation does have a significant effect on fabric strength 

for both the Upland and ELS cotton, with the results typically following 

the yarn strength results. 

The message from these two studies is quite clear; if any cotton 

lint needs to be imported into Australia, for whatever reason, one 

must insist on chemical (fumigation) by either ethylene oxide or 

methyl bromide as gamma irradiation, even at low dosages, severely 

damages the physical properties of cotton lint. These physical 

damages can cause major issues if the cotton lint is to be used 

either to calibrate fibre testing instruments, used to benchmark 

Australian cotton or for commercial processing. 

1 

CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering, Geelong. 

Acknowledgements: The author gratefully acknowledges the financial 

support of the Cotton Research and Development Corporation and CSIRO 

Materials Science and Engineering. He also acknowledges the assistance 

of Fred Horne, Mark Freijah, Phil Henry, Peter Herwig and 

Colin Brackley for processing the fibre through to fabric. 


CLASSIC TRACTOR TALES 

The 1930s 

By Ian M. Johnston 

THE TROUBLED WORLD 

Planet Earth was a very disturbed place 

in the 1930s. During the early part of the 

decade, as the financial world struggled 

to pull itself out of The Great Depression, 

shocked and impoverished Wall Street 

bankers continued leaping out of skyscraper 

windows. In the meantime, Europe 

watched with trepidation as Adolf Hitler 

strutted around waving Mein Kampf, 

whilst the rotund Herrman Wilhelm Goering 

assembled his legions of ‘sporting’ 

Messerschmitt pilots. Prime Minister Neville 

Chamberlain returned to London from 

Germany saying ‘There will be peace 

in our time’. (Oh well, that’ll be all right 

then!!) 

General Franco pre-empted World War 

II by plunging Spain into a horrendous 

civil war. Marshal Joseph Stalin held social 

shooting parties throughout the USSR 

most weekends – his targets being anyone 

who happened to oppose his maniacal 

iron fisted doctrine. Japanese General 

Tojo raped, burned and pillaged Manchuria, 

whilst he sipped green tea. 

Yes, there was no shortage of ‘exciting’ 

material for the media during the 1930s! 

But as always, no matter what mayhem 

the world’s political leaders could dream 

up, the good old farmers could be relied 

upon to continue providing food and fibre. 

What would the world do without them? 

So did anything good emerge during the 

tumultuous 1930s? (I am tempted to say 

‘me’ – but I won’t. Modesty, you know). A 

new generation of tractors was unveiled, 

which from an engineering point of view, 

elevated agricultural tractors for the first 

time into becoming thoroughly reliable 

and capable units. They replaced the cantankerous 

and often dangerous machinery 

of the 1920s. (But to be fair, it has to be 

remembered that during the 1920s, tractors 

had only been around for just over two 

decades). 

HENRY’S TOOL BOXES 

Even Henry Ford, in the interests of 

safety, extended the rear mudguards of his 

Fordsons down to nearly ground level in 

an endeavour to reduce the tedious habit 

of the tractors rearing over backwards, 

should the plough strike an immovable object. 

Being stubborn by nature, he refused 

to acknowledge that there was a problem, 

clearly evident to others by the growing 

number of Fordson widows. His excuse for 

extending the mudguards was to accommodate 

a tool box. 

The reason why the Fordsons had this 

dangerous trait was the design of the phosphor 

bronze worm gear in the differential. 

Should a plough or other dragged implement 

come to a sudden stop, thus putting 

an immense load on the drive train, the 

tractor tended to climb or wind around 

the differential. The hazard was increased 

if the implement hitch was located higher 

than half way up the differential and particularly 

if the tractor was equipped with 

steel wheels and lugs. 

So maybe Henry’s tool boxes did save 

a few lives by acting as a prop if a Fordson 

reared. But probably the real problem 

was the fact that many tractor drivers of 

the 1930s had grown up walking behind 

the sweaty rear ends of a horse team and 

then were suddenly put into the unyielding 

seat of a tractor, without the advantage of 

any real training. Exchanging a set of reins 

for the complication of things like steering 

wheels, clutches and, worse of all, the 

complexity of gear changes, could prove a 

formidable challenge indeed! 

INTERNATIONAL W30 

Of all the North American tractors introduced 

in the1930s, one of the most 

outstanding was International Harvester’s 

W30. Considered a medium to heavy 

weight, it was an excellent grain farmer 

tractor capable of pulling the largest of 

the then available broadacre ploughs and 

scarifiers. Australian farmers loved it, to 

the extent it reputedly outsold all other 

similarly powered units. 

It should be stated though, the W30 

could be quite a handful to drive. The 

steering was heavy, as was the clutch, and 

selecting gears was not the smoothest of 

operations. But it was reliable and its consumption 

of low priced kerosene fuel considered 

reasonable. 

A restored Fordson Model F belonging to Mal Brinkman. Note 

the extended rear mudguard with the tool box built into the tail. 

Although a 1920s model a few remaining old stock were sold in 

1930–31. (Photo IMJ) 

A 1936 International W30 (sold under the McCormick-Deering 

logo) restored by the author. (Photo IMJ) 


A well presented Allis Chalmers Model U – part of the extensive 

Shaw collection at Westbury, Tasmania. (Photo IMJ) 

Its four cylinder, 284 cubic inches engine 

developed an easy 31 belt hp at a 

leisurely 1150 rpm. By today’s standards 

1150 rpm is barely above idling speed. But 

internal combustion engine development 

was still in its early stages in the 1930s 

and slow revs in a tractor engine equated 

to reliability and a reasonably long life. 

Released in 1932, the W30 was originally 

coloured an unimaginative dull grey 

and featured only a three forward speed 

gearbox. Around 1936, a four speed box 

was introduced to cater for the higher 

speeds being achieved with pneumatic 

tyres, now being increasingly demanded 

by the more enlightened farmers in place 

of the original clattering, teeth jarring and 

less efficient steel lugged wheels. At the 

same time the colour was changed to International 

Red. 

Like most tractors, the W30 had a 

straight through exhaust pipe. Accordingly 

the constant roar of the exhaust note decibels 

proved wearisome in the extreme and 

indeed detrimental to health in the long 

term. In the 1930s ear muffs for tractor 

drivers were not contemplated, and if they 

had been they would undoubtedly have 

been considered sissy! 

WHEEL EQUIPMENT 

Steel wheels with their aggressive looking 

lugs, were still very much the norm, 

particularly in the early 1930s. Allis 

Chalmers was the first American tractor 

manufacturer to promote pneumatic 

tyres. In order to convince farmers of the 

safety and durability of the tyres, famous 

American race car driver Barney Oldfield 

was hired to conduct hair raising tractor 

race meetings at speedway circuits around 

the Midwest grain belts. On September 

17, 1933, driving a stock standard Allis 

Chalmers Model U, but equipped with 

special gears, Oldfield established a world 

tractor speed record of 64.28 mph. 

As the decade progressed an increasing 

number of tractor buyers stipulated pneumatics. 

It is a common misconception that 

steel lugged wheels must obtain a more 

efficient grip when compared with pneumatics. 

Well, I mean they look as if they 

would, but such is definitely not the case. 

The evidence can be found when comparisons 

are made of the draw bar pulls and 

related speeds of identical tractors fitted 

with the different wheel types. 

For example a Case Model L was 

tested, on both pneumatic tyres and steel 

lugged wheels, at the world renowned University 

of Nebraska Tractor Test Facility in 

October 1938. The results indicated that 

while the tyred unit showed only a minor 

increase in the maximum drawbar pull, 

it achieved this at a significantly higher 

speed. 

In wet sticky clay soils, steel wheels habitually 

packed up with clay, often requiring 

laborious frequent time wasting stops 

to remove the build up using a crowbar. 

Also, because of their non-resilient nature, 

steel wheels restricted tractor speed to a 

maximum of around four mph. 

JOHN DEERE MODEL D 

Today, Deere and Company remains 

the world’s longest established tractor 

manufacturer, as a result of never having 

succumbed to a corporate take over. Back 

in 1939, although not a new model, a 

revamped version of the legendary green 

and gold John Deere Model D was unveiled. 

First released in 1923, the twin cylinder 

petrol/kero fuelled Model D had the 

longest production run of any tractor and 

was not discontinued until 1953. By that 

time around 160,000 had been built! 

In a break from tradition, the 1939 

An excellent example of a John Deere Model D, restored by Brian 

Sainsbury, a well known collector in the ACT. (Photo IMJ) 

model was restyled by the famous American 

vehicle stylist Henry Dreyfuss and 

given a pleasing modern appearance. Its 

horizontal parallel two cylinders had a cubic 

capacity of 501 cubic inches and developed 

42.1 belt hp at 900 rpm The 5270 

lbs. tractor featured a three forward speed 

gear box and a chain driven final drive. 

As with all models of John Deere tractors, 

the simplicity and economy of their 

twin cylinder engines attracted a dedicated 

following of farmers, where ever they were 

sold. Affectionately they were known as 

Johnny Poppers, on account of the distinctive 

two cylinder exhaust note. 

MASSEY HARRIS 25 

Yet another North American tractor 

of the 1930s popular in Australia, which 

performed with distinction was the Massey 

Harris 25, a product of the giant Canadian 

tractor and farm machinery manufacturer 

of the same name. Modern day tractor 

enthusiasts often mistake the 25 for the 

smaller, but more frequently seen, Massey 

Harris Pacemaker. 

Introduced in 1933, the 25 was originally 

entitled the MH 3-4 Plough. The big 

ohv four cylinder petrol/kero engine had 

a capacity of 346 cu. ins. and produced 

48.5 belt hp at 1200 rpm This resulted in 

a drawbar pull of a respectable 4501 lbs. 

at 2.2 mph. It received a styling face lift 

and a colour change from green to red in 

1938 and was discontinued in 1939. 

The Massey Harris 25 excelled over 

most of its competitors in the region of 

ease of operation. It was actually quite 

silky to drive and at the completion of a 

12 hour shift an operator would be less 

weary than had he been driving almost any 

other tractor, including the International 

W30 and the John Deere Model D. Notice 

I state ‘less’ weary! 


This 1938 Massey Harris 25, equipped with steel wheels, has 

been restored by the author. (Photo IMJ) 

IN CONCLUSION 

In addition to the North American units 

mentioned above, there was a bewildering 

array of tractors available to Australian 

farmers in the 1930s. They came 

from Britain. Germany, France, Italy, etc., 

and of course there were the Australian 

indigenous tractors including McDonald, 

Howard and Ronaldson Tippett. 

There were the good, and there were 

the not so good, but certainly they were all 

better than the models that preceded them 

in the 1920s. 

Despite the advance of tractor designs, 

farming in Australia during the 1930s 

plodded on in a manner little changed 

from the practices which had persisted 

since Federation. But all that was about 

to change. World War II was looming over 

This fine Case Model L is to be found at The Wheatlands Museum, 

Warracknabeal, Vic. and is but one of scores of classic tractors on 

display. (Photo IMJ) 

the horizon, the aftermath of which would 

change the face of agriculture irrevocably, 

particularly in the areas of farm mechanisation, 

irrigation and the results of scientific 

crop research. 

THE PERFECT GIFT – OR SIMPLY FOR YOURSELF 

Ian’s Mystery 

Tractor QUIZ 

Question: Can you please explain 

what I am doing here? 

Clue: I am not repairing the steering 

box! 

Degree of difficulty: Simple! 

Answer: See page 56. 

Hard cover, 320 pages, liberally 

illustrated. 

Order your autographed copy of ‘TRACTORS KALASHNIKOVS and GREEN TEA’ now 

NAME: 

ADDRESS: 

TELEPHONE:............................................................ 

NO. OF COPIES……@ $39.50 each. Cost: $………… Plus postage (total) $ 9.50 

TOTAL REMITTANCE: Cheque or postal money order (sorry – no card facility) $………… 

Please send order form with remittance to: IAN M. JOHNSTON, PO BOX 322, TUNCURRY, NSW, 2428. 


Is mite pest-resistant cotton 

a little closer? 

While managing major pests such 

as Helicoverpa has been the 

most significant focus of cotton 

industry R&D in the past 20 years, CSIRO 

has also been devoting resources and expertise 

towards managing other pests that 

affect cotton. One pest that can potentially 

decrease yield and cause quality losses 

in cotton is the two-spotted spider mite. 

Two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus 

urticae) affect cotton plants by sucking out 

the cellular contents and causing a loss of 

plant vigour, photosynthetic capacity and 

subsequently reduced yield and poorer 

quality fibre. 

Spider mites can be difficult to control 

with normal pesticide application and 

over-reliance on pesticides for their control 

has led to pesticide resistance. Widely 

adopted genetic traits such as Bt have no 

effect on mites or other sucking pests, so 

researchers are evaluating other methods 

of non-pesticide control. 

CSIRO scientist Dr Junji Miyazaki evaluated 

a range of cotton varieties and found 

that some are much more resistant to 

mites. In field experiments, the susceptible 

varieties clearly showed distinct bronzing 

of leaves as mite populations increased, 

while resistant varieties alongside remained 

healthy and productive. Junji found that 

spider mites took longer to reach maturity 

and that fewer females survived on the resistant 

varieties. 

Importantly, these resistant varieties 

Dr Junji Miyazaki. 

showed an increase in a naturally-occurring 

compound called jasmonic acid, which is 

associated with defence responses in many 

plants. Resistant varieties tended to show 

greater levels of this compound which suggests 

it may be involved in defending the 

plants against pest population build up. 

If breeders could find a way to develop 

varieties that incorporate these resistance 

characteristics, this may grant growers the 

best of both worlds in securing yield as well 

as being able to reduce chemical pesticide 

use further. 

Future work aims to further uncover 

how this defence response results in lower 

pest damage and to breed cotton that 

uses this natural defence response against 

mites, as well as to evaluate further varieties 

for resistance against other important 

pests such as, whiteflies and mirids. 

This project was supported with funding by 

Cotton Breeding Australia, a joint venture 

between CSIRO Plant Industry and Cotton Seed 

Distributors Ltd. 

More information: 

www.csiro.au/people/Junji.Miyazaki.html 

www.csiro.au/science/Sustainable-Cotton- 

Industry.html 

www.csiro.au/places/ACRI.html 

Field screening for mite resistance. 


Change in cotton production lecturer 

Want a Better Built Auger? 

In May of this year Brendan Griffiths 

took over the role of lecturer in cotton 

production at the University of New 

England. The previous lecturer Dr John 

Stanley has decided to take on a post doctoral 

fellowship with the CRC for Spatial 

Information, based at UNE. 

Brendan has been an agronomist in the 

cotton industry for the past 20 years and 

has operated as an independent consultant 

based in Goondiwindi for the past 12 

years. For the past four years he has also 

been a PhD student at UNE, with a Cotton 

Catchment Communities CRC funded 

project looking at high yielding wheats in 

the cotton farming system. 

Brendan hopes to able to retain the high 

standard of presentation of content in the 

course by his predecessors, and add value 

as a result of years of practical experience 

at field level. 

The cotton course has been going since 

1994 and is the only industry funded 

course focussing on cotton production at 

the tertiary level. The course has been a 

flagship project throughout the three iterations 

of the Cotton Catchments Communities 

CRC. Not all CRCs embed courses 

in their education program, but it is a testimony 

to the cotton course that several 

other CRCs are now emulating. 

Students can study at various levels 

achieving a diploma in cotton production 

at undergraduate level, or at the postgraduate 

level, a grad-certificate or even Masters 

degree in Agriculture. 

This year enrolments have risen sharply 

as a result of renewed interest in the cotton 

sector. The drought has caused a large 

gap in the entry of agronomists and other 

young professionals into the industry for 

some time. 

Brendan believes the role of the course 

is to address this skills deficit in the industry 

and provide new industry personnel with 

the knowledge and skills necessary to hit 

the ground running, or to answer some of 

the questions raised after a couple of years 

working in the industry. 

Brendan will be based in Goondiwindi 

and will continue his work in the field, adding 

value to the course and being able to 

answer real questions being faced in the 

field. 

CAPACITY 

UP TO 

250 TONNES 

For information on the cotton production 

subjects Brendan can be contacted at 

bgriffi2@une.edu.au. 

Brendan Griffiths. 

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Assessment of cotton soils essential 

A 

leading soil scientist has recommended 

cotton growers carefully 

assess their fields for soil structural 

damage after the 2010–11 crop, in preparation 

for the large planting in 2011. 

Speaking on CSD’s Web on Wednesday 

broadcast, Dr Pat Hulme from Sustainable 

Soils Management, said many fields across 

cotton growing regions had sustained a lot 

of damage due to tillage and wheel traffic 

in the wetter than normal spring period. 

“It was done when the soil was wet so 

it’s caused some compaction, but because 

of the controlled traffic farming system 

we’ve got, the compaction is mainly restricted 

to the area underneath the wheel 

track while the structure beneath the plant 

lines is pretty good,” he said. 

Pat said soil pits are a good way of assessing 

a whole soil profile, but digging a 

smaller trench with a spade was also useful 

and the Cotton CRC publication SOILpak 

was an excellent reference on how to do 

this. 

“You need to review in your mind the 

functions of each part of the field, or soil 

profile. The top of the hill in the plant 

line is your seed bed and you want it to 

be relatively fine so you get good seed-soil 

contact. 

“You want the root zone to be a good 

medium for root growth to allow water, air 

and roots to move in and out to store the 

nutrients. 

“You want your wheel track areas to act 

as a roadway – to support the machinery 

so you want that to be compacted, but 

ideally you’d like the soil to have enough 

holes in it that the roots could still explore 

the zone beneath the road way. You want 

your soil surface to be able to take in water 

– particularly the non-trafficked furrows.” 

He noted that If the shoulders of the 

hills are compacted then the decision as to 

the type of tillage needs to bear in mind a 

number of factors. 

“The ideal moisture content for tilling 

the soil is when it’s slightly dryer than the 

plastic limit – where you can roll the soil 

into a three mm diameter rod in your hand. 

If the soil is really dry, the products of tillage 

will be large and you’ll be left with the 

challenge of making them into a seed bed. 

“It’s also going to depend a lot on how 

long until you’re going to be planting your 

next crop, and the third thing is to decide 

whether you can just live with the compacted 

nature of the soil by nursing the next 

crop and fixing the problem next year.” 

Pat said nursing the crop involves more 

Soil scientist Dr Pat Hulme says cotton growers should be assessing the state of their soils 

before preparing fields for the 2011 plant. 

frequent irrigation than in soils with better 

structure, and higher fertiliser rates. 

“You’re just walking a tightrope – there’s 

less room for error in a compacted soil,” 

he said. 

Soil tests or a nutrient budget are 

important 

According to Pat, soil tests or a nutrient 

budget are important, particularly for 

growers planting cotton on fields that had 

crops in last summer. 

“I believe it is important to have a history 

of soil testing and to use a nutrient 

budget to work out, firstly, whether the soil 

nutrient levels are adequate, and secondly, 

whether you’re supplying sufficient nutrients 

to replace the major nutrients that 

have been exported by the crops. 

“With repeated measurements you can 

see the increase or the decline – you can 

see if you’re winning or losing,” he said. 

For farmers who had fields flooded during 

the 2010–11 summer, Pat said they 

should not expect major changes in their 

soil chemistry apart from some denitrification 

– the loss of nitrogen to the atmosphere 

under waterlogged conditions. 

“The silt that’s deposited during the 

flooding process is likely to have nutrients 

and it’s likely you could be improving the 

soil a little bit – that’s the way a majority of 

the soil that we farm in the cotton industry 

was built, by deposition by flooding. 

“The material that’s being deposited to 

form the soil that we farm has a high clay 

content because it’s been deposited in the 

back plains away from the streams. 

“Because of the high clay content, that 

soil shrinks and swells, which allows it to 

rebuild its structure that is damaged by the 

trafficking, but what we’re seeing is that 

the structure of the soil beneath the plant 

line is generally in good condition. 

“The goal for soil management at this 

stage would be to have a look, work out 

how much or how little tillage needs to be 

done, get in and do it early while there’s 

still some months to get your seed bed 

happening at the top of the bed.” 

The SOILpak manual is available from the 

NSW Department of Primary Industries website 

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/ 

resources/soils/guides/soilpak/cotton 

Watch the full interview. 

http://www.csd.net.au/wow/show/1529 

Further Information: Dr Pat Hulme, Sustainable 

Soils Management, Warren. 

Ph 0268 473367 pat@soilman.com.au 


CottonSafe Guide tops the charts 

Delivering farm safety information 

directly where it is most needed, 

has been the inspiration behind 

Cotton Australia’s latest safety initiative, 

the CottonSafe Guide wall chart, which 

has been mailed out to all cotton growers. 

The CottonSafe Guide wall chart has 

been styled and designed to go straight up 

on the wall in workshops, farm sheds and 

lunchrooms, providing a range of occupational 

health and safety messages, specifically 

targeted to those working in the 

cotton industry. 

Cotton Australia Regional Manager 

James Houlahan says the CottonSafe 

Guide wall chart is an important tool to 

raise the level of OHS awareness in the 

cotton industry, while promoting an improved 

safety culture. Production and 

distribution of the CottonSafe Guide wall 

chart has been assisted by ProVisual. 

James says that overall a culture of 

safety means giving everyone who works 

on cotton farms some ownership over accident 

prevention, where everyone from 

farm manager to the supervisor and the 

newest farm worker accepts that safety is 

James Houlahan and Cleave Rogan. 

both an individual and a shared responsibility. 

James Houlahan says with a national 

uniform occupational health and safety 

model being introduced by legislation 

across all States and Territories from January 

1, 2012, Cotton Australia has been 

leading the way with a pro-active and targeted 

focus on OHS in the cotton industry. 

“Under the CottonSafe banner, Cotton 

Australia will continue to deliver growers 

with up-to-date evidence based guidelines, 

tools and other resources like the Cotton- 

Safe Guide wall chart to effectively manage 

their OHS responsibilities and mitigate potential 

injury, legal and financial risks from 

poor OHS performance,” James said. 

“The CottonSafe Guide wall chart will 

fit comfortably alongside a range of practical 

tools and resources now in production 

by Cotton Australia to help growers and 

cotton farm workers manage safety as an 

integral part of their farm businesses and 

in their day to day work activities.” 

The CottonSafe Guide wall chart contains 

detailed and reliable information on 

OHS risk management, risk assessment 

and safe procedures as well as emergency 

preparedness. The wall chart also lists 

some practical safety tips about working 

with tractors, ATV’s, chemicals and 

around irrigation pump machinery. 

Additional copies of the CottonSafe Guide wall 

chart are available by contacting 

Cotton Australia on 02 9669 5222. 

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Germinating 

ideas 

By CSD Extension and Development 

Team 

In this edition of Germinating Ideas we 

examine a few of the key considerations 

that influence crop establishment, 

and also how we can combat some of the 

cotton diseases to maintain good plant 

stands by using new seed treatments that 

will be available for this coming season. 

The 2010–11 season has seen some of 

the worst cases of seedling disease and major 

diseases of cotton such as Fusarium wilt 

and Verticillium wilt. Additionally, cotton 

bunchy top was evident in most valleys this 

season, with concerns about the potential 

for an outbreak of this disorder next season. 

There was around eight per cent replant 

in the industry this season, across 

most valleys. Most of the early season 

damage was caused by Rhizoctonia and 

Pythium. Black root rot was evident in the 

major valleys and caused significant delays 

in maturity. 

The worst valleys for replant were 

the Murrumbidgee at 18 per cent, Hillston 

at 11 per cent, Namoi at eight per 

cent and the Macquarie at 10 per cent. 

This replanting comes at a cost of up to 

$120 per hectare and there is not a lot 

that can be done, because much of the 

disease is brought on by climatic events. 

But by having a well prepared seed bed, 

proper seeding depth and good soil contact, 

the emerging seedling has the best 

chance of establishing successfully. It was 

a tough start to the season in many of the 

cotton valleys and particularly the southern 

regions as cool wet conditions existed 

at planting and continued into November 

and December. 

FIGURE 1: Percentage seedling mortality estimated from 

commercial cotton crops across NSW and Queensland 

Source: Cotton Pathology 2004–09; Allen, Anderson, Lonergan, McNamara, Swan & Smith. 

FIGURE 2: Disease incidence and severity over two seasons 

over 10 sites in NSW 

Cotton Pathology 2008-2010; Allen, Anderson, Lonergan, McNamara, Swan & Smith. 

If we look back at history we find similar 

trends occurring in years when it is cool 

during or just after planting, with seedling 

disease rampant, causing significant losses 

in plant stands. 

Over this five year period the average 

seedling mortality rates were around 21 

per cent for the Emerald, St George and 

Downs region; about 27 per cent for the 

MacIntyre, Gwydir and Namoi; around 32 

per cent for the Macquarie and Lachlan 

regions; and towards 40 per cent for the 

Murrumbidgee. Certain years stand out as 

being worse. For instance in the 2006–07 

season in the southern cotton growing regions 

there was high mortality, while in the 

2004–05 season the northern regions had 

higher than normal levels of plant death. 

The main cause of seedling death overall 

is plant disease. Dr Steven Allen, Plant 

Pathologist based at ACRI in Narrabri has 

shown over a number of years that significant 

disease levels exist, starting usually 

with black root rot that doesn’t actually kill 

the plant, but decreases its ability to grow 

on during cooler conditions. This allows 

other secondary diseases such as Pythium 

and Rhizoctonia to attack the plant and in 

many cases kill it. 


We know that black root rot slows plant 

growth and overall maturity. For plants 

that make it through this period without 

secondary diseases killing them, the disease 

has a delayed effect of increasing 

time for plant maturity. 

This is a major problem in the southern 

growing regions as the seasons are typically 

shorter and so the slower plant growth extends 

the crop maturation into the cooler 

months of May and June. We are seeing 

some of this occur this season as growers 

attempt to defoliate crops into May. This is 

not entirely due to seedling disease, as some 

growers planted late as water become available 

and the price continued to rally. 

Similarly we have seen increases in 

Fusarium through Qld and NSW both from 

an incidence and severity point of view. 

Plants stands were drastically affected in 

November and December as conditions 

were ideal for the disease. Dr Steven Allen 

has shown over a number of years that 

with wet conditions in October and November, 

the disease usually flourishes. 

More rain through these months means 

less plants survive in fields with Fusarium 

wilt present. 

New Improved Seed 

TREATMENTS 

This season CSD will release two new 

seed treatments, one being an advanced 

fungicide formulation treatment, Dynasty 

Complete and the second being a premium 

insecticidal treatment, Cruiser Extreme. 

Dynasty complete is a Syngenta product 

that has been developed in conjunction 

with CSD and particularly with technical 

input from Dr Stephen Allen based 

at ACRI in Narrabri. The product is formulated 

to include a three way fungicide 

treatment plus the plant activator acibinzolar-s-methyl 

which is the major active in 

the previous seed treatment Bion. 

The product will offer suppression of 

the major cotton seedling disease black 

root rot which in turn will help reduce the 

effects of both Rhizoctonia and Pythium. 

Furthermore, it will help bolster plant defences 

from the onslaught of Fusarium 

Wilt by stimulating the plant’s natural defence 

mechanisms against this disease. 

Steve has shown with trials conducted 

with acibinzolar-s-methyl that the product 

shows good suppression of both black root 

rot and Fusarium wilt (see Figure 4). 

In most cases, Acibinzolar-s-methyl reduced 

the incidence of both black root rot 

and Fusarium in large scale trials. 

This season we saw Bion (Acibinzolars-methyl) 

in commercial field trials carried 

out by a number of growers. The following 

grower trial (Figure 5) was conducted by 

Michael Josh, head Agronomist for P & J 

Harris & Sons. 

In these photos there was a defined line 

between Bion treated and the non Bion 

treated areas in this field. 

According to Steve Allen, “Dynasty 

Complete will offer another string in a 

growers’ bow in the fight against Fusarium 

wilt and black root rot and will allow seedlings 

the best start possible. This, in combination 

with high Fusarium rank varieties 

and diligent management from farmers 

will go a long way to not only reducing the 

impact of these major diseases, but also 

help with the bottom line too.” 

FIGURE 3: Percentage survival of cotton with October/ 

November rainfall 

FIGURE 4: Trials conducted on black root rot and Fusarium wilt 

with Acibinzolar-s-methyl 

FIGURE 5: Bion versus non-bion grower trial 


Dynasty Complete will become CSD’s 

standard cotton seed treatment in 2011 

and will be available on all varieties. 

The other new product available this 

season is Cruiser Extreme. This new insecticidal 

seed treatment from Syngenta will 

provide longevity in early season insect 

control which is important for establishing 

cotton seedlings. In trial work over the past 

two seasons Cruiser Extreme is showing 

comparable results with the granular in furrow 

insecticides against the main seedling 

cotton pests of aphids, thrips and wireworm 

(see Figure 6). 

One of the major benefits of Cruiser Extreme 

is the extra seedling vigour that is 

seen with use of this product. The photo 

in Figure 7 was taken at the above trial 

and shows a vegetative advantage over the 

control treatment. 

Important benefits of this product include 

the improved operator safety profile 

combined with the application convenience 

only offered as a seed treatment. We 

understand that Schedule 6 granular insecticide 

products may have a limited commercial 

availability with the product Temik 

already withdrawn from the market. The 

launch of Cruiser Extreme is very timely 

and will offer growers an effective alternative 

to granular insecticides. It is very easy 

to use and only requires the grower to 

place his treated seed into the planter box 

and your ready to plant. 

Further information on these or related topics 

can be found on the CSD website 

(www.csd.net.au). Results of trials and seed 

treatment performance will be provided at 

the CSD information Tour starting in June. 

FIGURE 6: Cruiser Extreme performance on Thrips versus Temik 

FIGURE 7: Extra vigour with Cruiser Extreme (CSD seed 

treatment trials) 

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news & new products 

drumMUSTER makes good 

growing sense 

While winter cropping may be 

priority number one for cotton 

growers at the moment, it is 

comforting to know that there is help at 

hand to make the process easier. 

After all the hard work is complete, 

the clean-up begins and the drumMUS- 

TER service can ensure growers’ farms 

are free of the hazards of empty chemical 

containers. An industry stewardship 

program funded by a levy paid on eligible 

products, drumMUSTER has been around 

since late 1998 and works with local shire 

councils nation-wide to collect and recycle 

eligible, pre-cleaned containers. This is no 

small operation and since its inception, the 

service has disposed of nearly 17 million 

containers safely and securely. 

Northern New South Wales Regional 

Consultant Phil Tucker was in the thick of 

the action at the recent Australian Cotton 

Trade Show in Moree, where he helped 

spread the drumMUSTER word. 

“I was actually at the Cotton Trade 

Show quite recently and the turn-out there 

was very good!” he said. 

“I’ve talked to a lot of growers and 

the main focus now is getting the cotton 

in the ground ready for winter cropping. 

From my point of view, we have collected 

something like 70,000 containers in this 

Northern NSW region since about February 

and the aim is, with good moisture and 

a good price, that we can hopefully expect 

an even bigger crop next year.” 

While these are excellent return figures, 

Phil knows that there is scope for plenty 

more containers to come in for disposal 

as users look to ramp up their post-harvest 

clean-ups. 

“It’s a really good time now, with harvest 

over and planting under way, to clean 

up the farm by using the drumMUSTER 

program,” he said. 

“You can also ask about our on-farm 

collection service, which is often available 

when you have a large quantity of containers. 

drumMUSTER is great for the environment, 

it’s good ‘My Best Management 

Practice’ so run your containers in or give 

me a call to find out any further information 

and to get involved!” 

To find your nearest collection site, log onto 

www.drummuster.com.au or you can call Phil 

Tucker on 0427 925 274. Further information 

about Best Management Practice can also 

be found at www.bmpcotton.com.au. 


news & new products 

Dow tops up farmer fund with 

$300,000 for flood rebuilding 

Queensland farming families rebuilding 

their livelihoods after 

flooding have received a 

USD$300,000 boost from agrochemical 

and bio-technology company Dow Agro- 

Sciences, in a generous donation which 

doubles the Queensland Farmers Appeal, 

set up by state farm group AgForce and 

rural charity Aussie Helpers in January. 

The Dow AgroSciences donation was 

made through its philanthropic affiliate 

The Dow Chemical Company Foundation, 

with Dow Chemical Asia Pacific President, 

Pat Dawson, on hand to present the 

cheque to AgForce president Brent Finlay 

and Aussie Helpers founder Brian Egan. 

Brent said it was inspiring to see such 

a commitment from the wider agricultural 

community to help farmers get back on 

track after the devastation across Queensland. 

“Since January, Aussie Helpers has 

channelled thousands of dollars of donated 

goods and services to where it is needed 

most. In April alone, Aussie Helpers connected 

more than 90 volunteers who delivered 

1800 hours across 18 farms from 

Moura to Kilcoy to Oakey to Roma,” 

Brent said. 

“Hundreds of individuals and businesses 

have donated money and volunteered 

their time to help repair fences, retrieve 

displaced livestock, clean flooded houses 

and, most importantly, provide a supportive 

ear to producers as they work through 

the emotional challenges of this natural 

disaster. 

This donation to the Queensland Farmers 

Appeal follows Dow AgroSciences’ 

earlier USD$200,000 donation to the Premier’s 

Flood Appeal. Dow AgroSciences 

Marketing Manager George Saville said 

the company wanted to do whatever it 

could to support the farming sector. 

“Many of those affected by the floods 

are our customers and employees. As we 

watched the catastrophic weather events 

unfold we knew we had to do something 

that could make a difference,” Mr Saville 

said. 

Can you help? 

With many months of hard work still 

ahead for flooded farmers, AgForce and 

Aussie Helpers still need donations, equipment 

and volunteers to get rural Queensland 

back on its feet. To volunteer: contact 

Aussie Helpers on 1300 665 232. To 

donate to the Queensland Farmers Flood 

Appeal: ‘Flood Appeal – Suncorp’, BSB: 

484 799, account number 015147867 

or post to PO Box 405, Charleville Qld 

4470. 

Presentation of the Dow $300,000 cheque. 


Central Queensland 

While the bulk of cotton in Central Queensland has 

been picked, in what seems to be a never ending season, 

some of the flooded cotton has only just had its first 

defoliation. 

Picking was held up again and again with regular fortnightly 

rainfall from February right through until May. 

The La Niña system also delivered another cruel blow on 

the Dawson flood plain, with more major flooding in late 

April. Late planted conventional and mungbean crops 

planted since the previous flood were affected. 

Given the challenging year, it is not surprising that 

yields are coming off well below district average. With a 

lot of cotton still to be ginned, and some still in the field, 

it is really too early to call acurately, but district average 

should be around 6.6 bales per hectare (2.7 bales 

per acre). Unfortunately the rainfall has also led to many 

quality issues, with the average discount expected to be 

somewhere around $50 per bale (with some individual 

farms averaging more than $80 per bale discounts). 

The extreme wet weather has also seen springs pop 

up all over Central Queensland. This not only resulted 

in lots of bogged pickers, but has also prevented some 

patches of cotton from being picked. One northern 

highlands grower commented that he was unable to 

plant winter crop, as one third of the paddock he had 

put aside was affected by springs. 

district 

It was a great year in Central Queensland to give dryland 

cotton farming a go. Most crops look like they’ll 

yield around 2.5 bales per hectare (1.0 bale per acre). 

Dryland crops that survived flooding, also look very impressive, 

and some of these crops are up there with the 

best. With minimal input costs, dryland has been the 

shining light for CQ cotton. Given the current interest, if 

there is planting rain in November, I anticipate that the 

dryland planting will be bigger again next year. 

Susan Maas 

June 6, 2011 

St George 

Dirranbandi 

Unlike the Darling Downs which is experiencing a 

horror season that they would know doubt prefer to forget, 

the Lower Balonne region has indeed been blessed 

with a very rewarding year. Having driven through the 

Downs during the past few weeks it is very easy to understand 

how frustrating and disappointing it is to have 

the rain events come though almost on a weekly basis. 

In the case of Dirranbandi, St George and Thallon we 

have just received a small rain event with growers averaging 

25–40 mm. Considering we haven’t had decent 

rain since Christmas this latest fall has certainly been 

most welcome not just for wheat plant but also because 

quite a lot of fields since centre/side busting have come 

up with clods the size of Besser bricks. A number of 

growers had decided to wait until some rain before applying 

fertiliser due to the lack of fine tilth. 

Ginning continues on, as it will no doubt for quite a 

few more months. Classing generally seems quite good 

with very few quality issues although there has been 

some high mic in some of the Sicot 74. Considering the 

season was the second coolest on record this has been 

difficult to understand. 

Overall yields remain positive with fields which had 

pre plant fertiliser averaging 4.4 to 5 bales per acre and 

fields that didn’t have any pre-plant fertiliser lower at 3.9 

to 4.2 bales per acre. 

At this stage the outlook for next season looks posi- 

reports 

District Reports 

are proudly supported by 


district 

reports 

tive with full water and high prices. The major concern 

looming on the horizon is the potential problem with 

cotton bunchy top. Considering the St George, Dirranbandi 

and Thallon areas will have 140,000 acres of back 

to back country the need to be vigilant on ratoon cotton 

and volunteers has never been greater. Control now is 

the most effective way to ensure we break the green 

bridge! 

Dallas King 

June 15, 2011 

Border Rivers 

The Macintyre valley is nearing the end of what has 

been a long, slow harvest which will continue well into 

June. While there have not been large volumes of general 

rainfall during April and May, several small events, 

coupled with cool conditions have slowed harvest down 

and caused some problems with fibre quality. 

Defoliation, particularly in the later crops has been a 

real challenge with many crops receiving three applications 

and still not producing a great result. The upshot 

of this has been a higher proportion of bales with 4 leaf 

and 41 colour. 

Picking started in the western parts of the district in 

early April with the peak activity happening in the last 

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two weeks of that month. While the bulk was finished by 

the second week of May there were still quite a few late 

fields to finish, mainly those later planted or regrown 

after flood or hail. 

Irrigated yields have mostly been good, although 

generally down on the very good results from the previous 

season. Many have been in the 10 to 11 bale per 

hectare range. Yields have suffered particularly where 

crops have been planted into under-prepared fields and 

in-season fertiliser has been applied late or mid-season 

irrigations weren’t done on time. 

Irrigated fibre quality has been good except for the 

colour and leaf. 

Dryland yields have been pleasing despite a less than 

perfect finish. Many of the district’s crops have been in 

the 2.5 to 3.5 bale per hectare range. Fibre quality has 

generally been base grade although there have been reports 

of some short staple in some western crops that 

ran dry and leaf and colour have caused some problems 

also. 

Most people are now in the process of preparing 

for a big 2011 plant – hilling up and applying fertiliser. 

With the district’s water storages full and many on-farm 

dams well topped up, it promises to be close to a full 

plant. Early indications are that the dryland area will be 

slightly larger than this past season with some new growers 

looking to grow the crop and others increasing their 

acreage. 

David Kelly 

May 31, 2011 

Darling Downs 

At the time of writing this report we are well into June 

and the harvest should have been all but finished. Unfortunately 

with the continued cool, wet weather a significant 

proportion of the crop is yet to be picked. Even 

more concerning is that it could be many more weeks 

before the harvest will be completed. 

The northern Downs has had a reasonable run, with a 

majority of the area having been picked. There are however, 

areas still yet to be fully desiccated and well away 

from being picked. Yields have been extremely variable 

but on the whole very disappointing. Expectations this 

season were always low given the season when taking 

into account the impact of the flooding and long periods 

of waterlogging. Unfortunately the impact has been a 

lot greater than expected or hoped for. Quality has been 

acceptable to this point but following heavy frosts and 

the ongoing rain and cool weather, quality is starting to 

be effected. 

The situation on the southern Downs is much more 

concerning. Large areas are yet to be fully desiccated 

let alone picked. Severe frosting in mid May and ongoing 

cool rainy weather is dramatically restricting harvest 

activities. Early indications are that yields are also well 

below expectations but quality is still acceptable. 


The 2010–11 season has been extremely tough for 

growers across the Downs. One positive as planning 

starts for the 2011–12 season, is that all the water storages 

are full and there is good soil moisture profiles. 

With cotton prices remaining high, next season looks 

very promising. 

Duncan Weir 

June 10, 2011 

Gwydir Valley 

At the end of May approximately 85 per cent of the 

Gwydir Valley cotton crop has been picked. Many gin 

yards are full and chewing through the back log of cotton 

as fast as they can. Yields are still variable but I think the 

valley average will be around 10 bales per hectare in irrigated 

and just around 2.2 bales per hectare in dryland. 

An issue which has surfaced once ginning and classing 

came into full swing was the lower colour and leaf 

grades. The gins are finding it hard to clean up cotton 

presented with high moisture content and high leaf material 

in the sample. Defoliation conditions in April were 

difficult with many fields requiring a third pass and still 

not achieving desired results. 

The region hosted the Cotton Trade Show in May, 

which has been hailed as a success by organisers which 

is fantastic. In conjunction with the trade show, the Gwydir 

Valley Cotton Growers also hosted their annual fund 

raising dinner which raises money to support the medical 

scholarship program as well as raise money for the 

Westpac Rescue Helicopter. 

This was a great night, attended by 240 people which 

raised some much needed donations for both worthy 

causes. 

Many growers will be busy in the next couple of 

months trying to plant some winter crop, controlling 

fallow weeds, finishing off cotton pick and knock some 

shape back into irrigation fields before planting the 

2011–12 crop. 

James Quinn 

May 31, 2011 

Namoi Valley 

Although picking was about 90 per cent complete by 

early June there are still quite a few late crops that will be 

picked during winter. Despite all the fears of a wet pick 

it has been quite dry and picking has had only a very few 

minor interruptions. 

Irrigated yields have been extremely variable. Generdistrict 

reports 


district 

reports 

ally yields in the western areas have been very good. 

Walgett has had a particularly good season, except for 

a small percentage of crops that were flood damaged. 

A few crops achieved yields over five bales per acre. 

Further east the yields were much more variable, and 

in some cases disappointing. The average in the lower 

Namoi is about 3.7 bales per acre and the average in the 

upper Namoi is about 3.4. Dryland yields have generally 

been well below average. Average yields in the upper 

Namoi of 1.5 bales per acre, despite the second driest 

summer on record have cemented dryland cotton into 

farmers future rotations. 

Overall fibre quality from irrigated crops has also been 

very good. Although there has been a significant number 

of 41s, which is hard to explain given the dry picking 

conditions. Many of the dryland crops have had some 

short staple. 

Sicot 74BRF performed well throughout the Namoi 

this year, and is expected to become the most popular 

variety in the coming season. Siokra 24BRF was a little 

disappointing but should still be considered a key dryland 

choice in 2011. 

Planting of winter rotation crops is well under way, 

however more rain is required to ensure the full area is 

sown. Chickpea rotations have dropped out of favour 

this year following extreme disease pressure last season. 

Some of the cereal stubble paddocks normally planted to 

peas will be planted to cotton later in the year. 

Prospects for the coming season are very good. Keepit 

dam is about 92 per cent full and is expected to be full 

by planting time. Split rock remains at 20 per cent capacity 

despite the wet early summer conditions. Ground 

water supplies are good as many growers did not use 

their full allocation last year due to timely summer rain. 

Some of this unused water can be carried forward. Most 

Walgett growers on the Barwon have plenty of water in 

their storages following good late season flows. Irrigated 

area prospects are about 18,000 hectares in the upper 

Namoi and 55,000 in the lower Namoi. The dryland 

area could be as high as 60,000 hectares in the Namoi 

region. 

It should be a big year in 2011–12. 

Robert Eveleigh 

June 1, 2011 

Macquarie Valley 

Picking is now around 80 per cent completed with 

some late planted crops still to be harvested. These crops 

have encountered frosts and recent rain and inclement 

weather. The earliest crop picked in the Narromine area 

was started on April 12. 

Quality and yields have generally been very good so 

far. Isolated fields have gone up to 15 bales per hectare. 

This is despite the very slow and wet start with flooding 

in December. 

There has been some light spotting and 4 leaf but 

generally quality has been very good with micronaire, 

length and strength mostly within the desired range. 

Ginning is proceeding well with throughput well up on 

the past few seasons. Gin out turns have been good. 

Cotton is being transported from southern regions to 

be ginned here. Gins will be running well into July to 

complete this year’s crop. 

The lack of suitable staff for both ginning and farming 

has been an issue. This will only get worse with a 

large expansion in area planned for this and most other 

regions nest season. 

There is a great deal of optimism looking towards 

the 2011–12 cotton season in the Macquarie region. 

Forecasts are for around 40,000 hectares to be planted. 

Burrendong Dam continues to float around 90 per cent 

of capacity. 

There will be many new growers joining the industry 

as well as many growers returning to the fold. 

The local growers association has been quite busy. The 

date for the Macquarie cotton awards dinner is Friday, 

August 19 at the Lazy River Estate in Dubbo. It promises 

to be an excellent night to celebrate the successes of 

the cotton industry in the Valley. The Macquarie Cotton 

Growers Association is sponsoring the local football 

teams at Warren, Trangie and Narromine and is holding 

sponsor days at the various venues. The association is 

also planning to hold an Occupational Health and Safety 

training day available to all growers. 

Craig McDonald 

May 31, 2011 

Southern NSW 

Picking has been very slow to get underway yet is progressing 

quite well now. Harvest started early in May 

with only a couple of crops yet now most of the northern 

areas of the region around Hillston and west of Griffith 

are well underway with pickers only just keeping up 

with the crop maturity. The majority of the crops will be 

ready in the next seven to 10 days. The area has been 

very lucky in terms of rain with only a couple of small 

rain patterns passing through. The early crops yields 

have been quite promising so it will be interesting to see 

what the final average will be. 

The main issue has been the temperature with several 

frosts being experienced in the area. The frosts have 

helped the more mature crops in terms of boll opening 

yet defoliation has been very slow. To date picking 

capacity has not been a real issue yet this will change 

as more crops come in together. The area still needs a 

good few weeks of fine weather to enable harvest to be 

completed and to give the late crops every chance of 

maturing. 

This month the Commins Family hosted the Wincott 

Tour of the Murray Darling Basin. This provided 

a good opportunity for the visitors to learn more about 

the Commins operation and the Murrumbidgee area in 


2011 FARM STUDY TOURS 

• Scandinavia (Aug-Sep) 

– Travel through Northern Germany to Denmark, Sweden and spectacular Norway with an optional 

cruise to the Arctic Circle, Global Seed Vaults and polar bears. 

• South America (Jul-Aug) 

– From the beautiful lakes of Chile to rugged Patagonia, the Argentine Pampas, Iguassu Falls, 

incredible farm developments in Brazil and through to the excitement of pulsating Rio. Then onto 

Bolivia and Peru (think Macchu Pichu). Plus options to the Amazon, Galapagos, Easter Islands etc. 

• Southern Africa (Sep-Oct) 

– Go on safari to South Africa, Victoria Falls, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya. Catch up with the 

greatest migration on Earth as the wildebeest and zebra roam the Masai Mara and Serengeti. 

For more information contact: 

David Dowling 0417 703 169 :: Lloyd O’Connell 0428 724 615 

travel@greenmountpress.com.au :: www.greenmounttravel.com.au

district 

reports 

Wincott group with Leeann Commins on the right. 

general. Cotton Australia chair, Andrew Watson, was 

also travelling with this group and it gave him a chance 

to experience the operation first hand. 

As reported previously ginning capacity was going to 

be the main barrier for industry expansion as there is 

Answer to Ian’s 

MYSTERY Tractor Quiz 

On a KL or Lanz Bulldog the steering wheel 

serves two purposes. The first is to steer the 

tractor and second is to start the engine, 

having first heated the hot bulb portion of 

the cylinder head with a blowlamp. The 

shaft of the steering wheel engages a dog in 

the end of the crankshaft. When rotated in 

a pendulum motion, the giant single piston 

builds compression until the crude oil fuel 

ignites, when BANG and all hell breaks loose. 

The engine is now running – hopefully not 

backwards! Like I said – Simple! 

currently only one gin that is located at Hillston where 

historically the majority of cotton has been grown. Next 

season with a combination of high prices and full water 

allocation the area could expand beyond 40,000 hectares 

with most growth occurring south of Griffith on 

the Murrumbidgee. There has been confirmation that a 

new four stand gin will be built by a new company called 

Southern Cotton Pty Ltd between Whitton and Darlington 

Point. This announcement has meant that growers 

can now continue to prepare country for next season, as 

without this gin cotton would not be an option. 

James Hill 

May 31, 2011 

Advertiser’s Index 

1st Class.................................38 

Agripath................................. 10 

Aquatech Consulting...............26 

Barcoo....................................48 

Cargill Cotton..........................30 

Case IH................................... 11 

Charlton........................... 24, 54 

Cotton Grower Services.......... IFC 

Cotton Outlook....................... IBC 

Countryco Training..................45 

CSD..........................................7 

Dinner Plain.............................1 

drumMUSTER..........................53 

Ecom......................................37 

Ergon..................................... 19 

Excel Ag.................................. 15 

Global Machinery Traders.......45 

Landquip................................43 

Monsanto.................................9 

Moree Real Estate...................30 

Namoi Cotton..........................33 

Neils Parts.............................. 10 

New Holland....................... 5, 17 

Nutri-Tech...............................52 

Omnistar..................................3 

Queensland Cotton.................. 31 

SMK Consultants.......................2 

Study Tours.............................56 

Sumitomo.............................OBC 

Syngenta.......................... 12, 13 

The Appointments Group...........2 

Valmont..................................27 

Volvo Penta Oceania...............23 

Westfield Augers.....................43

Case study property - Greenmount Press

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