District Reports - Greenmount Press

districtreportsw53…DISTRICT REPORTSBorder RiversFollowing a great start to the winter with 70 mm and35 mm in May and June, the tap turned off with bothJuly and August registering less that 10 mm each. Theresult has been capping the potential of the winter cropand sapping some of the enthusiasm about the upcomingsummer crop.A general rainfall event in early September deliveredbetween 20–30 mm across the area and helped to alleviatethis to some degree. From the middle of September,temperatures began to increase, and the prospectof planting on rain moisture became very real for manygrowers. Temperatures stayed warm until September 23when they plummeted. At the time of writing they remainlow and the development of the young crops thatwent in during this period is very slow.Many growers have decided to plant in mid-late October,and so will miss this run of cooler weather.At the time of planting, Pindari dam remains at 44per cent, a level it has been at since receiving good inflowsin May. Glenlyon Dam’s level is 24 per cent whileLake Coolmunda is 34 per cent.Estimates on projected planted area for this seasonare between 35,000 and 45,000 hectares – the largestcrop in four years. For many growers it will be their firstcotton crop in four years, with most looking forward toit after stints with winter and summer cereals.Early estimates on technology suggest about threequartersof the area will be planted to Bollgard II/Roundup Ready Flex varieties, mostly Sicot 71BRF,with the remainder reasonably evenly distributed betweenconventional, Roundup Ready Flex and BollgardII varieties.With sorghum prices at low levels, there has been alot of interest in dryland cotton in the area, particularlygiven the ease of management now with the Bollgard IIand Roundup Ready Flex and the good results achievedin 2008–09. A good rainfall event sometime in the nextsix weeks will see a flurry of planting.David KellySeptember 30, 2009Darling DownsIn stark contrast to last season, it has been an extremelytough start to the 2010 season. Early heatwaves followed by cold periods, dust storms, dry windsand a few patchy rainfall events have all added to a veryuncertain start to the planting period.A few dryland crops were planted following rainfall inearly September. A cold period immediately after planting,followed by hot, dry windy conditions resulted invery poor establishment and crop losses.Some growers have started to pre irrigate their fieldswhile others have planted dry and are watering up.There have been problems with watering, with growershaving difficulty wetting their fields. Although they arenot using a lot of water (approximately 0.7–0.8 megsper hectare) they are having difficulty in getting uniformityacross the fields.The hard start to the season has significantly reducedthe possible area to be planted this season. Estimatesvary, but the total area expected to be planted shouldrange be between 27,000 and 32,000 hectares.There is still a lot of optimism despite the poor earlyweather conditions and cotton remains a very attractiveoption for many growers. A lot of growers have goodsoil moisture profiles even though they are losing moisturefrom the top. If the Downs could receive between35–50 mm in the last three weeks of October, the totalarea planted could still be significantly larger than lastyear.DDCG Inc Grower of the Year AwardsDarling Downs Grower Awards were presented at the2009 DDCG Inc dinner in Dalby on September 4 withsome 230 growers and guests acknowledging and celebratingthe achievements of growers and consultants ata very successful function.All seven growers nominated for the awards havedemonstrated high levels of achievement and successfulcotton crop production in very challenging seasonal conditions.A highlight has been the successful managementof limited water supplies based on very well designedirrigation systems, variable row configurations and strategicirrigation scheduling ensuring optimised water useefficiency.Following the nomination of four young growers, theYoung Grower of the Year Award was established thisyear to recognise the achievements of growers under theage of 35 and their consultants. They are in the developmentalphases of their properties and their cotton–grainfarming enterprises and are highly commended for theirachievements..The successful growers and their consultants in the2009 awards were:Yield AwardsIrrigated – Pat Hilliar, “Wongara”, Jimbour. 15.31bales per hectare.Dryland – James and Daniel Hayllor, “Karinya”, Kupunn6.88 bales per hectare.Young Grower of the YearJames and Daniel Hayllor, “Karinya”, KupunnConsultant – Murray Boshammer, Total AG Services,DalbyHighly Commended Grower of the Year AwardNeil and Sonya McVeigh, “Maclands”, MacalisterConsultant – Bernie Caffery, Crop ManagementServices, DalbyGrower of the Year AwardGlenn and Julie Bischoff, “Arrawatta”, MacalisterConsultant – Geoff Rudd, CotTec Consulting, Dalby54 — THE AUSTRALIAN COTTONGROWER OCTOBER–NOVEMBER 2009