Bringing you the latest comments from our team, via our CottonInfo blog.

CottonInfo REO Amanda Thomas blogs about the 'Cottoning on to the Macquarie' NRM field day, held on Saturday 4 March:

The field day was a collaboration between CottonInfo, the Australian Government and Central West Local Land Services.  We had the 40 spots in the kayaks snapped up by the cotton growers and their families. Stacey Vogel, the Natural Resource Management Technical Specialist on the CottonInfo team, has run many of these successful days across the cotton industry. All I had to do was get the message out the growers who jumped at  the opportunity. …

With Solenopsis mealybug widespread throughout QLD and confirmed in WA, NT and VIC, and mostly recently in the Macintyre valley, growers and consultants are encouraged to remain vigilant in monitoring for this pest.

Please note: all new or unusual detections of mealybug need to be reported. In NSW, call the Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881. In QLD, call DAF on 13 25 23.

What to look for:

Growers and consultants are encouraged to keep an eye out for mealybug and mealybug hot spots:

CottonInfo, the Australian cotton industry’s joint extension program, has announced the appointment of a new Regional Extension Officer for the Gwydir Valley, Janelle Montgomery.

Janelle is already an important member of the CottonInfo team, having served as the CottonInfo Technical Specialist for water use efficiency since the team’s establishment in 2012.

In her new role, Janelle will provide the latest research outcomes and findings – across the full CottonInfo research topics – direct to cotton growers, consultants and the wider cotton industry in the region.

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James Quinn, Dr Mike Bange of CSIRO and Dr Janelle Montgomery of CottonInfo have put together this blog post on everything you need to know re late season irrigation management.

Cotton crops reach peak flowering period in January – a critical time which can significantly influence final yield and fibre quality. Flowering for longer will lead to more bolls and generally higher yields. Cut-out generally occurs late January to mid February when the plant reaches 4-5 nodes above white flower (NAWF).

James Quinn, CSD says…

Families in the Border Rivers region recently enjoyed a family wildlife discovery and spotlight evening at ‘Taraba’ near Toobeah, hosted by Cotton Rivercare Champion, Mark Palfreyman.

Cotton RiverCare program manager and CottonInfo technical specialist for natural resources, Stacey Vogel, said some 30 local people attended the event - held on Friday, 21 October. 

“The evening gave attendees an opportunity to get up close to animals they normally wouldn’t see – like microbats, the pale-headed snake and the Macquarie turtle,” Stacey said.  

Ecologist Phil…

Cotton RiverCare is a program that promotes and supports responsible management of riverine areas within cotton growing regions of Australia.

The program follows the journey of cotton grower and national Cotton RiverCare champion, Mark Palfreyman. Mark and his wife Anne and their four children Edward, Finn, Wilson & Elsie blog about discovering what biodiversity lives on their farm, how their management decisions impact on the condition of their riverine areas and the benefits healthy riverine areas can provide their farming business.

We recently spotted this…

In this August 2016 presentation to the US Plant Management Network, CSIRO's Dr Michael Bange talks about the importance of cotton physiology in adapting to emerging challenges in climate and water availability. It builds upon his recent presentation at the World Cotton Conference in Brazil in May 2016. 

Cotton production worldwide will be influenced by changes in climate as well as indirect effects such as regulation of water resources. To combat these changes as well as dealing with increasing costs will mean that sustainable production will need to adopt practices in…

Cotton RiverCare is a program that promotes and supports responsible management of riverine areas within cotton growing regions of Australia. In this blog post, cotton grower Mark Palfreyman talks water rats! 

We are all very excited as we recently had the pleasure of seeing a 'rakali' or water rat (Hydromys chrysogaster) on our farm. We have been trying to get this photo for a few days but he is well camouflaged against the debris in the river and is a very fast swimmer! Cute little guy, my wife and the kids named him Templeton.

These rats …

A zoology degree is not a traditional qualification for a cotton grower, but for Southern QLD grower Mark Palfreyman it provides an ideal grounding for his new role as national Cotton RiverCare champion.

The role forms part of the newly launched Cotton RiverCare program, which aims to support the responsible management of riverine areas within Australia’s cotton growing regions.

Under the program, cotton growers and the wider cotton community can follow the progress of Mark and his family as they care for their farm and its natural environment; including discovering what…

More than 100 people took part in four kayak trips in North West NSW in November to learn about riverine health and how to keep local rivers and riparian areas healthy.

The trips were hosted by CottonInfo on rivers at Moree, Mungindi and Boggabilla, to help raise awareness of the importance of native vegetation and its management.

CottonInfo’s natural resource technical specialist, Stacey Vogel, coordinated the events, which also featured two ecologists.

Aquatic ecologist Dr Harry Balcombe informed participants about the indicators for healthy rivers…