Issues of wet weather and contract harvester shortages formed the basis of discussions at the FNQ Sustainable Cropping Group cotton update forum held in Mareeba on July 28.
The event was facilitated by local grower and group chairman Bradley Jonsson, Cotton Research and Development Corporation R&D manager Susan Mass, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries senior agribusiness development officer Greg Mason and Nutrien Ag Solutions Mareeba and Tolga agronomist Maurilio.
Ms Mass said the purpose of the forum was to provide an insight into the current cotton season for northern growers and discuss any production issues raised.
"The opportunity is to learn from each other and do a bit of a reflection on the season and what were some of the key challenges and lessons learnt if any," she said.
FNQ Sustainable Cropping Group chairman Bradley Jonsson said it was a difficult season for local growers due to prolonged wet weather conditions.
"Last year we grew about a 4.2 bale a hectare crop, but we had a lot of rain on that, which sort of cut the season off," he said.
"The late, prolonged wet has been really tough to manage and a tougher year in farming as any that we've had in a long time.
"It's been fairly unpredictable.
"We had late rain in July, which has made the cotton regrow and made it challenging to get the leaf off."
Another production issue raised within the discussion was harvest contractor shortages, which Mr Jonsson said caused delays to harvesting.
"This year has been a real battle to get a contractor up here. It's just taken too long and we just want to get the crop off now," he said.
"Long term we probably need to get a harvester up here on our own.
"I think that's something the north needs to look at getting; our own harvester."
Mr Jonsson said the wet weather experienced across the state was a likely cause to the harvest contractor issues.
"Getting people to come up from the south just hasn't worked this year, but I suppose it's been a wet year and it's been a bit hard," he said.
"That's been typical from the whole industry this year. The fact that they are still harvesting in New South Wales and still harvesting in Emerald is fairly unusual.
"It's been frustrating."
Local grower James Howe of Howe Farming Enterprises expressed similar sentiments.
"We've got a lot to learn about the crop, the agronomy and the sustainability across variable regions," he said.
"We then need to solve some of the more infrastructure problems, which are where the harvesters live.
"Our feeling would be that the agronomy of the crop needs all of our focus and once we reach a point where we've got reliable expectations or where we are starting to achieve expectations, we can start doing the numbers around how sustainable it is to go and buy harvesters.
"There's a lot to learn about the crop."
Cotton Australia general manager Michael Murray who attended the forum said cotton gave farmers in the region another production choice.
"Interest in the crop remains high," he said.
"We have seen approximately a doubling of area from the 20/21 season to the 21/22 season, and we expect further growth in Far North Queensland when this year's crop is planted in December."
Lint aside, Mr Murray said the whole crop could be utilised across different agricultural industries.
"For every tonne of cotton you produce as lint, you produce a little bit more of a tonne of cottonseed," he said.
"That's been great not only particularly for beef cattle, but used as feed for a whole range of livestock.
"Certainly during the drought of the last three or four years, no cotton seed was exported, it was all used, keeping herds alive during the drought.
"People think of the lint, but that's only half the story, that cottonseed is an equally important product in terms of the return.
"The greater return is in the lint, but the return from the seed is not to be sneezed at either."
Mr Murray also offered advice to farmers interested in growing the crop in the north.
"If you're thinking about growing cotton, if you want to take a first step up here, find yourself a good agronomist," he said.
"There's not a cotton grower in Australia that does it entirely by themselves. You need good advice.
"It's a crop that rewards you well, if it's managed well.
"Find yourself a picking contractor and certainly, this year has probably been more challenging than other years, but you want to make sure you've got someone to pick it.
"Get those two things in place and I'm sure the rest of it will fall in."
Zoe Thomas
Northern based journalist at North Queensland Register and Queensland Country Life.
Northern based journalist at North Queensland Register and Queensland Country Life.
