Cotton in the Gwydir Valley

Irrigated and dryland cotton has been grown in the Gwydir Valley since the mid 1970's. A combination of excellent soils, hot summers and sometimes plentiful water has allowed the crop to flourish.

Annual cotton production varies enormously from year to year, and is dependant largely on the availability of irrigation water supplies.

Production can range from 15,000ha, producing some 135,000 bales of ginned cotton (227kg/bale) to almost 100,000ha, with potential to produce up to 900,000 bales.

Yields in the Gwydir Valley are among the highest in the world; with a number of growers regularly achieving average yields of 12 bale/ha, and some individual fields exceeding 15 bales/ha.

Cotton growers in the Gwydir Valley are early adopters of technology, with over 70% of the crop genetically modified (dramatically decreasing the number of insecticides and herbicides required to be applied when compared to conventional cotton), widespread adoption of global position satellite (GPS) technology for use in spraying, field preparation, field survey and yield mapping, sophisticated irrigation scheduling tools and plant monitoring services.

Most cotton produced in the valley undergoes first stage processing (ginning) here, with the valley boasting 7 gins. Once ginned, bales are sold overseas for further processing and spinning at sites around the world.

The cotton growers of the Gwydir Valley employ a whole host of risk management and marketing tools including cash sales, forward marketing, futures, currency hedges, options and calls.

It is not uncommon for a Gwydir grower to of partially marketed a crop up to two years before it is planted.

The cotton cycle in the Gwydir starts with land preparation (May-August), planting (September-October), irrigation and pest control (November -February), picking or harvest (March-April) and ginning (May-June).

Most cotton farms also produce a range of winter cereals and may possibly run livestock such as beef cattle.