Cotton picking continues in central Queensland, with producers cautiously optimistic despite a slow start to the season.
Emerald grower Aaron Kiely, Deneliza Downs, was one of the first to pick this year on 31 January, earlier than previous seasons.
Of the 420 hectares he has sown to cotton, Mr Kiely will harvest an initial 15 per cent then grow on the balance “to see what the potential is“.
“We are very happy with the result at this stage, with early estimates around 11 bales per hectare,“ he told Queensland Farmer Today.
“Overall, we have had a nice growing season throughout with low pest pressure however there were a few minor weather events causing slight impact to yields.
“We have another 325ha that has been grown on and we expect to harvest that in mid-May.
“The quality and yields are looking good and we were happy to receive a further 14 per cent water allocation in February for the 2024/2025 water year, which we are looking to carry forward for next season’s crop.”
Meanwhile, Theodore’s Andrew French, a third-generation farmer and myBMP certified grower, picked 35ha of cotton in mid-February but was soon hit by 100 millimetres of rain, which delayed further picking.
He had 200ha left to pick and will grow-on a further 100ha.
While only small numbers have been harvested in central Queensland and the Dawson and Callide Valleys, growers are cautiously optimistic that yields on the grown-on cotton will exceed 14 bales.
Cotton Australia general manager Michael Murray said, generally, the signs were good across the country for cotton with expectations that more than 4.8 million bales would be produced.
“Most of our growers have enjoyed favourable weather conditions, but we are mindful that some have been impacted by negative conditions such as very heavy rain, hail or indeed a lack of enough in season rainfall.
“Despite the challenges, we expect to generate more than $3.3 billion for the economy in fibre and seed and that money flows through to our regional and rural economies.”
The Australian cotton growing season usually begins with planting in October but that varies as growers look for the right soil conditions including water profile and temperature before making a decision to plant.
Mr Murray said one of the pleasing aspects this year was some of the new growers emerging in central Queensland and in the Southern Valleys.
“We attended an ‘acres of opportunities’ information session last year in Kilcummin and there were farmers there looking for other options due to the poor return for sorghum,“ he said.
“Of those, several have chosen to grow dryland cotton this season for the first time and the early results are impressive.
“We also have new and emerging growers in the Murray Valley with indications that they too are being rewarded with good crops thanks to the conditions.”
The last crops for season 2025 should be picked in April to May.
