South East Queensland continues to produce winning entries in the FastStart Cotton Establishment Awards.
Having reviewed the establishment rates and planter uniformity index of entries from across Australia’s cotton growing regions, judges were also surprised to see newer cotton growers at the top of the leader board.
2022–23 FastStart Cotton Establishment Awards major prize winners are:
Dryland – Neil Schimke, Gatton QLD
Irrigated – Matt Richards, Nobby QLD
Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD) and Syngenta, partners in the FastStart program, coordinate the awards as a means of celebrating excellence in crop establishment. Each season a grower in both the dryland and irrigated category are recognised for the best overall establishment of their cotton crop.
This year the overall winners each receive a Kincrome toolkit for the farm ute or workshop valued at $5000. Regional runners up receive a Total Tools e-voucher worth $1000 each.
This season is just the third time Neil Schimke has grown cotton, but by using FastStart tools, including a weather station, he has quickly developed the required skills. With the first 70 days being critical to plant establishment and yield potential, Mr Schimke’s entry to the awards demonstrated excellent seed placement and all-round preparation.
While Matt Richards is no stranger to growing crops under irrigation, between high yielding cereals and even pickling onions for Three Threes Condiments, cotton is a new crop for him. However, his attention to detail was evident to judges who were impressed with his establishment, which involves a combination of seedbed preparation, variety choice, and planter calibration among other factors.
CSD extension and market development lead Peter White thanked everyone who went to the effort of submitting an entry in this year’s awards, noting the overall high standard of those entrants. Mr White went on to congratulate the winners on their outstanding results.
“Achieving even establishment of a cotton crop requires attention to detail, which is where our winners this year shine,” he said.
“Not only have they given themselves the best chances of maximising their yields, but they’ve also won one of Australia’s most prestigious crop competitions.”
The competition doesn’t assess outright yield, instead emphasising establishment and the foundations for an efficient crop utilising tools such as the FastStart Cotton Soil Temperature Network, helping to manage early season yield limiting impacts.
Planter uniformity and evenness of the emerging crop are key criteria that strongly align with FastStart principles. Growers are encouraged to adjust their row configuration and seeding rates for optimum seedling performance as a foundation for optimum efficiency and eventually yield.
The awards were launched in 2018 and have featured a winning dryland and irrigated cotton grower each year since. Syngenta Seedcare technical manager Sean Roberts says the competition rewards growers in their continuous efforts to improve production methods.
Past winners have participated in a study tour of agricultural enterprises in the Ord River irrigation Scheme. With tools being equally valuable to growers, whether its quality Kincrome hand tools or the FastStart crop establishment variety, interest in this season’s competition and new prizes was strong.
“There are many growers out there doing a great job of optimising their seedling establishment through the utilisation of Syngenta Seedcare technology that is applied to CSD seed, and the agronomic knowledge brought to light through extensive FastStart research projects,” Mr Roberts said.
“The Awards are a great way of doing this, as well as sharing what best practice looks like with other growers.”
FastStart Cotton research and development is funded through the proceeds of each bag of seed sold through CSD, which comes with the added protection of Syngenta Seedcare treatments.
Cotton Seed Distributors Ltd. (CSD) has been supplying quality cotton planting seed to the cotton industry since 1967. CSD was formed through the vision of Australia’s foundation cotton growers and remains committed to the success of today’s industry.
CSD is a major investor in cotton breeding, research and development, having developed a long and successful partnership with the CSIRO Cotton Breeding Program. CSD’s objective is to deliver elite varieties that are specifically bred and adapted to suit local growing conditions by delivering yield and quality outcomes to keep the Australian cotton industry at the premium end of the global fibre market.
Central QLD – Matt Anning, Emerald, Irrigated
Balonne River QLD – Scott Brimblecombe, St George, Irrigated
Darling Downs QLD – Hamish Bligh, Brookstead, Irrigated
South-East QLD – Wayne and Noel Keller, Patrick Estate, Irrigated
Far-North QLD – Brett Lewis, Mareeba, Irrigated
Macintyre Valley NSW – Will Coulton, North Star, Dryland
Gwydir Valley NSW – Will Carrigan, Moree, Irrigated
Namoi Valley NSW – James Tydd, Wee Waa, Dryland
Macquarie Valley NSW – Sinclair Steele, Warren, Irrigated
Southern NSW – Joe Dal Broi, Benerembah, Irrigated
Northern Australia – Myles Gorman, Kununurra, Irrigated
