With an increase in cotton production and the expected hilum of new people into the industry, understanding spinners' requirements will be of the utmost importance to assist the Australian cotton industry to continue to deliver quality cotton and maintain a competitive position in the international market. The 'Cotton Field to Fabric' course is delivered in three formats that gives people in the cotton production pipeline the opportunity to gain valuable and current information and understanding of the entire cotton production pipeline; from the field to the manufacture of fabric. The 'Cotton Field to Fabric' course provides formation on all aspects of cotton production highlighting to each sector within the industry the importance and their influence on quality. The three formats (initiatives) are; I) the three day formal course, which has been presented eleven times since 2005 and has been very successful with over 280 people attending the course; 2) the Roadshow, which has been held twice since 2005 to 343 people and involves short workshops in local cotton growing areas in NSW and Qld and 3) a one day course for secondary school students and teachers.

The success of tins program and its initiatives is very much dependant on the support from the cotton industry. The three initiatives that make up this project all have a different focus but are all aligned with essentially the same message. All participants obtain a clearer understanding of the entire cotton production and textile processing pipeline. In the past this has led to, and hopefully will continue to, a number of growers and commercial operations changing their practices to ensure that resources are better utilised and fibre quality is not compromised to ensure that yam and fabric manufacturers' needs are met. This together with other initiatives such as Best Management Practices and research in other areas should contribute to the sustainability and growth of the industry.