The 2024-25 CRDC Researchers' Handbook is a key resource for all researchers working with or seeking investment from CRDC.

Updated annually, the Handbook outlines the key information researchers need to know, including the application process, funding and stipends available, the payment, evaluation and reporting processes and the CRDC’s intellectual property policy. These, and other critical details needed by researchers - like CRDC's grant management system, Fluxx - are provided in the Handbook.

CRDC's Annual Operational Plan for 2024-25 (AOP): the second annual operational plan under the CRDC's Strategic RD&E Plan 2023-28.

This document provides a brief outline of the projects CRDC has invested in for 2024-25 (current as of May 2024).

The CottonInfo YouTube channel (youtube.com/CottonInfoAust) was created in August 2013 to allow the repository of short informative videos on a wide range of cotton-related topics and add value to existing extension material by presenting information in an entertaining multimedia format that has become increasing popular in a digital world. 

The videos capture and present specialist knowledge in a practical and visual way, with a focus on documentaries that have a significant shelf life. Following projects DAQ1302 and DAQ1702, the additional videos generated by this project inform new and established growers and consultants, and serve as an important resource for students and interested members of the public, potentially achieving better engagement with the broader community by presenting factual information about industry practices. 

Between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2021, this project produced 66 videos and 2 podcasts, and has provided assistance to and/or managed the uploading of 50 others, including 6 webinar recordings. Within the same period, the CottonInfo channel received nearly 1.8 million views, with a total estimated watch time of 30, 590 hours (almost 3.5 years). 

As at 30 June 2021, the CottonInfo channel contained 285 videos, and had attained over 8500 subscribers and more than 2.5 million views, with an estimated watch time of almost 

5 years. The Australian audience ranked third in terms of total watch time and audience retention, and sixth by views. Having a well-educated industry that is adopting best practices is an essential part of ensuring the cotton industry’s continued success. The project has assisted the extension of practices that improve productivity, farm profitability, and contribute to environmental stewardship.

The Autumn 2024 edition of Spotlight takes a look at the town of Coleambally, where growers have tackled the issue of soil variability with outcomes that are delivering a win-win solution: helping improve productivity and returning dollars to the community.

Coleambally town and the irrigation district surrounding it has a unique history which also includes protecting biodiversity and remnant vegetation. It’s a region built on diversity and community, which has seen a resurgence in cotton growing over the past decade. This edition of Spotlight includes a series of fantastic feature stories on this region.

Looking further afield, late last year CRDC's Acting Executive Director Allan Williams travelled to India for the International Cotton Advisory Council (ICAC) meeting to talk about sustainability and the role of regenerative agriculture in cotton. In this edition we look at the risks and benefits of regenerative agriculture practices, with a focus on cover cropping. You can read about the plans for a regional cover cropping guide for growers and the on-farm experiments trialling new crops on page 14.

Sustainability is already a core focus of CRDC’s under Clever Cotton, CRDC's Strategic RD&E Plan for 2023-28, and cotton’s PLANET. PEOPLE. PADDOCK Sustainability Framework. One of our nine themes is carbon, and it features in this edition. CRDC has been part of a collaboration to deliver a carbon accounting tool – the Environmental Accounting Platform – with fellow RDCs and it’s now live for testing by cotton growers.

As all growers know, ensuring the RDCs work together is essential for leveraging your levy dollars. With GRDC, CRDC is continuing to forge a path in delivering technology to cotton and grains growers. One such example is WAND, which has just released new technology to give a 24-hour forecast for hazardous inversions. This is a game changer for time management and efficiency, along with reducing spray drift hazards.

During the past few cotton seasons in the CGA region there were approximately 20 spray drift reports per season, with nearly 40 unreported events per season. It is estimated that these events impacted 15-20,000ha of crop in our region alone. The 2015/16 Crop Consultants Australia survey estimated that 45,000ha of cotton was affected by spray drift. Spray drift events not only lead to yield reduction and so forfeited income but also leads to numerous social problems such as conflict between neighbours as well as damaging the image of cotton growers and ultimately impacting our social licence to farm. 

Southern cotton growers had the opportunity to tour northern cotton growing areas in 2017 and 2018 attending the GVIA field days, meeting number of industry leading farmers and visiting their properties. These tours not only exposed growers to the cotton growing systems in the north and cotton research but it also provided a tremendous opportunity to network with growers from other regions, learn about alternative irrigation systems relevant to their farming operations.

Each year, Crop Consultants Australia - with support from CRDC - conduct a qualitative survey of cotton consultants regarding their practices and attitudes, as well as those of their cotton grower clients. The resulting report provides valuable information to the Australian cotton industry regarding on-farm practices , helping to benchmark the industry's performance in a range of key areas over time. This report, published in Feb 2023, looks at the 2021-22 cotton growing season.

Each year, Crop Consultants Australia - with support from CRDC - conduct a qualitative survey of cotton consultants regarding their practices and attitudes, as well as those of their cotton grower clients. The resulting report provides valuable information to the Australian cotton industry regarding on-farm practices , helping to benchmark the industry's performance in a range of key areas over time. This report, published in Feb 2024, looks at the 2022-23 cotton growing season.

The aim of this research project was to produce a proof-of-concept system for the automated monitoring of target species of bird and bat in Australian cotton landscapes. The project consisted of three key components: 

1. Identify species of bird and bat that hep farmers manage on-farm biodiversity 
2. Create automated systems capable of accurately identifying the target bird and bat species 
3. Develop acoustic recorders for deployment in cotton growing regions that automate monitoring of target biodiversity. 
4. Create an online system that allows growers to visualise their in-farm biodiversity 

We have created a series of machine-learning (AI) based systems (using convolutional neural networks) capable of identifying 6 species of bird and 10 species or species groups of bat that inhabit the cotton growing regions of Australia. Each species has been selected because of the ecological and behavioural role it plays in the landscape. These recognition systems have been embedded in a field-deployable, rugged, automated, solar-powered, internet-connected audio monitoring device with results uploaded to the cloud. Once in the cloud, farmers can view biodiversity information relevant to their farm via their web browser. Farmers without internet access on their farms can use small, cheap audio recorders that require a level of human intervention before biodiversity results can be made available. 

To our knowledge, we have created the first autonomous acoustic species identification system for birds and bats with online reporting in the world. 

Cooperative Research Centre for developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) commissioned the project for assessment oftheland, water and climate of the Northern Territory for commercial production of cotton and grain crops. Cotton Research and Development Cooperation (CRDC) and Grains Research and Development Cooperation (GRDC) co-contributed in project design and financial allocations. The project implementation was led by the Northern Territory Government Department of Industry Tourism and Trade, and project collaborators included the Northern Territory Farmers Association Inc (NT Farmers), Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security (DEPWS) of the Northern Territory Government, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) of the Queensland Government, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), University of Southern Queensland (USQ), and commercial stakeholders of the Northern Territory's plant-based industries. Specifically, the project aimed to identify potential crops, the timing and length of the potential cropping windows, and the impacts of climate and edaphic conditions on yield and quality. Where accessible, any historical data of previous cropping trials conducted in the Northern Territory was acquired. Field trials were established at Northern Territory Government's research farms and commercial properties. These data were used to determine the productivity of broadacre cropping systems by applying Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) - to investigate how a range of crop species will perform in terms of production and risk profile across the trial sites. Validation trials were conducted under rainfed and irrigated planting systems.

Validation trials included an intensive in-crop sampling and monitoring protocol to match simulated output to actual plant growth dynamics. This included soil sampling to at least 1.5 m with full soil water characteristics being determined. Above ground plant data collected in-crop included crop management records, full phenological monitoring, and at determined intervals leaf area, biomass, plant population and light interception, and crop yields.

The natural resource database determined the possibility of sowing crops during the breaks in the wet season - that allows the crops to best capture wet season rainfall and thus have sufficient soil moisture to carry a crop through to harvest. Soil type was found be a strong determinant of this strategy. The project findings suggest that the natural resource database to enable simulated productivity be measured on a regional scale to provide detailed indication of industry's potential to expand into commercial broadacre farming.

The APSIM modelled output for cotton and peanut provided an initial indication of the potential and extent of possible broadacre agriculture across the Northern Territory. The APSIM analysis was also trialled by adapting proven online tools (CropARM) as a resource to allow stakeholders to assess cropping options in the Northern Territory. Since the crop simulations allow for virtual cropping over numerous years the impact of the highly variable Northern Territory weather on year to year viability of cropping can be assessed. This will allow for economic analysis to be completed to understand the financial implications for investing in this form of agriculture. This information will help to direct future agricultural RD&E in the Territory. Further this will assist planners to understand the infrastructure required to support this potential cropping industry. To this end, the virtual cropping has highlighted some issues and knowledge gaps that will require further research to answer, hence overcoming a shortage of learned experience regarding broadacre cropping in the Northern Territory. Finally, in addition to the field trials and modelling, the project addressed the low local knowledge of farming by providing advice and back-up for multiple on-farm commercial trial plantings of both cotton and grains crops. These trials acted as assessment sites for crop simulations, learning sites for the farms concerned and as demonstration sites to extend cropping practice to other local producers.