Current nutrient management strategies are based primarily on the concept of cost effective nutrient management (i.e. deriving an economic return from fertilizer investment), unless managers have consciously embarked on a nutrient replacement approach to balance crop nutrient removal. The consequence of cost effective strategies is that soil fertility reserves of (originally) non-limiting nutrients will decline until fertilizer applications become warranted. Soil testing has shown that reserves of P, K and S have been gradually declining but there is little definitive evidence of the threshold soil test values which indicate when fertilizer application becomes warranted. This is particularly so for the alkaline cracking clay soils that support the Australian cotton industry. In addition to the lack of clear guidelines to identify fertilizer responsive field sites, there is also uncertainty surrounding the most effective fertilizer application strategies (rates, placement and timing) to allow efficient crop recovery and use. These issues are particularly important for immobile nutrients which don’t redistribute down the soil profile as moisture profiles refill.

This project undertook an extensive field research program to improve the soil testing guidelines for defining P and K responsiveness in irrigated and dryland cotton systems and to evaluate fertilizer application strategies (soil or foliar applications, fertilizer banding or incorporation) in terms of crop recovery and crop response. Both these nutrients already figure prominently in cotton fertilizer programs.

Help innovators, and by doing so learn how to evolve the culture of CRDC towards entrepreneurial impact.

Digital technologies are currently underpinning revolutions in business and society. In particular, digital technologies have driven major efficiency gains in almost all industries since the late 1970s. Digital technologies, and the complex infrastructures such as the Internet created by them, have opened up entirely new business models and opportunities. Whole industries can and have been disrupted. New industries can arise where none existed before.

Agricultural industries have long been innovators in the use of technology. Mechanisation, industrial production of fertilisers and pesticides, and dramatic improvements in crop varieties and breeds have led to substantial productivity improvements over the previous century. Digital technologies have been part of this increase in efficiency.

That Australia could miss out on the benefits of digital technologies because of gaps and deficiencies in our data infrastructure is a significant concern. This report explores these issues. In particular, it considers whether the lack of available data in Australia will limit the benefit that can be derived from the adoption of digital technologies. It surveys currently available data sources and decision-support tools. Based on interviews with producers and industry representatives as well as independent research, it considers where future investment may give economic returns. The review will serve as a resource for producers, policy makers and commercial technology suppliers to guide their decisions for future investment and planning.

The key objective of this project is a review of the current and future state of agricultural data, rules communication and systems in Australia to identify the high-value information data sets and tools that agricultural producers need in decision making in their farming and fisheries. The review will serve as a resource that producers, policy makers and commercial technology suppliers will use to guide their decisions for future investment and planning. Also a review of the current and future state of agricultural data, rules communication and systems in Australia and identify the high-value information data sets and tools that agricultural producers need in decision making in their framing and fisheries. The review will serve as a resource that producers, policy makers and commercial technology suppliers will use to guide their decisions for future investment and planning.

This project used workshops and interviews with key stakeholders to identify which datasets and decision-support tools were currently being used across different agriculture sectors and explore where future investment opportunities may exist. Based on these interviews we identified five main cross-sectoral data types that warranted further analysis. These were soils, weather, imagery, land use and property boundaries. For each of these data types we have documented the key existing datasets, discussed the trends and opportunities and made recommendations about a desired future state.

A key finding from this study is that thinking purely in terms of data is anachronistic. While data will always be the foundation of information products, digital technologies and advanced analytics will facilitate a much broader suite of services and products.

In reviewing cross-sectoral data it has become apparent how haphazard the development of data and knowledge assets has been in some cases. While the value of information and knowledge about Australia has been recognised, there has not been a fully coordinated strategy around its prioritisation and collection. The current data and assets reflect needs, decisions and priorities that have changed over time. But whether this is efficient going forward, as the opportunities for predictive analytics in the agricultural sector increase, is questionable. We thus recommend that there is a strategic plan around cross-sectoral data assets, and that the draft version of this plan come from this document. The report proposes thirteen recommendations that address issues such as investment in a national agriculture data infrastructure, targeted investment for the development of data-driven decision support systems, the development of ‘ready-to-go’ data based on existing data holdings, the promotion of findable accessible interoperable and reusable storage system by rural development corporations, agriculture data exchange platforms supported by an appropriate business model, sector based alliances committed to leverage investment in common data, increased university training in agricultural digital technologies and the development of business models to improve the quality and density of digital soil information. The report also recommends support for the assimilation of increasing sensor and informally collected weather data with existing forecasts aimed at improving the forecast information at finer spatial and temporal scales, the development of bespoke weather and climate metrics tailored to the farming community and increased efforts to translate sub-seasonal forecasts into decision-support tools.

Remotely sensed (RS) information products have the capacity to generate geographically extensive and cost-effective data and will be crucial to the full implementation of digital agriculture. The report recommends making RS data being made more available and in formats accessible and interpretable by developers of agricultural applications. The final recommendation focuses on the development of interfaces between the existing ACLUMP partnership and new data streams to enable opportunities in biosecurity and industry planning.

In Early July 2013, CRDC released their 2013-2018 Strategic R&D Plan. A key strategy outlined in the plan is “Responsible Landscape Management” with the industry aiming to be recognised for its leadership in environmental performance. Supporting the development and delivery of research outcomes from CRDC past and present strategic plans, is the CottonInfo team, a joint venture between Cotton Australia, Cotton Research and Development Corporation and Cotton Seed Distributors. The CottonInfo Team identified a NRM knowledge gap within the team, this project addreessed that knowledge gap by providing a NRM technical specialist 3 days a week who provided the technical NRM skills and knowledge required to co-ordinate the National Cotton NRM campaign and lead the industries continuous improvements of its best practice recommendations for NRM.

Through this project the latest industry lead NRM research has been synthesised into publications and products that provide growers, consultants and the CottonInfo team with the latest best practice recommendations for natural resource on cotton farms. These include but are not limited to, the revised Natural Assets Module of myBMP, 2014 Cotton Production Manual & the 2015 Cotton Calendar.

Working with the CottonInfo team, partnerships where formed with other industry organisations such as Wincott which has lead to better engagement and knowledge transfer to cotton growers, examples include the “Summertime Fun workshop series” and the 2015 Cotton Calendar.

A key outcome of the project has been the development of the Australian cotton Industries NRM campaign which has a focus on Riverine condition and providing the capacity, resources and tools for growers to manage these areas according to best practice. As part of this campaign the industry will be implementing nationally over the next 3 years a riparian monitoring program which was developed through this project.

Research being conducted as part of project DAQ1401 – “Strengthening the Central Highlands Cotton Production System” has identified an opportunity for reducing peak summer climatic risks associated with either heatwaves or cloudy wet weather through the investigation of tactics for bringing forward boll setting through earlier crop sowing. Typically cotton is sown on the Central Highlands from September onwards as the risk of cool weather recedes rapidly. August is generally considered to be too cool to reliably plant, however an analysis of historical temperature records suggest that if temperatures could be raised by 2-3oC, planting may be reliable and allow earlier crop establishment.

During the 2013/14 season we began examining the potential to use biodegradable plastic films to raise soil temperatures and allow cotton establishment during August. The preliminary results from this research demonstrated that clear films raised soil temperatures by 2-4°C and enabled more rapid germination and early season crop development. However, these films were laid by hand which significantly curtailed the ability to manage treatment plots to best exploit these benefits.

It became clear after the first season that the only way to test the potential of biodegradable films for cotton production would be to increase the scale of deployment. This would require equipment to lay film post sowing, and the manufacturing of a film to suit the machine and cotton hills, which included slots that enabled cotton seedling emergence through the film upon germination.

A capital request was made to build and purchase a 3 point linkage film layer designed to lay film on cotton hills.

The objective of this capital project was to purchase a plastic film layer that was customised to lay biodegradable film upon cotton hills for to enable commercial scale trials for DAQ1401C. After some modification, the film layer has proven to be a useful capital item, not only for DAQ1401, but also for biodegradable film studies in other locations, including Darlington Point for use by Heath McWhirter (Elders) to conduct similar trial work during September 2014, and Moree by Michael Braunack (CSIRO) during October 2014.

A review is currently being undertaken by the Cotton Catchment Communities CRC of the BMP program so that it focuses on a more whole of farm business rather than on cotton alone. The vision is for every element of the program to make practical business sense to cotton growers.

This report forms the qualitative analysis of the BMP Trial Evaluation Project. Half-day workshops were run with key stakeholders of growers (8 workshops involving approximately 80 growers in total) and RD&E personnel (5 workshops with a total of approximately 50 people in total) to gain their feedback on the BMP program. RD&E staff attended meetings where the new BMP program was demonstrated.

Workshop/RD&E attendees were asked to fill out individual feedback forms (surveys) – capturing both quantitative and qualitative data. Group discussions to be held also present an opportunity to collect input – although no tool has been developed yet.

A 4 month scientific exchange to the University of Guelph in Canada; and

DuPont and Waterborne Environmental Inc. in the USA enabled work with

world leaders in the area of ecological risk assessment of agrochemicals.

Under the supervision of world leading toxicologists, Prof. Keith Solomon

and Prof. Mark Hanson, a toxicity experiment was conducted that

investigated the potential recovery of two species of Duckweed (Lemna gibba

and L. minor) following exposure to the herbicide Diuron at the University of

Guelph, Canada. When the macrophytes were exposed to a range of

concentrations, Diuron was found to reduce the population growth rate

(widely considered a significant toxicology endpoint for aquatic macrophytes

and algae), which is not new, however, following exposure the macrophytes

were found to recover to a point that is not significantly different to the

population growth rate of the control cultures. The results of this experiment

may highlight questions about whether standard toxicity data adequately

represent exposure scenarios that are commonly observed in catchments.

At DuPont and Waterborne environmental experience was gained in the

development of and running a spatial exposure model developed by these

organisations. Under the supervision of Dr. Aldos Barefoot and Dr. Gerco

Hoogeweg I was able to participate in the simulation modelling and data

gathering processes. It is hoped that I will be able to use these same models to

predict spatial environmental fate and exposure in the Gwydir River

catchment. Further to this, testing a number of management scenarios will

also be used to investigate the impact that they may have on the fate of

chemicals.

This project aimed to examine the possible impact of tobacco streak virus (TSV) on the

Australian cotton industry. TSV is transmitted by thrips and causes a newly emerging disease which has had a significant impact on grain crops, especially sunflower and mungbean, in Central Queensland since ca. 2004.

This one year scoping study has established that cotton is susceptible to field infection

with TSV within the Emerald cotton production area, with infected plants being found at

several locations. Results from field surveys indicated that TSV did not cause significant

disease or losses in CQ cotton in the 2007/2008 season, with most field crops inspected

having less than 1% of plants affected by mild symptoms, often only consisting of single,

diffuse necrotic lesions on one leaf of infected plants.

More severe symptoms were occasionally observed in field infected plants which

included dark purple necrotic, spreading lesions on leaves, sometimes forming numerous diffuse ring spots. On plants with numerous necrotic lesions the upper leaves sometimes also displayed chlorotic mottle and deformed, down-curled leaves. Higher levels of infection were only observed in volunteer cotton plants near parthenium infestations.

A total of 13 cotton varieties/lines have been screened for resistance/susceptibility to

TSV in glasshouse tests. Results indicate that all lines are susceptible to TSV, with all

displaying mild symptoms on inoculated leaves. However, almost all lines tested had

apparently healthy growth after the initial localised symptoms.

Parthenium is suspected to be the key alternative host of TSV in central Queensland and results from this study have shown that TSV infected parthenium is present at several locations throughout the Emerald cotton production area. Crop hygiene with effective control of flowering parthenium in and around crops (particularly when crops are young) is likely to be a key control method to minimise the risk of TSV entering crops.

While results from this scoping study indicate that TSV may not cause significant

disease or losses in central Queensland cotton crops, the study was conducted during an unseasonally wet cropping cycle and many questions remain unanswered about what factors cause systemic infection, what insect vectors are involved in transmission and the extent of disease damage during a “normal” season.

Australia’s primary industries share common risks relating to declining community trust. Decreasing trust can lead to increased regulation, limited market access, disincentives to invest in infrastructure, and reduced industry productivity, profitability, and sustainability. Australia’s Regional Development Corporation's(RDC) have identified community trust as an essential area for collective investment and research capacity building.

This Background Literature Review outlines the evidence that formed the basis of the Research Program Investment Plan. Researchers undertook an extensive review of Australian and relevant international scholarly and industry literature on the food and fibre industries to assess existing knowledge about building and maintaining community trust. Researchers identified significant research gaps that must be addressed before effective intervention strategies can be developed.

The Review found existing research on community trust in Australia’s primary industries to be surprisingly limited and remarkably siloed. Existing research focuses disproportionately on agriculture, rather than on the broader food and fibre industries, and it tends to examine industries or issues individually, rather considering cross-sectoral challenges or themes. Scholarly and industry research also tends to rely on quantitative methods such as surveys, rather than on qualitative approaches that enable deeper investigation of key issues.

As a result, while there have been some efforts to understand issues of importance to the Australian community (i.e., what the community cares about), there has been surprisingly little investigation of why or how these issues become important. Focus on the why and the how is essential for developing cross-sector and whole-of-system strategies that can address specific issues where trust is currently fragile and enable proactive approaches for maintaining trust as new issues emerge.

Key findings:

• Many seemingly common-sense models for the building and maintenance of community trust are ineffective for producing long-term results. They also tend to conflate trust with other related but distinct concepts such as social license, social acceptability, and confidence. Research shows that the increasing distance between producers and consumers can erode trust, but more information, education, and transparency are not the solution: instead, far more complex and nuanced approaches are needed for success.

• Existing research on community attitudes is inconsistent and sometimes contradictory in part due to an overreliance on quantitative surveys and consumer sentiment analyses in academic and industry research; these tend to employ broad questions or overly simplistic measures that do not permit comprehensive analysis or understanding of the deeper issues affecting community trust.

• Current controversial issues—such as animal welfare, new technologies and environmental sustainability—offer critical lessons that can be applied on a cross-sectoral basis. These issues point to the complex spaces of debate that are emerging in contemporary Australia, and to the need for more robust and careful empirical research into the drivers and threats associated with community trust. It is vital to avoid easy assumptions (about the so-called urban-rural divide or the prevalence of knowledge deficits, for example) that will lead to oversimplified solutions unlikely to be successful on a medium- and longer-term basis.

• A lack of evidence base for best practices for disseminating research findings to end-users and engaging with them is a problem that is not unique to the food and fibre production sectors. However, the principles of both public engagement with research and more traditional extension approaches can be used as the basis of novel and effective dissemination and engagement strategies. Ongoing evaluation of these efforts will be crucial both to redress the limited evidence base and build capacity, and to ensure improvement and refinement of these strategies over time and guarantee that the sector benefits from investments in building and maintaining community trust.

An efficient and world standard computing system at ACRI has benefited all research

programs through their use in data processing, storage, statistical analysis, simulation

modelling and the development of end-user packages. In addition the network located at

ACRI provides printing services and communication which includes e-mail and website.

These services have underpinned the quality of research conducted at ACRI and personnel

rely heavily on continued and uninterrupted access to computing support to this IT. In

instances many initiatives for the cotton industry instigated by researchers and extension

officers rely solely on access to the computing support provided by this project. These

services are imperative to the proper functioning of ACRI institute and are separate to IT

overheads provided by CSIRO and NSW DPI.

This project enabled ACRI to operate its computing services as a whole. Supporting IT in

this way is the most efficient and cost effective means for the cotton research effort at ACRI.

This support:

� provides ACRI with cutting edge IT technologies making it a world class research facility

for dedicated cotton research.

� goes beyond generic services provided by research institutions based in capital cities

� ensures timely access to IT services at ACRI.

� avoids duplication and fragmentation of IT resources for research activities by different

institutions based at ACRI.

� ensures that ACRI has an IT champion in place leveraging significant resources from the

CSIRO and NSW DPI.

� enables cotton researchers at ACRI to focus on research alone and not on IT issues.

This project employed Tony Pfeiffer, an experienced Network manager permanently based at

ACRI to enhance operation of IT at ACRI. While Tony is employed by CSIRO he is

available to all people at ACRI to provide immediate computing assistance. He works

closely with CSIRO IT and NSW Department of Primary Industries to coordinate further

investment in computing services and infrastructure at the site. With the increase in

computing power and staff at ACRI, the need for sustained technical support directly to the

user has expanded. The systems manager now supports 63 CSIRO, 49 NSW Ag and 10

others computer users. The computer systems manager also supports the network servers

(backup and communication) and phone system at ACRI.