Energy use and efficiency has become increasing important globally due to the increasing cost and scarcity of energy sources (particularly crude oil) and the associated production of greenhouse gasses causing global warming. The rising costs of energy and associated energy-intensive products such as fertilizers and chemicals are now one of the major challenges facing modern mechanised agriculture. This problem is particularly acute in Australian cotton farming systems which are often expansive and require high inputs of all of these commodities.

Continuously increasing energy prices and the needs for significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions make the improvement of farming energy efficiency essential. Exploration of new alternative and renewable energy sources is also vital.

The broad aim of this project was to develop farmer-friendly resources to assist the Australian cotton industry evaluate alternate energy sources that can be integrated into normal farming operations to save energy, save money and reduce cotton’s carbon footprint.

The specific objectives of this work include:

• Review commercially available alternative (renewable) energy and fuel options.

• Assess the feasibility of commercially available alternative (renewable) energy and fuel options.

• Examine performance / characteristics of non-commercial alternative fuel sources and mixtures.

• Reduce operating costs and emissions of non-commercial alternative fuel sources and mixtures.

• Inform the cotton industry on opportunities, costs and greenhouse gas implications of alternative (renewable) energy and fuels.

One of the major mental health problems facing rural Australia today remains men’s lack of desire to seek help for depression and other mental health issues. The pressure of farm life impacts heavily on not only those who work in the industry but their families. Most often, women are the link in the chain between health professionals, and their partners /male relatives. The more resilient women are, and the better informed they are about the industry their partners work in, the better equipped they will be to act as those links and ensure family members take good care of themselves and maintain good mental health. To be proactive, women themselves must feel strong, knowledgeable and supported. The Cotton Picking Women’s Picnic aims to cultivate this in the women who attend through inspirational speakers, cotton industry education opportunities, health & well-being stalls, and a general opportunity for friendship and resilience building.

The women business partners in the cotton business can also offer a lot to the industry. Many are skilled and highly qualified in a range of professional fields, however, often they are not directly involved in the day-to-day operation. This perspective, combined with some capacity building around the cotton industry could lead to innovative solutions, marketing and product development ideas.

Organisers of the 2014 Cotton Picking Women’s Picnic aimed to:

i) Develop a public relations campaign around the event and advertise more widely across the region, thereby targeting a wider audience to attract to the event; and disseminating widely the message that the cotton industry is taking a proactive role in achieving better mental health in rural Australian communities;

ii) attract double the number of women to the event than the 2013 picnic, to include a wider population of cotton growing women, including from the Namoi Valley;

iii) provide an opportunity for attendees to further their knowledge of the cotton industry by hosting a short course version of the Field to Fabric course;

iv) Provide an inspirational guest speaker who can deliver the message of good mental health in rural communities;

v) Inspire and reinvigorate interest in the cotton industry through a fashion parade featuring successful Australian designers who utilise cotton.

Human Capacity Assessment and Benchmarking project funded by the Cotton Research and Development Corporation through the Human Capacity program has resulted in the development and delivery of the Cotton Industry Skills Benchmarking system. This is a web based system that allows participants to carry out a self assessment in a wide range of skills relevant to cotton production which are categorised into 21 Skill Areas. These skills are all based in Units of Competence from the Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation Training Package (Agrifood Skills Australia, 2011) as a tool to carry out an audit of skills and knowledge and give a broad picture of human capacity in the industry and therefore align to what is considered to be current industry best practice. Please see agskills.com.au The Cotton Industry Skills Benchmarking system is a ‘self serve’ online package which allows cotton farmers to create an account for their business and identify and segregate different farm skills within the enterprise if needed. They can subsequently identify and segregate all of the staff employed on different farms. Each enterprise owner or manager participating in Cotton Industry Skills Benchmarking system registers their business and all of their staff members to commence the process. Once workers have completed the assessment process the manager can view a report for all of their staff presented in a graph format. A farm manager will only have access to data about staff working on that farm. This information can by used by management for a range of purposes including:

• Recruitment
• Development of training and personal development plans
• Allocation of duties on the farm

The system is also structured to provide industry-wide information on skills. This information collected at the individual and enterprise level can be aggregated and analysed on an industry-wide basis to develop a picture of the skills profile of the industry. This will identify any areas of skills gaps which may be addressed with new training programs. All data collected by the system used to generate industry-wide information will be made anonymous so the privacy of individuals and businesses are completely protected.

Drs Robert Mensah and Lewis Wilson were invited by on the Organising Committee of the

International Congress of Entomology Conference to organise a symposium on the

'Biological control of emerging pests on transgenic cotton crops' which is of significant

importance to our situation in Australia. The symposium attracted world renowned

entomologists working on pests on transgenic cotton crops.

The International Congress of Entomology (ICE) is held every four years in different

countries in the world. It serves as a forum where those involved in all facets of entomology

can interact and learn from each other. The congress in Korea gathered 2 900 entomologists

from all over the world working on various aspects of entomology from taxonomy through to

pest management and covering all aspects of crop production and medical entomology.

Scientists, particularly renowned entomologists working in other crops and also in cotton,

normally attend the ICE conference to present the papers in their area of specialty. Thus this

provides an opportunity for researchers to present and hear about pertinent research problems

in their areas of specialty. The conference also attracts extension officers, agro-chemical

companies, administrators, Gritomological suppliers and publishers. The conference covered

aspects of entomology such as integrated pest management, insect biological control, insect

behavior and chemical ecology, pesticides, GM crops, resistance, toxicology, conservation,

biodiversity, climate change, insect biological control, medical and veterinary entomology,

invasive species and quarantine, stored products and post harvest entomology, acarology,

insect related interactions at a multi-tropic ecosystem, genetics, genomics and evolutionary

entomology, systematic s, phylogeny and zoo geography. The conference has enhanced Dr's

Mensah and Wilson's research in Australia.

The title of the symposium jointly organized by Dr Robert Mensah and Dr Lewis Wilson at

the conference was "Biological control of Emerging pests on transgenic cotton" (Symposium

1104). Many audiences attended our symposium, showed significant interest in papers

presented and generated good discussion, especially about the contrlbution of GM crops to

enha CG biological control. Dr Mensah also presented a paper in another symposium on the

use of a natural plant extract for the management of sucking pests on cotton in Australia

(Symposium 608 on 24 August 2012). Dr Wilson also presented a paper on 'Evaluating the

IPM fit of insecticides; Sorting myth from reality' in Symposium 1010 on 21 August 2012.

I Both papers were well received and stimulated a range of questions by the audience. Many

of the applied entomologists working on ERM in field crops were most interested to use

biopesticides being developed in Dr Mensah's research for field trials in their target pests and

crops. The Technical Editor for the Australian Journal of Entomology requested Dr Wilson to

prepare a review article for publication..

There isn't another Cotton Fibre Expo (AustralianCFE) like the one held in Australia, in the world. Entrants to the Expo are showcasing to the world the versatility, practicality and uniqueness of cotton. The ACFE ask entrants to be creative as possible, with the only criteria being the need to be made with at least 90% cotton. The categories range from interpretative sections of wearable art, fashion, surface design and "quirky calico" to the more traditional crafts. The Expo organisers received inquiries from design schools around the nation regarding the 2013 expo and its categories, thus we anticipate that 2015 will be full of young and vibrant new design ideas.

The Australian Cotton Fibre Expo seeks to continue educating cotton growers in the Lower Namoi, and the wider community who are involved in cotton production, to the versatility of cotton for the end user. The 2013 expo was again another huge success with entrants being received from varied regions within Australia. Over 400 guests visited the

exhibition. The guests came from within the and wider,

they experienced first-hand the versatility of cotton and how it allows

designers to create their unique pieces.

The fashion parade sponsor Margaret Enklemann also showcased an intriguing

parade on what can be done with materials found on the farm and in

manufacturing plants and how they can too be made into fashionable

garments. Her entire outfit was made solely from cotton/farm items and thus

was interpreted into wearable art.

The expo allows the growers in the region to see how our local cotton is received in

the market, at the end product, and how it is utilised both within the local region

through to the international community.

Growers in the region were given the opportunity to view the items entered

into the expo throughout the two weeks it was open. The fashion garments

were also part of the luncheons fashion parade. Many of the unique items on

show detailed where they were made and how they were made. Some of the

commercial products also had price indications listed which enabled viewers

to see the commercial viability of the product.

The project showcased the role of women in the cotton industry,

demonstrating the importance of a female viewpoint in the business, with keynote speaker, Barbara Grey, a 30 year veteran cotton grower from Muningdi.

Dryland farming systems tour * Grains Update * Nitrogen Forum *NutriLOGIC program *Nitrogen Trials

Travel to attend the Fusarium Laboratory Workshop in June, 2012 offered the opportunity to enhance technical skills as a Plant Pathologist, with emphasis on Fusarium identification. The ability to identify Fusarium species will assist in the identification of these fungi isolated from boll rots, which are becoming an increasing problem for the industry. Enhancing Fusarium identification skills will also enable the identification of Fusarium species capable of infecting cottonseed. Some Fusarium spp. produce mycotoxin, a concern for fuzzy cottonseed intended for feed. This knowledge links with current project DAQ1103.

The purpose of the travel sponsorship was for Dr Guangnan Chen to attend and present a paper on “Developing Life Cycle Inventory for Life Cycle Assessment of Australian Cotton” at the 2013 ALCAS Conference held in Sydney.

The major outcomes are:

• Exchange and discuss the latest research advancement in LCA

• Present a paper on “Developing Life Cycle Inventory for Life Cycle Assessment of Australian Cotton”

• Promote the Australian Cotton industry to the wide Australian and international LCA community

A Cotton Skills Benchmarking system ( http://agskills.com.au ) has been

developed and now needs to be ground-truthed with cotton growers. This report

provides feedback from 1.5-20 industry members about the usability, practicality

and usefulness of the system.

Across these industry members included:

. husband and wife owned manager with no staff

. growers and their staff

. corporate owner with manager and staff

Each of these different structures were able to provide different feedback to

allow for the development of a system suitable to all structures in the industry.

This feedback has been grouped into:

I. Establishment/Login Phase

2. Whole of Site Navigation

3. Language Used

4. Forms

5. Reporting

The recommendations made in this report regarding the above criteria, have been deemed through a process

of engaging with cotton growers. Overall there is very positive response to the

need and practicality of a system such as this, however a number of

recommendations to improve the system have been made. These centre around

three main themes;

I. the need for consistent and intuitive navigational systems throughout the

site to create a pleasurable and productive experience suitable to a range

of people with varying roles within cotton businesses and varying

capabilities

2. the need for the Forms to be able to be completed as quickly and

accurately as possible without compromising the data outputs

3. the need for useful, well presented and highly targeted reporting as the

primary benefit for encouraging grower take up of the system.

These three themes have stimulated a range of suggested improvements to the

site.

Attendance at the 60th Entomological Society of America Annual Conference where a paper on the background of the Australian cotton industry, in particular the Darling Downs landscape, with detail on biology and ecology of helicoverpa punctigera and H. armigera in Australia was presented. Data collection methods and how they will link with the resistance modelling components of the current project "The role of Bt cotton in pest suppressive landscapes' were discussed in detail.

With Dr Nancy Shellhorn and an american Professor Ives, detailed planning and modelling were completed for a series of field experiments for Project CSE1302 9above)