Change has always been present, but the cotton industry like all Australian agriculture in general is facing change at an unprecedented rate and from different causes. In this article we consider changes that the cotton industry faces associated with: 'climate change' in the meteorological sense; regulatory issues relating to reductions in water availability and carbon emissions trading; rising costs of production; and competition from other commodities. For cotton 'climate change' per se will influence production directly through rising CO2 levels, experiencing higher temperature more often, lower humidity and less water availability. To combat these changes as well as dealing with increasing costs caused by rises in energy, and future emissions trading will mean that sustainable cotton production will need to adopt practices in combination that will: increase and/or maintain high yield and quality; improve a range of production efficiencies (water, nitrogen, energy /bale etc.); seek to improve a better return for lint and seed; or consider other cropping options as alternatives. We present the impacts of these changes on cotton production systems and highlight some options. Management options include: high yielding/high quality stress tolerant varieties; optimising water use; manipulating maturity; varying planting time; optimising crop nutrition; and maintaining diligent monitoring practices for weeds, pests and diseases to enable flexible management.

Whilst considerable investment has been made in research intended to improve industry practices, the extent of practice change sometimes falls short. Less research has been conducted in understanding why change is so difficult to implement. Agriculture has a long history of research into improving production systems. More recently, attention is also being paid to value chains beyond the farm gate. Yet every production system and value chain is first and foremost a social system, comprised of people with individual and collective behaviours. In this neglected arena lies the potential for greatest gains, socially, economically and environmentally. The paper will explain why people tend to be naturally conservative and resistant to change. Based on the simple premise that we cannot manage what we do not understand, the intent,

Since the completion of the EMS Pathways project the Australian Cotton Shippers Association (ACSA) and Cotton Australia (CA) have been committed to maintaining the momentum the project created by taking on the following activities: continuing with initiatives taken during the project, actioning some of the project's findings and developing new BMP promotional initiatives. This paper gives some brief background information before detailing how ACSA and CA are going about actioning these activities

Experience in the cotton industry in Australia demonstrates significant sensitivity to climate factors in terms of yield and yield variability, quality, water availability, pest and weed issues, input costs and natural resource management. Consequently if the climate changes, there are likely to be systemic changes in cotton production systems. This paper will outline the climate changes that are already occurring in Australia, projections of future changes that may be of significance to the cotton industry and the likely impacts of these. This paper does not address the issue of how to sustainably reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the cotton industry as this topic is dealt with by another paper at this conference (Keogh 2008

Australian cotton, with the increasing adoption of Bollgard II, has been experiencing elevated levels of mirid infestation for the last few seasons. To manage this pest, the only available option is chemical intervention. During the 2007/8 cotton season, between 2 and 4 sprays were required to manage mirids in the different valleys. Researchers in Australia found that mixing additives with insecticides increased mortality to the target pests (Khan et al. 2002; Khan 2003 & Mensah et al. 2005). One such additive is table salt (NaCl). Previous studies showed that mixing table salt with insecticide allowed the chemical rate to be reduced by 70% without compromising efficacy and also reduced the impact on beneficials. Adoption of this technology in the Australian cotton industry is encouraging. However, some confusion exists among consultants and growers regarding the effectiveness of this technology. A large scale trial involving a consultant and a grower was conducted to verify this technology.

Summary of main points * There have been no reports of field failures of Bollgard II due to resistance. * A higher frequency of Cry2Ab genes are obtained using F1 screens compared to F2 screens. * The higher F1 value is most likely to accurately reflect the field situation. * When frequencies from F1 tests are used in computer models, the number of generations until failure of Bollgard II is four times fewer than when frequencies from F2 tests are used. * Data from F1 tests show a significant increase in the frequency of resistance alleles to Cry2Ab in 2007/08 compared to previous seasons for Helicoverpa armigera. * When data from 2007/08 are included in the series, F2 tests show an increase in the frequency of Cry2Ab resistance alleles in Helicoverpa punctigera since the introduction of Bollgard II. * The industry is concerned about the high and potentially increasing frequency of Cry2Ab resistance alleles in populations of Helicoverpa species. * The results from resistance testing in 2008/09 will determine whether it is necessary to alter the Resistance Management Plan for Bollgard II. * Given current levels of concern, it is critical that refuges are maintained to produce sufficient numbers of unselected susceptible moths that can dilute any potential resistance. Correct and timely pupae busting is also essential. * The occasional reports of larvae surviving at threshold levels in Bollgard II fields are not due to Bt resistance or the absence of Bt genes in plants. * Survival may be due to a modified or existing behaviour of larvae that enables them to target sites of the plant that do not express at high levels (e.g., pollen in flowers). * It is also possible that survival is due to a temporary decline in the expression of toxins. * Irrespective of the mechanism, it is recommended that larvae at threshold levels in Bollgard II fields are controlled by spraying because these larvae may be exposed to low doses of toxin which could select for resistance.,

Conference presentation 2008

Cotton is a global business and we have no shortage of competitors. The June USDA supply and demand report estimated world cotton production at 120 million bales with Australia producing only 0.6 million bales of these. The world's total cotton exports are 38 million bales. We compete at the top end of export cotton, in a segment of 4 million bales. If we can produce over 2 million bales of Australian cotton each year, we are a significant producer of these bales of higher quality exports. Figure 1 details the world's major cotton producers.

Small palaeochannels located in irrigated cotton fields have been identified as areas of potential high deep drainage (Triantafilis et al. 2003). Palaeochannels, being remnants of old streams and rivers, often contain a much coarser, sandier, sediment than the surrounding heavy clays. This difference is easy to see on aerial photos and there tends to be evidence of local waterlogging (T. Richards, pers. comm.). Such observations suggest differences in hydrological behaviour between the palaeochannel sediments and the surrounding clays. Other research in NSW on the hydrology of palaeochannels has either mainly looked at larger and deeper palaeochannels, such as the Namoi palaeochannel (Young et al. 2002), or looked at palaeochannels in the southern irrigation districts, which have a distinctly different origin and geomorphology (Young et al. 2002). This paper reports on the hydrological field observations as part of the project: “Geophysical and hydrological characterisation of palaeochannels in Northern NSW”.

Wincott is a network for all women involved both directly and indirectly in the Australian cotton industry, offering an alternative opportunity for them to increase their knowledge and develop their skills. The network caters to women of all levels of skills and confidence, who wish to learn more about cotton growing and the cotton industry through to women who may wish to undertake a broader role within the industry or in the wider agricultural sector. Wincott activities provide long term benefits and foster mainstream participation. The network is cost effective and uses existing industry structures and a wide range of resources to achieve its aims and objectives