The Australian Cotton Foundation (ACF) was established in 1973 to promote cotton and the Australian industry. It was also seen as the appropriate body for internal education and industry representation.

The affects of hail on the growing cotton crop will be well known to virtually all growers, as will the method of assessment which Is used in conjunction with the Australian Cotton Industry's Hail Insurance Scheme

Today's rising environmental consciousness is having a real influence on consumers' decision-making about their product purchases.

I am delighted to have been asked to speak on this vital topic. I say vital because it involves the future of the cotton industry, aerial agriculture, the farm chemical industry, consultants, shire councils, the people of country towns and many Government officials. All of these must cooperate for the good of t heir region and Australia. Should any of these groups act for themselves alone it would be the equivalent to saying "Your end of the boat is sinking!"

The use of aircraft in agriculture in recent years has provoked much attention. Media reports of aerial spraying often seem to be de1iberately structured to feed the perception that large quantities of pesticide are being drifted across the countryside.

In New South Wales the relationship between the cotton industry and waterways is a feature of the industry. Most of the cotton grown in the State occurs on the floodplains of, and is irrigated with water from, the Macintyre, Gwydir, Namoi, Barwon and Macquarie Rivers.

Regulations over the use of pesticides in cotton production have been in existence ever since that industry emerged in Australia. Initially regulations were simple, however, as the industry has grown there has been a parallel growth in the environmental awareness within the general community and the arrival of environmental lobby groups. Part of government response to pressures brought about by such groups and the increased use of pesticides has been the upgrading of legislative controls over pesticide use.

This article presents some of the results of the weed survey, which was conducted in 1989, covering 67 600 ha, representing 48% of the NSW cotton area, and involving 52 growers. The survey used a set format, but involved an interview where a wide range of issues were discussed.

WATERSCHED has been developed by research and extension agronomists from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and uses a water balance approach to schedule irrigations. The water balance is based on an estimation of crop water use, from climatic data, according to crop growth stage.

This paper summarises a large number of strength and compression tests in a range of cotton soils. The soils were sampled at a number of locations from Warren to Emerald and varied considerably in their characteristics. They were tested over a wide range of moisture con tents, densities and saturations.