The Primary Industry Centre for Science Education (PICSE) is a proven national collaboration between universities, regional primary industries, national R&D Corporations, national agribusiness, regional research institutes, local community organisations, schools and State Government Departments. PICSE is designed to attract an increased supply of high-quality, young people into science-based primary industries and their supporting businesses through engagement with students during school years and early university. Through its program, PICSE attracts students into tertiary science and increases the number of skilled professionals in science-based primary industries.

The Cotton Industry Young Professionals project was established to create strong interaction with cotton industry personnel and stimulate student interest in studying science at university with a view to a career pathway into the Cotton Industry. The program was reinforced through the promotion of the importance of science, science education pathways, science based-careers, science-based industries and research to students and teachers. More specific Cotton Industry Young Professionals Program objectives included:

• Encouraging students to continue with school science and on to university science,

• Informing students and teachers about the diversity of exciting and rewarding science career

futures that are available in the cotton industry,

• Supporting science teachers with the provision of class activities, teaching resources and

targeted Professional Development particularly using cotton case studies,

• Linking with other cotton industry initiatives including current tertiary course offerings.

The success of the Cotton Industry Young Professionals Program was achieved through the collaborative partnership between the Cotton RDC, the Institute for Agriculture and the Environment (University of Southern Queensland), CSIRO and the Australian Cotton Research Institute. The project built on the resources previously developed by PICSE with involvement by regional universities, cotton industry agribusinesses and other employers.

Alternative and renewable energy sources, including solar for powering cotton production, were hot topics at this week’s (24 and 25 February) CottonInfo Big Days Out at St George, QLD and Gunnedah, NSW. The days attracted 60 and 80 participants respectively and visitors were keen to hear from experienced growers, energy researchers, auditors, consultants and system providers. Ian and Anne Brimblecombe hosted the first day at their St George farm, “Burgorah”, while day two was on Scott Morgan’s property “Kensal Green”, Gunnedah. AgriRisk High Achiever of the Year, Narrabri farmer Brendon Warnock featured at the days, sharing insights into his farm operation, including strategic planning, human resource management and expansion. CottonInfo and its associated partners, CRDC, Cotton Australia and Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD), ran the events, with funding assistance from the Commonwealth Department of Industry and Science

Travel funding was provided to 11 Future Cotton Leader recipients to enable them to travle to various industry related meetings. At each meeting, recipients interacted and were exposed to prominant business and industry leaders. Individaul Reports are available.

Recipients included:Brendon Warnock, Philip Firth, Daniel Hayllor, Brendan Barry, Annabel Wiseman, Fleur Anderson, Mitchell Carter, N Burnett, Ross Burnett,Rod Gordon and Sandy Young

The Darling Downs Cotton Growers Incorporated(DDCGI), as well a individual growers established a series of 21 weather stations across the region over the period 1996-1998. The weather stations are a means of providing growers with localised weather information to assist in farm management operations. The DDCGI has maintained these over this period and has recently commenced another upgrade on the stations to convert them from analogue to digital. The purpose of this project was to fund further upgrades to the stations. These upgrades have enabled text communications with the growers rather than voice in the old analogue system. To date, 11 stations have been upgraded by the DDCGI. The upgrades have had a significant impact on the efficiency for growers accessing weather data in critical times. In addition, and an extension of the usage, the stations have proven invaluable in assisting the growers to meet their legislative responsibilities in relation to chemical use.

The Darling Downs hold an annual grower of the year field day to showcase our local grower of the year and to provide information to growers on a range of topics. This information is improving local practises and knowledge of local weather variability, with access to long term weather history data. In February 2016, 160 persons attended the Annual Darling Downs Grower of the Year Field Day and to provide information to growers on a range of topics.

The cotton industry invests significantly across the cotton industry and agriculture more broadly, though its leadership development programs. This has created an upswell of engaged leaders, contributing in different forums,organisations, committees ad communities to the advancement of the cotton industry as a whole.

the cotton industry has a strong reputation amongst its graduate participants for being progressive, encouraging, inclusive ad dynamic.this bodes well for future recruitment to the sector as well as encouraging stewardship and leadership within.

While the leadership program offerings are extensive, there remains a few crucial critical leadership capacity gaps. This report examines current and identified gaps.

The Southern Valleys CGA had seen other valleys participate in Back Paddock nutrition workshops and identified this as a need in our region. We sought ways to better engage our cotton growers as many of them are new to the industry. We believed this this project as one way to simultaneously build the capacity of our growers as well as increasing their involvement in the industry and testing alternate nutrient management strategies and tactics.

At Tamworth, we have been monitoring H. armigera for carbamate resistance [thiodicarb (Larvin) and methomyl (Lannate, Nudrin) resistance since 1982. Thiodicarb resistance was first diagnosed in H. armigera in early 1993. The resistant populations were found in intensively sprayed sweet corn in NSW and Queensland and were associated with heavy methornyl and thiodicarb use. The thiodicarb/methomyl resistance on H. armigera remained largely confined to the sweet corn populations, until the 1994/95 summer season, when numbers of resistant individuals were found on cotton, with some control problems. In 1995/96, the problem has been exacerbated with increasing resistance frequencies and a number of resistance associated field failures.

Creation of lagoons or wetlands. River stabilization techniques. On farm reafforestation. The benefits and disadvantages of these to the landholder and to the environment. Counter productive aspects of some regulations designed to conserve wildlife.

Properly controlling the cotton ginning process increases fiber yields and monetary returns to the cotton farmer, improves fiber length distribution, and reduces short fibers, neps and seed-coat fragments. A computerized process control system that utilizes the cotton market price and the performance characteristics of gin machinery to determine the optimum machinery sequence is now available. Cotton moisture, color, and foreign matter measurements are made with electronic devices at three stations in the gin system and are used to control the gin process. Special routing valves are used to bypass or select any combination of seed cotton cleaners, dryers, and lint cleaners. When gin machinery is bypassed, the quantity of marketable lint is increased and the amount of fiber damage is decreased.

This paper reports the results of an experiment to quantify the fruiting characteristics of eight cotton varieties to enable crop simulation models to more accurately reflect yield and maturity of current varieties. Characteristics measured were time to first square, square period, and boll period, and their subsequent effects on crop maturity. Thennaltime to first square and bll period were correlated to the maturity ranking of the varieties. However, differences in the length of these periods compared with other reports indicates the need to pursue better methods to quantify these characteristics