Meeting of the task force on CSITC, Sunday 21st Oct.

Meeting opened with Axel Dreiling presentation on results from CSITC trials 2/2007 and 3/2007. The following observations were made:

• 54 testing facilities and 74 instruments participated in CSITC 2/2007 and 52 testing facilities and 69 instruments participated in CSITC 3/2007

• Difference in micronaire average being lower in CSITC results than established values. Difference in length average being higher in CSITC results than established values (Established values are from USDA. I have noticed on USDA check testing that participating labs usually fall lower on micronaire and higher on length than USDA)

• The question was asked whether the same labs were consistently out of tolerance range for evaluation result. It was not known but will be looked into from now on.

• There is still colour Rd variation between HVI 1000/Spectrum instruments compared to older models. Uster are looking into this problem. Colour technology on HVI 1000 and Spectrums is different to older models

• The question was asked whether CSITC Should be testing Stickiness and neps - Results on stickiness and neps are still too variable

CSITC meeting Wednesday, 24th Oct.

Andrew McDonald opened meeting with following comments:

• Good progress has been made with commercial differences between instruments

• Convince the world that instrument testing is the way to go

• Three trials in 07 have provided very good results

• Organisations very close to USDA established results

• Help those organisations that are out of tolerance

• Encourage other test centres (Maybe Australian merchants could encourage overseas mills to participate. I would think South East Asian mills would not know about CSITC round test trials)

Jimmy Knowlton made the following comments:

• Still looking at having SFI on calibration cotton. If achieved will only be for HVI 1000 instruments

• China’s 5 year plan to have 370 instruments in 90 facilities to test all China crop. There will be 200 instruments in China by end 2007

• USDA working with China CFIB to participate in CSITC round trials

• USDA will be releasing standards for instrument qualification (CCAA are looking at instrument qualification)

• USDA will be releasing procedures for establishing calibration cotton values (Maybe Australia could create their own calibration standards in the future)

It was also mentioned that the 5th sample sent by CSITC is a bale from another country outside the USA. CSITC are asking other countries to donate a bale for the 5th sample. This bale would be sent to the USDA for testing prior to sending out as 5th sample. Obviously a very good uniform bale is required.

Would Australia donate a bale for CSITC testing? I could work out costing for this if required for CRDC to evaluate. I think it would be good to send out a good quality Australian bale for CSITC testing.

CSITC round trial 2007/4 has just been completed and results are due in December.

A new form will be sent out for participation in 2008 CSITC round trials. There will be a new box on the form to ask participants if they do not wish to be identified as a CSITC round trial participant.

The next CSITC task force meeting will be held in Bremen, Germany on Wednesday 2nd April, 2008.

I have included the following reports:

• RT 2007-2 General Evaluation lab.pdf (results of all labs)

• RT 2007-3 General Evaluation lab.pdf (results of all labs)

• CSITC – 2007.pdf (CSITC 2007-2 Rene’s report on CCAA participation)

• CSITC – 2007RT 3.pdf (CSITC 2007-3 Rene’s report on CCAA participation)

Comment on Rene’s report:

It is evident that the colour is better on CSITC 2007-3 than 2007-2 for Australian labs. However, there is still more improvement required. We are in the process of more HVI colour trials over the next couple of months. Certainly all other properties are well within tolerance for all labs which is encouraging.

We are hopeful that all CCAA labs will participate in CSITC round testing in 2008.

The International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) young farmers’ congress and

NFF study tour was an initiative of the National Farmers Federation supported by agricultural

industries and associated sponsors. The NFF is the Australian member organisation to IFAP

along with 150 other producing countries.

Australian agriculture is not alone in looking for strategies to encourage young people to

consider agriculture as a rewarding career choice. The NFF see this as one of their most

important strategies moving forward to ensure agriculture continues to renew with building

effective leaders for tomorrows agriculture.

Facilitating young farmers to enter agriculture is one of the nine priorities of IFAP’s Strategic

Plan. Also, one of the 10 principles of the World Farmers Charter adopted in Seoul (2006) is

to address the special needs of women farmers and young farmers.

The Congress gave the opportunity to make progress on these commitments, giving special

attention to questions of transmitting farm holdings between generations and to encouraging

young people to enter farming as a career. Young farmers’ points of view are also critical to

follow up local, regional and international issues, and to contribute to the IFAP policy work.

The following points;

Strengthening and effectiveness of young farmers’ groups or associations,

Renewal of farmer’s generations,

Climate change and risk management,

Update on the WTO negotiations & its influence on the young farmers.

The 2006 Australian Cotton Comparative Analysis (ACCA) is the sixth report produced by Boyce Chartered Accountants in conjunction with the Cotton Research & Development Corporation (CRDC) / Cotton Catchment Communities CRC.

In this report, we present an analytical review of the 2006 results, a comparison with prior years and comments on emerging trends. Feedback from participants and growers has been very positive. The clear message in this and previous reports has been the required focus on yield as opposed to cost reduction or price enhancement. In the 2005 report we highlighted that, due to drought in the 2003 and 2004 years, the reduction in area grown on each farm during these years caused a significant increase in the per hectare non direct costs such as depreciation, interest, wages, repairs and maintenance, and channel spraying. When reviewing the ten year schedules, this needs to be taken into account. To state the obvious, water makes a world of difference. Again in the 2006 year the area of cotton grown has been significantly effected by water shortages (but not quite to the extent

of 2003 and 2004).

The industry has been hit by the unreliability of water in the past few years. It is worthwhile to stress that, in drought years, a grower may not be included in this analysis as they may not have grown a crop under normal irrigation practices. If you assume that the figures would not have shown good profits in that year, then the 5 and 10 year average figures should not be used as an indicator for industry profitability.

As a general statement, the 10 year average figures should not be used when analyzing the profitability of the industry as a whole without making an allowance for the drought years where the figures on non irrigated farms will not be included in the report.

• As in previous years, the analysis includes the results of farmers who were able to plant, grow and pick their crop using close to normal irrigation practices. In the sample there may be some growers who had to stretch their water or were unable to give part of their crop a final water. The total number of hectares in the sample decreased again due to a decrease in the availability of water throughout many of the cotton growing areas of Australia. The average hectares planted per participant decreased from 1,027 hectares in 2005 to 889 hectares in 2006.

• It is important to note that the analysis does not show the health of the cotton industry. Where a cotton grower grew skip or solid cotton that did not receive the full water, or grew no cotton at all, these figures are excluded from the analysis. In most, if not all cases, these alternate crops would have returned a reduced profit in comparison to growing fully irrigated cotton. Therefore, although the grower may have made a healthy per hectare profit on the hectares grown, the net profit of the total farm would have been significantly less than if the

grower was able to have normal production.

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• While recognising marketing as an important part of management, growers and interested parties were concerned that participants in the top 20% may be there only due to receiving a high cotton price and not as a result of good farming practices. Alternatively, good cotton growers, due to adverse currency, lint and basis positions, may have been excluded from the top 20%. As many growers review their operation against the top 20% to look for areas of improvement, it was suggested that the top 20% and bottom 20% be selected using an average price. We have therefore selected the top 20% and bottom 20% by substituting the price that the grower

received with a price of $375. This was the average net price for all participants. Using this average price, the participants with the highest and lowest operating profits per hectare were noted for inclusion in the top and bottom 20%. Even though the average price was used to select the participants in the top and bottom 20%,

the growers’ actual figures are reported in this analysis.

Financial analysis using comparative statistics helps farmers identify relative strengths and weaknesses. Accompanying budgets and long term business plans will then focus on ways to overcome weaknesses and build on strengths. In other words, this comparative analysis is a management tool to implement change and to identify where effort should be directed on a day to day basis.

Obviously, this analysis does not provide all the answers. It is a benchmark or a standard to strive for. It is up to management to develop and implement specific action plans, based on their improved knowledge, to reach new goals set. These reliable, independent figures are the starting point for farmers to develop "best practice".

We encourage participants in this survey to discuss their results with us and to clarify any queries, so everyone can develop a better understanding of the industry.

Cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV) is the causal agent of a damaging disease of cotton (CLCuD) that is caused by a number of different begomoviruses and vectored by Silver Leaf Whitefly (SLW). CLCuV is exotic to Australia but is categorised as one of our industry’s most serious Emergency Plant Pests. Crop losses can be devastating.

The cotton industry biosecurity plan (2006) rates the overall pest risk from this pathogen complex as high to extreme. While prior to the introduction of Bemisia tabaci (B biotype) the risk of introduction may have been considered low, clearly now, with the widespread distribution of this insecticide resistant vector the impact of a disease incursion would be very serious for our industry.

The purpose of this scientific exchange was for a highly focused stakeholder based group from the Australian cotton industry to visit an overseas cotton growing area where CLCuV is endemic and growers must manage both the insect vector and plant pathogen on a routine basis. This exchange also provided an introduction to scientists conducting research at various institutes on the management of this disease and will allow for ongoing information exchange with leading researchers on this pathogen.

To celebrate CRDC's 25th anniversary, a new publication highlighting 25 of the major achievements and 25 key contributions to cotton research development and extension from 1990 to 2015. The celebration anniversary publication of Spotlight was being distributed at the 18th Australian Cotton Conference in august 2015.

This project funding supported two workshops held in the Upper Namoi area; one in Spring Ridge, and one in Boggabri. The objectives of the workshops were twofold; 1) To provide opportunity for both cotton growers and others in the farming system to hear firsthand about the best practices of spraying to offset risk of direct or indirect spray drift

2) Increase industry awareness about the consequences of drift/inversion and safe herbicide application

The workshop aims to reiterate changed to the new legislation for the application of 2,4-D over the summer spray period, spray drift risk management and best practice spray application.

The 1998-2003 strategic plan of the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) set

research goals in three main areas: (i) sustainability, (ii) profitability and competitiveness and (iii)

people and communities. This study contributes to the last of these areas by developing a framework

for monitoring the socio-economic impacts of the cotton industry on people and communities in the

cotton growing regions. The specific aims of the study are to:

1. identify long term trends in the cotton industry that are likely to show socio-economic impacts in

the cotton growing regions,

2. identify the main linkages between the cotton industry and the regional economies in the cotton

growing regions,

3. gain an appreciation of the socio-economic impacts that are currently being experienced in the

cotton growing regions due to changes in the industry, and

4. identify the important socio-economic impacts that the industry will need to monitor in the medium

term, and propose appropriate socio-economic indicators to do this.

Pressures on the Industry

The cotton industry faces global competitive pressures as do many other primary industries. Within

Australia, cotton production appears to be stabilising in some regions, such as the Gwydir and Namoi

valleys, while it continues to increase in others. Cotton research and development has played an

important role in the introduction of new transgenic cotton varieties, the steady increases in yields and

the improvements in management that are underpinning productivity growth. Management is

becoming more knowledge-intensive, while the demand for spraying and chipping services is

decreasing. The availability of irrigation water will remain an important issue for the industry.

Growers have already made significant adjustments to improve water efficiency and this can be

expected to continue in the medium term. The economic and social changes occurring within regional

economies and communities can no longer be understood solely in terms of the changes occurring in

primary industries. This means that care has to be taken in identifying changes attributable to the

cotton industry. The causes of these changes are clearest where cotton dominates agricultural

production and the size of the non-farm economy is relatively small. In other areas, broader changes

in community aspirations, retailing and transport may result in social and economic impacts that

outweigh any effects of the cotton industry. Compared to most other agricultural industries, however,

the cotton industry with its input and knowledge intensiveness and local processing is more likely to

have impacts on regional economies.

The report provides a detailed description of a series of surveys and reviews, supported by basic

research, through which indicators in the areas above can be regularly measured.

The greenhouse effect is widely considered one of the major threats to Australia agriculture. There is increasing evidence that carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide concentrations are reaching levels that will cause a significant warming of the earth’s atmosphere over the next 10 to 100 years causing great changes in seasonal weather patterns. Forecasts in Australia suggest a reduction in rainfall in the interior regions and increased incidence of drought. If a concerted effort is made to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, these changes can possibly be avoided.

Cotton is one of many agricultural industries heavily reliant on nitrogenous fertilizers to maintain high levels of production. The inclusion of legumes also provides a boost to the nitrogen economy of the system. Surplus nitrogen is a direct contributor to nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions which has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) approximately 300 times that of a single molecule of carbon dioxide (CO2). Reducing N2O emissions from cropping systems has been widely identified as the highest priority in greenhouse gas abatement in crop production and for ensuring profitability through enhance N and water use efficiency.

The project is the first dedicated analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from soils in cotton based farming systems and its relationship to sustainable cropping practices. Field based estimates of greenhouse gas emissions, specifically nitrous oxide, from an alkaline grey clay under cotton receiving up to 200 kg N/ha of fertiliser, ranged from 0.5 – 2.2 kg N/ha during the 10 week period after the first irrigation. On average only 0.35% of the nitrogen applied as fertiliser was emitted as N2O, which is low compared to global estimates of emissions from fertilisers. Emissions increased to over 1.5% of applied nitrogen when 300 kg N/ha was added, which surpasses the IPCC’s estimated value of 1.25% for deriving N2O emissions from fertiliser sources. Laboratory and simulation studies carried out within this project indicate N2O emissions equivalent to 3% of applied fertiliser nitrogen for a range of clay soils from across the industry.

More field data is urgently needed to ensure current and future management practices are tailored to minimise emissions and maximise nitrogen and water use efficiency. A continued shift to sustainable farming practices, reductions in fallow periods and rotation crops will provide a win-win situation to the cotton and associated industries. This will include enhanced carbon sequestration (and fertility) of soils and a significant reduction in the amount of nitrogen fertiliser which is left unused in the soil profile and potentially lost to the atmosphere as nitrous oxide. More efficient nitrogen management will reduce emissions and increase profitability whilst contributing to the abatement of climate change and its impact on Australian agricultural systems.

Unispray have developed a new centrifugal energy nozzle, the "Unimiser", for the aerial application of

pesticides. The new nozzle is designed to substantially resulting from the

aerial application of pesticides in the cotton industry. The nozzle was designed to generate a very low

range of droplet sizes, (having a relative span of less than 0.8 compared with 1.2 -1.6 for most

currently available nozzles) and a volume median diameter of 250 pm,

Testing of prototype models have demonstrated that that the Unimiser nozzle is able to generate a

narrower range of droplet sizes, as indicated by a lower span, than any other commercially available

alternative. It is expected that drift from this nozzle is likely to be lower than for other nozzle used on

aircraft in the cotton industry.

During the course of this project Unispray decided to initially concentrate on a Helicopter version of the

initial prototype. The results from the single flight line deposit measurements showed that there was a

consistent area of low deposit beneath the centre-line of the helicopter. Since it was impractical to

mount an air driven rotary nozzle in the slow moving air close to the airframe beneath the centre line of

a helicopter, a small number of additional hydraulic nozzles were fitted. This small modification

improved the uniformity of the deposit. The tests showed that more uniform ground deposit patterns

were obtained when three Unimiser nozzles were operated on each side of the helicopter.

Based on results from the wind tunnel studies, pattern testing and market requirements, Unispray

decided to concentrate on a "retro fit" version that can easily be added to existing Micronair units.

Droplet size was measured over the range of nozzle rotational speeds, liquid flowrates and airspeeds

that are likely to be encountered in the field. Testing was initially undertaken with water only but was

later repeated with a Water + 0.1% Agral mix. The Agral was added as it is oflen considered to be

more representative of an actual tank mix. In general a slightly larger range of droplet sizes (larger

span) was generated with the Water + Agral mix. From the measurements a regression analysis was

undertaken to enable prediction of droplet size using the range of variable tested in the wind tunnel

From this analysis an EXCEL based "nozzle calculator" was developed and a full working copy of the

calculator has been included with this report.

The commonly used Micronaire value for cotton is related to both fibre fineness and maturity. There is a need for a new measurement technique to separate these. This is of particular importance to the Australian industry where varieties of fine mature cotton have the potential to be wrongfully discounted commercially by misinterpreting a low Micronaire value as indicating immaturity in a coarser fibre.

This project extends the work of a previous CRDC funded project (CWT 4C). The earlier project demonstrated that a new approach using an instrument called the Sirolan-Laserscan is able to measure the fineness of cotton fibres independent of fibre maturity. Further, using the experimentally measured fibre fineness value, a process for mathematically 'unravelling' the Micronaire value has been demonstrated leading to accurate fibre maturity values.

The current project aimed to simplify the instrument and increase its speed with a view to matching the speed of the current HVI systems.

A new prototype instrument was designed, built and tested. The results to date are positive. The computer controlled instrument can measure the fineness and maturity of cotton samples and is currently undergoing further testing.