During my two visits to the emerging cotton areas in southern NSW early January and early March, 2012, I was able to meet with all but three of the key people supplying agronomic advice to the cotton area. Two of the three, Allen Jones (Agronomic Business Solutions) and Joran Millyard (MIA Rural), I was able to have a long phone conversation with. Danielle McKay (farm agronomist with Peter Touhey Farm), I was unable to contact.

I had meetings with Heath McWhirter, Junice McCosker and John Ronan (all from Elders), Peter Hill (Yenda Prods), Brett Hay and mark Zanatta(MIA Rural), Jemma Maslem (Twynam, Gundaline) and tom Webb (agronomic business Solutions). I was able to catch up with Patrick McInnes from Hillston, who is a private consultant, whose major client is Harris Farms.

These meetings all revolved around IPM earliness, PIX management and late insects. In the case of Yenda Prods, we had a formal office meeting in the mnorning, followed by a farm inspection in the afternoon. In most cases, we met with the grower and most of his neighbours.

Elders held a shed meeting las tMonday with 25 growers turning up. Points of discussion were IPM, Boll development and late insects.

I was fortunate on both occasions to have time with Kieran O'Keefe (District Agronomist, Coleambally). Kieran is doing the Cotton Production Course at University of New England and sees cotton as an alternative crop to rice.