The CSIRO breeding program at the Australian Cotton Research Institute at Narrabri aims to develop locally adapted varieties for use by Australian farmers. The program has been very successful in developing varieties for all cotton growing areas with ten conventional and five INGARD varieties (the latter subject to regulatory approval) available through Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD) for 1996 planting. The products of the breeding program have brought many millions of extra dollars to farmers and have been vital in maintaining the strength of the cotton industry. Key advances from the CSIRO breeding program include the development varieties with okra leaf (for insect and mite tolerance), better disease resistance (particularly bacterial blight and Verticillium wilt), improved fibre quality and good adaptation to cool growing areas. For 1996 planting CSD have available two very promising new CSIRO varieties -Sicot 189 and Siokra S-101.