The Australian cotton industry is still expecting a large cotton crop despite the persistent rain in much of New South Wales and Queensland that has impacted already sodden paddocks, and in some cases, delayed picking and planting.
Just two years after severe drought, cotton farmers are celebrating good water availability, resulting in a record crop of 5.5 million bales last season. However, the persistent rain continues to affect some farmers.
Late last week, NSW emergency services reported every inland river catchment was either full or flooded from the QLD border to the VIC border, with 99 active warnings and nine major flood warnings in place.
Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay said his thoughts were with all the farmers who have suffered loss and damage due to the floods.
“We are hearing reports of major infrastructure damage following inundation, and we are keeping government stakeholders informed,” Kay said.
Major flooding has been reported in some cotton farming regions, including Narrabri and Moree, but at this stage winter crops like wheat and barley are reportedly seeing the most damage.
“The northern half of NSW has a wider planting window, and that means growers have till the later half of November to get their crops in and maintain a healthy yield for the coming season,” Kay continued.
“We are confident they will achieve that if the rain holds off long enough to get out on their fields and get their crops in the ground.”
From the Macquarie Valley south to the Victorian border, the planting window appears to be closing earlier, with data showing yields decrease the later craps are planted in the region.
“Overall, at this stage we expect around a 10% reduction on our crop forecasts for 2023, and with about a third of that crop forward sold, we expect strong ongoing global demand for our cotton,” Kay said.
“We can sell every bale we get, so we hope conditions improve quickly.”
Cotton growers in the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland say they haven’t been impacted by the inundation like the south, with planting expected to occur in December and picking in the middle of next year. Further south, many farmers already have seed in the ground.
In some parts of southern QLD, the last of the 2022 crops are being picked, delayed due to floods, while in the Central Highlands and Callide Dawson, cotton planted in August is already doing well despite some hail damage.
Kay said the professionalism and adaptability of farmers will see good results.
“Every grower has to contend with adverse weather events, but we have the science, the sustainable practices and the innovation to rise above the temporary challenges and retain consistency of quality and supply.”