New annual data has shown that cotton yields across Australia have dropped from 2021 to 2022, while increased use of fertiliser is driving up emissions per bale.
Released today, the 2022 Sustainability Update report revealed that the average irrigated yield was 11 bales per hectare, which is 0.2 bales per hectare less than the previous season’s average.
These two most recent seasons mark a return to good growing conditions after years of drought, the report read, but are still well below the 2024 draft five-year target of 12.4 bales per hectare, indicating the draft target will unlikely be met.
The 2022 Sustainability Update is a joint report between Cotton Australia and Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CDRC).
Meanwhile, the greenhouse gas emissions per bale increased by an estimated 15 per cent compared to the previous season.
The report noted that emissions per bale are driven largely by yield and the amount of nitrogen (N) applied per hectare.
“In 2021/22, a two per cent decrease in yield and a six per cent increase in N per hectare led to an increase in emissions per bale,” the report read. “Improving N use efficiency is a major challenge for the industry, as many growers err on the side of maximising yield from their once-a-year income from their cotton crop and may apply more N than is needed.
“This is a complex behavioural task we are continuing to work on.”
Despite this recent drawback, there has been a 52 per cent improvement in water use efficiency since 1997, reductions of 91 per cent and 66 per cent respectively in the hazard of pesticides to bees and algae since 2004, and an increase in the proportion of female and Indigenous workers since 2016.
Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay said Australia’s cotton industry was the first agriculture sector to independently assess its environmental impacts in 1991.
“Our latest update clearly shows what we’re doing well, but just as importantly it shows what challenges we have and what we’re doing to address areas where we can better manage risks and opportunities,” Kay said.
“The data shows we have more to do in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and while we have witnessed a significant decline in the negative impact of herbicide use since 2004, there has been an increase in herbicide hazard over the past two years and as an industry, our goal is to minimise the environmental impact of herbicide use.”
The 2022 Sustainability Update also revealed the five-year average irrigated yield of Australian cotton increased by 55 per cent from 1994 to 2002, compared to an 8 per cent dryland yield increase in the same period.
“The long-term data for Australian cotton clearly shows efficient use of irrigation water, within sustainable river system limits, drives yield increases much more than is possible in rain-grown crops,” the report read.
CDRC executive director Dr Ian Taylor said collaboration and coordination are the key steps towards sustainable intensification. He said this comes from the CDRC’s ‘Planet. People. Paddock.’ framework, which is expected to improve resilience and productivity of farming systems while “maintaining nature’s contributions to people.”
“Collaborating with others inside and outside the industry to get the environmental, social and economic balance right is absolutely essential, and we are investing time and money to make this happen,” Dr Taylor said.
“Working with Natural Resource Management Regions Australia to develop regionally appropriate native vegetation targets, supporting the work of the National Soil Strategy to improve soil health, and advocating for a whole of agriculture approach to promoting human rights on Australian farms are examples of the collaborative approach the industry is taking.”
The full report can be found on the Cotton Australia website.