Send us a text Welcome to Season 5 of the CottonInfo 'Crop to Top' podcast! A decade on, the 2015 CottonInfo Irrigation Automation Tour is still referenced as a turning point in how the industry came to understand new irrigation technologies, fostering and supporting the adoption of automation practices in the cotton industry. In this episode - Part 1 of 3 discussions about the tour - we're joined by CottonInfo Program Manager Janelle Montgomery who was CottonInfo's Irrigation Tech Lead...

Send us a text While it's a much looked forward to time of year, there's no getting around the fact that the silly season coincides with one of the busiest times of the cotton season. In this episode we chat with Professor Siobahn Banks from UniSA about how cotton growers and farm managers can best manage the demands of the summer months. Her research to date has focused on the impact of sleep deprivation and shift work on psychological and physiological functioning and how countermeasures ma...

Send us a text The importance of good spray drift management during the high-risk summer months can't be overstated. In this episode we talk about controlling the controllables (and managing the uncontrollable elements), the critical role of communication among growers and the broader community and the importance of reporting spray drift incidents. Resources mentioned in this podcast: Cotton Australia | Spray Drift app Counter sale guide for phenoxy herbicides | CottonInfo wand.com.au spraywi...

Send us a text CottonInfo has a new Irrigation Technical Lead - Toowoomba-based Michael Scobie. Mick is a certified irrigation designer and is involved in one of CRDC's new research projects that is focused on reducing water loss from storages using floating solar panels.

Send us a text Meet our inaugural CottonInfo Digital Agriculture Technical Lead, Quentin Feery-Lawrence. Quentin is fresh off an Agtech scoping tour across major cotton valleys, where he visited growers and technology providers to identify common challenges and opportunities for technology adoption in the cotton industry.

Tom Roberts from the National Fire Ant Eradication Program joins the podcast to discuss the invasive characteristics of fire ants and the broad risks they pose to agriculture, infrastructure, and the wider community. While fire ants are not considered a direct threat to cotton yield, there are biosecurity implications for cotton and mixed farming operations. To date there have been detections near cotton growing regions, including the Lockyer Valley, Oakey and Central Queensland. Top tips to ...

Jon Welsh is the Principal Climate Analyst & Economist at Ag Econ has been part of CottonInfo for more than a decade and has become a trusted Technical Lead in his expert fields of climate, energy and carbon. In this episode we get to know Jon a bit better - his family farming background, how he got into the cotton industry - as well as the latest on his most recent research project. We also take a deep dive into the current climate outlook for the 25/26 cotton season ahead. Resource...

Join us for an in-depth discussion with QDPI Principal Scientist Matt Gentle from Biosecurity Queensland's Pest Animal Research Centre and agronomist Tony Lockery, Manager of AMPS based in Moree. In this episode we cover feral pig biology and population growth, the impact feral pigs have on cotton and grain crops, the control tactics and management strategies available to growers and the current research looking in to quantifying crop damage.

The latest Sustainability Report for the Australian cotton industry has just been released. We catch up with Chris Cosgrove to find out about some of the report findings, what it means for growers and exactly what it means when we talk about sustainability. Access the new Australian cotton sustainability website here: https://australiancottonsustainability.org.au/ Read the latest Sustainability Report here: Cotton Australia Sustainability | 2024 Australian Cotton…

In this episode we sit down with CottonInfo’s Technical Lead for Climate, Carbon & Energy Jon Welsh from Ag Econ, and his Technical Lead support & Ag Econ colleague Johanna Hansson to talk about recent research that’s explored the economic and environmental impacts of soil carbon management in dryland cotton cropping systems. You can access the DCRA case studies here: AgEcon/DCRA Carbon Case Studies | CottonInfo

Stacey Vogel is CottonInfo's Technical Lead for Natural Resource Management and has made a career out of supporting growers in a number of different areas including biodiversity, and waterway and soil management. In the latest 'Tech & Tell' episode, learn about how Stacey got into the NRM space and cotton, and hear more about a new series of CottonInfo fact sheets on biodiversity measurement, natural capital accounting, and environmental markets, that aim to prepare cotton growers f...

We brought you '10 Questions with the Team' to introduce and re-introduce our Regional Extension Officers ... now it's time for 'Tech & Tell' with our CottonInfo Technical Leads. In this episode we get to know our Technical Lead for Fibre Quality - René van der Sluijs - a bit better, learning about his international upbringing, early career in textiles and his transition to the Australian cotton industry. René also shares some insights from his recent visit to Brazil and makes some astute...

In this episode we sit down with CottonInfo Tech Lead for Weed Management, Eric Koetz, to talk key herbicide considerations, management options for irrigated and dryland operations, XtendFlex options, and the impact of recent wet conditions on weed management decisions. RESOURCES: 2025 Australian Cotton Production Manual | CottonInfo 2024-25 Cotton Pest Management Guide | CottonInfo BIOSECURITY/STEWARDSHIP: Managing ratoons and volunteers | CottonInfo

It's the podcast within a podcast! '10 questions with the team' introduces the full CottonInfo team - from Regional Extension Officers, Technical Leads & myBMP Managers. In this episode, meet our new REO in Central Queensland, Tami Buranda. Tami joins the team with a strong background in research and science, an obvious passion for the cotton industry and a fantastic energy for her new home base in Emerald.

It's the podcast within a podcast! '10 questions with the team' introduces the full CottonInfo team - from Regional Extension Officers, Technical Leads & myBMP Managers. In this episode, come and have a chat with Annabel Twine, our REO on the Darling Downs. She was nearly lost to the vet and horticulture industries - but landed in cotton - falling in love with the dynamic and progressive nature of the industry.

It's the podcast within a podcast! '10 questions with the team' introduces the full CottonInfo team - from Regional Extension Officers, Technical Leads & myBMP Managers. In this episode, find out a bit more about Andrew McKay. He's done a lot, seen a lot, and enjoys his cotton community and his job a lot! An REO with CottonInfo since 2018, Andrew shares his thoughts on the challenges and rewards of working in extension, and his excitement about the future of CottonInfo.

Nicole Scott is employed by Cotton Australia as the myBMP Customer Service Manager and is also part of the CottonInfo team. Nicole's career background is incredibly impressive and varied and she's now been with the myBMP program for more than a decade. Learn more about why Nicole loves her gig and why the connection between myBMP and cotton research, development and extension is a critical one.

It's the podcast within a podcast! '10 questions with the team' introduces the full CottonInfo team - from Regional Extension Officers, Technical Leads & myBMP Managers. In this episode, find out a bit more about Bob Ford - a familiar face and name in the Namoi - who is now one of CottonInfo's Regional Extension Officers for the Namoi Valley, as well as contributing one day a week to the myBMP program. Bob's been working in the Australian cotton industry since 1993 and says it's all thank...

It's the podcast within a podcast! '10 questions with the team' introduces the full CottonInfo team - from Regional Extension Officers, Technical Leads & myBMP Managers. In this episode, meet Rochelle Field - CottonInfo's new REO in the Macquarie Valley. After originally aspiring to be a vet, Rochelle fell in love with the cotton industry after a summer working as a bug checker back in 2017 - and she's been hooked ever since!

It's the podcast within a podcast! '10 questions with the team' introduces the full CottonInfo team - from Regional Extension Officers, Technical Leads & myBMP Managers. In this episode, get to know the new CottonInfo REO in the Gwydir - Greg Bramley. After growing up on a mixed farm in the Murray Valley, Greg's had a diverse career, from starting as a rural accountant to working in the NSW Police, to honing his technical skills in ag science.