With Cotton Australia celebrating its 50th year, the 2022 conference was a resounding success, attended by more than 2200 delegates, 150 presenters and panelists and 100 exhibitors in attendance.
This year Elders and B&W Rural reinforced their commitment to the sustainability of the cotton industry, with investment as an exhibitor at the 2022 Australian Cotton Conference.
Collectively, both businesses are committed to supporting the cotton industry and extending their services in existing and emerging prime cotton growing regions in the country.
Peter Birch needs no introduction to the cotton industry having been a leader in his field under the B&W Rural banner for decades. As part of this year’s conference, Peter led a panel session consisting of private consultants, CSIRO and industry technology providers where they discussed increasing productivity of rain grown cotton.
“We addressed innovations towards achieving better outcomes for the dryland component of our cotton industry and I am pleased to contribute to the industry by leading such an important topic."
Peter Birch, B&W Rural.
The theme for this year’s event was “Here For Good” and confirms the Australian cotton industry’s ongoing commitment to a sustainable future.
Agronomist, Tom White, who recently started with Elders Katherine after studying a Bachelor of Sustainable Agriculture majoring in Agronomy at the University of Queensland, sees a great future for cotton in Australia
“Looking into the future there is so much potential growth all around Australia,” says Tom.
“The marketing options to utilise every bit of the plant provide endless opportunities for growers and the rest of the supply chain to succeed.”
Tom commented that the sustainability of the Australian cotton industry is supported largely by technology and innovations.
“The technology and innovations we see in the industry are developing constantly.
"You just have to look around here at this event and see the continuous investment into research by industry bodies and commitment to cotton by service providers like Elders and B&W Rural, to see that this is an industry committed to sustainability and growth. It’s exciting to be a part of.”
Tom has just made the move up to Katherine, NT where he will take up the first agronomy position for Elders in the budding horticulture and farming region.
The Elders and B&W Rural exhibitor site proved to be the place to be, with a constant stream of visitors and prospective clients enjoying their time networking over a coffee with the team.
Carbon farming remains topical, and increasingly of interest for growers. Elders Technical Manager, Dr Thakur Bhattarai, spent the conference in discussion with clients and presenting on the potential of carbon markets.
“Carbon farming is becoming an increasingly talked about topic of conversation amongst the agricultural industry, and the cotton industry is no exception."
Dr Thakur Bhattarai, Elders Technical Manager.
“This week I have been meeting with many clients interested in introducing carbon farming practice to their organisations.
My role as a technical manager is to support our agronomy and livestock production services and work with clients to plan and implement their carbon farming project.”
Elders would like to thank the organisers of a successful event and look forward to seeing everyone again in 2024.