Low grain prices have motivated Darling Downs farmer Peter Waddell to diversify his cropping operation and include cotton as part of the summer crop planting.
The Waddell family purchased properties in southern Queensland 10 years ago and have only once before tried planting a cotton crop.
“The first time we planted a cotton crop was in the 2010/11 summer season when the big rains came and waterlogged the entire crop,” Mr Waddell said.
“The crop didn’t perform very well and it took me a while to get back in the saddle.”
Mr Waddell considers himself a traditional sorghum farmer, but the recent low grain prices have resulted in him planting 110 hectares of cotton in a single skip-row configuration during early October last year.
“Due to the pretty poor cereal prices we are looking for alternatives this summer and thought cotton prices were pretty good,” he said.
“I felt it was the time to have another go at cotton.”
The release of Bollgard 3 cotton variety this season also spurred Mr Waddell to plant the crop.
“The new Bollgard 3 doesn’t require me to plant as much refuge area and that ticks many boxes when deciding which alternative crop to plant,” Mr Waddell said.
“With other varieties of cotton you needed to plant at least 10 per cent of the crop as an area of refuge, but with new Bollgard 3 my agronomist advised that I only needed to leave a 5 per cent refuge zone.
“That’s a net gain to the bottom line for the grower.”
The Waddell family has still planted a smaller sorghum crop this year, plus dryland corn and is currently waiting for more rain to plant mung beans.
“I’m trying a bit of everything at the moment,’ Mr Waddell said.
“I’m attempting to diversify my farming operation to help fight the low commodity prices we’re experiencing currently.
“I noticed a few farmers around the Darling Downs planting a diverse range of crops this year to try and deal with the low prices on offer for some grains.”
The Waddell family’s cotton crop is currently going well considering the patchy summer rainfall and they have forward sold part of the crop for $540/bale.
Mr Waddell is unsure about the potential yield of his cotton crop, and is waiting to see how the weather conditions play out.
“Considering the season we have had and how far behind the average rainfall we are for the growing season, I’ve been quite pleased with the cotton crop so far,” he said.
The biggest challenges for the Waddell’s summer cotton crop have been insect infestations and decontaminating boom spray equipment.
“We’ve had to spray the cotton crop three times for Mirid insects, which is a bit unusual,” he said.
“Generally you won’t have to spray for those insects or maybe only once in a season.”
“Spray drift is more of a concern with a cotton crop and boom spray decontamination is very important as well.”
Mr Waddell said he’s now hoping for 50 millimetres or more of rain to ensure a good finish to his cotton crop. It will be picked in late March or early April this year.
