ANXIOUS cotton producers continue to wait to be able to get on paddocks to finish picking their crops with the risk adverse weather could damage both yield and quality.
Cotton Australia general manager Michael Murray said his organisation believed the forecast for a record national crop was still on target but said growers needed a prolonged period of dry weather to get harvest back on track after record breaking autumn rain in many regions.
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"The rain has been followed by misty, overcast weather, what we would really like to see is some sun and wind to dry things out," Mr Murray said.
He said many growers were still waiting to get back on waterlogged paddocks, however he added not all regions experienced last week's heavy rain.
"There were some patches that did not get quite so much rain so hopefully they are able to get out there a little earlier, but the extent of any damage is very much yet to be determined."
"We'll only really get a true idea once the pickers return to the field."
Another boost was one of the regions that received heavy rainfall, around Dirranbandi and St George in south-west Queensland, was also one that was relatively well progressed in terms of harvest.
Mr Murray said the harvest was only just gearing up on the Darling Downs, while further west the majority of the crop was off.
Through the Border Rivers he estimated picking was around halfway completed, while harvest has started as far south as the Riverina although Mr Murray said NSW, especially west of the Great Dividing Range, had also experienced the same heavy rainfall as Queensland and that harvest was also delayed there.
He said the problem was compounded by a shortage of available equipment to pick the crop.
"Contractors have been delayed and that means they are not getting to the next job so it is putting a real squeeze on, a change in the weather to allow us to really get moving is the only thing that will change that."
Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is Fairfax Ag Media's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his ten years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector. Away from work, he is a keen traveller, having spent his long service leave last year in Spain learning the language.
Gregor Heard is Fairfax Ag Media's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his ten years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector. Away from work, he is a keen traveller, having spent his long service leave last year in Spain learning the language.
