A farming family from Pine Ridge has taken out the prestigious Grower of the Year award at the recent Australian Cotton Industry Awards on the Gold Coast.
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Ian, Marilyn and Harry Carter were honoured with the national award for their 2500-hectare dryland farming operation, Connamara on the Liverpool Plains.
They were praised for their management style that maximised profitability.
Using a combination of a four-year cotton rotation, no-till farming, 1.5m beds and the innovative use of water injection, the Carters have been able to conserve moisture and drive yield outcomes through the erratic seasonal conditions.
Ian, who has only been growing cotton for five years and received the 2016 Upper Namoi Cotton Grower of the Year award, said he was “thrilled” with the win, which recognised not just the quality of crops but management, finances, labour, soils and farming systems.
“As dryland growers on the Liverpool Plains, which is a relatively new cotton growing area, it’s amazing,” Ian said.
He said the judges were also impressed with their innovation, which involved “machinery tweaks and modifications” to bring cotton into the farming system.
“Things like water injections, where we put water down rows to get the crop established and is a technique not regularly used for many years. We also converted an old picker into a forklift to lift round modules onto a truck.
“It’s been a hugely challenging season, so we planted wide row spacing and had more access to moisture, and that stood us in good stead when there was no rain from January until picking, and we managed to achieve some pretty good yields.”
Cotton Australia chief executive Adam Kay said this year’s entrants were of a very high calibre.
“I know the judges found it quite hard to select recipients from amongst the finalists, all of whom have contributed greatly to our industry,” Mr Kay said.
Dr Guy Roth (Narrabri) won the Researcher of the Year Award, Rebecca Fing (Goondiwindi) the Young Achiever of the Year Award, and John Marshall (Toowoomba) the Service to Industry Award.