Australian Cotton Industry Awards recipients announced

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1 Media Release 7/8/14 Australian Cotton Industry Awards recipients announced More than 1,000 people gathered to celebrate the recipients of the 2014 Australian Cotton Industry Awards at a ceremony held tonight at the Gold Coast. The Awards program recognises excellence and achievement in Australia s cotton industry throughout the supply chain, from growers and ginners to product suppliers, consultants, agronomists and researchers. The 2014 Australian Cotton Industry Awards winners are: Category Monsanto Cotton Grower of the Year AgriRisk High Achiever of the Year Chris Lehmann Trust Young Achiever of the Year, sponsored by Bayer CropScience Cotton Seed Distributors Researcher of the Year Incitec Pivot Fertilisers Service to Industry Award Recipient(s) Tim and Sally Watson, Sunland Ag (Hillston, NSW) Brendon Warnock, Warnock Agronomics (Narrabri, NSW) Zara Lowien (Moree, NSW) Dr Stuart Gordon (Geelong, Vic) Andrew Parkes (Moree, NSW) Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay says the Awards judging panels were challenged by the very high calibre of the finalists in this year s program. The number of nominations received across all categories of the Awards program in 2014 was higher than previous years, which resulted in an extremely high standard amongst the finalists pool, Mr Kay says. It was very hard for the judges to select recipients from amongst the finalists, all of whom have contributed enormously to our industry. Every year the Australian Cotton Industry Awards celebrate not just the great work and personal commitment of the recipients and finalists, but also the commitment of everyone throughout the cotton supply chain.

2 Unfortunately, there can be only one recipient in each category. All of the successful candidates this year have achieved great things within Australian cotton, and they are all tremendous ambassadors for the industry. I heartily congratulate them all. (Biographies of the recipients follow. High-resolution images are available on request) Sponsors of this year s Awards were: Monsanto Agririsk Bayer CropScience Cotton Seed Distributors Incitec Pivot Fertilisers Cotton Australia is the peak representative body for Australia s cotton growing industry. Cotton Australia media contacts: Adam Kay CEO, Cotton Australia Chris Larsen Communications Manager, Cotton Australia ChrisL@cotton.org.au

3 Case Study: 2014 Monsanto Cotton Grower of the Year Tim and Sally Watson (Sunland Ag), Lane s Bridge Hillston, NSW Sunland Ag Pty Ltd, spearheaded by the innovative thinking of Tim Watson has been growing cotton in the Riverina region for 14 years. Located just outside Hillston, the enterprise is not confined by conventional thinking and as a result it is achieving outstanding results. It is a varied enterprise consisting of cotton, watermelons, beetroot and wheat, based on a secure water supply of excellent quality. The 1,130 Ha of irrigated cotton has consistently yielded very well with this season s yield 12.8 bales/ha, despite being grown back to back for many years. Tim has gathered a highly effective team and has the farm motto to empower good people to reach their full potential and achieve excellent results. His team utilises a number of home-grown innovations such as bubblers over the wheels of the centre pivots and the use of low N strips to indicate a lack of nitrogen on flood fields. The greatest challenges for the enterprise are the ability to get the seedlings established, the cost of energy and the need to manage the variety of crops. Changes to production methods, processes and infrastructure have helped overcome these. Sunland Ag is a highly impressive enterprise, capable of bold decisions based on in-depth research and analysis. Their persistence and careful management over the years has ensured that they have had outstanding results and continue to be on the cutting edge of the cotton industry.

4 Case Study: 2014 AgriRisk High Achiever of the Year Brendon Warnock, Warnock Agronomics Narrabri NSW Warnock Agronomics is located in the picturesque Namoi Valley, near Narrabri NSW. Started by Jack and Jacqui Warnock and now run by his son, Brendon, the farm Warilea is in its 31 st year of production. The property is now fully developed and largely fed by a secure underground water allocation, allowing Brendon and his team the opportunity to deeply analyse all aspects of the operation to seek out efficiencies. Cotton plays an integral role in the Warnock s intensive operation with a farm average of 9.95 bales/ha from their 958Ha of irrigated cotton. Every hectare is expected to bear a crop every year, 70% from cotton>cotton and 30% from a rotation. They have seen a 10-15% increase in yield from a wheat rotation, however this year corn will be introduced. Warnock s keep a close eye on timing, with quick turnaround times on key activities. Their irrigation times are based on staff needs, keeping to a 12 hour run time. The farm is lined with attractive nature strips, which assist in natural predator levels. The enterprise attempts to do much of the work themselves, justifying the employment of their 5 staff members and purchases of good quality equipment. They bought one of the last new square basket pickers in Australia after assessing the cost benefit of changing over to a round picker. Warnock Agronomics deeply analyse scenarios allowing them objectivity in their decision making. Extensive and accurate record keeping are strong elements of their management, ensuring this operation is well run and proactive.

5 Case Study: 2014 Chris Lehmann Trust Young Achiever of the Year Sponsored by Bayer Crop Science Zara Lowien Executive Officer Gwydir Valley Irrigators Assoc and Cotton Growers Assoc Zara Lowien has found an ideal niche to utilise her skills in policy, advocacy and natural resource management. After spending five years with the Border Rivers Gwydir CMA, Zara joined the Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association (GVIA) and Gwydir CGA in Zara attempts to improve local understanding of the cotton industry through the annual Evening of Cotton, plus a range of school and youth events and charity dinners. She has also implemented a number of local community scholarships, bursaries and incentives for young people. Zara provides a highly professional, intelligent and well researched presence for GVIA creating a number of positive outcomes for the Gwydir Valley. She has secured an additional 10,000 ML of water allocation and considerable funding, established and managed a number of groups and developed a range of effective arguments to potentially detrimental policies or activities. Zara seeks perfection with a constant drive to improve what she does and how she does it. Her ability as a leader who seeks balanced outcomes, is exceptional. Her university qualification and experience in NRM means she desires a balance between natural resources and a productive cotton industry. Her overarching vision is to have a sustainable industry in the Gwydir; one that continues to support viable communities and a healthy environment. Zara is concerned for the future of agricultural advocacy groups (locally and nationally) that face shrinking resources and losses of membership. Zara would like to assess the effectiveness of international farm advocacy groups at meeting the needs of the farming sector whilst maintaining sustainability.

6 Case Study: 2014 CSD Researcher of the Year Dr Stuart Gordon Project Leader, Post Harvest Cotton Group CSIRO Manufacturing Flagship Geelong, Vic Dr Stuart Gordon started with his PhD cotton in This early work crystallised Stuart s ideas on the direction that the Australian cotton industry should take with respect to fibre quality. After his PhD, Stuart worked and studied with CSIRO and in the USA and in all of Australia s spinning mills. He learnt first-hand the affect of fibre quality on yarn quality and establishing long term relationships. Stuart was responsible for setting up CSIRO s cotton spinning plant and gin in 1999 and establishing the post-harvest cotton research team. The team now has more than 12 full time staff who seek to improve the quality and performance of Australian cotton. Stuart has a strong and visual presence in the international cotton industry, working to not only improve the quality of Australian cotton but also to increase the use of cotton fibre in all textiles. Dr Gordon has helped develop and commercialise a range of technologies. These include the first tool that measures cotton fibre fineness and maturity, directly and quickly. As well as sensing technologies in gins that have the capacity to save the industry in excess of $12M/year. As well as a yarn quality prediction model that is currently used by leading spinners in China. He has also identified changes in settings and machine adaptations in gin equipment that can reduce fibre damage and grower price discounts. Stuart has helped create broader and new markets for Australian premium Upland cotton. He is also part of the development and delivery of CSIRO s three day Cotton Field to Fabric course that has seen more than 250 students graduate. Stuart has 24 years of experience in the Australian cotton industry. He continues to be active in post-harvest research, with an international profile but committed to maintaining his relationships and contact with people from across the cotton value chain in Australia.

7 Case Study Incitec Pivot Service to Industry Award Andrew Parkes