Tipperary Station wins historic first for NT cotton industry at national awards

In an upset for bigger players, a Territory farm has won a major national award amid its stellar production numbers. See why.

The Northern Territory’s emerging cotton industry has been honoured at the Australian cotton industry awards on the Gold Coast.

In an upset outcome for more established industry players, Tipperary Station won the AgriRisk High Achiever of the Year award.

It’s believed to be the first win by a Territory producer at the awards and is being viewed as endorsement of the industry’s growth since farming began four years ago.

Judge Tony Quigley praised Tipperary and manager Bruce Connolly “for achieving so much” despite the challenges faced by the industry in the Territory.

“Tipperary was an eye opener,” Mr Quigley said.

“It’s an entirely different production system from what we are all used to and also very isolated in terms of back up and expertise in the area.

Tipperary has really pioneered a cotton industry in the Northern Territory and they’ve done it soundly in terms of stewardship.”

The largest cotton farm in the Territory, Tipperary is the first NT farm to be certified with the myBMP program, showcasing improved farming practices and careful resource management.

The result also supports the industry against attacks by green groups worried at the crops traditionally high water usage.

Guided by ongoing research and extension support, the NT cotton industry has been on an upward arc since commercial plantings recommenced in 2018 when around 200ha of cotton was planted.

This has grown significantly over the course of the trials with 7930ha of dryland cotton and 155ha of irrigated cotton planted across 12 properties during the last wet season. This was more than double the size of the total area of cotton planted in the previous years’ crop of 3000ha

The average yield for rain-fed-dry land ranged between 3.75 and four bales per hectare, with the highest Territory yield between five to six bales per hectare.

Department of Industry Tourism and Trade senior executive director of agriculture Phil Hausler said further research trials would guide the production potential of a rain-fed cotton farming systems in the Territory.

“Territory cotton growers are committed to expanding dryland cotton in the Daly and Katherine region. Completion of the cotton gin near Katherine will complement and value add increased cotton production in the Territory,” Mr Hausler said.

“It is anticipated that over 90 per cent of a future NT cotton industry will be developed using rain-fed cropping strategies, also known as dryland farming, with irrigated cropping only occurring where adequate water resources are allocated and overlaid by suitable soils.

“Dryland farming allows growers to use the Top End’s annual wet season rainfall and has become more successful in recent times due to major improvements in farming systems, such as the uptake of no tillage systems.

“The use of biotechnology in cotton has also significantly reduced chemical and water usage and revolutionised industry potential in Northern Australia.

“The Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade will continue to support the Territory’s cotton growers to address crop establishment and production challenges.

“So far trials have included a number of experiments to gauge how best to integrate the cotton crop with the Territory’s climate and other natural resources. This includes varying cotton row spacing, measuring the difference in yield and working on maximising cotton seedling establishment.

“We have gained a significant amount of agronomic knowledge on cotton crops grown in the NT environment and always working on improving strategies to further enhance crop yield in the future.”

Originally published as Tipperary Station wins historic first for NT cotton industry at national awards