Tackling challenges head on at Coleambally
See how one NSW Riverina cotton-growing family have tripled their production while overcoming agronomic and business obstacles.
What started as a casual conversation in the pub suggesting a rice farmer switch to cotton has helped drive productivity almost three-fold in the NSW Riverina.
Joe Briggs is a fifth-generation farmer at Coleambally in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, and he farms alongside his parents, Greg and Mary.
The trio has overcome agronomic and business obstacles, and Joe has successfully lobbied Greg and Mary to get on board with new ventures, whether it be growing cotton or having a crack at soyabeans.
They haven’t been afraid to abandon tradition and seek new opportunities in their progressive approach to agriculture.
Their property receives an average annual rainfall of 330mm and supports both irrigated and rotation operations and summer and winter cropping.
Joe’s suggestions certainly aren’t small. When he recommended growing cotton in 2015 the plan was accompanied with a complete 360-shift in agronomic approach, changes to landforming and new machinery and equipment.
COTTON APPROACH
In the first three years of growing cotton the Briggs family tripled their production in terms of hectares. And as they developed their experience of growing the crop yields improved too.
Within a decade, they have almost tripled cotton production on the 800-hectare holding, even if the bumper yield did come on the back of a good season.
The Briggs’ recently achieved yields as high as 14.7 bales a hectare, with an overall average of 13.3 bales/ha.
It came as a stark contrast from previous years that grew 5.36 bales/ha.
Joe hasn’t just pushed the boundaries of yields and production in farming; he is a staunch advocate for personal growth and a board member of Active Farmers. He was also previously involved in helping to establish the Coleambally Community Gym.
For him, margins in agriculture mean little if they aren’t backed up by an ethos to improve both physically and mentally.
Currently, that means completing two 45-minute workouts a day and reading inspiring books.
Joe said he’s witnessed some tough times in agriculture and would now tackle the industry’s hurdles with a different mindset.
“I walk around the farm, I do siphons, and it has given me a new perspective on the lay of the land,” he said.
He has also participated in the Cotton Australia Leadership Program.
Working on self-improvement has paid dividends in farming. Since Joe has returned home to the family farm, in 2013 the holding has doubled in size to a total of 800ha and the entire area can be irrigated. There is 120ha still to be fully developed for irrigation. But with that came challenges and financial struggles. A total of 305ha is under siphon irrigation.
NEW PATH
“When I came home to the farm in 2013, I came home to a mixed farming operation of crossbred ewes, rice, pastures and wheat,” Joe said.
Back then, rice was the mainstay. Joe had previously spent four-and-a-half years travelling around Australia and overseas working in a variety of jobs including agriculture and mining.
He was keen to implement what he had seen in his travels.
“Cotton was still a very dirty word, and it was going against the tradition or how the area was built,” he said.
At the time Joe was keen to implement row cropping and suggested soyabeans.
“We had never had row cropping, and I called Dad and asked if he could organise a grader to knock down the rice banks and pull up beds to plant soyabeans,” he said.
Joe remembers his father saying something along the lines of “You want to grow soyabeans, grow the things yourself and organise your own grader”.
So that’s what he did. He borrowed equipment from neighbours and sought help and that was the transition into row cropping.
The Briggs family grew soyabeans for two consecutive summers before making the venture into cotton.
“I was at the pub one night, and one of the contractors was there, and he said if you grow cotton, I will pick it for you,” he said.
Joe remembers a three-week “argument” ensuing as he tried to persuade his father that cotton was the way to go.
PLANTING COTTON
A crop of 70 hectares of cotton was planted, and the first pick was in 2015, resulting in a yield of 9.9 bales/ha.
“To his credit, we have worked together and have been able to transform from growing rice to cotton,” Joe said.
Rice was taking 15 to 18 megalitres/ha of water to grow; even when water was cheaper, it was still an impost.
“We had our last rice harvest in 2016,” he said.
Joe said it is not always the case where a father and son can learn about farming together.
But he remembers dragging his dad along to a cotton field day.
“I remember Dad was the bloke at the front of the crowd asking all of the questions,” he said.
“The most special thing for me is we are both learning, and Dad was excited and inquisitive about it.”
“I regard my father as one of the best and most efficient rice growers, and now he is putting that in practice with cotton,” Joe said.
EXPANDING PRODUCTION
The first cotton crop was 70ha. Then 180ha was grown in the second year and in the third, 410ha.
In 2016, Joe took a leap and bought a neighbouring property. He had initially been sharefarming the land before deciding to purchase it.
“I’m glad I did it because the costs to do the same job and have the same outcome would be double now,” he said.
The plan now is to consolidate and make the operation as efficient as possible.
This means looking at watering layouts and using methods that are ultimately less labour-intensive.
Joe said he’s looking at improving the watering and moving away from traditional siphons so he can get water onto the paddocks quicker.
“My dream is to make this a one-man operation. And to do that, I will improve the watering capacity,” he said.
During the first year of growing cotton, 70ha took seven days to water.
“When you are on a 10-day or 12-day cycle, you don’t have very much time off,” he said.
“I’m now looking to water 200ha in two days,” he said.
EFFICIENT APPROACH
Improvements in water use have been incremental, and the crop yielding 13.5 bales/ha was grown with 9 megalitres/ha.
“The best results for us were 14.7 bales/ha, with the same water use,” he said.
A typical rotation is cotton and then back into winter wheat. Initially a cotton, a cotton approach was tried; however, they have moved away from back-to-back rotations.
“The rotation of cotton and wheat is easier to manage and there is also a small time frame from summer to winter cropping,” Joe said.
All up they grow 305ha of cotton and the entire crop is under siphon irrigation.
Joe said the current rotation also helped to control weeds. He said weed control was conducted on an as-needed basis and depending on the pressures of each season.
Most of the wheat is grown using irrigation, too, and there is an additional 115ha of dryland country.
“That is still on the old irrigation layout, and we are stripping 4 tonnes/ha of barley off it,” Joe said.
The rotation has been wheat and barley canola.
The cotton is grown on a configuration of one-metre hills and is cropped exclusively except for 12 sheep.
“The sheep went in 2018,” he said.
Wheat harvesting is still a couple of weeks off, but he is hoping to see yields of up to 8 tonnes/ha.
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