Lucrative prices and hefty yields for cotton
Summer cropping specialists are anticipating a buoyant cotton harvest, as picking begins in northern NSW and Queensland. See how prices are tracking.
Hefty yields and buoyant prices are providing a positive start for cotton picking.
Prices are tracking at $675 to $700 a bale, and growers are forecasting yields of 10 to 12 bales a hectare.
Picking has started in northern NSW and Queensland, and growers in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area are set to follow suit in April.
CottonInfo regional extension officer, southern Kieran O’Keeffe, said better-growing conditions this year meant there would be a reprieve after last season.
Yields in the MIA last year averaged around six bales a hectare compared to an estimate of 11 bales a hectare this year, with all crops in the southern region under irrigation.
“We will see many crops picked in mid-April, and the majority will be in May,” Mr O’Keeffe said.
“We are getting a warm finish, which is good for the crop,” he said.
Growers in southern NSW account for an area of around 82,000ha of cotton, with Lachlan Valley contributing 16,000ha, the Murray 7000ha, and the Murrumbidgee 59,000ha.
Summit Ag cotton consultant Hayden Petty from Leeton in the MIA said growers in the region were still three weeks away from defoliation.
“We will see the first cotton picker going at the end of April,” he said.
Mr Petty said boll fill had been good, and farmers were expecting good yields.
“It has been quite a good season,” he said.
Growers in the region received 100mm to 150mm of rain in January, and some areas, including Carrathool, NSW, received as much as 200mm.
Cotton Australia chief executive Adam Kay estimated that production nationally would be 4.5 million bales, resulting in a worth of $3.6 billion.
Picking has started at Emerald and St George in Queensland. There was a mix of both irrigated and dryland crops in Queensland and northern NSW.
Cotton picking in northern NSW is expected to start around Easter, and Mr Kay said the dryland crops had benefited from summer rainfall.
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