Cotton news

Australia’s cotton production system has changed significantly over the last two decades, with new digital technologies such as robotics, sensors, autonomous equipment and big data set to provide even more precision on the farm. Driverless tractors, precision weed sprayers and drone technogies to collect in-field, real time data will take precision agriculture to another level, with scientists in Australia envisaging that management of individual plants may be the way of the future.

Australia’s Cotton Research and Development Corporation and Cotton Incorporated from the U.S. are both members of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) that held its annual conference during May in Copenhagen, Denmark. Representatives from both countries are working to ensure that sustainability messages for Australian and U.S. cotton are understood by SAC members, many of whom are also Cotton LEADS℠ partners.

NSW cotton growers, researchers and ginners hosted leading Australian fashion and textile industry figures at an exclusive cotton industry tour on 27 April, 2016. The industry tour incorporated a visit to Auscott Narrabri farm during harvest, Auscott gin to see cotton processing and the Australian Cotton Research Institute (ACRI) to meet some of the world’s leading cotton scientists.

The 2016 National Association of Plant Breeders Annual Meeting is being held in Raleigh, North Carolina August 15-18. The meeting provides unique opportunities for private and public sector plant breeders from 40+ crops to share innovative breeding strategies, discuss emerging technologies, and ultimately develop improved varieties.

Australian and U.S. scientists participated in the jointly held World Cotton Research Conference and International Cotton Genome Initiative the week of May 2 in Goiânia, Brazil. Held every four years, the conference provides the opportunity for researchers from around the world to both share and learn about the latest scientific developments in many aspects of cotton production.

The IDEA 2016 tradeshow, held May 3 – 5 in Boston, is the largest nonwovens event of the year drawing a record crowd of more than 7000 attendees and 550 exhibitors from all over the world. Many Cotton LEADS℠ partners exhibited or attended the show. Cotton Incorporated, a Cotton LEADS℠ supporting organization, featured the natural benefits of cotton compared to competitive fibers in nonwovens.

With the theme “Moving Toward Sustainability in the Supply Chain”, a Cotton LEADS℠ partner conference was held at Hotel ICON in Hong Kong on April 6. More than 125 international and local Cotton LEADS℠ partners and supporters across the global cotton supply chain attended the one-day special event, which focused on responsible cotton production, as esponsible textile manufacturing.

Cotton Australia annually collates data for key areas affecting cotton production in Australia: crop size, area, forecasts, yield, quality, price, water, biotechnology, environmental indicators and the world market. The latest Cotton Annual 2016 statistics booklet has been released and is now available online.