Cotton news

With cotton picking well underway in the cotton growing regions of Australia, Cotton Australia has issued a reminder to growers about farm hygiene, and the need to implement the well-known Come Clean Go Clean policy of the industry. Harvesting increases the movement of farm staff members, contractors, vehicles and equipment as they move from one region to another.

Alternative and renewable energy sources, including solar for powering cotton production, were hot topics at Australia’s CottonInfo Big Days Out at St George, Queensland and Gunnedah, NSW. The days attracted 60 and 80 participants respectively and visitors were keen to hear from experienced growers, energy researchers, auditors, consultants and system providers.

A full report on the activity and achievements of the Cotton LEADS℠ program is now available, outlining the work of the program in its first year as well as future commitments to responsible cotton across cotton producing countries.

Nine Cotton LEADS℠ partners from Bangladesh attended the first Global Cotton Summit Bangladesh in Dhaka on March 20-21. At the conference, the challenges for responsible cotton sourcing were discussed in a presentation by Mark Messura from Cotton Incorporated.

A group of the world’s leading cotton scientists came together in Australia last week to discuss research collaboration opportunities between the two Cotton LEADS℠ program founding countries. The Cotton Research and Development Corporation and Cotton Incorporated together toured a number of leading cotton farms and visited research managers to assess areas for potential collaboration.

he National Cotton Grower of the Year Field Day attracted more than 300 cotton growers and industry representatives from across NSW and Queensland to Hillston last week. The Field Day was held on March 12, 2015, and hosted by Tim and Sally Watson (Sunland Agriculture), recipients of the 2014 Monsanto Cotton Grower of the Year Award.

Cotton LEADS℠ partners in the Western Hemisphere are invited to attend the upcoming partner meetings to increase their awareness of responsible cotton production and engage with founding organizations and cotton growers. Partners will have the opportunity to learn about the program’s commitments for 2015 and hear first-hand how cotton growers in Australia and the U.S. are growing cotton responsibly.

Dr. Rene van Der Sluijs Discusses New Measurements of Fiber Length Distribution Dr. Rene van Der Sluijs of the CSIRO in Australia visited Cotton Incorporated’s headquarters on January 13 to discuss current and potential new research collaborations. Cotton Incorporated currently funds one on-going research project under Dr. Rene van Der Sluijs’ direction involving investigation of potential new measurements of fiber length distribution and uniformity in cotton.