Diminishing supplies of Californian cotton, the world’s leading benchmark for high quality cotton, has provided Australia with an opportunity to take the lead in this segment in the global market place.

Richard Haire, chairman of the Australian Cotton Industry Council, said a combination of great science, coordinated extension and courageous growers have delivered continual yield improvements to the point where Australia is now recognized as the most productive large-scale producer in the world.

Mr Haire told the Australian Cotton Conference that it is important for the industry to maintain and expand its uptake of Best Management Practice (BMP) programs to continue to improve on farm and post-farm gate activities and act as a code of practice synonymous with responsible resource stewardship.

“BMP represents not so much an opportunity to gain market leverage, but a systematic approach to managing some fundamental risks. It could also form the basis of a system of continuous improvement throughout the entire supply chain, and it can only enhance the overall integrity of our product and our industry,” he said.

Mr Hair also drew attention to a major challenge confronting the cotton production environment – the diminishing reservoir of human capital available to the industry.

“In north west NSW we have had unemployment levels of less than 4 per cent since 2000, and on the Darling Downs since 1998. This tight employment situation in our major operating regions has created inflation in labour costs and posed serious challenges to industry operators that will require creative solutions.”

Mr Haire also foreshadowed emerging problems with succession planning, given that over the past decade farm values in many cases have tripled, placing a significant strain on the capacity of the younger generation of farmers to acquire farm land.

He also flagged a warning on rising farm costs, noting that the four largest farm cost items are fuel and oil, labour, water and biotechnology licences.

“When we consider the on-farm fuel and oil consumption required to produce a bale of cotton, the energy requirements within the ginning process, and the fuel and oil required to move that cotton to international markets, it is not difficult to estimate that 20 per cent of the landed value of the product is either directly or indirectly energy related.”