On February 2, the 2005 Australian Cotton Industry Growers of the Year, Neek and Robyn Morawitz hosted over 100 cotton growers and industry representatives at their property “Argoon”, east of Emerald near Comet.

Convening Judge of the awards, Geoff Macintyre explains the reasons what made this operation 'stand out' while Neek Morawitz describes the family operated enterprise, particularly renowned for its successes in water use efficiency, riparian management and high yields.

Geoff Macintyre
the convening Judge of the Bayer CropScience Australian Cotton Industry Grower of the Year Award.

We are at ‘Argoon’ today. Can you tell us what set them apart from the other contestants at this years Award?

There was really a high level of achievement across all of the criteria and that is criteria that ranges from the resource management, (soil, water, vegetation) through to crop management, (the agronomy, insects, diseases) the management of the business, management of staff, the marketing systems the profitability, and the community role (the impact that the growers have both within the industry and within the communities) is also important. Neek and Robyn had a high level of achievement against all of those criteria and a very comprehensive way in which they go about managing their property.

If you had to pick out two key issues for this particular farm that made them stand apart, what do you think they are?

I think there are probably two that stood out. There is the whole water/irrigation system management; the level of monitoring, measurement and ultimately the water use efficiency that is derived from that in the way that the whole system is integrated and managed so well. The other part is their riparian zone management; their wetlands, not just in terms of the way that it is protected, its actively managed, weeds are kept out, vegetation is re-growing and it all has a positive impact on the farm management and the production.

Neek Morawitz
Bayer CropScience Australian Cotton Industry Grower of the Year.

Can you give us a rundown of your farming operation in a nutshell?

In a nutshell, a couple of properties at the junction of the Comet and Nogoa Rivers; ‘Argoon’ and ‘Stewart Park’. ‘Argoon’ is 655ha flood irrigated, ‘Stewart Park’ is about another 550ha; ½ flood irrigated and ½ centre pivots. ‘Argoon’ was the focal point of the awards and that is the farm that Robyn and myself own.

How much cotton have you got in this year and what is your usual program in terms of rotation?

On ‘Argoon’ this year we are doing 450ha of irrigated cotton. Its all 100% Bollgard II® cotton. To satisfy the refuge requirement we are using 20% corn as a cereal refuge option. We have been doing that for a couple of years now with the cereal refuges and rotating that refuge around the farm to get some cereal back into a rotation system. That’s basically it.

Geoff McIntyre, the Head Judge just made the point that the irrigation system on ‘Argoon’ was one of the key things that brought it over the line in terms of winning this Award. Can you tell us about the irrigation system, how it was set up and why you have designed it in such a way?

The irrigation system on ‘Argoon’ is totally reticulated. Every bit of tail water off the property comes back to a central point at a sump in the centre of the farm. From that sump it can be redistributed either into longer term storage or put back out on fields. The farm is operated both on allocated water and we also have flood harvesting licences, so our water security is definitely good at ‘Argoon’.

You also have been heavily involved in on-farm research?

Over the years at ‘Argoon’ we have enjoyed being involved in lots of trial work for the Central Highlands. Probably some of the most satisfying was some of our early involvement with GM technology, when INGARD® first came in. We were involved in looking at all the various refuge options that were thrown up as being suitable for INGARD® cotton in the Central Highlands. We have been involved in looking at trap crop options with the pigeon pea and studies on pupae and that sort of thing. We have tried cotton grown into standing wheat stubble for water infiltration and keeping herbicide residues in fields and also twin row planting. Most recently this year we have got a Roundup Ready Flex® trial on the farm, having a look at that latest GM technology with Monsanto and there have been numerous others over the years but those are some of the key ones that I can recall.

What is your first impression of Roundup Ready Flex®?

Its certainly a sound product, there is no doubt about that. The added application window that Flex gives should certainly be a real benefit to farmers. The over-the-top Roundup is a much more usable tool with a wider window of application, there is not doubt about that.

As we have said before, all good farms keep on improving. What other things do you see for the future for ‘Argoon’?

Our experience this year where we are changing some syphon sizes has prompted me to look further at that. We will be putting some larger siphons on some more fields next year. I have got a fair bit of earthworks to be done, just getting some low spots out of some fields and polishing things up too. Mainly though, concentrating on getting water on and off fields quicker, that’s where I really see some major improvements to be made.

Further Information: John Marshall or  David Kelly