Cotton Seed Distributors article

This week, Adam Kay, CEO of Cotton Australia discusses changes to the industry over the last 10 years and also changes at CSD. These include changes to the varieties available, the traits available and the main factors that will affect the cotton industry now and into the future.

Adam you have just completed 10 years of service at CSD. What are the major changes you have seen over those 10 years?

Well I think back to when Rob Eveleigh and I started at CSD and it was an ‘all conventional’ cotton industry so I think CSD was running about 10 conventional cotton varieties. I look at it today and look at the number of biotechnology traits that the organization is offering in about 40 different varieties and we have still got the good conventional varieties.

Normally at this time of year back 10 years ago there were planes buzzing everywhere as we fought the battle with the insects and now everyone is concentrating on other aspects of crop management so, just huge changes in that time.

We have seen many new traits come to market what are the main benefits you have seen from these traits?

I think we were all initially a little bit disappointed in the INGARD®, it sort of held a lot of promise and we went through all sorts of dramas there but when we finally got the two gene product, the Bollgard® II it really has delivered the goods. We are in good shape in that battle against heliothis.

I know the R & D Corporation is monitoring resistance; the key threat that we have is resistance to those Bt genes. So whilst ever we are looking after that, we are in good shape.

We have seen lots of improvements in varieties over the years, how much further do you think we can go as far as new varieties and better yield?

The exciting thing when you look at the yield trends is that it’s not plateauing off; the improvements are still there.

The CSIRO Breeders have been delivering about 22kgs of lint per hectare per year increase and it’s consistent over the last 20 years; it can be clearly documented about half of the yield improvement we have seen has been directly attributable to those cotton varieties from the CSIRO. So it has really been a pleasure in the last 10 years working with the CSIRO breeders that have had those magnificent varieties and getting them to the market so the growers can benefit from them.

We have seen changes in fibre quality parameters and demands from spinners. Do you think that demand for increased or improved fibre quality will continue into the future?

I think that is the next big challenge for the industry. We have got a lot of challenges obviously (you know water is the big one that is top of mind at the moment) but when you get through that and you look at what we are producing we need to take that quality to the next level and I really believe there is material coming through the program that is going to do that. I think in the next 5 years we are going to the next level and leave some of the competitors behind and I think that’s really exciting for the long term good of our industry.

You have had the opportunity to travel to many cotton producing areas around the world and see lots of cotton farms, talk to growers, how do you rate Australian growers compared to many you have seen overseas?

I don’t think there is any doubt that we have got the leading growers and the statistics prove that. We are efficient with our resources and we do produce more lint per hectare than any other country. I think that is a tribute not only to the growers but to the research community and just the whole cotton community working together; I think that has been the key thing. When we all work together we have really made some enormous gains and that’s really important.

You mentioned challenges facing the cotton industry before, do you think that if we are working together we can get through and continue to prosper as an industry?

I don’t think there is any doubt there is some very tough times at the moment with price and water availability and you know certainly threat in the media and everything but I know that we are going to respond to that and really (again) rise up and the industry will pull together. It’s these tough times that does get everyone to bunker down to look at how we are doing things to just every bit of efficiency we can from our industry organisations. I think that’s the real challenge over the next few years, to really make sure there is no duplication, to get the efficiencies and move the industry forward.

On behalf of CSD I would like to thank you very much for your service to the company and also to the industry over the last 10 years of dedicated service and certainly wish you all the best for your future key industry position at Cotton Australia.

Thanks Craig. It has just been a pleasure being part of the CSD team. I really feel that the organisation has done some really good things for our industry, bringing the good research work through to the growers and I am sure that it will keep doing that key industry role into the future.