South to grow quarter of Aus cotton

Cotton planting in the Murrumbidgee area of NSW is expected to grow this season, in contrast to shrinking planting areas in northern NSW and Queensland, due to drought conditions and lack of water.

"The industry has seen the growth in that area in the past few years... it's very exciting," said Cotton Australia chief executive officer Adam Kay.

The area was also growing in importance, due to the more reliable water supply than exists in other parts of eastern Australia.

"We're looking at about 200,000 hectares of irrigated cotton in Australia, and about 40,000ha to 50,000ha in that area," Mr Kay said.

"It could be about a quarter of the crop...it highlights the importance of the reliability of water down there."

Mr Kay said the fact dams such as Burrinjuck were fed by snow melt from the Australian Alps rather than relying on heavy rain meant a more reliable source of water.

"It certainly makes it an important area for Australia getting a consistency of production," he said.

Tim Commins, "Brigalow", near Whitton, was one of the first farmers in the area to plant cotton, and said his next crop was already sold in advance.

With the latest crop emerging from the ground, Mr Commins said a good underground aquifer in the area also allowed farmers to plan ahead with their crops, even if current cotton prices were somewhat low.

Mr Commins said there was a stockpile of cotton in China that was depressing the price to about $426 a bale at the moment, and movement in the price would also depend on how much cotton US farmers planted.

In the meantime, cotton's good return per megalitre of water meant it was still a great option for farmers, he said.

Scott Hogan, "Trevail Park" Coleambally, agreed.

"If you weigh it up from a dollars per megalitre perspective, cotton is a better crop with a better outcome - it's as simple as that," Mr Hogan said.

Mr Commins and Mr Hogan were both prepared to put their money where their mouths were in 2011, when they joined with other farmers to form Southern Cotton and build a new gin at Whitton.

Since then, they have seen the business grow while more and more farmers in the area look to cotton.

Cotton planted in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area has increased from 11,000ha in 2011 to more than 32,000ha last season, with the forecast for up to 50,000ha in 2015.

"Not all agriculture is doom and gloom," Mr Commins said.

Manager for Tandou Farm at Menindee, Robert Lowe, agreed that the south was the region more cotton could be planted.

Mr Lowe said Tandou's Menindee farm would have about half as much cotton planted this season, but the Tandou Farm down at Hay would have more than double the amount of cotton than it had last year.