Federal Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke toured the cotton industry last week, visiting “Keytah” in the Gwydir Valley to discuss grower issues, research and development.
“Keytah” Manager, Andrew Parkes, showcased the farm, and in particular the on-farm irrigation efficiency trials that have been set up to compare drip, overhead, bankless channels and furrow irrigation strategies.

Cotton Australia, through the Chair Joanne Grainger, took the opportunity to highlight a number of key issues to the Minister including:

• The slow APVMA response to issues surrounding phenoxy herbicide drift
• The huge benefit of GM technology to the industry as well as some of the exciting new technologies in the pipeline
• The new myBMP program
• The benefits of the industry R&D effort and how much we value the partnership with government

A key big picture issue during this election year for all farmers is the constant erosion of property rights, be it through encroachment of mining, native vegetation laws, water reform or urban encroachment. All these issues are impacting on grower certainty and were highlighted to the Minister.

Phil Alchin from Boyce and Co spent time with the Minister highlighting the financial impact of the ongoing drought on irrigators and the effects of water buyback on the Moree economy.

Special thanks must go to the owners of “Keytah”, David and Neil Statham and their staff for hosting the Minister’s visit.

Source: http://www.cottonaustralia.com.au/news/view.aspx?id=237