JUNE NEWSLETTER

Welcome to the June Northern Cotton update.

It’s all happening here on site! Picking began on June 2nd, and by June 5th, the first load of cotton was delivered. Since then, things have moved quickly, completing staff training and inductions, and making sure everyone is familiar with the site. A highlight has been the return of all our casual team members from last season, which has really helped us hit the ground running and ensured a smooth start.

Things moved quickly from here, with ginning officially starting on Monday the 16th of June and punching out nearly 100 bales on the first day. By day two we were humming and into our 12 hour shifts. From there the days got longer and the bale output per day grew, within the week we were ginning an average of 400 bales per shift.

Throughout the month we had the pleasure of welcoming Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro and her advisors to the Gin for a guided tour of our facilities. The Chief Minister was highly engaged and genuinely interested in our process, asking thoughtful questions and taking a keen interest in the role we play within the Territory's local industry. It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase what we do and how we contribute to regional development in the Northern Territory. We're proud to see growing recognition from government leaders and look forward to ongoing collaboration.

Towards the end of the month, we attended the Feed Forum here in Katherine. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with others in the industry and see the exciting work happening on-farm. It was great to hear how producers are increasing output and improving livestock nutrition, with strong results and a lot of positivity around the use of cottonseed. It was also a great chance to share ideas, see what’s working, and explore opportunities to collaborate even further.

There’s always something happening on-site. Stay up to date by following our Facebook page.

NT SOILS PROJECT

Understanding and managing variability of nutrition and chemical constraints

November 2024 saw Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD), Black Bull Station and Precision Ag (PA) embark on a project using a combination of Grid-Soil Testing and Gamma-Ray surveying undertaken by PA to understand soil-based limitations to cotton yield in the NT. The purpose of this project was to verify scale of soil constraints and investigate the value of utilising Precision Ag and Variable Rate Technology to manage soil variability in Northern Australia.

PA completed 2ha grid-sampling testing Soil pH, Exchangeable Cations and Phosphorous across 500ha of cotton production area on Black Bull Station. A further study area of approx. 150ha of Ground Gamma-Ray Surveying was also completed using a UTV mounted Gamma Spectrometer. The results confirmed that utilising PA’s methodology accurately defined variable pH, Magnesium and Potassium deficiencies limiting yield potential. The project also concluded that Gross-Margin varies across the farm by >$2,500ha as a result of soil constraints. This led to the conclusion that implementing Precision Ag Services on farm can limit losses through targeted applications of inputs and focus on ameliorating soil constraints – primarily soil acidity with variable rate Lime and/or Dolomite.

Lime and Dolomite trials are due to commence this year to further validate the value in correcting soil acidity with Variable Rate applications. Precision Ag are currently seeking expressions of interest for surveying and testing this year to support more producers in the NT better understand drivers of yield variability and support greater profitability through targeted applications of inputs. Please see the attached Case Study of the project results for further information.

For further information on associated costs and outcomes, please contact

Campbell Underwood – Northern Regional Manager for PA on 0437 088 391 or c.underwood@pag.earth

Click here to view the case study