EMMA FIELD, The Weekly Times
COTTON plantings in southern NSW are tipped to be larger than the record crop already predicted for the region.
Monsanto today released its first official cotton crop estimates, forecasting 90,102ha will be planted in the Murrumbidgee, Murray and Lachlan valleys.
The Weekly Times revealed last October that Monsanto’s preliminary estimate was 89,320ha, more than double the 58,210ha planted the previous season in the southern regions.
“The Murrumbidgee region planted 67,304 hectares of cotton, making it the biggest cotton growing region this season,” Monsanto Australia managing director Tony May said.
“Cotton has proved itself as a high value crop and a great industry to be a part of.”
Monsanto’s new figures also reveal 46 new cotton growers were registered in the Murrumbidgee, taking the total to 244.
This is up fourfold in eight years when only 52 cotton growers were registered.
The Lachlan Valley is tipped to grow 18,358ha, up 32 per cent on last season, while in the Murray Valley, Monsonto forecasts 4,440ha has been planted, up 33 per cent on the previous season.
If these new estimates are realised when harvest starts later this year, the cotton crop in southern NSW will outstrip the rice crop.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences this month tipped this season’s rice crop to be 78,000ha.
Πηγή: The Weekly Times