WHILE some Emerald cotton growers are busy irrigating their late-planted crops, the early planters are reaping the rewards with pickers out in the paddocks.
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Carlo Stangherlin, farm manager of Orana and Trawalla, Emerald, said he and leading hand Daniel Palinkas are about halfway through picking their 117 hectares of cotton.
He said he had high hopes for the crop, which appeared to be producing more bales to the hectare than last season’s approximately 10 bales/ha.
After planting on August 13, Mr Stangherlin said like most of the Central Queensland crop, there was early mirid and heliothis pressure, but said the benefits of planting early far outweighed the negatives.
“We planted early because we wanted to beat the weather at the end,” he said.
“That weather with the storms and rain will come from about now-on, it usually begins about next week.”
Mr Stangherlin expects to be finished picking by next Friday, and said he expects to plant chickpeas next.
Kelly Butterworth
Rockhampton-based journalist covering all things ag.
Rockhampton-based journalist covering all things ag.
