HUGO Fenech-Rodgers may only be four years old, but the budding young farmer is well on his way to growing his first cotton crop – albeit in his Rockhampton backyard.
Taking us on a tour of his small farm, which encompasses two potting tubs, Hugo was quick to inform on how his young crop has been progressing.
With one tub clearly outstripping the other, Hugo is sure the problem was “bugs”.
“There was bad bugs and bad soil in that one,” he said of the righthand crop.
“But this one is good, it has grown.”
Despite his clear passion for the crop, which comes from his Uncle Ross (Burnett, Barwin, Emerald), Hugo wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to farm when he grows up.
When asked if it would be cotton – his answer was short and sweet.
“Nah, we can’t eat that,” he said.
His Uncle Ross is his clear hero – and Hugo said Uncle Ross has “the best cotton in the world”, but Queensland Country Life was unable to verify the slightly biased opinion.
Irrigation is important for any crop, and while Hugo wasn’t able to remember how many waters his crop had had this season, he was quick to demonstrate the process.
Without furrows or an irrigation channel, he has had to settle for a hose.
“You have to flood it,” he said.
“So it can get water to grow.”