A Bowenville grower has taken home first place in the irrigated section of a national cotton establishment competition.
Terry Ryan of Milla-Lee won the irrigated category in the 2020-21 FastStart Cotton Establishment Awards by achieving a planter uniformity index of 0.034 and a 95.8 per cent establishment rate.
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In the dryland category, this year's winners were Will and Ben Coulton of Mullala in Boggabilla, NSW.
The Coultons achieved a PUI of 0.271 and 95.9pc establishment rate.
Cotton Seed Distributors and Syngenta, partners in the FastStart program, coordinate the awards to celebrate excellence in crop establishment.
Each season a grower in both the dryland and irrigated category are awarded for the best overall establishment of their cotton crop.
Mr Ryan has been growing cotton since 1988 and this is the first time he has entered this competition.
"I feel a bit shocked, but excited and privileged to have won," Mr Ryan said.
Mr Ryan said he found online tools invaluable in assisting in the establishment phase, including the FastStart Cotton Soil Temperature Network and the Cotton Field Weather Network.
Will Coulton said Mother Nature always played a big hand in establishment success, but had found the FastStart tools extremely useful, particularly when optimising the planting window.
"We are very appreciative of winning this award and grateful that the FastStart program provides a means of rewarding growers who take the time to target the optimum planting window," Mr Coulton said.
"The increased yield potential we all aim for by getting the cotton off to a good start is the main objective, but it is nice to be acknowledged as we often don't take the time to look back and reflect on the start we had."
The competition doesn't assess outright yield, instead emphasising establishment and the foundations for an efficient crop utilising tools such as the FastStart Cotton Soil Temperature Network, helping to manage early season yield limiting impacts.
Planter uniformity and evenness of the emerging crop are key criteria that strongly align with FastStart principles.
Growers are encouraged to adjust their row configuration and seeding rates for optimum seedling performance as a foundation for optimum efficiency and eventually yield.
CSD extension and market development lead Peter White noted the overall high standard of this year's entrants.
"Achieving even establishment of a cotton crop requires attention to detail, which is where our winners this year shine," Mr White said.
"Not only have they given themselves the best chances of maximising their yields, they've won one of Australia's most prestigious crop competitions."
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Syngenta Seedcare technical services lead Sean Roberts said there were many growers out there doing a great job of optimising their seedling establishment through the utilisation of Syngenta Seedcare technology that is applied to CSD seed, and the agronomic knowledge brought to light through extensive FastStart research projects.
"The awards are a great way of doing this, as well as sharing what best practice looks like with other growers," Mr Roberts said.
The awards were launched in 2018, with past winners participating in a study tour of agricultural enterprises within the Ord River irrigation system.
Organisers are hopeful the trip will go ahead this year after a COVID-19 hiatus.
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