CottonInfo: Crop to Top

Modern fish screens are proving to be a win-win for both the environment and farm operations, helping protect native fish populations while improving irrigation efficiency. In this episode, Rod Price (NSW DPI) and Stacey Vogel (CottonInfo/CRDC) discuss how modern fish screens are helping reduce native fish losses, improve river health and deliver on-farm benefits such as reduced debris, lower main...

Introducing the new CottonInfo Nutrition and Plant Physiology Technical Lead - Tim Weaver. From school teacher to cotton researcher, Tim Weaver joins CottonInfo with plenty of insight into what really matters in crop nutrition. Tim shares his passion for working in cotton, how the industry has evolved, and what’s next in the nutrition space, including some exciting developments in real-time crop m...

Introducing the new CottonInfo Weeds Technical Lead - Graham Charles. From humble beginnings on a mixed farm and an unexpected entry into cotton, Graham shares how a passion for pastures evolved into a leading role in weed management for the cotton industry that has culminated in his new position as CottonInfo’s Weeds Technical Lead. We cover some key milestones along the way, including the develo...

In this episode, CRDC’s Susan Maas joins the podcast to update us on the progress of CRDC's 'Clever Cotton' Strategic Plan at the halfway mark. From big investments in a new industry data platform and the Australian Cotton Disease Collaboration, to hands-on work in Northern Australia and across CottonInfo, it’s all about turning research into real on-farm impact. We discuss how the...

Thinking about getting more value from the data you’re already collecting on‑farm – or not sure where to start? Then the CRDC Cotton Course microcredential Digital and Data Solutions for Cotton Systems is for you. In this episode, we're joined by Ian Simpson and Stephen Cattle from the University of Sydney to unpack what growers and consultants can expect to learn in the upcoming microcredent...

In this episode, we unpack the rapid and unexpected spread of the Indian cotton jassid across the US Cotton Belt, just 18 months after first being detected. Dr Scott Graham - who featured in a recent episode on his visit to Australian cotton farms on the Darling Downs - shares firsthand insights into how the pest likely arrived, how quickly it moved through the southeastern United States, and the...

Megan Woodward chats with CottonInfo Technical Lead and climate specialist Jon Welsh about why eastern cotton regions are starting dry, how El Niño events really behave behind the headlines, and what growers can do now to manage risk using history, not hysteria. Resources and information Subscribe or update your details to ensure you receive the CottonInfo Moisture Manager here . Article by Dr Kim...

In early March, Extension Agronomist Eddie McGriff from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Dr Scott Graham, Extension Entomologist at Alabama's Auburn University, travelled to Australia to tour key cropping systems - with Australian cotton high on their list. Joined by members of the CottonInfo team on Queensland's Darling Downs, the visit to local farms became a genuine two‑wa...

In this episode, Megan is joined by CottonInfo Technical Lead Sharna Holman, and state disease pathologists Dr Dinesh Kafle (QLD) and Dr Chi Nguyen (NSW) - who are both part of the Australian Cotton Disease Collaboration - to unpack what the 2025–26 cotton disease season has really been telling us across NSW and Queensland. We chat about the big jump in disease samples coming in, what growers are...

It's official - CottonInfo has a Regional Extension Officer in northern Australia! In this episode, we sit down with Nicole Bell, CottonInfo’s first-ever REO for the region, based in Kununurra. Nicole shares her winding path into the cotton industry — from growing up in Narrabri and studying zoology, to working in research, pest management and on-farm trials across the country. We chat about...

In this episode, we sit down with fatigue experts Professor Sally Ferguson (CQ University) and Kerri-Lynn Peachey (University of Sydney) to unpack the CRDC-supported research project Farming and Fatigue: Growing Sensible Solutions . Sally and Kerri-Lynn explore why fatigue is a major risk during peak farming periods (like picking!) and how practical, farmer‑designed tools can help make fatigue man...

As part of the Australian Cotton Disease Collaboration (ACDC), Dr Cassy Percy from UniSQ is leading a project that's working to create the Australian Cotton Pathogen Collection. The project aims to fill gaps in knowledge around key cotton pathogens that will help Australian cotton growers make better disease management decisions. In this chat, Cassy gives an overview of exactly what that mean...

The brand new CRDC Cotton Course offers flexible, targeted learning for people across the Australian cotton industry. Delivered by the University of Sydney in partnership with CottonInfo and Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD), the course consists of three microcredentials designed to build knowledge and skills without traditional university requirements. Ahead of the first microcredential starting in...

It's not the most glamourous aspect of growing a crop, but record keeping when it comes to chemical use is critically important. In this episode get some practical tips for effective record keeping, especially during the spray season, as well some of the things you might be able to do better to fully reap the benefits of proper record keeping. Resources myBMP Get your spray records right Spra...

In the final episode in our three-part series about the 2015 CottonInfo Irrigation Automation Tour we sit down with manufacturer and retailer Shawn Padman from Padman Group. This is a great chat from a different perspective with someone who was also part of the tour a decade ago, who has ridden the wave of the irrigation automation evolution in the Australian cotton industry.

In Part 2 of our 10 years on from the CottonInfo Irrigation Automation Tour pod chats, we catch up with NSW cotton grower Andrew Watson. We cover off on the evolution of Andrew's irrigation practices - from the trigger points and decision-making process to implementing automation technology on his farm in the Namoi Valley - and discuss the impact of the 2015 tour as well as future trends on t...

Welcome to Season 5 of the CottonInfo 'Crop to Top' podcast! A decade on, the 2015 CottonInfo Irrigation Automation Tour is still referenced as a turning point in how the industry came to understand new irrigation technologies, fostering and supporting the adoption of automation practices in the cotton industry.  In this episode - Part 1 of 3 discussions about the tour - we're joine...

While it's a much looked forward to time of year, there's no getting around the fact that the silly season coincides with one of the busiest times of the cotton season. In this episode we chat with Professor Siobahn Banks from UniSA about how cotton growers and farm managers can best manage the demands of the summer months. Her research to date has focused on the impact of sleep deprivat...

The importance of good spray drift management during the high-risk summer months can't be overstated. In this episode we talk about controlling the controllables (and managing the uncontrollable elements), the critical role of communication among growers and the broader community and the importance of reporting spray drift incidents. Resources mentioned in this podcast: Cotton Australia | Spr...

CottonInfo has a new Irrigation Technical Lead - Toowoomba-based Michael Scobie. Mick is a certified irrigation designer and is involved in one of CRDC's new research projects that is focused on reducing water loss from storages using floating solar panels.

Meet our inaugural CottonInfo Digital Agriculture Technical Lead, Quentin Feery-Lawrence. Quentin is fresh off an Agtech scoping tour across major cotton valleys, where he visited growers and technology providers to identify common challenges and opportunities for technology adoption in the cotton industry.

Tom Roberts from the National Fire Ant Eradication Program joins the podcast to discuss the invasive characteristics of fire ants and the broad risks they pose to agriculture, infrastructure, and the wider community. While fire ants are not considered a direct threat to cotton yield, there are biosecurity implications for cotton and mixed farming operations. To date there have been detections near...

Jon Welsh is the   Principal Climate Analyst & Economist at Ag Econ has been part of CottonInfo for more than a decade and has become a trusted Technical Lead in his expert fields of climate, energy and carbon. In this episode we get to know Jon a bit better - his family farming background, how he got into the cotton industry - as well as the latest on his most recent research project. We also...

Join us for an in-depth discussion with QDPI Principal Scientist Matt Gentle from Biosecurity Queensland's Pest Animal Research Centre and agronomist Tony Lockery, Manager of AMPS based in Moree. In this episode we cover feral pig biology and population growth, the impact feral pigs have on cotton and grain crops, the control tactics and management strategies available to growers and the curr...

The latest Sustainability Report for the Australian cotton industry has just been released. We catch up with Chris Cosgrove to find out about some of the report findings, what it means for growers and exactly what it means when we talk about sustainability. Access the new Australian cotton sustainability website here: https://australiancottonsustainability.org.au/ Read the latest Sustainability Re...