Cotton Australia / Environment / History

There is no doubt that Australia’s cotton industry has changed dramatically over the last 30 years. It is a modern, technology focused, efficient and sustainable industry that underpins many regional communities and produces a high quality product for the world fibre market.

There have been many challenges, milestones and victories along the path to sustainability which are outlined in summary here. While much progress has been made, the cotton industry is committed to continual improvement and must remain flexible and adaptive to new issues and challenges in the future.

1990	1st Cotton Industry Environmental Audit finds improvements needed, particularly in the area of chemical use
1991	Research and development begins on Best Management Practices (BMP) Program to address environmental issues on farm
1993	Three year, $6 million program to investigate minimising pesticide in riverine environments
1994	Cotton Cooperative Research Centre starts project to improve monitoring of off-farm chemical residues
1995	Research conducted into evaporative losses from cotton irrigation systems Agricultural chemical “Helix” ceases to be used on cotton crops 31% of cotton R&D budget devoted to “adoption of environmentally sound, sustainable farming practices”
1996	First edition of the BMP manual released to guide farmers in sustainable cotton production, with a strong focus on pesticide management Cotton farm in Narrabri, “Oakville”, becomes the first farm in the world to be ISO certified
1997	First BMP workshops for growers conducted by Cotton Australia INGARD® cotton (with transgenic traits) grown commercially for the first time, with a 50% reduction in chemical applications compared to conventional cotton
1998	Industry crisis – a number of beef cattle found to contain traces of endosulfan, a chemical used on cotton BMP being implemented, with a grower survey indicating 64% had made changes to farming practices as a result of BMP 96% of growers surveyed describe BMP as “essential to cotton’s long term viability” One of the first Area Wide Management groups established in Bogabilla where growers work together to integrate pest management strategies
1999	97% of all growers introduced to the BMP program at 300 workshops attended by 3,000 industry participants Independent audit program introduced to assess BMP adoption on farm Cotton industry negotiates with National Registration Authority on their development of stricter controls for use of endosulfan Cotton Australia works with conservation groups to develop a “Code of Sustainability”
2000	International Cotton Advisory Committee acknowledges Australia as the world leader in environmental best practice in cotton production 600 hand-held weather stations distributed to growers via industry initiative Rural water-use efficiency program launched in Queensland with assistance from state government Largest privately owned network of weather stations in Australia installed on the Darling Downs – no cotton grower is further than 10km from a station Salinity research program in place
2001	1st “official” bale of BMP cotton produced by the Austin family, Theodore Queensland 300,00 bales of cotton produced under BMP Industry survey finds 50% of growers progressing BMP on farm Industry research co-funds a wind tunnel facility to allow testing of pesticide applications in controlled conditions
2002	Survey shows 90% of cotton growers believed the BMP auditing process was of significant benefit Integrated Disease Management Manual released, along with the Come Clean Go Clean policy to stop the spread of diseases like fusarium wilt
2003	Cotton Australia and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation receive $600,000 in NHT funding to expand BMP to become a full environmental management system (EMS) Queensland cotton growers achieve 13% water use efficiency gains over the last two seasons BMP expanded to include land and water management 40 Area Wide Management Groups established Industry increases investment in biodiversity research and review published Funding secured through Queensland government for phase 2 of rural water-use efficiency program
2004	Bollgard II® cotton (with transgenic traits) commercially grown for the first time, requiring 80% less pesticide applications Cotton industry wins Queensland Primary Industries Week Environment Award for BMP Program Riparian River management guidelines produced WaterPak irrigation management manual completed
2005	2nd Environmental Audit shows cotton industry complies with all recommendations of the 1990 Audit and advises on ways to improve system further More than 50% of cotton R&D budget invested in reducing chemical use and improving water use efficiency ACGRA wins 2005 Australian Government Prize for Rural Innovation – for recognition of outstanding innovation for Cotton BMP Industry invests in research on greenhouse gas emissions
2006	60% of Australia’s cotton crop produced by farms adopting BMP Cotton Catchment Communities Cooperative Research Centre established - $140 million to be invested in R&D between 2006-2012, with a focus on sustainability outcomes Funding secured through Queensland government for phase 3 of rural water-use efficiency program
2007	Queensland Government recognises cotton BMP as an alternative means for complying with statutory land and water management plans Cotton industry announces plans to double water use efficiency in the next decade Two Japanese retailers begin purchasing and marketing sustainable Australian BMP cotton products to Japanese consumers $19 million committed to water use efficiency R&D over the next three years Namoi Catchment Management Authority commits more than $3 million for natural resource management improvements and offers cotton growers a subsidy for BMP auditing Industry research funded to develop tools to measure and manage on-farm energy use New BMP Manager appointed to re-structure the program to better address current and future issues such as climate change Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation scoping study completed Birds on Cotton farms book released
2008	New strategic direction for BMP launched, based on grower feedback Electronic, on-line version of BMP under development National Water Commission partnership to reduce seepage from water storages Industry completes action plan on managing climate change