Cotton awards finalists announced

Cotton Australia has announced the finalists in the 2024 Australian Bayer Cotton Grower of the Year award and the AgriRisk High Achiever of the year award, with the results to be announced at the Cotton Conference on the Gold Coast in August.

There were six finalists from as far north as Dalby on Queensland’s Darling Downs and as far south as Coleambally in the NSW Riverina, highlighting a diverse range of farming systems and operations.

The six finalists have been divided into two categories: Bayer Grower of the Year and AgriRisk High Achiever of the Year.

Bayer Grower of the Year Finalists:

• Kurt and Luke Von Pein – Pallathorpe, Macalister, QLD.

• Scott Balsillie – Eastern Australia Agriculture, Dirranbandi, QLD.

• Lindsay George – Lawson Grains, Moree, NSW.

AgriRisk High Achiever Finalists:

• Steve and Bridget McVeigh – Loch Eaton, Dalby, QLD.

• David Bellato – Greenline Framing, Coleambally, NSW.

• Scott and George McCalman – “Kuranda”, Gunnedah, NSW.

Cotton Australia’s chief executive officer Adam Kay said the high calibre of nominees made the judging process extremely difficult, with all growers showing knowledge and skills that will easily transfer so that other growers can benefit.

“Each of the finalists have displayed a commitment to growing cotton and a readiness to trial new farming methods and adopt technology to continue to improve their crops and yields while focusing on soil health and other environmental outcomes,” Mr Kay said.

The farming methods adopted by each of the finalists clearly demonstrate the diversity between cotton growing regions and the differing methods used to achieve the best results.

Cotton Australia and last year’s Bayer Grower of the Year Johannes Roellgen and AgriRisk High Achiever Dan Skerman were joined by sponsor judges from Bayer and AgriRisk in interviewing all nominees before deciding on the final six.

The judges then visited each finalist on their farms to witness first-hand their innovative and forward-thinking farming practices.

In addition to the six finalists listed above, three nominees are vying for the coveted Cotton Seed Distributors Researcher of the Year title while another three are in the running for the prestigious CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever of the Year.

Nominees in Researcher of the Year are Dr Alice Payne, RMIT, Dr Nicole McDonald, CQU, and Dr Lisa Bird, NSW DPI.

Young Cotton Achiever Nominees are Elsie Hudson, CRDC, Sharna Holman QLD DAF, and Alexandra Trinder, HMAG.

The award recipients will be announced during the Australian Cotton Conference which is being held in August at the Gold Coast.