The Cotton industry’s top awards for the year have been announced at the glamour event of the biennial Australian Cotton Conference on the Gold Coast, the 2024 Awards Dinner, with the top two awards going to Queenslanders.

The 2024 Bayer Cotton Grower of the year is Scott Balsillie, farm manager for Eastern Australia Agriculture in Dirranbandi while the AgriRisk High Achiever award recipients are Steve and Bridget McVeigh from Dalby on the Darling Downs.

Scott’s family has been involved in cotton since his grandfather and uncles started growing cotton in the Miles/Chinchilla area in the 1980’s. Scott first started working fulltime in cotton 25 years ago and today runs farms Clyde and Kio Ora, growing up to 6500 hectares combined.

Scott has been focused on improving water efficiency through the bankless conversion from siphons, achieving huge benefits in labour and water savings, machine efficiencies and yield benefits. He has moved from 800 metre row lengths to 1800, while employing deep tillage strategies, getting through the compaction layer to around 60 cm to allow the roots to be exposed to moisture and nutrients at depth. He has also invested in the latest technology allowing him to plant at 16kph achieving 250 hectares out of a 12 metre planter.

“I love growing cotton. It’s an amazing crop to grow. It’s all the 1 percenters that you get right that give you the amazing crop at the end. There’s nothing better than seeing those rows of white gold.”

Steve and Bridget McVeigh run Loch Eaton near Dalby where they grow more than a thousand hectares of irrigated and dryland cotton. Steve’s family has been involved in growing cotton for 44 years over three generations.

“I’m a big believer in development, diversification and technology. We are always looking at water and labour-saving technologies and looking to adopt the latest tech. We monitor everything on the farm, and we stop and start systems on the phone. We are big on safety, and we have QR codes on all entrances and sheds and machinery where they can scan and get all policies and procedures. Anyone coming onto farm has to scan and sign in so we know who is on farm at any time.”

The recipient of the CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever of the Year Award is Sharna Holman who began her journey into the cotton industry began in 2014 when she attended the Australian Cotton Conference as a student scholar.

Sharna’s current CRDC supported PhD research focuses on the pest status of cluster caterpillar in northern Australia, addressing sustainable cotton production challenges.

The recipient of the Cotton Seed Distributors Researcher of the Year Award is Dr Lisa Bird who plays a pivotal role in their management of the industry's insecticide resistance program. Th NSW DPI’s Australian Cotton Research Institute program conducts surveillance and research on insecticide resistance across five of the six major insect pests of cotton, including Helicoverpa, mirids, thrips, mites, and aphids.

Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay congratulated all award recipients and all nominees. “This year innovation, technology and sustainability outcomes feature prominently in the awards process. The award recipients have been recognized for their intelligent and forward focused approach to growing cotton, and that’s something all the nominees, and the industry as a whole share.

“Importantly, alongside the growers recognized as part of the awards program we have other industry representatives including researchers and the up and coming participants who will make a difference for years to come. It’s pleasing that our CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever Sharna Holman began her interest in cotton by attending the Australian Cotton Conference as a student scholar, and that highlights the importance of our education program which is introducing students to a career in cotton. This year we have a record number of students here and there may be another future award recipient among them.”

The prestigious Incitec Pivot Fertilisers Service to the Cotton Industry Award was also announced at the dinner. This year that honour goes to Ross Munro from BMC Partnerships in Moree.

Ross started his relationship with cotton in the 1970’s working alongside his father. They were establishing a business growing cotton and having conversations about starting a cotton transportation business. Later he would become responsible for operating infield loaders, loading flat top trucks and transporting cotton modules on chainbeds.

Ross began pulling apart, redesigning and remodifying these machines in the name of ‘efficiency’. He travelled to America to develop a greater understanding of how the US was transporting cotton and conducting internal gin movements. On returning to Australia, Ross met Danny and John Burke who were providing a similar offering in the market, they teamed up and formed what is known today as BMC partnership.

Mr Kay said Ross has a well-deserved reputation for offering advice and a helping hand to anyone in the industry. “Whether it’s about machinery setups, designing bale grabs or generally helping people to be more efficient at harvesting and moving cotton, Ross always makes himself available. He is a great sounding board on which configurations pick the best and the pros and cons of all the different dryland configurations. Growers and machinery manufacturers are always calling in to see Ross to get some of his intimate knowledge of the industry, and I am sure they will all join me today in congratulating him on this achievement.”