Eleven growers from across Australia have been named as regional winners and finalists in the 2023-24
FastStart™ Cotton Establishment Awards.
These regional winners were assessed on their establishment figures, with evenness of their young crop
helping to set them up for success later in the season, as well as earning them each a $1000 gift card to
Total Tools.
Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD) and Syngenta Australia, partners in the FastStart™ program, coordinate
the awards as a means of encouraging attention to detail, and adoption of the program’s tools developed
to support growers in the critical first 70 days of establishment.
CSD Extension and Market Development Lead Peter White said cotton growers know better than most
the value of quality tools – whether they’re kept on the back of the ute or accessed on the
FastStartCotton.com.au website.
“Winning is nice but what sets the cotton industry apart from some other sectors is the willingness to
help others along the way, and what we’re really aiming to do is showcase the help growers can access
to grow great cotton,” he said.
“Between CSD and Syngenta, we’ve pooled a lot of knowledge and created some really handy tools to
assist growers with their establishment and sometimes the best way of learning is to see how the best
apply this to their crops.”
Regional winners
Darling Downs, QLD – John ‘Cowboy’ Cameron, Pittsworth, Dryland
South East, QLD – Michael Stewart, Wondai, Irrigated
Southern, NSW – Sarah Parkes, Carrathool, Irrigated
Gwydir, NSW – Tim Leyfels, Moree, Dryland
Namoi, NSW – Will Turner, Edgeroi, Dryland
Central QLD – Greg Kauter, Emerald, Irrigated
Macintyre, QLD – Shane Boardman, Goondiwindi, Dryland
Macquarie Valley, NSW – Jim Bible, Narromine, Irrigated
Balonne, NSW – Will Carrigan, Boomi, Irrigated
Western Australia – Christian Bloecker, Kununurra, Irrigated
Northern Territory – Tony Hayne, Douglas Daly, Dryland
The awards were launched in 2018 and have featured a winning dryland and irrigated cotton grower
each year since. The competition rewards growers in their continuous efforts to improve production
methods.
“There are 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,” said Syngenta Seedcare™
Technical Services Lead Dean Hancock.
“The Awards are a great way of doing this, as well as sharing what best practice looks like with other
growers.”
FastStart™ Cotton research and development is funded through the proceeds of each bag of seed sold
through CSD, which comes with the added protection of Syngenta Seedcare™ treatments.
Regional winner Will Carrigan, from the Boomi Valley, NSW, agreed that success was in the detail.
“Bed preparation is something we really focus on, so if it needs another pass we make sure to take the
time to get it done,” he said.
“Then it’s a matter of watching the [FastStart™] traffic light system to let us know when to make a start to
planting.”
Two overall winners will be announced on 9 May, for the entrants with the best Irrigated and Dryland
establishment results.
