Cotton Grain Cattle program: Supporting sustainable diversification of ORIA cropping systems

Project locations: Kununurra, WA

Project partners: Northern Australia Crop Research Alliance Pty Ltd (NACRA) ; The University of Queensland ; WA Govt Dept. Primary Industries and Regional Development ; Advanced Agricultural Systems Pty Ltd (SwarmFarm)

Project summary and impacts

This project is part of the CRCNA’s Integrated Farming Systems – Cotton, Grains and Cattle Program.

The Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) boasts the highest water security in Australia, thanks to the vast storage capacity of Lake Argyle. The high water security, combined with deep, well-structured soils, abundant sunshine, and warm temperatures, creates ideal growing conditions – particularly for crops such as cotton and maize.

Over the past five years of research, wet season cotton planting has consistently delivered high yields. This success is largely due to flowering occurring during the optimal early dry season period (March to May). Prior to the introduction of Bollgard 3 (BG3) technology, this flowering window was highly vulnerable to Lepidoptera pest damage, which had previously limited the development of a northern cotton industry. The agronomic success of cotton, along with its ability to supply two high-value commodity markets, presents a strong opportunity to establish an integrated cotton-grain-cattle farming system, where each component complements the other.

This project aims to move beyond a single-year, single-issue approach by investigating multiple metrics within an integrated farming system.  Key focus areas include:

• Identifying suitable crop rotations with cotton and maize.
• Optimising nitrogen (N) inputs.
• Incorporating agricultural technology (AgTech) into a farming systems.
• Building local skills and expertise
• Supporting a PhD student to contribute to the research and development.

Nitrogen management in cotton will be a major focus, given its implications for productivity, profitability, and environment sustainability. Nitrogen availability is a key driver of crop yield, but it is also the largest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cotton production.

The project will also build local capacity through the adoption of AgTech in the cotton-grain system. It is anticipated that this technology will enhance broadacre cropping in the ORIA. A key focus will be identifying and validating technologies that can either enhance ongoing trials or address systems-level challenges identified through stakeholder engagement.

In addition to extending knowledge and lessons learned to the local farming community, the project will support a PhD candidate to undertake critical R&D. While the student will be based at The University of Queensland, in southern Queensland, all fieldwork will take place in Kununurra, ensuring that the knowledge generated is directly applicable to cropping in the ORIA.