While it might have once been considered reckless to produce cotton in Forbes, local farmers could view the crop increasingly as a viable option following an information meeting held recently.
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Five farmers attended the cotton information meeting which was run by Monsanto and Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD) to gauge the community’s interest in the industry.
While cotton has been grown intermittently in the Forbes community over recent years, it is has not been a regular industry.
This could change according to Monsanto’s Luke Sampson who said Forbes farmers seemed more enthusiastic than he expected.
“The meeting went really well,” he said.
“We had five different farming businesses attend and it went better than expected.”
The meeting went over the nuts and bolts of cotton production from planting to picking.
Traditionally, cotton has needed a hot climate and water security to prosper.
But with cotton now being grown in Victoria, as of last season, Mr Sampson said these two elements will be something Forbes will be able to easily combat.
“There are now a lot more varieties of cotton these days and biotechnology that makes cotton tolerant to cooler climates,” he said.
“Also with BT (bacillus thuringiensis) proteins, cotton is not having to be grown in a longer season of hot weather because it is not being damaged by caterpillars, and retaining a lot more fruit earlier on.”
While Forbes has not received water allocation since 2012 on the newly introduced continuous accounting scheme, Mr Sampson said that there is still carry over allocations that are obtainable.
“I believe there is 30% carry over water currently available,” he said.
Mr Sampson said that the same amount of water is required to grow corn as cotton and that cotton provides farmers with a better return for their water.
“Cotton uses the same amount of water as corn which is nine mega litres per hectare, and 25 per cent less than rice” he said.
Yet not everyone is convinced that the industry would be that easy for Forbes farmers to transition to.
Local agronomist Graham Falconer said he would be wary entering into the industry without a second thought.
“It’s a high investment and many farmers aren’t in a position to gear up for it,” he said.
“Also there isn’t the reliability of water, and it’s very hard with the cost of water.
“Cotton is not something you enter into in a small way, you’ve got to go into it in a big way.”
Mr Sampson agreed that it is a high investment, but says it is one that pays off.
“The input costs for cotton might be higher but the returns are higher as well,” he said.
“I have no doubt we will see cotton grown in the Forbes area in.”
The areas that grow cotton closest to Forbes are Condobolin, Narromine, Warren, and Trangie with the closest gin at Auscott in Trangie.
