Just a quarter of the average cotton crop has been planted at Auscott’s Namoi Valley operations between Wee Waa and Narrabri this year.
In the fallow fields the ground is dry and cracking.
Like most farms in the district, the soil is in desperate need of a good soaking and the farm storages need refilling.
The company owned irrigation farm is usually busy all year round, rotating cotton crops with cereal grains and legumes, but without drought breaking rain the prospects for next year are grim.
At this stage it’s likely there will be no river water available for irrigation purposes next year, leaving ground water and rainfall as the only remaining options, reducing growing capacity further.
Despite the current reduced planting due to lack of water, General Manager Bernie George is hopeful the smaller crop will at least be high quality.
“The cotton had a difficult start, it was quite cold early in October and then during November we had heatwaves, but the season since then has been encouraging,” he said.
“The crop has really progressed quite well, and we’ve got enough water to finish the crop off.
“I’m hoping for above average yields but it’s always dangerous territory to start guessing so we’ll wait and see how it picks.
“Obviously we’re facing a difficult season and we’re all looking forward to some good rains to replenish Lake Keepit and Split Rock, we will need drought breaking rain to get things back on track.”
The recovery in the price of cotton over the course of the season is perhaps a saving grace for farmers who took a punt on planting a crop in the midst of a drought.
After starting the season at $390 per bale, the price has climbed to $530, which is somewhat surprising considering there is currently a whole world’s supply of cotton in storage.
China alone has stockpiled 102 million bales, almost equivalent to expected global output this year of 119 million bales.
Grower services manager PJ Gileppa explains what is driving the positive price movements.
“Buyers are looking for some good quality cotton to blend with the lower quality, and we’ve also seen the Australian dollar fall which has made a big difference to the price,” he said.
“The price is positive going forward as well; we are already seeing $530 a bale on offer for next year’s cotton, but it’s hard to take advantage of those fully when there isn’t much water around.”
Positive prices may well be the silver lining for this year’s cotton season, but in general smaller crops mean less profits and less money flowing through to the local stores.
Mr Gileppa says if it remains dry it will be tough on local businesses.
“There’s no question that this is already an issue west of Wee Waa, they’re looking at their third or fourth season with no plant at all, but further east the storm rain has been keeping most things going,” he said.
“Mixed farmers have seen some improvements in prices for sheep and cattle, but with the irrigation next
season will be more of an issue.”
Each day without rain pushes the stakes higher for the local agricultural industry, with smaller family owned operations conceding it’s the toughest it’s ever been.
But Mr George is determined to remain positive about the future.
“We’re happy to have made it through this season and that little bit of rain around Christmas and New Year helped, it stretched irrigation intervals out a bit,” he explains.
“We’re ever optimistic otherwise we wouldn’t be in this game, but we are looking forward to the rain.”
Picking of the 1200 hectare cotton crop is expected to start at Auscott in mid-April.