First farming families gain myBMP certification in 2025
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Cotton Matters
Cotton Australia recently hosted a presentation by Better Cotton’s Director of Traceability, Jacky Broomhead, for members of the Australian Cotton Shippers Association. Jacky outlined how Better Cotton is moving from the mass balance model to a fully traceable system, which tracks cotton from farm or gin to retailer. Currently, traceability is available at the country level, with plans to extend to region and farm levels in the future.
This system has already seen strong demand, with over 2,700 suppliers starting the onboarding process and nearly 50 retailers signed up
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Cotton Australia has been collaborating with a diverse group of industry participants, including Ginners, Merchants, and Shippers and the National Grower Register (NGR) to streamline the processes and administration surrounding ginning, contracting, and payments.
The Chair of the Cotton Australia Board, Nigel Burnett has released the 2025 season value proposition for growers, demonstrating the peak body is on track to deliver $7 to $10 return on every dollar paid by growers in their annual voluntary levies.
Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay met with the Indian Consul General, Dr. S. Janakiraman, in Sydney this week for discussions focused on Agtech and trade. India has expressed strong interest in the agricultural technologies currently used on Australian cotton farms, seeing potential benefits for their own cotton industry. In return, Australia is seeking improved access to the Indian market for its cotton exports.
There have been several reports of spray drift damage in one farming area near Narromine in the NSW Central West, with one cotton grower potentially suffering more than half a million dollars in crop yield losses.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has conducted a special briefing for members of the National Farmers Federation, including Cotton Australia, on the ongoing negotiations around the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with India.
Cotton Australia, in conjunction with National Irrigators Council and Border Rivers Food and Fibre met with the Hon Ann Leahy, QLD Minister for Local Government and Water this week, to discuss the proposed National Water Agreement (NWA), and provide insights into matters of concern.
Cotton Australia had an opportunity to directly interact with the “cream of the crop” of Queensland’s agriculture and textile teachers at the Food, Fibre and Agricultural Educators Conference on the Gold Coast last week.
It may be school holidays, but that didn’t stop NSW Agricultural Teachers from spending five days immersed in professional development at the NSWAAT Conference, where Cotton Australia led a session showcasing a new suite of resources.
The first Cotton Australia Teach the Teacher Field Tour has been confirmed, with Emerald staging the first event on Friday, 7 February. The event will be hosted by the Central Highlands Cotton Growers & Irrigators Association.
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myBMP
Liz Stott, cotton grower and Deputy Chair of Cotton Australia, and her husband Dallas, have become one of the first farming families in 2025 to gain myBMP certification in Australia.
Mid last year, Liz and Dallas took Cotton Australia on a tour on their farm, explaining the steps they were making towards achieving myBMP certification, an ambition they were keen to advance for many reasons including the business improvements resulting from following the process.
