New website to support cotton growers in Australia

A new website called Acres of Opportunity has been launched at the 2017 Cotton Collective, recently held in Griffith, Australia.

Monsanto and Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD) collaborated to launch the online resource hub which is a consolidated source of up-to-date information and advice on both irrigated and dryland cotton farming for new and future growers.

The website was developed as a toolbox, to bring together information and resources from multiple industry sources all in the one, easy to use website, said Monsanto Australia’s marketing lead, Keryn McLean.

“We are seeing an increasing number of new cotton growers join the industry every year, and with so much quality technical information available, we felt there was a need to point growers in the right direction and assist them in finding the exact information they are looking for.

“Acres of Opportunity provides growers with a central, user friendly information platform, and links them to all their information needs through a streamlined user experience,” added McLean.

By following the 8 golden rules (for dryland cotton) or the 10 point plan (for irrigated cotton), new growers can connect with experts in their region, and find out about upcoming events through the website.

Specific dryland and irrigated crop management guides have also been developed to support first time cotton growers and to complement the online resources, said CSD in a press release.

“The collaboration recognises the continuing growth within the cotton industry into new irrigated and dryland areas, as well as grower conversion from alternate summer crops to cotton, in established areas,” said James Quinn, CSD’s marketing, extension and development lead.

“Monsanto and CSD share a common vision in supporting new growers within the cotton industry, and with our strong relationship and history of working closely to bring new technologies and innovations to market, it made sense to continue to partner in this space,” added Quinn.

“The response from cotton growers and industry at the Cotton Collective was really positive. We are looking forward to developing and evolving the website, as we continue to support new growers to assist them with a positive experience with cotton,” Quinn concluded.