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Auscott Narrabri. Meeting With Ben Stevens, Farm Manager and Bernie George, General Manager Namoi.
www.auscott.com.au
Operating under its program of “Safe, Sustainable Production”, Auscott operates world-class farming, marketing and processing enterprises in Australia. As an experienced company with almost 45 years of service to Australian agriculture, the company maintains a strong reputation as a supplier of cotton, grain and related processing, marketing and shipping services to both domestic and international customers. Auscott is actively involved in all facets of the Australian cotton industry from field production through to export markets, providing ginning, marketing, warehousing and shipping services for our own crops as well as for our many grower clients. Auscott is also a prominent marketer of cotton and grain commodities, offering an innovative range of products. Auscott has substantial involvement in and total commitment to the Australian cotton industry and local communities with a focus on being the ginner and marketer of choice in the valleys in which we operate. We are innovative growers, committed to the stewardship of natural resources through sustainable production practices and a high level of water use efficiency. They are a leader in the uptake of technology for cotton production and processing. Considerable research and development work supports our commercial activities. Our field and processing technicians actively cooperate and work with scientists and other technical providers to enhance our production and processing systems.
Auscott values its unique position as the most vertically integrated member of the Australian cotton industry and the benefit that this presents to our customers. We believe there is no substitute for industry experience, committed people and support for the communities and environments in which we operate.
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Farming
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Auscott produces crops in the Gwydir, Namoi and Macquarie Valleys of inland NSW. The company’s farming operations are world-class developments operated by highly skilled employees and supported by modern, efficient equipment. Australian cotton yields and quality are amongst the highest in the world with Auscott enjoying a position as a leading producer in each of the valleys in which it operates.
As a strong supporter of science and technology, Auscott pursues farming techniques designed around the profitable stewardship of natural resources. All the company’s farms are certified Best Management Practice operations. The company is a leader in soil management and integrated crop management in irrigated agriculture. While cotton is the main economic crop, the farms are also significant producers of rotation crops including wheat (bread, soft and pasta), canola, chickpeas (Garbanzo), sorghum and smaller quantities of some specialist seeds.
The company’s farming practices include minimum tillage and controlled traffic farming, retained stubble practices and satellite assisted precision farming techniques. Irrigation practices include laser levelled furrow irrigation systems, lateral move overhead irrigation and drip irrigation installations. High standards of water use efficiency are a key focus of the company’s agronomic staff.
Telemetry and other remote sensing / control systems are employed at various sites with irrigation scheduling based on up to the minute soil moisture data transmitted automatically from soil moisture probes strategically positioned across the irrigated fields.
The agronomic teams at each farm undertake significant research and trial programs, ensuring that the company is at the forefront of issues such as new varieties, new production techniques, enhanced irrigation scheduling and the latest developments in crop biotechnology.
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Water trading, Licences, Continuous Accounting
Listen to auscott1.mp3 and answer the questions
- Has the Namoi River stopped before large irrigation dams were in place?
- How is ground water linked to the river
- How is water traded
- What volume is a licence
- How much is it worth, does it vary
- How is water allocated
- What is meant by the term
- General Security Water
- Supplementary Water
- Overland flow
- Can bore water ( ground water ) be traded? How have the water reforms effected bore licences
- How does Continuous accounting work
- Why are variable licence allocations unsuited to permanent crops?
Variability, managing efficiency, changing practices, energy efficiencies, technology.
Listen to auscott2.mp3 and answer the questions
- How does variability effect business planning
- How does summer rainfall effect the farm
- Why are long time frames important
- How does technology impact on water scheduling
- How can efficiency be managed
- How have irrigation practices changed
- What was the advantage of a new storage over buying more water
- What role do yield maps play
- What are the advantages for Auscott of Lateral Move Irrigation systems
- Why are EM (electromagnetic) surveys carried out.
Change and Challenges
Listen to auscott3.mp3 and answer the questions
- What changes have there been on the Auscott Narrabri Farm
- Why are water use efficiency gains challenging
- Will changes result in less cotton growers, Why
- Why have some corporate organisations moved out of Cotton Production recently.
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