Cotton Australia board member and event chair Hamish McIntyre and Cotton Australia supply chain consultant Brooke Summers

ALMOST 2500 people gathered at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre this week for the Australian Cotton Conference with industry members from across Australia and overseas in attendance for the three day event.

Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and lockdowns, this is the first time since 2018 that Cotton Australia and Australian Cotton Shippers Association have been able to host the biennial event.

Cotton Australia board member and event chair Hamish McIntyre said the COVID-related cancellations only amplified the excitement for this year’s event which brought with it a chance to share information and collaborate.

“It is about time we got together and it is the sort of industry that likes to get together,” Mr McIntyre said.

“We are going to have so many people here from across the whole supply chain, from farmers and farm workers right through to brands and retailers.”

Spinners and fabric makers are also in attendance to further broaden the scope of the conference from the textiles aspect, and international delegates have also been welcomed.

“There are people from as far away as Pakistan, Bangladesh, the US, London.

“It is really a testament to the industry and the way we work together that we can all sit at a conference like this.”

Centre around the theme “Here for Good”, the broad program looks into aspects including cutting-edge cotton science, contributions to the economy and regional communities, and resilience in the face of many recent challenges.

Author and business leader Lucy Bloom and Olympian Steven Bradbury opened the program, which includes 150 speakers from across the supply chain

Mungindi grower Ben Warby, Warby Farming, Trent Raymond, LDC, and Andrew Macpherson, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Goondiwindi.

Rowan Brabrook and Ross York from Koch Fertiliser with Scott Haynes from AGnVET, St George.

Ralf Preston, Thomas Dewhurst, Aaron Caird and Rowan Wilson from John Deere.

Ashley Power and Andrew Donovan from Moree-based company Australian Food & Fibre.

Growers Maxine and Stuart Armitage, Wamara Farming, Cecil Plains.

Paul Hurley, Emerge Ag, Michael Hickey, Maylan Ag, Richie Burke, Emerge Ag, and Greg Pearce, CGS Goondiwindi.

Terry and Nicole Ryan, Nayz, Jondaryan with Nathan Bradley from Nacha Farming, Moonie.

LDC delegates Andrew Cook and Mudit Sharma.

Chris Bond, RDO Equipment, Charles Reynolds, John Deere, Russell Keely, Brookstead, Jeff Jacques, RDO Equipment, and Andrew Simon, RDO Equipment.

Grace Fowler, Ian Lonie and Rory Tomlinson from Fertec, Toowoomba.

Elliot Delves, Kathryn Bechaz and Lee Gullifer from Kalyx’s Griffith-based team.

Grain Central: Get our free cropping news straight to your inbox – Click here