Technology, innovation and new products are expected to provide an extra drawcard for cotton growers and all agricultural stakeholders to attend the Cotton Collective being held in Toowoomba from 5-7 August.
The third day of the event, the biggest cotton event of its kind for 2025, will feature a product reveal, a presentation on the use of drones in cotton, and an examination of the impact of technology in modern-day farming practices, all designed to help all growers get better results on farm.
The morning of 7 August features a new product section hosted by Cotton Grower Magazine in the trade hall. It’s an opportunity for exhibitors to highlight the new farm-focussed items that will be of interest to all growers.
That will be followed by Practical Tech on the Farm, focusing on drone spraying. The session will be led by current QFF President and Emerald cotton grower Aaron Kiely, alongside Felton grower Matt Richards and SkyKelpie founder Luke Chaplain, whose company specialises in aerial mustering.
For Aaron, adopting drones was about finding a smarter, more flexible way to tackle the challenges of farming.
“We have been using drones for the past year, and we are seeing great results,” he said. “We had been looking to find new ways to target specific areas of the farm due to a variety of different soil types.
“Drones also provide better accuracy, which was another reason we made the decision to use them, we have several different crops on our boundaries including permanent tree cropping which makes it challenging with certain products when using planes.
“One of the other issues is compaction when using farm machinery and obviously that’s not an issue when we are applying from the air.”
Aaron said the capital costs involved were another primary reason for their use with a new spray rig setting buyers back around $500,000 plus, while a drone with a 70-litre tank and a fertiliser spreader depending on brand and accessories can come in at around $60,000.
“The cost of utilising crop dusters can be prohibitive and with a drone we are able to do a wider range of jobs around the farm. We apply Roundup and insecticides, and on our red soils the drones help with growth regulator and crop management, reducing biomass to allow more sunlight and water-use efficiency.”
Adding to the appeal, Aaron said getting a licence to operate a drone is achievable and the technology provides an unmatched accuracy, if set-up correctly.
The three-day event is packed with information sessions and panels by a range of specialists on topics as diverse as mega-trends for cotton, growing a successful family farming business, to human behaviour and how to read people.
Cotton Australia General Manager Michael Murray said the last day of the conference is sure to attract strong interest.
“We all know farmers love to attend these events for the social opportunities and to talk about what’s working for them on their farms. But there’s always enthusiasm to see what new products are available and where the technology is heading, and they are both a feature of the last day, 7 August.”
Tickets for the Cotton Collective, which also features the Cotton Awards dinner on the evening on 6 August, are selling fast.
