Cotton Australia has announced the finalists in the 2024 Australian Cotton Grower of the Year award and the High Achiever of the year award, with the results to be announced at the Cotton Conference on the Gold Coast in August.
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There were six finalists from as far north as Dalby on Queensland's Darling Downs and as far south as Coleambally in the NSW Riverina, highlighting a diverse range of farming systems and operations.
The grower of the Year finalists are:
- Kurt and Luke Von Pein - Pallathorpe, Macalister, Queensland.
- Scott Balsillie - Eastern Australia Agriculture, Dirranbandi, Queensland.
- Lindsay George - Lawson Grains. Moree, NSW.
In the High Achiever category the finalists are:
- Steve and Bridget McVeigh - Loch Eaton, Dalby, Queensland.
- David Bellato - Greenline Framing, Coleambally NSW.
- Scott and George McCalman - Kuranda, Gunnedah, NSW.
The grower of the year award is sponsored by Bayer and the high achiever award by AgriRisk.
Cotton Australia chief executive Adam Kay said the judging panel, made up of Bayer and AgriRisk staff and former winners, faced a tough task picking winners.
"Each of the finalists have displayed a commitment to growing cotton and a readiness to trial new farming methods and adopt technology to continue to improve their crops and yields while focusing on soil health and other environmental outcomes," he said.
Mr Kay said the difference in farming methods adopted by each of the finalists clearly demonstrate the diversity between cotton growing regions and the differing methods used to achieve the best results.
Last year's Grower of the Year Johannes Roellgen and High Achiever Dan Skerman were joined by sponsor judges from Bayer and AgriRisk in interviewing all nominees before deciding on the final six.
The judges then visited each finalist on their farms to witness first-hand their innovative and forward-thinking farming practices.
The award recipients will be announced during the Australian Cotton Conference which starts on August 6 on the Gold Coast.
The CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever of the Year Award, the Cotton Seed Distributors Researcher of the Year Award, and the Incitec Pivot Fertiliser Services to Industry Award will also be announced at the conference dinner on the evening of August 8.
Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
