Our partners

Cotton Australia is the peak representative body for the Australian cotton growing industry. It determines and drives the industry’s strategic direction, with a strong focus on R&D, promoting the value of the industry, reporting on its environmental credibility, and implementing policy objectives in consultation with its stakeholders.

Cotton Australia helps the Australian cotton industry to be world competitive, sustainable and valued by the community. It has roles in policy and grower representation, best management practices (through the delivery of the myBMP program), promotion and education, and biosecurity.

One of Cotton Australia’s key roles is advocacy, helping to reduce the regulatory burden on growers and advance their interests at all levels. The organisation advocates extensively on a wide range of legislative and regulatory issues confronting growers and has a team of dedicated regional staff, providing support and advice to growers on the ground.

Cotton Australia also plays an important role in providing grower feedback on research priorities and advocating for greater funding for rural R&D. Cotton Australia provides ongoing advice to the CRDC on research projects and where research dollars should be invested.

Visit the Cotton Australia website.

The Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) delivers outcomes in cotton research, development and extension (RD&E) for the Australian cotton industry. A partnership between the Commonwealth Government and the Australian cotton industry, CRDC exists to enhance the performance of the cotton industry through RD&E: helping to increase the productivity and profitability of growers. CRDC’s investment in RD&E is funded through an industry levy, with matching Commonwealth contributions.

Since CRDC was formed in 1990, $427 million has been invested in almost 3900 cotton RD&E projects by growers and the Government, delivering real impact for growers. Impact assessments in core areas of CRDC investment – optimising water use efficiency and crop nutrition RD&E – show that CRDC has delivered return on investments to growers of $8.29 to $1 and $5.40 to $1 in these areas respectively. Meanwhile, the single biggest investment in CRDC’s history – the five-year CRDC, GRDC and Goanna Ag collaboration, Weather and Networked Data (WAND) – has an estimated benefit-cost ratio of $12.54 to $1; that is, a $12.54 benefit returned to growers and the wider industry for every one dollar invested via CRDC.

All of CRDC’s investments are guided by Clever Cotton: CRDC’s Strategic RD&E Plan for 2023-28. The plan is built on three pillars, Paddock, People and Planet, and nine investment areas:

• Paddock: data-driven decisions, adaptive systems, connected market intelligence

• People: design and innovation, leadership and capacity, adoption and impact

• Planet: natural capital, carbon, circular economy.

CRDC’s goal through this plan is to add an additional $1 billion in economic value to the Australian cotton industry. 

Visit the CRDC website.

Cotton Seed Distributors Ltd (CSD) has been supplying quality cotton planting seed to the Australian cotton industry since 1967. CSD was formed through the vision of Australia’s foundation cotton growers and remains committed to the success of today’s industry.

CSD is a major investor in cotton breeding, research and development, having developed a long and successful partnership with the CSIRO Cotton Breeding Program. CSD’s objective is to deliver elite varieties that are specifically bred and adapted to suit local growing conditions by delivering yield and quality outcomes to keep the Australian cotton industry at the premium end of the global fibre market.

On behalf of the industry, CSD takes an active role in the development and licensing of best in class biotechnology traits that add value to the overall performance of CSD varieties and to Australian growers.

CSD also conducts large scale replicated trials focussed on new varieties, technologies and techniques to assess performance across diverse environmental conditions; and provides industry wide extension services focused on cotton production and agronomy via the CSD Extension and Development Agronomy team and CottonInfo.

Visit the CSD website.