Agricultural Innovation

Agriculture is an always developing trade. Over the years various technologies have been introduces to increase the amount of food that farmers can produce. In 1950 one farmer could only produce for 20 people. But in 2010, one Australian farmer can produce for 600 people. This means that farmers produce for aproximately 60 percent of the population.

Australia is a major exporter of Cotton. The Australian Cotton indsutry has greatly benifited from the agricultural technology advances of today. The Australian cotton industry is always advancing, finding new ways to improve their practives. With extensive Research and Development, Australias cotton industry is extremely modern and advanced.

For example, we have used modern technology to genitically enhance our cotton, allowing it to become one of Australias top exports, valued at 1.7AUD billion a year with $1.5 billion of it coming from exports




 This High Tech Sprinkler System is a perfect example of the
advancing technologies of the Agricultural trade.

The future key drivers for cotton exports are water efficiency, which is true across the board for most Australian famers. Cotton farmers are already three times as water efficient as the rest of the world but that doesn’t stop cotton farmers and industry experts looking for the very best use of Australia’s precious water resource.

 

 

As growers of a relatively high-value crop, cotton producers can afford to adopt innovative technologies. Crop rotations with cereals are an integral component of the management of pests, weeds and diseases on cotton farms.

Cotton was the first Australian industry to commercialise genetically modified crop varieties.

• Ingard, a genetically modified strain of cotton, has been grown in Australia since 1996 and has contributed significantly to reduced chemical insecticide application.

• Scientific work is underway to produce cotton strains that are drought resistant, need less water and have better fibre properties (such as increased flame resistance, reduced wrinkles in fabrics, and reduced need for dyes in processing).