Welcome to November!

It’s that time of year when the valley starts to green up with lines of little cotton plants. The cotton planted through early to mid-October is up, out, and growing quickly. With the warm conditions experienced throughout late October, early crops are racing along and taking shape nicely for the season ahead.

Across the Namoi, most irrigated cotton is now in the ground as we move into November. The story on the dryland front has shifted in a positive direction, with some areas receiving timely rain in late October that’s provided welcome planting opportunities. While rainfall totals have varied across the valley, the change has lifted confidence and allowed many growers to make a start on their dryland programs, a great turnaround heading into the new month.

In contrast, winter crop harvest is well underway and moving quickly. Reports so far suggest good yields across the early-harvested cereals and canola. With that, though, comes the movement of pests such as thrips from ripening winter crops into freshly emerged cotton, something to keep an eye on as we move through November.

Seasonal Focus: November in the valley

Crop Stages

Through November, cotton across the Namoi will be spread across a range of stages — from emergence and 1-2 leaf through to 4–6 leaf and even early squaring in crops that went in around the start of October. The season is off to a positive start, and it has been encouraging to see strong, uniform establishment in many fields.

🌦 Weather Watch

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a warmer-than-average November, with rainfall expected to sit around average for the valley. After a hot, dry October, the late-month rain brought some welcome relief, topping up soil moisture in parts of the Namoi and giving crops a timely boost. While patchy in places, the change has lifted spirits across the region. For some, it’s caused brief harvest delays, but the added moisture will prove valuable as we move into summer.

Long-range forecasts are also hinting at a possible rain event in the second week of November. If it arrives, it will be another welcome boost for both irrigated crops and those holding out for a little extra dryland planting moisture or will be a nice top-up for crops sown off the late-October rain.

Irrigation Planning
Many crops were watered up to start the season, but with higher-than-average temperatures and persistent winds, some follow up irrigations were required sooner than expected, especially in overhead irrigation. The recent rainfall has taken the edge off some early season irrigation demand, allowing some growers to delay follow-up waterings and refresh soil profiles.

Now is a good time to keep a close eye on soil moisture and consider installing moisture probes if you haven’t already. They are a great tool to track water use efficiency and fine-tune irrigation scheduling throughout the hotter months ahead.

Weed & Pest Watch
The warm, dry start has helped reduce fungal seedling diseases, one small upside of the dry run! However, as expected at this time of year, thrips activity has been reported in some early crops as they move out of maturing winter cereals. While thrip damage can look concerning, it is often more cosmetic damage than yield-threatening, and most crops can grow out of it quickly in warm conditions.

Keep monitoring population numbers, and be mindful with early insecticide use, conserving beneficial insects now can help manage pest pressure later in the season.

This year, we are excited to be involved in a ThryvOn® technology trial (add link to ThryvOn US website) with Bayer and Outlook Ag near Wee Waa. With reports of recent thrip activity, it’s a timely opportunity to observe how ThryvOn cotton performs under early pest pressure and plan to share updates throughout the season. 

Trial Site Updates

Most of our Namoi trial program is now planted, with just a couple of dryland sites to go once conditions allow. We have a strong line-up of RoundUp Ready varieties, XtendFlex® varieties and new experimental lines included in the program across the region this year. Fingers crossed for well-timed November rainfall to get those last blocks planted and ensure we can keep delivering local performance insights back to you.

Events

As we move toward the end of November, there are a couple of great opportunities to catch up locally.

Join us on Wednesday, 26th November at 8:30am at Locharba, Narrabri for a Field Walk with Bayer. This will be one of the first opportunities to see the new ThryvOn® technology up close, with insights from the Bayer and CSD teams on how it’s performing in the field and what’s ahead for this exciting new trait.

The following day, the Lower Namoi Cotton Growers Association AGM will be held on Thursday, 27th November commencing at 4pm at the Wee Waa Bowling Club. More details will be shared soon, so keep an eye on your emails and the Lower Namoi socials for updates. All are welcome! Come along to hear what the CGA has been up to over the past year and how you can get involved.

Then as we roll into December, three Area Wide Management (AWM) meetings are planned in collaboration with CottonInfo, Cotton Australia, and CSD. These sessions will bring together growers and agronomists from across the valley to discuss regional priorities, demonstrate local variety trial performance, upcoming seasonal considerations, and provide a platform to share emerging issues such as pest, disease, or weed pressures.

📅 Save the Dates:

• Walma - Walgett – Monday, 1st December - 3pm
• AFF - Narrabri – Tuesday, 2nd December - 3pm
• Mirrabinda - Boggabri – Wednesday, 3rd December - 3pm

More details will be available soon, stay tuned to local communications for updates!

October's action shot

The team planting V-ranks and post controls — a behind-the-scenes look at the foundation of our local data that supports the national programme!

We’d love to hear from you — what topics would you like us to cover in next month’s newsletter?

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