Farmer Roy's Random Thoughts - I never said it was easy.

[unlacedgecko]

We'd had rain maybe a week before that picking
Spindles on the picker pluck cotton off bush, it is then blown into the chamber where the module is wrapped - normally a far bit of cotton lint / dust blown out the back, doesn't really show up here.
A BALE has a specific meaning in cotton, it is the unit of measurement for yield & marketing. A bale is 250kg of processed cotton, after it has been ginned & seeds, trash etc removed. That's when we sell it

What sort of yields do you get?

 

[Kiwi Pete]

We'd had rain maybe a week before that picking
Spindles on the picker pluck cotton off bush, it is then blown into the chamber where the module is wrapped - normally a far bit of cotton lint / dust blown out the back, doesn't really show up here.
A BALE has a specific meaning in cotton, it is the unit of measurement for yield & marketing. A bale is 250kg of processed cotton, after it has been ginned & seeds, trash etc removed. That's when we sell it

Ahh so that's why it's a 'module'

I thought you were getting pretty bourgeois

Next silly question, can you save the seed from it?

 

[glasshouse]

This isn't me, but more picking videos

whats with the wide rows? when i did cotton in the eighties it was ridged up like spuds and flood irrigated

 

[glasshouse]

Wow. I don't think I've truly appreciated the vastness of the landscape before...

Hah, those are just small paddocks.

 

[Farmer Roy]

whats with the wide rows? when i did cotton in the eighties it was ridged up like spuds and flood irrigated

Yeah, most irrigated cotton is still like that
I'm dryland, so crop is basically grown on stored soil moisture & rain if we get it.
Most dryland grown " skip row " ie 2 rows planted one row skipped ( based on 1 m row spacings )
This is to create a reserve of soil moisture in the skip row, that the plant can access later in the season as the roots grow out to it
This provides a degree of risk management of not only yield, but fibre quality as well. Cotton is classed similar to wool with staple strength, length, micronaire etc. Really get hammered on discounts for poor fibre quality

 

[Farmer Roy]

What sort of yields do you get?

Around here, dryland yields probably average around 4 bales / hectare, range from about 2 - 5. Last year was a terrible hot dry summer, I averaged 3

One of those round "modules" is about 4 bales of ginned cotton

 

[glasshouse]

Yeah, most irrigated cotton is still like that
I'm dryland, so crop is basically grown on stored soil moisture & rain if we get it.
Most dryland grown " skip row " ie 2 rows planted one row skipped ( based on 1 m row spacings )
This is to create a reserve of soil moisture in the skip row, that the plant can access later in the season as the roots grow out to it
This provides a degree of risk management of not only yield, but fibre quality as well. Cotton is classed similar to wool with staple strength, length, micronaire etc. Really get hammered on discounts for poor fibre quality

I see. every day is a learning day.
I started on cotton work 30yrs ago next month, north of moree.
It was the only work going at the time due to bad times and a bad harvest

 

[glasshouse]

I have loads of slides of that , nobody seems to be able to convert them now.

 

[Farmer Roy]

Ahh so that's why it's a 'module'

I thought you were getting pretty bourgeois

Next silly question, can you save the seed from it?

Cottonseed is a valuable commodity & also contributes to the final income.
Cottonseed oil is one of the main edible veggie oils worldwide
Cottonseed is also great drought feed for cattle etc
Being GM, there are all sorts of regulations & agreements as to what you can do with the seed. Growers can retain some seed for animal feed, that is all.
Generally, the cotton gin buys the seed & that covers the cost of ginning & depending on the oilseed market can also provide a bit of cream as well. Last year, I got $48K from my seed, over & above ginning costs

 

[Farmer Roy]

I see. every day is a learning day.
I started on cotton work 30yrs ago next month, north of moree.
It was the only work going at the time due to bad times and a bad harvest

Moree is pretty much in this part of the world, just a couple of hours north

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Hah, those are just small paddocks.

A mate of mine used to head to Hyden (WA) each year for the seeding, massive areas, but also a lot more contoured; and rougher looking than Roy's part of the world.

But this looks nothing like it; quite an amazing contrast in landscapes, and everything else I guess.
Pretty cool country - too extreme for this fella

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Cottonseed is a valuable commodity & also contributes to the final income.
Cottonseed oil is one of the main edible veggie oils worldwide
Cottonseed is also great drought feed for cattle etc
Being GM, there are all sorts of regulations & agreements as to what you can do with the seed. Growers can retain some seed for animal feed, that is all.
Generally, the cotton gin buys the seed & that covers the cost of ginning & depending on the oilseed market can also provide a bit of cream as well. Last year, I got $48K from my seed, over & above ginning costs

Very nice..
I knew there was something about the way the seed bit operated, being GM, from one of your other posts.
So those ton bags were money (hopefully)

 

[glasshouse]

my mate from scotland was trying to track me down in australia in 87 and he narrowed the search to boomi telephone exchange.
the operator asked him who he was looking for, but he said you wont know him.
eventually after 3 or 4 goes, she persuaded him to tell her my name.
She said, oh, i know him, hes over in the pub.

 

[Farmer Roy]

my mate from scotland was trying to track me down in australia in 87 and he narrowed the search to boomi telephone exchange.
the operator asked him who he was looking for, but he said you wont know him.
eventually after 3 or 4 goes, she persuaded him to tell her my name.
She said, oh, i know him, hes over in the pub.

Haha it still works a bit like that in a lot of places,, especially if you have no mobile reception

 

[Farmer Roy]

And I thought new round balers were expensive here

John Deere the only player . . ,

I know a few people who did private imports of S/H machines from the US & the local dealers pretty much refused to service them . . .

 

[Farmer Roy]

What sort of yields do you get?

I should have added, irrigated yields can be 11 or more 250 kg bales / hectare

 

[Chae1]

I should have added, irrigated yields can be 11 or more 250 kg bales / hectare

How big are the bales? What diameter?

 

[RushesToo]

I have loads of slides of that , nobody seems to be able to convert them now.

@glasshouse try this link - http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/slide-converter

 

[glasshouse]

@glasshouse try this link - http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/slide-converter

Thats brilliant thanks, orderering one now

 

[Farmer Roy]

How big are the bales? What diameter?

Hi
Dunno if you read a previous post, but "bale" means something very specific in cotton & is the unit of measurement that is used to determine yield & for marketing / selling. A "bale" of cotton is 227kg ( or 500 US pounds ) of ginned cotton after seeds & trash removed. After ginning it is baled into square bales about 1.5m x .8m x .9m, held with steel straps. That's what we then market.

The round "modules" of wrapped cotton that the picker produces that you see in the videos are about 1.8m high x about 2m. They weigh about 2 tonne & are roughly equal to 4 x 227kg bales of ginned cotton