James Barlow (inset), Boggabri, says irrigation water was key to finishing off this year's cotton crop. Pictures supplied

When the rain tap switched off in January, third-generation Namoi Valley cotton grower James Barlow was grateful to have access to enough irrigation water to finish the crop.

"We had a very good start, weather-wise," he said.

"We certainly had a bit of rain in that October, November, December period, and then it completely switched off in January until April, so we irrigated non-stop.
"Temperatures were ideal, it wasn't too hot, so it was pretty good cotton growing weather, just without rain."
Mr Barlow crops 850 hectares at Mirrabinda, on the western bank of the Namoi River, south-east of Boggabri, with partner Belinda Campbell.
An area of 650ha is set up for irrigation and he grows winter crops of bread and durum wheat, barley and canola, and summer crops of cotton and sunflowers.
The rotation is generally cotton followed by wheat.
"I never grow back-to-back cotton," he said.
"Once the cotton is picked, it's root cut, mulched, smoothed over, and I'm planting durum into it right now.
"So I always grow cotton-durum, giving the paddock one year off completely from November through to the following October and then planting it back to cotton."

Picking cotton at Mirrabinda, south-east of Boggabri. Pictures supplied

Preparation for the 2025-26 crop of 300ha of Sicot 606B3F and Sicot 746B3F began with spreading of 10 cubic metres a hectare of chicken manure and 250 units of urea.
Mr Barlow has been applying the chicken manure - trucked from the Tamworth region - for the past three or four years and said he thought it was making a difference.

"It's a feel-good thing, certainly, putting back in some elements other than urea," he said.
"I think that it will tell in time. I'm hoping soil structure improves slightly.
"This year, I reckon there was an average increase in yield across the farm. Whether it was because I had no issues with irrigation, so I kept up with the water which helped, and that contributed to solid yields, but I potentially have to factor in some positive impact from the chicken manure."
The crop was re-irrigated in early October and planted in mid-October, slightly later than usual because of cooler soil temperatures, using a 12m John Deere MaxEmerge planter.
The seeding rate was 13 to 14 seeds per metre, which mostly yielded a plant stand of 10-12 plants per square metre.
Another 250 units of urea was spread in-crop before Christmas.
Insect pressure was low, so no insecticide was needed, and the usual two Roundup sprays were applied to manage fleabane, milk thistle and liver seed grass.
Mr Barlow uses a self-propelled sprayer equipped with WeedSeeker sensors for green-on-brown herbicide application during the fallow phase.
"Most weeds are pretty well controlled now," he said.

Cotton modules ready for pickup from Mirrabinda, south-east of Boggabri, in May.

With average annual rainfall in the area sitting at about 750mm, Mr Barlow budgets on about six megalitres of water a hectare, reducing it to 4-5ML/ha in wetter years.
Rainfall from January to April totalled less than 20mm, but was followed by more than 130mm in May and June, which was double the long-term median for the two months.
Crops are watered by overhead irrigation using centre pivots.
The first pivot was installed in 2010, and another 11 were added between 2015 and 2017 as part of a major redevelopment
Mr Barlow said the main benefits of converting from flood irrigation had been the ability to irrigate a bigger area and more efficient use of labour and water.
The primary source is general security water stored in Keepit Dam on the Namoi River, bolstered by bore water as needed.
Water is pumped into a 200 megalitre turkey nest storage dam for distribution across the farm.
A contractor finished picking the crop at Mirrabinda in mid-May just ahead of rain.
Yields averaged about 12 bales per hectare, which was slightly above the long-term average of 11 bales per hectare.
Modules are sent to the Australian Food & Fibre gin at Wee Waa for processing.
Mr Barlow said irrigation allocations for 2026-27 were looking "pretty good, I think".
"Water in the Namoi Valley is at 74 per cent now, so hopefully they will have a fairly full allocation from the river," he said.
As of July 14, Keepit Dam was 57pc full, thanks to good inflows last August - the biggest recorded since spring 2022.
Mr Barlow said he intended to plant 300ha of cotton again this year, and would probably stick with Sicot 606B3F and possibly plant some Sicot 748B3F as well.
He said he found growing cotton "pretty rewarding".
"When I've got the water it's probably the most efficient use of water when it comes to budgeting," he said.
"It's definitely challenging, but it cleans the country up. Being resistant to Roundup, you can certainly get on top of weed issues, and the bottom line is important."

This article appeared in Australian Cotton & Grains Outlook