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Program

The Conference organising committee is developing an engaging program of expert speakers, topics and issues to be covered over three days of presentations, panel discussions, interactive forums and events. Please find below a broad program of events. This is a work in progress and it is likely session content and placement will be tweaked and some dates/times will be changed.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2020

# HERE FOR GOOD

  • Doing business differently – let Lucy Bloom take you on a fascinating roller coaster ride of doing business differently
  • Showing up every day and giving your best with Steven Bradbury. When your moment to shine comes, will you be in a position and be prepared to “do a Bradbury”?

A DEEP DIVE INTO THE CSD AMBASSADOR PROGRAM

  • Biometric agronomy & CSD digital services
  • Ambassador Network Program achievements
  • Genetic x Environment x Management Project outcomes
  • What’s driving yield & efficiency?

APPLYING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

  • Digital megatrends and cotton
  • Data – are we ready?
  • Making it real for farmers
  • Cyber security 101 – protect you and your business

PLANT HEALTH - MANAGING WEEDS & DISEASES

  • The science of glyphosate
  • New weed chemistry combinations
  • Disease testing
  • Managing traditional and emerging diseases

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PLANT HEALTH

  • Integrated pest management – are we doing enough?
  • Risky pests
  • A focus on Whitefly
  • Current biosecurity threats

CLIMATE CHANGE READINESS

  • Managing climate risk
  • Insurance against the weather
  • Climate champions – what are the leaders doing?
  • Climate management tools

NEW PRODUCTS & INNOVATIONS

  • What’s new?
  • What’s coming?
  • Which innovations will mean most to cotton?

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020

FUTURE FARMING PANEL

  • What’s keeping farmers up at night, what are they thinking about and planning to do next?

COTTON AS A GLOBAL COMMUNITY

  • Current influences on the world cotton market
  • How does what’s happening globally affect the industry here in Australia?

BUILDING TRUST & SOCIAL LICENSE

  • Cotton Australia’s Trust Strategy – market research and a plan for the future
  • The meaning of trust – how you earn it and how it’s taken away
  • Learning from other industries and sectors
  • What you can do to help

MORE CROP PER DROP

  • WUE benchmarking across multiple farms
  • Five year water retention study
  • Smarter irrigation for profit project
  • Abiotic water stress trial results
  • Solar powered farms: how energy contributes to water efficiency

THE VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE

Brought to you by Rabobank.

  • Knowledge is a valuable commodity that if shared can be the catalyst for growth
  • This focus session will unpack the integration of local and global learnings as they relate to the cotton industry both here and overseas and what it can mean for your business

THE CONSUMER LANDSCAPE

  • Working with brands to tell our story
  • What customers are looking for
  • Factors driving consumer behaviour
  • Better Cotton update

BEING OUR BEST SELVES

  • Overcoming adversity and building resilience
  • Relationships made to endure tough times
  • It’s a Bloke Thing

THE BUSINESS OF FAMILY

  • Are you considering what the best structure is for your family business?
  • Family businesses will share what they’ve done and why

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2020

SOIL PRODUCTIVITY

  • The role of cover cropping
  • Rebuilding soil productivity
  • Soil resistence and herbicides

EXPLORING DIVERSITY IN AUSTRALIAN COTTON

  • Positive stories of diversity in the Australian cotton industry
  • Conditions required for a diverse industry
  • Challenges associated with diversity inclusion in agriculture/Australian cotton

THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

  • Moving from linear to circular – what it means for cotton & textiles
  • The issue of textile waste
  • Circular in practice – current innovations and projects in cotton

WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE NORTH?

  • An update from those with boots on the ground
  • What’s the extent of the new developments
  • What are their risks/ potential?

FARMING FROM THE SKY

  • The phenomenon of remote farming
  • Practical applications for drones
  • Tapping into the migrant workforce

THE CURRENCY OF CARBON & BIODIVERSITY

  • Cotton’s carbon footprint – what is it and why does it matter
  • Towards carbon neutrality
  • Trading biodiversity offsets

RAINGROWN COTTON

  • Plant growth regulators
  • Harvest efficiency
  • Practical advice from leading growers

THE VALUE OF WATER

  • Water market trends
  • The social value of water
  • Native title rights & indigenous heritage values
  • Northern Basin Commissioner

HOT SCIENCE – WHAT’S NEW IN RESEARCH?

  • Fast-paced session looking at the latest industry-funded R&D

# HERE FOR GOOD

  • A blueprint for thriving regional Australia with Bernard Salt
  • Economies of scale with ANZ’s Patrick Vizzone
  • Human factor, high performance, accelerating performance with Afterburner’s professional fighter pilot
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