The finalists have been announced for the Australian cotton industry’s most prestigious awards in 2023.
Finalists include local researchers: Wee Waa’s Stacey Vogel representing the Cotton Landcare Tech Innovations project team and Narrabri’s Dr Guna Nachimuthu, a senior research scientist at the Australian Cotton Research Institute for the NSW department of primary industries.
“The team and I are incredibly honoured to be a finalist for the award,” Stacey Vogel told The Courier.
“This award acknowledges the contributions made by some of the industry’s top researchers and to be considered in the same category as them is humbling.
“I am very proud of what our team has achieved and very pleased to see their accomplishments acknowledged by this nomination.
“I love working in rural communities particularly working with such a progressive and proactive agricultural industry such as the cotton industry.
“I love the bush, the people and the landscape and anything I can do to contribute to the resilience and long-term sustainability of rural communities and ecosystems feels pretty rewarding to me.”
Dr Guna Nachimuthu said, “I’m humbled to be named as a finalist for the Researcher of the Year award and I would like to thank my nominators.
“I acknowledge the contribution of my team and collaborators.
“And I would like to congratulate all the finalists for this award and other cotton industry awards.
“After graduating with a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) from the University of New England, I’m continuously undertaking applied research in the field of soil and system management.
“I like living in regional towns and this enabled me to undertake research in a real-world farming environment.
Finalists for the 2023 Cotton Industry Awards announced: Dr Guna Nachimuthu, NSW DPI senior research scientist has been nominated for the Researcher of the Year Award.
“The applied field research on soil and systems management within the cotton industry over multiple years is providing me with a rewarding experience as the cropping systems that are resilient to extreme climatic events and associated soil properties are best identified through long-term experiments that capture seasonal variability.
“I’m fortunate to be working in the world-leading cotton industry as the great community I work and collaborate with is enabling me to deliver the research outputs.
“I would like to thank NSW department of primary industries, Cotton Research and Development Corporation and Cotton Seed Distributors for funding all the research and extension activities and fostering a collaborative environment.”
Cotton Australia chief executive officer Adam Kay said there had been an outstanding response to the call for nominations from some of the best growers in Australia.
“Once again, the depth of skill and talent, and the diversity of experience has featured in an awards field that is as impressive as it is varied.
“Among the list of nominees for Bayer Grower of the Year and AgriRisk High Achiever of the Year are family growers with more than 20 years of growing experience and others who have passed the baton onto their children who are also excelling.
“I am pleased to say that some of the brightest up and coming industry stakeholders are among the nominees for the Cotton Research and Development Corporation Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever of the Year award and the dedication, commitment and intelligence of our researchers is well reflected in the finalists for the Cotton Seed Distributors Researcher of the Year Award.”
The finalists for the 2023 Cotton Industry Awards include:
Bayer Grower of the Year Award
• Dave Tudgey (Breeza)
• Ron Harris (Hay)
• Johannes Roellgen (Brookstead)
AgriRisk High Achiever of the Year Award
• Ian Burnett (Emerald)
• Daniel Skerman (Dalby)
• Thomas Popp RMI (Goondiwindi)
CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever of the Year Award
• Emma Bond (Gold Coast)
• Kate Lumber (Moree)
• Jacob Thuijs (St George)
Cotton Seed Distributors
Researcher of the Year Award
• Jamie Hopkinson (Toowoomba)
• Stacey Vogel representing the Cotton Landcare Tech Innovations project team.
• Guna Nachimuthu (Narrabri).
In addition to the five categories, the industry will identify and announce the winner of the Incitec Pivot Fertilisers Service to Industry Award.
The judges for 2023 include the 2022 Bayer Grower of the Year winner, Sundown Pastoral Co’s Keytah manager Nick Gillingham from Moree and AgriRisk High Achiever winner Bruce Connolly from Tipperary Station, Daly River in the NT.
The judges will review the nominations before finalising the winners who will be announced at this year’s Cotton Collective in Toowoomba in August.
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