Seasonal climate forecasts for more effective raingrown grain-cotton production systems

Abstract

Cropping is a risky business. Our highly variable climate makes it difficult to decide how best to manage crops and cropping systems. What works well one year might not works well the next. To develop better risk management practices, this project uses the APSIM cropping systems model to examine the profitability and sustainability of a range of alternative dryland cotton/grain cropping systems throughout the northern grain region of eastern Australia. It involves working closely with farmer collaborators in Central Queensland, the Darling Downs, the northwest slopes of NSW and the Liverpool Plains.