On The Land
4 February, 2022
Potato grower poised to become leader in cotton
FOURTH generation potato grower, 36-year-old Brad Jonsson of Ravenshoe, has been selected to participate in an Australian cotton industry premier, entry-level, leadership program.
The Future Cotton Leaders Program aims to take 15 of the country's most outstanding young cotton stakeholders and develop their leadership knowledge, skills and experience.
Concluding at the annual cotton conference in August, the program will feature faceto- face forums, interactive online discussions, one on one coaching and involvement with industry activities.
Each participant will undertake an individual project of their choice during the next 7 months and Mr Jonsson said he was looking forward to investigating how carbon farming might fi t with their operation.
Encouraged by Cotton Australia to apply, Mr Jonsson believes the networking opportunities on offer could be a game-changer for his family business.
“I am keen to gain as much knowledge as possible and picking up just 1 or 2 valuable ideas can make a huge difference,” he said.
Brad, his wife Natasha and their children Sophie 15, Jack, 12, Harrison 10 and Callum, 9, are based at their family's home farm outside Ravenshoe with parents Warren and Gail.
The family have grown potatoes and avocadoes there for decades before more recently acquiring “Wombinoo”, a 25,00 0ha cattle property on the Herbert River, 45km south east of Mt Garnet.
Run by Dean and Emmalee Jonsson and their staff, Wombinoo is home to around 4000 black Angus/Brahman cross breeders plus progeny, many of whom will eventually pass through the on-property feedlot, spending 100-150 days on corn grown and harvested on the property.
In a departure from tradition, the Jonsson family started looking at cotton as a crop option a few years ago. Against a backdrop of rising input costs and falling returns from potatoes, the Jonssons were looking for a new challenge.
“Potatoes built us and avocadoes are a big part of who we are, but we were always looking for opportunities to diversify. Potato returns just weren't stacking up and after looking at 50 or 60 trial crops at a Mareeba field day, my brother Dean and I headed to St Ronans to have a look at what was happening there,” Brad said.
“You didn't have to know much about growing cotton to recognise success when you saw it. About five minutes in, we could see the crop was performing well and decided farming cotton would become our next venture.
“The timing was good as cotton was experiencing its best prices in 20 years and there was just a really good feeling about the industry. It has been enjoyable being part of an industry with such good people who have bent over backwards to help newcomers.
“Knowing the cotton price up front also takes a lot of the volatility out of farming. Potatoes, avocadoes and cattle prices are all decided on sale day.”
Brad said they were planning to expand on last year's plant of around 700ha of cotton, but had chosen instead to selectively replant only the best of the country this year, ensuring a high return on money invested.
“Our 1000ha crop target means we will be looking around for more country to lease in the near future.
Cotton quantities in the far north should double this year, with quite a few new growers entering the industry,” Brad said.
“As the new industry grows, we are hoping to see a greater Cotton Australia presence in the area. I have been pushing for a part time extension officer to be based on the Tablelands.
“It would be great to have someone on the ground here to support the work growers are doing trialling crop varieties and growing practices.
“We have been very lucky to have inspiring industry experts like Nick Gillingham and David Statham of Sundown Pastoral and Senior Agronomist with Nutrien Ag Solutions, Maurilio Rezende Silva Neto to help get us off the ground.
“Their advice to pre-buy this year's fertiliser through Nutrien in August last year has saved our operation a huge amount of money. But unless we step up to the plate and make a start, there will never be a cotton industry here.”
Brad said they had experienced a good steady start to the season and with a bit of luck, they could have their own cotton gin operating up here in the next few years.
