Major spray drift incident in New South Wales
Cotton Australia has reported damage to cotton crops from spray drift. Spray drift happens when products that farmers spray to protect a particular crop drift and affect other crops too.
Australia has 1,500 cotton growers. In December there were widespread fears of damage to their crops from spray drift owing to heavy rains and a proliferation of weeds in many areas. By mid-January, this threat had eased in most parts of the country.
However, Cotton Australia said there had been “several severe incidents” in the Macquarie Valley and the Lachlan Valley, and less severe occurrences the Murray and Murrumbidgee, all in New South Wales.
And in one New South Wales farming area, near Narromine, it said there had been several reports of damage, with one cotton grower potentially suffering more than $500,000 in crop yield losses.
