Water productivity benchmarking in the Australian Cotton Industry

This project will benchmark the water productivity of irrigated and dryland cotton annually, by maximising the value of currently under-utilized industry data, monitoring and record keeping of water use, including the industry’s best practice certification program my BMP, and integration with on-farm sensor and telemetry networks. We will work with industry partners to identify data gaps and opportunities to value-add to ongoing monitoring and record keeping of water use data, and to help tell the story of cotton water productivity, to the various audiences of interested stakeholders, from sustainability to supply chains, growers themselves and the general public, providing transparent and robust analysis within the context of sustainable water use.   The Australian cotton industry shares the finite and unreliable water resources with many other users, including towns and cities, agricultural and non-agricultural industries and the environment. This demands a demonstration of efficient use of water to all stakeholders and international markets. The annual benchmarking of water productivity of irrigated and drylan cotton will help the industry demonstrate progress towards sustainability targets for water use. And acts as a model for other industries to follow in demonstrating and improving sustainable and productivity water use.