Agricultural
19 August, 2025
Cecil Plains grower is Cotton’s high achiever
Tyson and Rosie Armitage from Cecil Plains have won Cotton Australia’s AgriRisk High Achiever Award.
Tyson and Rosie Armitage manage the day-to-day operations of the Wamara Farming Trust, in close collaboration with parents Stuart and Maxine Armitage.
Tyson, who has grown up surrounded by cotton, is proud of the improvements they have made over the years particularly with their Insect Pest Management (IPM) efforts which have resulted in spraying for pests in cotton only once in three years.
“We have also worked hard on water use efficiency and we have saved up to one megalitre per hectare by planting later in the season with yields just as good, if not better,” he said.
The Armitage’s praise their long-time agronomists Matthew Holding and Liz Lobsey who have maintained a data bank of information detailing 20 years of nutrient inputs and crop removal rates.
“In doing so we aim to apply only what the crops need, avoiding over-application,” they said.
“While soil tests are used, leaf tests are preferred for reliable in-season tracking and any adjustments with in-crop needs are addressed with nutrient applications as required.”
The 2025 Bayer Cotton Growers of the year were Merrilong Agricultural Company in the Liverpool Plains district of New South Wales, while the recipient of the CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever of the Year Award was Grace Griffiths, a cotton grower and agronomist with Digital Ag Technologies in Goondiwindi.
The Awards Ceremony took place as part of the 2025 Cotton Collective conference in Toowoomba last week, where visitors were given a guided tour around locations, including RDO Equipment in Charlton and Swarm Farm robotics in Wellcamp.
During the Collective, Cotton Australia (CA) hosted its Annual General Meeting, where Leeton cotton grower Liz Stott was elected as Chairperson.
Ms Stott said it was an honour to be elected as Chair and thanked outgoing Chair Nigel Burnett for his service to the cotton industry.
In accordance with the CA constitution, three positions were declared vacant. Successful nominees were Tony Geitz, Gavin Dal Broi, and Robert Dugdale.
