When it comes to data, there is probably no other agricultural industry in Australia that takes it more seriously than cotton, and rightly so. With tight margins, a high-value commodity, and a strong culture of continuous improvement, the cotton sector has long led the charge in turning good data into great decisions.
One of the unsung heroes of this work is Crop Consultants Australia's (CCA) annual Cotton Production Data Survey, a collaborative project funded and supported by the CRDC that helps capture and report on input usage across the industry. At Agworld, we're proud to play a central role in this process, streamlining how consultants collect, manage, and submit the data that feeds into what is probably one of the most comprehensive datasets in Australian ag.
A long-running partnership
As Doug McCollum, longtime CCA contributor and data expert, puts it: “Without Agworld, I'm not sure we'd have the coverage in cotton we do today.” And he's not wrong: over two-thirds of the data submitted to the audit now comes directly from Agworld users, a number that reflects not just our platform's reach, but the trust agronomists place in it.
Janet Barker, CCA's Executive Officer, explained it to me as follows: “Agworld just makes it seamless, they don't have to sit down and enter data line item by line item; it's already there. The long-term contributors have spent time setting up good data practices from the start and so, by season's end, it's all ready.” Doug ads: “If consultants keep records manually, they've got to sit down for three, four, or five days to transfer that data into a spreadsheet template at the end of the season. Whereas with Agworld, it's all being collected as the season goes. One click, and the data's ready to go.”
Not just numbers—national impact
The Cotton Production Data Survey isn't just for show; the data collected informs sustainability reporting, policy development, and research funding, says Doug: “When you hear for example that “insecticide use has dropped 97% since Bt cotton was introduced in 1992”, that stat likely came from this very dataset.”
It also feeds into research on fungicide use, mite resistance, and emerging pest patterns, as well as broader environmental and ESG reporting. In a world where consumers and investors alike are asking tough questions about sustainability, having rock-solid field-level data to back up our claims is more valuable than ever.
So what's next?
Of course, there's still work to do according to Janet: “Around 43% of total Australian cotton hectares are covered by the survey, which is impressive for a voluntary program, and it gives us statistically valid information the industry can rely on, but there's plenty of room to grow. Some consultants still use Excel and a few hold concerns around privacy or data ownership, even though all data is de-identified, so we (CCA and CRDC) need to continue to assure consultants that the data is confidential. We also have an opportunity to collect more data from newer cotton growing regions across Northern Australia.”
But as industry standards tighten and demand for traceability grows, we're seeing more agronomists and growers embrace digital tools not just for recordkeeping, but for reporting and benchmarking.
At Agworld, we're committed to helping consultants and growers get the most from their data, whether that's through custom reports, weather-stamped spray records, or integrations with platforms like My John Deere and FarmReady.
Because in cotton, as in all of ag, better data leads to better decisions and better outcomes for everyone.
If you are a cotton consultant that is interested in submitting Cotton Production Data Survey through Agworld for the current cotton season, make sure you get in touch with our team! It won't take long for us to help you set everything up in Agworld so that you're ready to submit your data to the CCA with minimal extra effort at the end of this season.
