National nod

Ron is one of three finalists for Australian Cotton’s Bayer Grower of the Year Award.

One of five award categories in the 2023 Cotton Industry Awards, he will go up against Dave Tudgey from Breeza near Gunnedah and Johannes Roellgen from Brookstead southern Darling Downs.

Ron runs Ravensworth Agricultural Company and has been growing cotton in Hay since 2001.

He has been in cotton far longer, starting his journey in the industry at Moree in 1979/1980.

The family’s involvement in cotton continued when they made the move to Balranald in 1997.

Son Adam remains at the farm at Balranald, while Ron and wife Suzanne are based at Hay.

There’s not too many crop years the Harris’ have missed in those years.

A number of years were impacted in the early 2000s because of the drought, with the last crop missed in 2020.

While he expects to harvest about 3000ha of cotton at Hay this year, Ron said a lot more was compromised due to the conditions.

“We planted a lot more, but we lost quite a bit to the floods,” he said.

“We would normally harvest from April to May, but everything has been put back about five or six weeks this season because of those floods, and because of the lack of heat units.

“We’re hoping to get about nine to 10 bales to the hectare, but we know some will only go about seven.”

The Harris’ are self-taught cotton growers, who say they use the “standard practices” on farm.

In the years they have been growing, they’ve learned to be flexible with timing based on the conditions.

“The rule is usually to sow when the soil is about 14ºC, but in our area that would mean waiting until November. That is far too late.

“So we tend to sow when the soil reaches 11ºC and is rising.”

The Harris’ use the RivCott gin at Carrathool to process their cotton.

Both humbled and honoured, this is the first time Ron has been nominated for the Australian Cotton Industry Awards.

But his cotton growing techniques have been recognised before.

Last year he won the Southern Valley Cotton Growers Association (SVCGA) Grower of the Year.

At the 2022 awards, SVCGA president Paul Cleton said Mr Harris took out the honours for his “excellent outcomes and integrated approach to agriculture”.

“Ron and his wife Suzanne, and son Adam, run two properties where they specialise in beef, lamb and cotton production,” Mr Cleton said.

“Cotton is complementary to their feedlot because it produces cotton seed for the ration mix and utilises 20t/ ha of manure annually for their fields.

“The Harris’ have plenty of strengths in their cotton strategies, including their flexibility and ability to scale up their cotton crop, their diversification with feedlot, cotton and cereals, their innovation, their high yields, can-do attitude, and their attention to detail.”

Winners of the 2023 Cotton Industry Awards will be announced at the Cotton Collective in Toowoomba in August.