New irrigation Technical Lead at CottonInfo
CottonInfo, the Australian cotton industry’s joint extension program, has announced that Louise Gall is the industry’s new Technical Lead for Irrigation.
Lou Gall is based in the Gwydir Valley and comes to the role with extensive experience delivering major irrigation and water use efficiency projects, working with primary producers across multiple regions and industries.
CottonInfo Program Manager, Warwick Waters said that Lou was well known in the industry for her expertise in irrigation, and especially her coordinating role within the Smarter Irrigation for Profit program.
“Her experience and understanding of irrigation will allow Lou to hit the ground running in working with growers and advisors to continue to achieve positive water use efficiency outcomes within our industry,” Warwick said. “Lou already had a major involvement in a recent trial that examined the efficiency of bankless channel irrigation systems at St George, so she is a familiar face to growers and the CottonInfo team. We are excited to have Lou working with CottonInfo and helping us with more of this work in the coming years.”
The Technical Lead position is funded by the Cotton Research and Development Corporation and works on a range of activities that help connect growers with research and innovation. This includes events, information sheets and publications, and working closely with the team of Regional Extension Officers on events within specific regions.
“We also encourage growers and advisors with any questions on irrigation and water use efficiency to contact Lou, who is there to help you,” Warwick said. “Her details, along with the rest of the team, are available on the CottonInfo website.”
Irrigation continues to be a high priority for the Australian cotton industry, which has achieved major efficiency gains in recent years. Research released earlier this year from the NSW Department of Primary Industries, supported by CRDC, revealed water usage had fallen from 1.43 megalitres per bale (ML/bale) in 1995 to 0.74 ML/bale in 2020, driven primarily through improvements in irrigation infrastructure and management efficiencies, underpinned by research and development
CottonInfo has a major role in connecting growers with research to drive the gains even further and help the industry meet its sustainability target to increase irrigated water use efficiency by 12.5 percent every five years. CottonInfo is a joint initiative of Cotton Australia, Cotton Seed Distributors and CRDC. It is a unique industry partnership that aims to communicate the outcomes of research, encourage grower adoption and improve industry practices.
Read more about the work of CottonInfo in our Annual Operational Plan:
