warnock - Cotton Australia

WARNOCK
HOME PROPERTY
“Warilea” Narrabri, NSW
AGRONOMICS
OWNERS
AgriRisk High Achiever of the Year
GENERAL MANAGER
A LEGACY CREATED
Warnock Agronomics is located in the
picturesque Namoi Valley, near Narrabri NSW.
They farm two blocks with about 40% red sandy
loam soils and about 60% of heavy black soils.
Started by Jack Warnock and now run by his
son, Brendon, the farm “Warilea” is in its 31st
year of production. Originally from further west,
Jack and Jacqui chose the area before it was a
popular cropping location and utilised Jack’s
agronomic and cotton industry experience to
create a legacy for their future generations.
The property is now fully developed and largely
fed by a secure underground water allocation,
allowing Brendon and his team the opportunity
to deeply analyse all aspects of the operation to
seek out efficiencies.
Brendon Warnock, Jack and Jacqui Warnock
Geoff Paige
style is the ability to identify risks to their system,
monitor the situation over time, detect changes
early and respond quickly. They are highly
mindful of changes to their water table levels
and climate.
THE COTTON PRODUCTION SYSTEM
Cotton plays an integral role in the Warnock’s
intensive operation. Every hectare is expected
to bear a crop every year, with 30% of the land
area put into a rotation crop (usually wheat)
whilst in the other 70%, cotton follows cotton.
FARM FACTS...
TOTAL ENTERPRISE SIZE
SECURE WATER FULLY UTILISED
One policy that has stood the Warnocks in good
stead is to have as little tail water as possible in
their system, preferring to leave allocation in the
ground until needed. Their storage dams are
used to harvest storm water, and to supplement
bores during peak irrigation demand. Irrigation
run times are kept to 12 hours. They have
altered head height and siphon size to suit this
in order to maximise staff efficiency. Some water
entitlements are purchased opportunistically
from time to time, based on intricate financial
analysis.
The key feature of the Warnocks management
1,260 Ha
AREA TO COTTON 2013/2014
730 Ha
AVERAGE YIELD 2013/2014
9.95 bales/Ha
WATER ALLOCATION
3,268 ML bore
Analysis
hasOF
shown
a 10-15% increase in the
TYPE
IRRIGATION
following
year’s
cotton
crop from a wheat
Flood
rotation. This system works extremely well when
spring rain falls increase wheat yield. This year
www.australiancottonawards.com
corn will be introduced into the rotation following The line is drawn when the cost of maintenance
objective scrutiny of a range of options. Corn is outweighs the cost of purchasing a new machine.
expected to deliver the best gross margin returns. The overall aim is to keep overheads as low as
This season has seen the enterprise produce possible. They are proud to have purchased one
7,000 bales which is a lower than average yield, of the last new square pickers in Australia after
however very few bales were discounted for assessing the cost benefit of changing over to a
quality. This was a pleasing result given the less round picker at this point in time.
than favourable conditions at picking time this
DETAILED RECORDING AND ANALYSIS
year.
KEY TO THE OPERATION
The Warnocks keep a close eye on timing, ensuring Warnock Agronomics deeply analyse a range of
the previous season’s trash is incorporated very scenarios allowing them objectivity in their decision
quickly to allow it to break down as much as making. Brendon believes that even drought can
possible before planting the next season.
be less emotive when viewed through the lens of
An active choice was made to have and maintain an excel spreadsheet. The Warnocks effectively
tree lines throughout the farm to help increase forecast input needs, allowing for more timely
the levels of beneficial insects. Brendon is in no and better purchasing choices. Extensive and
doubt that natural predation is better now than accurate record keeping are strong elements of
it was 10 years ago. This is demonstrated by the the management of the enterprise, ensuring this
staff outcry from spider webs covering the pickers operation is well run and proactive at all times.
during harvest.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:
MAN AND MACHINE EQUATION
WWW.AUSTRALIANCOTTONAWARDS.COM
The enterprise attempts to do as much of the work
as possible themselves. Their 5 staff members
are fully employed year round with varied and
interesting work. This approach also justifies
their purchases of good quality equipment that is
maintained well and used for as long as possible.
www.australiancottonawards.com