Cotton: part of the social fabric?

Tanya Howard

Abstract

Imagine a future where cotton farms are run by sophisticated machines. Computerised systems monitor crop conditions; aerial drones collect real time information about your crop; pickers, gins and classers are operated by only a few people, in a 24 hour cycle dedicated to economic efficiency. Sounds like a productivity paradise! There's only one thing missing... viable and thriving cotton communities in rural and regional Australia. The Australian cotton industry has faced concern about environmental impacts by embracing regulation, best practice and innovation. The industry has shown it can increase profitability and productivity while capturing a social license to operate. Future trends suggest a more competitive global marketplace ahead, as man-made fibres combine with nano-technology to challenge Australia's "pure fibre" focus. If the industry continues to focus on economic gain, rural communities and economies will start to suffer. This research asks how can we maintain the social fabric of cotton communities?

Original language	English
Pages	102-102
Publication status	Published - 2014
Event	ACC 2014: 17th Australian Cotton Conference: Our Fibre, Our Focus, Our Future - Gold Coast, Australia Duration: 5 Aug 2014 → 7 Aug 2014

Conference

Conference	ACC 2014: 17th Australian Cotton Conference: Our Fibre, Our Focus, Our Future
City	Gold Coast, Australia
Period	5/08/14 → 7/08/14

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 4 Quality Education

Keywords

Rural Sociology
Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Social and Cultural Geography

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AB - Imagine a future where cotton farms are run by sophisticated machines. Computerised systems monitor crop conditions; aerial drones collect real time information about your crop; pickers, gins and classers are operated by only a few people, in a 24 hour cycle dedicated to economic efficiency. Sounds like a productivity paradise! There's only one thing missing... viable and thriving cotton communities in rural and regional Australia. The Australian cotton industry has faced concern about environmental impacts by embracing regulation, best practice and innovation. The industry has shown it can increase profitability and productivity while capturing a social license to operate. Future trends suggest a more competitive global marketplace ahead, as man-made fibres combine with nano-technology to challenge Australia's "pure fibre" focus. If the industry continues to focus on economic gain, rural communities and economies will start to suffer. This research asks how can we maintain the social fabric of cotton communities?

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KW - Social and Cultural Geography

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Y2 - 5 August 2014 through 7 August 2014

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