www.australiancottonawards.com WARNOCK AGRONOMICS HOME PROPERTY “Warilea” Narrabri, NSW OWNERS Brendon Warnock, Jack and Jacqui Warnock GENERAL MANAGER Geoff Paige 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. 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 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. Analysis has shown a 10-15% increase in the following year’s cotton crop from a wheat rotation. This system works extremely well when spring rain falls increase wheat yield. This year FARM FACTS... TOTAL ENTERPRISE SIZE 1,260 Ha AREA TO COTTON 2013/2014 730 Ha AVERAGE YIELD 2013/2014 9.95 bales/Ha WATER ALLOCATION 3,268 ML bore TYPE OF IRRIGATION Flood AgriRisk High Achiever of the Year