Monsanto Cotton Grower of the Year 2017

The Toscan family have been awarded the prestigious Monsanto Cotton Grower of the Year Award for 2017. Tony, Joyce, Matt and Daisy Toscan who farm at Darlington Point, NSW as the Cavaso Family Partnership were awarded the title at the annual Australian Cotton Industry Awards dinner held in Griffith, Southern NSW, on Wednesday evening.

Tony May, Country Lead Monsanto Australia, congratulated the family and said that the leadership, commitment and sustainable farming practices shown by all the finalists were truly impressive.

“We’d like to congratulate the Toscan family as well as the other finalists and entrants. These people are a real reflection of our vibrant and diverse industry. This awards program is important to us; it recognises the excellence and dedication of Australia’s cotton farmers.”

With seven years’ experience, the Toscan family might be relative newcomers to cotton farming, but their 12 bales per hectare yield proves their rapidly growing expertise. Success at Cavaso Farming can be attributed to a number of innovative moves. The family use siphon and bankless irrigation on a cotton and wheat rotation, employing minimum till and controlled traffic approaches. They are dedicated to streamlining their operation by reducing the number of crop varieties and employing Integrated Pest Management, encouraging beneficial insects and protecting bees.

The family are focused on environmental improvements to their 4200 hectare property, have implemented biosecurity best practice and have attained MyBMP certification.

Matt Toscan said he and his family were honoured to receive the award and were looking forward to hosting the annual field day at their property. Matt said “what I love about the cotton farming community is that it is very open-minded about knowledge sharing, technology and new ideas. My family only began planting cotton 7 years ago and other growers were really generous with their time and experience. It helped us grow. We are looking forward to being able to do the same thing for the next group of up and coming farmers.

“It’s great to see the awards program go from strength to strength. I’ve been in the industry a long time and every year I continue to be impressed with the standard of the nominees” Mr May said.

“Monsanto’s ongoing sponsorship of this award is part of our investment in the future of the Australian cotton industry and all the individuals who work hard to make it so productive”.

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Issued by Monsanto

Media enquiries: Jessica Douglas, Manager of Corporate Affairs 0400 186 293