Dalby State High School has planted a 60m x 10m cotton crop with the support of Cotton Australia’s Marie-Louise Offner, the Darling Downs CGA and John Ash from CGS in Dalby who has kindly offered to be the school’s agronomist throughout the season.
Pittsworth High School and Downlands Grammar School have also put in cotton plots and will introduce the cotton module into the science curriculum.
Dalby High School is using the plot in conjunction with a term long science unit on cotton plant reproduction for Year 8 & 9 (produced as part of the Gateway Schools to Agribusiness program with seed funding from CRDC). The Yr 11 & 12 students will also be using the plot for pest and weed study.
The school has planted conventional, BG & RR to allow for comparisons throughout the season, prompting Mick Fing from Monsanto to endow the students with knowledge about gene technology, biosecurity and compliance issues before signing them up for a Technology User Agreement which was a great learning experience.
The planting was covered by ABC Rural who highlighted the CGAs efforts to provide opportunities to expose students to the industry and to keep young people in the area.
