Leeton cotton growers Anthony and Jenny Ryan pictured with Jayden and Grace.
Anthony Ryan
Leeton cotton grower
The former aerial agriculture pilot is now an experienced cotton producer, whose safe landing into the industry is credit to the culture of knowledge sharing between growers.
Through his work as an aerial agriculture pilot and operator, Anthony Ryan developed a good understanding of the cotton industry in Goondiwindi and Moree. When the industry started in southern NSW in 2011, he "dabbled" in cotton with a 100-hectare crop.
For Anthony, who'd grown rice and farmed sheep previously, the appeal of cotton was two-fold: the introduction of round modules meant it was now a one-person operation, and the arrival of Southern Cotton made ginning accessible in the region for the first time.
From the outset, Anthony struck up a good relationship with Southern Cotton. He has always valued Southern Cotton's integrity, a precedent that was set in the early days.
"The gin was upfront with us when we signed up. By being honest with us, I am now a loyal grower to Southern Cotton," Anthony said.
"Why would I go past Southern Cotton? It's a perfectly good gin."
Cotton has become Anthony's main crop, on rotation with wheat and soybeans. This year, he grew 250 hectares of cotton, with plans to grow more already well underway.
As cotton is an export crop, growers "are not competing with each other", which encourages collaboration, innovation and comradery. In this positive learning environment, Anthony feels like he is on a runway to even more success in the industry
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