Year 11 VCE students recently travelled to NSW – virtually – for an insightful farm tour with a cotton farmer.
Virtual School Victoria worked with Cotton Australia to identify a presenter from a leading cotton producer to talk to Agriculture and Horticulture Studies students in their online lesson.
Bill Back, who manages a cotton, almond and cereal crop enterprise, at Hillston, NSW, shared his vast knowledge with students during their virtual visit.
The students were highly engaged with his talk, which covered the day-to-day operations of running a cotton farm. This included sowing, harvesting, weed and pest control, and irrigation techniques. Bill also discussed issues in water use and innovation and technologies used in the industry.
Sarah Dennis, who teaches Agriculture and Horticulture at VSV, said the students were captivated by his talk and asked excellent questions throughout the tour.
Australia’s cotton industry is one of the most water efficient cotton industries in the world and employs more than 12,000 people.