The 2025 Australian Cotton Industry Awards Dinner, held in Toowoomba on 6 August as part of the Cotton Collective, celebrated excellence across the cotton sector.
Brothers Hugh and Jock Brownhill of Merrilong Agricultural Company took out the Bayer Cotton Growers of the Year award. Other winners included Tyson and Rosie Armitage (AgriRisk High Achiever), Grace Griffiths (CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever of the Year), Dr Murray Sharman (Cotton Seed Distributors Ltd Researcher of the Year), and Andrew Watson (Incitec Pivot Fertilisers Service to Cotton Award).
Bayer Cotton Growers of the Year: Hugh and Jock Brownhill
Hugh and Jock Brownhill of Merrilong Agricultural Company have credited the knowledge of their parents and grandparents and the importance of teamwork for their recognition as the 2025 Bayer Cotton Growers of the year. As fourth generation farmers, Hugh and Jock are part of a farming legacy that began when their grandparents moved into the NSW Liverpool Plains area to begin farming in the late 1950s. Today, Hugh and Jock, along with cousins Oscar and Archie Brownhill, are Directors of Merrilong with 1200 hectares of dryland cotton and 320 hectares under irrigation. Hugh said his father and uncle taught him everything he knows about cotton and that a focus on family and teamwork drive their ongoing success.
AgriRisk High Achievers: Tyson and Rosie Armitage
Tyson and Rosie Armitage from Cecil Plains on the Darling Downs, who manage the day-to-day operations of Wamara Farming Trust in close collaboration with parents Stuart and Maxine Armitage, were announced as the AgriRisk High Achievers awardees. The Armitage name is no stranger in cotton circles on the Downs and beyond. As a second-generation cotton farmer, Tyson is proud of the improvements they have made over the years particularly with their integrated pest management (IPM) efforts and water use efficiency.
CRDC Chris Lehmann Young Cotton Achiever: Grace Griffiths
Goondiwindi’s Grace Griffiths was honoured for her leadership and advocacy for young people in agriculture. Beginning her cotton journey at 16 leading her family farm’s myBMP certification, Grace now works as a grower, agronomist and GIS specialist with Data Ag, and founded 101 Ag Pathways to promote careers in ag. A graduate of the Future Cotton Leaders program, she continues to inspire the next generation of industry professionals.
Researcher of the Year: Dr Murray Sharman
Dr Murray Sharman, Principal Plant Pathologist (Virology) at Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, received the Cotton Seed Distributors Ltd Researcher of the Year award. His groundbreaking work on Cotton Bunchy Top Virus (CBTV) has led to new resistant cotton varieties and strengthened Australia’s biosecurity preparedness.
Service to the Cotton Industry: Andrew Watson
The Incitec Pivot Fertilisers Service to the Cotton Industry Awardee is Boggabri grower Andrew Watson of “Kilmarnock”. Andrew, a former Cotton Australia Chair and the 2008 Cotton Grower of the Year, has been at the forefront of implementing industry R&D while investigating his own novel management approaches to biodiversity, pest management and water use efficiency. Andrew is highly regarded by the Australian cotton industry for his tireless efforts at improving the reputation of cotton and his constant search for knowledge and improvement.
For more learn more about the 2025 recipients, visit Cotton Australia.
