A new team of CottonInfo Regional Extension Officers (REOs) is now in the field, strengthening the connection between research, growers and industry across Australia’s cotton regions.
The five new team members are Rochelle Field (Macquarie), Bob Ford and Blake Palmer (Namoi), Greg Bramley (Gwydir) and Tami Buranda (Central Queensland). They join existing REOs Annabel Twine (Darling Downs), Andrew McKay (Border Rivers, St George, Dirranbandi) and Kieran O’Keeffe (Southern NSW), completing the CottonInfo network.
The new REOs met with CottonInfo Program Manager Janelle Montgomery and the CRDC team in Narrabri in March for training and induction before heading into their regions.
Meet the new REOs
Macquarie: Rochelle Field
Based near Narromine, Rochelle is an agronomist who joined CottonInfo after honing her technical skills with Elders in Dubbo. Naming cotton as her “crop of choice,” Rochelle has been immersing herself further into the cotton community to support Macquarie growers.
Namoi: Bob Ford and Blake Palmer
Bob and Blake will share the REO role, with both based in Narrabri. Bob is a well-known cotton industry figure and joins CottonInfo from his most recent role as Cotton Australia Regional Manager. He supports the Namoi as an REO four days a week, while also working on the myBMP program one day per week to strengthen links between best practice and extension across all growing regions. In addition to his REO role, Blake is CottonInfo’s Soil Health Technical Lead, having joined CRDC from NSW DPIRD where he was part of the soil team. He works as an REO two days per week, the Technical Lead two days per week, and is also completing his CRDC-supported PhD in soil science one day per week.
Gwydir: Greg Bramley
Greg brings significant experience in helping farmers navigate new practices and technologies to the team. With a background in rural business and agronomy, a Masters in Cotton Production and a love of cotton, Greg joins the team most recently from Padman Stops. He’s based in Moree and has been busy meeting with growers, consultants and industry people from across the Gwydir.
Central Queensland: Tami Buranda
Tami is a research agronomist from Zimbabwe, with a strong background in field research, agronomy and extension. She is based in Emerald and is passionate about cotton, with a particular focus on pests, nutrition and biosecurity, and brings a unique perspective to Australian cotton production.
CottonInfo Program Manager Janelle Montgomery said the new recruits bring a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to their roles.
“Our REOs are out in the regions now, connecting with growers, consultants and researchers, and providing the crucial link between them,” Janelle said.
CRDC Executive Director Allan Williams said the appointments mark an exciting step forward for the CottonInfo program.
“Growers are the ones set to benefit from these new appointments and the closer working relationships between REOs, Technical Leads and CRDC Innovation Brokers,” Allan said. “Together, the new team will do what CottonInfo has long been recognised for: building strong relationships, bringing trusted research to growers and encouraging adoption of best practice.”
Launched in 2012, CottonInfo is a partnership between CRDC, Cotton Australia and Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD). The program delivers trusted research, tools and best practice information to help growers improve profitability and sustainability.
Learn more about the team on the CottonInfo website.
