Those present from Australian Food and Fibre group, were keen to check out the latest advances being made in this country’s cotton paddocks, principally by John Deere’s new-generation 7760 pickers-with-a-difference.

In disgorging round modules, these pickers differ from Case IH’s Module Express 625 – a rival machine that bundles cotton into rectangular-sized packages.

Whatever the preferred system, it’s all about meeting the challenges posed by the dwindling pool of farm labour, plus paring-back the costly support machinery needed for conventional cotton-picking operations.

Technology of this calibre doesn’t come cheap, however, with Deere’s new cotton picker carrying a price tag in the order of $850,000.

That said, a spokesman for John Deere says orders have been taken for these new flagships of the paddock with delivery expected in time for the 2010 cotton picking season.

Interestingly, while the technology is cutting edge, the drivers of both Deere’s pre-production prototypes in Moree say they are easy to operate.

Touch screens deliver real-time insight into the bale wrapping process with cameras, monitoring the feed of plastic wrap into the bale chamber, also providing the driver with rearward vision of the bale ejection process.

As well, a row-sensor mechanism automatically keeps the cotton pickers on track as they make long runs up and down big paddocks.