If we had cheap enough energy we could pump waste water on to the cotton fields and use it as a mop crop. As for hemp, It does a dandy job of decontaminating irradiated ground!

As for fabric, heard some good reports about hemp.

Back to energy. There is an energy component in everything we use, sell, buy or recycle, be they goods, services or reclaimed products.

Moreover, the energy component adds a cost to everything that then cascades up the supply chain. Given the cost of labour averages out as around 16% of the cost component of manufacture. It was arguably the cost of energy (30%+) that killed our car industry and sent around 96% of manufacture offshore.
Alan B.

Hemp is the the one I can smoke, if no one finds out.

I wondered where that smell was coming from Phil? And here I was thinking it was just a result of you using a formerly unused cerebral cortex? And probably explains your difficulties distinguishing hemp from marijuana?
Alan B.

Alan B - Never having taken any drugs I do not know the difference.

"Why can't we just grow low-THC hemp as we did in WW2? Much less water needed, much less to almost nil pesticides and herbicides? Much less fussing over to get the fields laser flat"!

Posted by Brian of Buderim.

Brian let me assure all the farmers will very happily grow any crop for which there is a profitable market. The economics of farming is not what it used to be. A mate of mine is a 4Th generation wheat farmer out near Dolby. In his grand fathers & even his fathers day, one good wheat crop, & a moderate crop every 4 years gave them a reasonable living. They could indulge their property in crop rotation with less profitable crops to help maintain fertility. If hemp has sufficient demand, & offers an adequate return, they will grow it.

With increasing costs, & lower returns he requires 2 good crops every 4 years, or he is going broke. Cotton is such a crop. He gambles on a dry land crop of cotton, when he has favourable conditions. Dry land, so he is not using any of the water the South Australians want down the Darling to fill their artificial fresh water sky lake.

The return from cotton is still good enough so that just one good harvest of a couple of hundred acres of cotton in 4 years offers a better return than 2 good 500 acre wheat crop returns.

Personally I agree with the farmer. His livelihood, & the return to the nation is of much more value than a fresh water sky lake for the people of Adelaide.

Cotton has other advantages. It's roots go very deep, opening up the soil for water penetration, & cracking the hardpan that develops in some black soils, again aiding rain penetration. This is very important in modern no till farming. The wheat crop always does better where it's following a cotton crop, than on the rest of the farm.

Where would be the most suitable place to grow Cotton ? In the Gulf country, in the vicinity of Lake Argyle perhaps ? Would diverting water west of the GDR solve the water problems ?
Suggestions please, not pointless quabbling !