The Darling River has been reduced to puddles in some parts of north-west New South Wales, but while farmers and conservationists butt heads on social media, much of the blame has fallen on cotton irrigators.

The town of Menindee in far-west New South Wales has seen three fish kills in the last two months, and many locals have blamed poor management by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority [MDBA] and irrigators further up the system taking more than their fair share of water.

Experts say the kills were likely caused by a combination of drought, mismanagement and irrigation, while the Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission has found Commonwealth officials committed gross maladministration, negligence and unlawful actions in relation to the river's management.

So why has the cotton industry been under fire, and how much water do cotton irrigators actually have to spare?

Where's the water?

Mark Winter is an irrigator who has farmed his land in Moree, 600 kilometres north-west of Sydney, his whole life.

His family arrived there in 1886 and began in the wool industry before moving into farming and eventually into irrigation in the 1990s.

This year, he has planted just 23 hectares, compared to his usual crop size of 450 to 500 hectares.

Cotton grower Mark Winter has planted a fraction of his regular crop this year. ( ABC News: Halina Baczkowski )

He said the decision to grow cotton was economic.

"We water cotton because cotton's got the best cross-margin by far, no other crops come anywhere near it," he said.

"In dollars per megalitre, it's cotton. For jobs per hectare around the area, it's cotton."

Mr Winter's crop has dwindled due to lack of water available through his license, managed by the MDBA.

This year, the water allocation for his and other local farmers was zero.

He relies on bore water to irrigate his small crop.

"We've got no water from Copeton dam, there's zero allocation at the Copeland [dam], zero allocation at the Namoi [River], zero allocation at the Macquarie [River]," he said.

"It just hasn't rained so there's no allocation.

"The only bit of water anybody that might have is if they had some left in their account from last year, except for the bores in some areas."

Further west in Bourke, you could be forgiven for thinking Tony Thompson's property comprised of dry paddocks filled with weeds.

The land was once filled with water, but no rain or water allocation has forced him to abandon his crop in favour of quick income.

The same irrigation dam on Tony Thompson's property in Bourke in 2016 and 2019. ( Supplied: Tony Thompson; ABC News )

"This is not what cotton farms look like," he said.

"We could have [gone] in and sprayed or cultivated these weeds out and spent a heap of dough and probably not necessarily achieved a lot.

"What we've done is we've put a couple of thousand dorper [sheep] on here and they're running around and probably putting on 100 grams a day and making me money.

"The earliest opportunity that we would plant anything now is probably September this year, so we've got plenty of time to get this country back in shape, should we get the opportunity to get some water, with hopefully a river flow at some stage."

Playing the blame game

CEO of Cotton Australia Adam Kay said the industry has been blamed for a situation not of its making.

"As far as the irrigated summer crops go, cotton is middle of the pack," he said.

"It's using about the same as corn or soy beans and other summer crops. The idea that cotton is a heavy water user is just not true."

He said the crop wasn't as thirsty as some people believed.

According to the industry body, Australia produces a cotton yield three times the global average. ( ABC News: Steve Schubert )

"I think those perceptions have been framed by 20 or 25 years ago, when the industry was a heavier user of pesticide and a heavier user of water," he said.

"These days, we've been able to reduce the amount of pesticide we use by over 90 per cent and our water-use efficiency in the last decade has improved by 40 per cent, so we are incredibly efficient producers of this natural fibre that is in demand globally.

"We are the highest yielders in the world and we are looked up to by countries all around the world for the sustainable way we produce our cotton."

The New South Wales Irrigators' Council also denies cotton growers are to blame, instead fingering government departments, who they say have not been doing their job.

Council chair Jim Cush said the issue stemmed from problems with compliance and transparency that went back several years.

"Irrigators have been paying for metering and compliance for years," he said.

"There was a lack of service being provided by the department, now we've got problems where people are being asked what happened three or four years ago.

"Wouldn't you think the powers that be would have that information? Really, that's what their job was: compliance and checking the metering."

He said cotton irrigators were being asked to explain a complex situation outside of their mandate.

"Why should we have to defend the water rules?" he said.

"It should be the department's job, hence the trouble we've got."

A fish skull is an eerie sight at the dry riverbed in Bourke. ( ABC News: Halina Baczkowski )

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has been a vocal critic of the corporate cotton industry.

In January, she visited the Menindee Lakes and toured the Macintyre River in Queensland, which runs into the Murray-Darling.

"I'm concerned that what we're seeing is a prioritisation of irrigation to big corporate cotton at the expense of the health of the river and of the river community," Senator Hanson-Young said.

"[Corporate cotton farms] are flourishing, they've got water; meanwhile downstream, other people are struggling.

"I'm always going to take the stance that small communities, small farmers and the river deserve a bigger say than those who are simply in this game for their own corporate profits."

A social media storm

Since the first fish kill at Menindee, cotton irrigators have received significant backlash on social media.

"This industry is defenceless, has no morals and is proven to be run by imbeciles who have the top end of town in their pocket," one user wrote on Facebook.

"These greedy, mindless, selfish so-called farmers should lose their water rights permanently," another wrote.

Mr Kay said misinformation had prompted some of the online abuse reported by members of the industry.

"I've had a number of them say they've withdrawn from social media because they've been abused and I think it's just frustration that people who aren't out in the bush are making comment on things they don't understand," he said.

"We put a social media post of the cotton harvest up at Emerald starting and people were slamming it because it's used all the water in the Murray-Darling Basin.

"The cotton in Emerald is grown using water from Fairbairn Dam on the Nogoa River that flows out at Rockhampton. It has nothing to do with the Murray-Darling Basin."

"The more people that are out here inspecting irrigation sites the better," said Mr Thompson. ( Supplied: Cotton Australia )

Mr Winter said he published figures from his farm to try to inform the public.

"People just say these outlandish things which are utter bullshit, but what do you do?" he said.

"They're not going to believe you anyway, but at least we have to try and get some of the public to come around."

Mr Thompson said he welcomed more transparency in the industry to combat misinformation.

"We've seen very few compliance people over the last decade coming and inspecting works and inspecting pumps — it's almost been non-existent," he said.

"We as an irrigation organisation have been asking for more compliance because we've been concerned about people getting the wrong impression about what we're doing.

"I'm quite happy to have those people who are in compliance coming and looking at stuff to prove I am doing what I should be doing, and also to highlight any potential issues that I need to address."

Survival of the fittest

In the aftermath of the royal commission findings, cotton farmers will continue to make do with what they have.

"It's definitely not doom and gloom, it's a great place to live and it's a tough time at the moment but I think that breeds tough people," Mr Thompson said.

"I guess I'm proud of the fact that we're living through these times and we'll battle on. We've been through them before, they're always tough, but I think what picks our quality is how you manage those tough times.

"One thing I've learnt in living and managing this country now for 25 years is that we make our decisions based on what we've got, not what we think we're going to get, whether that means river flows or the amounts of grass we've got in our paddocks.

"I'm not going to make any predictions as to when [the water] is coming back. I just hope it's bloody soon."

Tony Thompson and Jim Cush inspect cotton plants at the farm in Moree. ( Supplied: Cotton Australia )

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