This is the date projected to be the crunch period when the bales/hectare required to "break even" will overtake the projected gains in yield in new varieties.

Such was one of the key messages at this week's Australian Cotton Conference on the Gold Coast, where 800 delegates gathered to discuss the industry's future.

But despite the grim prediction, delegates on Monday heard that all is not lost.

Visiting Monsanto cotton technology lead from the US, John Purcell, told growers about new traits in the pipeline that will help meet these necessary yield gains.

Dr Purcell (pictured) said that the next generation of biotech traits in cotton would shift from insect and weed management to more specific agronomic advantages.

Of most note for Australian producers, will be water use efficient (WUE) cotton, which should yield 10 percent more cotton in drought stress situations, or deliver 20pc better WUE in full-water situations.

Also, Monsanto is also working on traits that branch further from its Roundup Ready varieties to further combat herbicide resistance.

"At the end of the day, so many of the traits that we talk about are about getting maximum yields," Dr Purcell said.

While he noted that many numerous traits are possible, growers should not hold their collective breath waiting for all of the possibilities.

"It is a 10 to 12 year process and a $100 million development cost for a new trait.

"At that cost there aren't that many opportunities that we can take advantage of that we can make pay in the end."

However, Emerald, Queensland, consultant, Dave Parlato, noted there are important points to consider before immediately getting excited about such "super crops".

He said it is important that growers think about what traits they specifically need, as an increase in traits will inevitably lead to increased costs.

He said while growers have to court new technology - and also have to ensure that suppliers make a profit - there is a risk associated with having all the eggs in one basket.

"At the moment we have one insect tolerant cotton trait and one supplier," he said. "Are all our eggs in one basket?

"If that's the case, we have to be careful we don't get fried."