Cotton Farming May 2021

Cotton Farming

®

ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC

PROFITABLE PRODUCTION STRATEGIES

MAY 2021

www.cottonfarming.com

Mississippi Software Creates Profit Maps Relay Offseason Safety Message At The Gin

Doubling Down on

Georgia Cotton

Project Benefits Farmers, U.S. Textile Manufacturing

GET LONG-LASTING RESIDUAL CONTROL LIKE NEVER BEFORE. Do more with less. New Vantacor™ insect control powered by Rynaxypyr® active is a highly concentrated, advanced formulation that delivers targeted, long-lasting control of costly Lepidopteran pests like European corn borer, corn earworm, cotton bollworm and more. A key resistance management choice, Vantacor insect control provides application flexibility and a unique single active ingredient to meet your needs on more than 40 labeled crops. Choose less packaging, less handling and less pest pressure. Choose Vantacor insect control from FMC. Vantacor insect control is one of 40+ products eligible for the exclusive incentives with the FMC Freedom Pass program.

Visit your FMC retailer or VANTACOR.AG.FMC.COM to learn more.

Always read and follow all label directions, precautions and restrictions for use. Some products may not be registered for sale or use in all states. Vantacor insect control may not be registered for sale or use in all states. Contact your local FMC retailer or representative for details and availability in your state. FMC, the FMC logo, Rynaxypyr and Vantacor are trademarks of FMC Corporation or an affiliate. ©2021 FMC Corporation. All rights reserved. 20-FMC-1821 11/20

Vol. 65 No. 5

Cotton Farming PROFITABLE PRODUCTION STRATEGIES

MAY 2021

www.cottonfarming.com

FE ATURES

6

16

20

10

Doubling Down

An initiative from Field to Closet is making the concept of American grown and made 100% cotton scrubs a reality. The kick-off project, featuring scrubs woven with cotton grown in Georgia and crafted entirely in the United States, highlights the possibilities for achieving the initiative’s far-reaching goals for both the grower and the textile industry. To spotlight the venture, 15 hospitals in rural Georgia will receive sets of the scrubs at no cost this summer.

DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS

4 5 8

Editor’s Note Cotton’s Agenda Southwest Report

14 16 22

Industry News Specialists Speaking My Turn

ON THE COVER: Georgia ranks second in the United States in planted cotton acres.

Cover photo by Linda Johnsonbaugh.

PROFIT MAPS TOOL Mississippi State University researchers developed soft ware to tell farmers precisely where conservation will make them money in the field.

EARLY SEASON PESTS State cotton specialists discuss the importance of controlling thrips and starting the season clean to avoid weed competition for young seedlings.

GINNERS MARKETPLACE

the official publication of the ginning industry Dusty Findley, CEO of the Southern Cotton Ginners Association, discusses the importance of addressing gin safety during the offseason.

Cotton Consultant of the Year 2021

CCOY NOMINATIONS OPEN ONLINE

NOMINATION FORM

CCOY

To nominate a deserving candidate for the 2021 Cotton Consultant of the Year Award, co-sponsored

by Cotton Farming and Syngenta, fill out the form online at cottonfarming.com/ccoy. Deadline for nominations is July 31.

If you would like to nominate a consultant deserving of this outstanding recognition, please take a moment to fill out the following form.

Please use a separate page for biographical/professi onal information. Additional recommendations via letters or emails from other farmers, consultants and industry members are also encouraged to provide support for the nominee.

The Cotton Consultant of the Year (CCOY) Award marks more than four decades. The award recognizes a consultant who has made great contributions to the cotton industry through outstanding customer relations, leadership and innovation.

It honors a consultant who not only meets these requirements but also exceeds them.

Syngenta and Cotton Farming magazine — CCOY sponsors — are soliciting your help in selecting the 2021 recipient, who will be named at a special celebration Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.

The winning consultant and the person who nominates the winner receive a two-night hotel stay and airfare to Memphis. The 2021 CCOY recipient also will be featured in a four-page salute in the February 2022 issue of Cotton Farming.

Submit nominations

by July 31, 2021.

Mail: Carroll Smith 7201 Eastern Ave. Germantown, TN 38138 Scan/Email: csmith@onegrower.com

You can print an electronic version of the form located on the Cotton Farming website at www.cottonfarming.com .

Nominate online: cottonfarming.com/ccoy

Consultant’s Name: Company Name: Mailing Address: City:

State:

Phone:

Zip:

Email:

In your own words, please tell us why you are nominating the consultant above for the of the Year Award. Additional Cotton Consultant pages may be attached, emailed or attached to the online nomination form.

Background:

Biographical/Industry Involvement Background. This information as well as support letters attached to this form, emailed may be or attached to the online nomination form.

Your Name: Mailing Address: City:

State:

Phone:

Email:

Sponsored by

Zip:

Cotton Farming

WEB EXCLUSIVE Texas cotton producers could have a tough year due to drought, but good prices are likely to soften the blow, according to Dr. John Robinson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service cotton marketing economist. Go to www. cottonfarming.com for this Web Exclusive report.

DIGITAL OFFERINGS Keep up with the latest from Cotton Farming by signing up for the monthly E-News at www.cottonfarming.com. Look for the Cotton Farming E-News sign-up box in the upper right corner of the home page.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cottonfarming Twitter: @CottonFarming.

COTTON FARMING (ISSN 0746-8385) is published monthly January through December by One Grower Publishing LLC, 875 W. Poplar Ave., Suite 23, Box 305, Collierville, TN 38017. Periodicals postage paid at Memphis, Tennessee, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Omeda Communications, Customer Service Department, P.O. Box 1388, Northbrook, IL 60065-1388 (Phone: 847-559-7578) (Fax: 847-564-9453). Annual subscriptions are $40. International rates are $55 in Canada/Mexico, $90 in all other countries for air-speeded delivery. Surface delivery not available due to problems in reliability.

TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

MAY 2021 | COTTON FARMING

3

Editor’s Note Carroll Smith

Cotton Farming EDITORIAL/PRODUCTION Editor Carroll Smith csmith@onegrower.com Managing Editor Vicky Boyd vlboyd@onegrower.com

Who Is Going To Show Up?

S

ports is a competitive environment. Before a big game, the TV announcers typically spend at least an hour or so on air speculating which team will win. Somewhere in the dialogue, they’ve been known to say, “It depends on who shows up.” I interpret this to mean, “Which team will play to their potential today?” It takes strategy and hard work to come out on top. No one wants to drop the ball.

The same notion applies to the U.S. cotton industry. We are in a global competition in which we want our U.S.-grown fiber to achieve preferred cotton status around the world. And we have the talent and the tools to do just that. But we must show up and be proactive to get the job done.

Bill Gillon, Cotton Board president and CEO, shared his “cotton story” this month in the My Turn column on page 22. Within his narrative, he urged farmers to step up and sign up for the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. He says, “This effort can provide information to direct more effective production research, and it will help sell U.S. cotton to brands, retailers and consumers across the globe.”

More information and enrollment instructions are at www.trustUScotton.org and on page 14 in this issue of Cotton Farming.

In the field, cotton farmers have to show up every day to defeat the pests that threaten the success of their crop. They have a backup team of consultants, industry representatives and state cotton specialists who help them call the plays to get the best return on investment at the end of the year.

On page 16, university experts offer tips on managing early season pests in their respective states. In Mississippi, Brian Pieralisi makes the call on controlling yield-robbing thrips.

“Thrips pressure was unusually high in 2020, which triggered multiple foliar applications to avoid delays in maturity through June,” he says. “As we move forward in 2021, I recommend insecticidal seed treatments or in-furrow applications to help mitigate this pest. Cotton is most vulnerable at the three- to four-leaf stage, which often requires an additional foliar application.”

In Georgia, Camp Hand gives the state’s cotton farmers a heads up that Dr. Stanley Culpepper and his team have confirmed PPO-resistant Palmer amaranth in Georgia. Considering this finding, he says, “Georgia growers must continue properly stewarding herbicides to remain sustainable.”

So as 2021 gets underway, who is going to show up to make this a winning season? We’ve got the talent and the tools. My money is on the U.S. cotton farmer.

Carroll If you have comments, please send them to: Cotton Farming Magazine, 7201 Eastern Ave., Germantown, TN 38138 or email csmith@onegrower.com.

4

COTTON FARMING | MAY 2021

Southeast Editor Amanda Huber ahuber@onegrower.com Art Director Ashley Kumpe ADMINISTRATION Publisher/Vice President Lia Guthrie (901) 497-3689 lguthrie@onegrower.com Associate Publisher Carroll Smith (901) 326-4443 Sales Manager Scott Emerson (386) 462-1532 semerson@onegrower.com Production Manager Kathy Killingsworth (901) 767-4020 kkillingsworth@onegrower.com Audience Services Kate Thomas (847) 559-7514 For subscription changes or change of address, call (847) 559-7578 or email cottonfarming@omeda.com EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD David Burns – North Carolina David Lynch – South Carolina Bob McLendon – Georgia Larkin Martin – Alabama Mike Sturdivant Jr. – Mississippi Charles Parker – Missouri Jimmy Hargett – Tennessee Allen Helms – Arkansas Jay Hardwick – Louisiana Ronnie Hopper – Texas Ron Rayner – Arizona John Pucheu – California

ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC Mike Lamensdorf President/Treasurer Lia Guthrie Publisher/Vice President ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COOPERATION: Cooperating with COTTON FARMING are various cotton producer organizations across the Cotton Belt. Many representatives of producer organizations serve on COTTON FARMING’s editorial advisory board. Opinions expressed and conclusions reached by contributors are not necessarily those of the cooperating organizations or the editors.

All statements, including product claims, are those of the person or organization making the statement or claim. The publisher does not adopt any such statement or claims as its own and any such statement or claim does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher.

Copyright 2021 © ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS – One Grower Publishing, LLC also publishes RICE FARMING, THE PEANUT GROWER, SOYBEAN SOUTH and CORN SOUTH.

One Grower Publishing, LLC

875 W. Poplar Ave., Suite 23, Box 305, Collierville, TN 38017 Phone: 901-767-4020

COTTONFARMING.COM

Cotton’s Agenda Gary Adams

Finding A Solution Cotton Council International, the National Cotton Council’s export promotion arm, continues to vigorously advance U.S. cotton as the “The Cotton The World Trusts.”

What is CCI’s overall mission?

■ Operating in more than 50 countries under its

COTTON USA™ trademark, CCI is achieving an ambitious mission of making U.S. cotton the preferred fiber for mills/manufacturers, brands/retailers and consumers. Reaching that global mission hinges on CCI’s work to command a value-added premium for U.S. fiber, yarn and other cotton products. That helps drives export growth and ultimately delivers U.S. cotton industry profitability. Due to the pandemic, objectives to carry out that mission were shifted somewhat to: 1) develop new value-added services that will help CCI better market U.S. cotton to its target audiences; 2) develop new ways of communicating the benefits of U.S. cotton when in-person meetings are impossible; and 3) promote the new U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol sustainability initiative to mills, manufacturers, and brands/ retailers worldwide.

Although the pandemic led CCI to at least temporarily take its communiCCI’s COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™ is the first-of-its- cations and events kind technical consultancy in the cotton supply chain online, U.S. cotton’s technical advantages for mills and manufacturers. were creatively publicized, networking platforms were initiated for buyers/sellers of U.S. cotton, and U.S. cotton’s sustainability was aggressively promoted — with an ultimate goal of boosting U.S. cotton sales. As a result, mills participating in COTTON USA™ virtual events during 2020 were expected to purchase an additional 1.6 million bales of U.S. cotton, estimated at nearly $436 million.

How does CCI’s new COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™ help?

■ COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™ is the first-of-

its-kind technical consultancy in the cotton supply chain for mills and manufacturers. CCI believes this initiative can escalate global U.S. cotton usage as it provides cutting-edge data and technology led by a group of world-class mill experts who have more than 200 years of global experience/expertise.

This team evaluates and advises mill/manufacturer business operations — with the ultimate goal of helping them achieve greater productivity, process efficiency and ultimately more profit.

COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™ specifically offers CCI licensees who are Trust Protocol members: 1) dynamic data from mill research/studies, 2) a mill exchange program where participants tour state-of-the-art mills and exchange ideas with mill executives, 3) technical seminars with training in buying, spinning, handling, and other techniques, 4) the COTTON USA Mill Mastery™ Course and 5) one-to-one mill consults (on-site or remote) that offer proven cost savings from 10%-25%. The remote consult utilizes CCI’s Virtual Mill Doctor™ whereby experts examine operations virtually and then provide customized recommendations.

What about other CCI activities?

■ In addition to the COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™

and other educational initiatives, CCI hopes to resume conducting its wide range of in-person activities from trade missions and sourcing fairs to its annual Cotton Days, which increase awareness among mills and fabric manufacturers of U.S. cotton’s attributes. However, the pandemic did not stop CCI from expanding its Cotton Days events — as it conducted virtual Cotton Days in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia during 2020. Those events, for example, brought together more than 1,500 executives from some of Southeast Asia’s most important brands/retailers, garment manufacturers and textile mills. As the world’s leading importer of cotton fiber, that region has emerged as strategically important for U.S. cotton and CCI’s promotion activities.

Gary Adams is president/CEO of the National Cotton Council of America. He and other NCC leaders contribute columns on this Cotton Farming page.

TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

MAY 2021 | COTTON FARMING

5

Profit Maps Tool Software Tells Farmers Precisely Where Conservation Will Make Them Money

BY VANESSA BEESON

T

wo Mississippi State University researchers and pioneers in economically targeted conservation are showing farmers that making money off their land can be feasible even when it isn’t producing.

Wes Burger and Mark McConnell, MSU researchers in the Forest and Wildlife Research Center, are launching the MSU Precision Conservation Tool. The decision-making software identifies precise locations where conservation practices are most economically beneficial to farmers on specific pieces of land. Both scholars also are part of the university’s Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

“Our goal is to ensure enrollment in conservation acreage results in an increase in revenue,” says Burger, also College of Forest Resources interim dean, FWRC interim director and MAFES associate director. “This software allows a farmer to only take land out of production when it means an increase in profit, meaning producers can make more money by farming less acres.

That’s a win for both the producer and the environment.”

The copyrighted software uses precision agriculture, which Burger says “represents the next paradigm shift in natural resource conservation where spatially explicit decisions are made that optimize both conservation and profitability.”

McConnell, a Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture assistant professor, has worked alongside Burger for the past decade to bring the technology to fruition. What began as a master’s thesis project for him has become sophisticated software that promises to be a game changer for producers, agricultural technology companies and conservation experts.

McConnell has since earned a doctorate and taught at the University of Georgia for three years before returning to his alma mater in 2019 to serve in his current position. At UGA, McConnell brought on Nick Meng, then a wildlife master’s student who continued the software development efforts. UGA now shares a portion of the copyright with MSU. How The Software Works

“The conservation title of the Farm Bill — with more than 30 different conservation practices with varied objectives and spatial requirements — is complex, so we built all that information into the software,” McConnell says. “One of the biggest chal-

lenges for producers is visualizing where specific conservation practices are eligible on their farms. This software solves that problem by identifying field-specific eligibility for nearly 40 different conservation practices.”

The system uses yield data to map yield variability across the field comparing it with crop production budgets and commodity pricing to create profit maps. From there, it singles out low-yielding areas of the field. It then finds opportunities for economically targeted conservation in those areas based on the farmer’s conservation goals and a program’s field requirements.

“Right now, we can tell farmers on a very precise scale where conservation will make them money in the field,” McConnell says.

How Much Revenue Increase?

The team hopes to engage the agricultural technology industry to license the software and get it into the hands of more farmers.

“The agricultural technology sector continues to embrace sustainable agricultural innovation and can reach a large percentage of farmers nationally,” McConnell says. “We also want to continue to reach wildlife biologists in federal and state agencies and nongovernmental organizations, like Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever, who work day in and day out helping farmers navigate conservation delivery.”

He says the No. 1 driver in a producer’s decision-making process is economic profitability. As far as how much profitability the right conservation program can garner, McConnell says the range was vast in one recent simulation in Lowndes County, Mississippi.

“We analyzed 52 fields across one farm and were able to increase revenue an average of 24% across all fields,” McConnell says. “On some fields, that might be a 2% increase while on other fields, it was more than 200%. While I’d never ask a farmer to make a change for a 2% increase, a 200% increase is substantial.”

To learn more about the software, contact McConnell at mdm380@msstate.edu or 662-325-2144. To learn more about licensing, contact Jim Mitchell, MSU Office of Technology Management licensing associate, at jfm93@msstate.edu or 662325-8223.

Vanessa Beeson is publications editor at Mississippi State University.

KAREN BRASHER

A conservation buffer is situated next to agricultural land in West Point, Mississippi.

6

COTTON FARMING | MAY 2021

COTTONFARMING.COM

Cotton Consultant’s Corner

Hold On To First And Bottom Boll Positions Hayes Girod

Girod Consulting Services Flora, Mississippi Cotton is like a wild ride you must manage intensely all season long. In the end, if you take care of it, it will take care of you. Cotton is one of my main crops because it has so much going on, including thrips pressure as soon as it comes out of the ground, then tarnished plant bug to bollworm pressure, and carefully timing plant growth regulators and defoliation.

The 2020 season started out wet, then quickly turned hot and dry. Insect pressure was on the light side. Plant bugs were not as hard to deal with, and worms were spotty but seemed easy to control compared to other years. Although cool, rainy weather made defoliation difficult, we played the hand we were dealt and got the job done. As far as the COVID-19 pandemic, I saw some labor issues on a few farms where workers were not able to get out of their home countries. But for the most part, the wheels kept turning like they were supposed to.

Scout And Control Tarnished Plant Bug As we jump into cotton planting and early season insect control, we need to get off to a good start. With commodity prices up, it would be nice to have a light insect year, but I always do my job to find what pests are out there. In my area, there’s going to be more corn where plant bug can thrive and then migrate into the cotton.

I always scout visually for this pest and typically start out with a sweep net. Once the cotton gets about knee-high, I use a drop cloth to find plant bug nymphs and adults. It’s my favorite method of chasing them down. I also thumb squares and blooms from beginning to end. Tarnished plant bug can hurt a cotton crop early by feeding on squares, causing them to abort and reducing square retention. If I don’t get a good fruit set on the first positions and the bottom part of the plant, it makes for a long year trying to play catch up. We want to hold on to all the boll positions.

I recommend my growers make an early application of Transform® WG insecticide at pre-bloom to knock back plant bug numbers and get residual control for as long as possible. Sometimes I hold the Transform card until the second or third week of bloom when both plant bug and aphids are present, and then clean up at 1.5 ounces per acre. This two-for-one clean up shot does a great job controlling these pests. Transform is also a good late-season option to knock back threshold numbers at the end.

As you navigate the 2021 season, remember this. If we grew cotton at 60 cents per pound last year, it’s going to be a lot more enjoyable growing it at 80 cents this year!

Hayes Girod is pictured with his wife, Lauren, and son Mac at their home in Flora, Mississippi.

• Bachelor’s degree in agriculture science with a concentration in entomology, Mississippi State University.

• Licensed consultant for nine years. Consults on cotton, corn, soybeans and milo. Also offers irrigation consulting and variable-rate soil sampling in the fall.

• Started Girod Consulting Services in 2016. Consults in Yazoo, Holmes, Humphreys and Leflore counties.

• Currently serves on the board of directors of the Mississippi Agricultural Consultants Association.

• Wife, Lauren, pediatric nurse at Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children. Son: Mac Girod, 2, runs full throttle all the time.

• Enjoys red fishing and hunting, especially turkeys. Enjoys spending time with his family when not working.

Recap: Hold On To First, Bottom Boll Positions

1. Tarnished plant bug can hurt a cotton crop early by feeding on squares, causing them to abort.

2. If I don’t get a good fruit set on the first positions and the bottom part of the plant, it's difficult to play catch up.

3. I recommend my growers make an early application of Transform® WG insecticide at pre-bloom to knock back plant bug numbers and get residual control for as long as possible.

4. Sometimes I hold the Transform card until the second to third week of bloom when both plant bug and aphids are present, and then clean up at 1.5 ounces per acre.

5. Transform is also a good late-season option to knock back threshold numbers at the end.

Sponsored by

Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. Isoclast® is a registered active ingredient. Transform® WG is not registered for sale or use in all states.

Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Always read and follow label directions. © Corteva 2021.

TM ®

t

SOUTHWEST REPORT

M

Reniform Nematode Research Proves Invaluable

any factors can impact cotton yield — variety, weather and soil type are a few.

But pests and insects are always a problem across the country. One pervasive pest that is no stranger, no matter where you live, is the nematode, specifically the reniform nematode.

The reniform nematode is responsible for substantial yield loss across the Cotton Belt. Until this year, there were no commercially available resistant varieties. Growers have managed the pest using chemical applications and crop rotations.

But the reniform nematode continues to increase and spread. Reniform nematodes can survive in the soil without a host plant for roughly two years. When a host plant is reintroduced, populations skyrocket.

Research Results

The 2021 planting season brings the opportunity to buy and plant recently released cottonseed varieties with genetic resistance to reniform nematodes. The effectiveness of these varieties compared to non-resistant varieties shows tremendous yield increase. Thanks to essential funding from The Cotton Research and Promotion Program for current Texas research projects, scientists are able to evaluate the new varieties.

Dr. Reagan Noland and graduate student, Jennifer Dudak, with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, focused on the new opportunity for growers and explored how the new varieties could benefit reniform-infested fields. One belief that has emerged over the years is that genetic resistance spans different nematode species.

Dudak’s research shows that is not the case. She evaluated root-knot-resistant varieties, reniform- resistant varieties, and a nematode-susceptible variety for yield performance. Her results show a variety with no resistance to nematodes performs similarly to root-knot-resistant varieties when placed in a field with reniform nematode pressure. However, she observed the reniform-resistant varieties’ yields were unmatched.

“My research and analyses show that

8

COTTON FARMING | MAY 2021

BY CHRISTI SHORT ROCHESTER, TEXAS

reniform nematodes are one of the most detrimental and costly pests to cotton growers today,” Dudak says. “In 2019, yield loss and crop damage from nematodes cost U.S. cotton growers about 62 million dollars.

“One big piece of this nematode puzzle was determining that cotton varieties with root-knot nematode resistance did not perform differently than a nematode-susceptible variety. Research showed that nematode genetic resistance is specific to the pest, and that’s key for growers moving forward.”

Increased Profitability

With this concept proven, researchers can now focus on the reniform-resistant varieties and the effect they can have on profitability. Testing commercially available varieties showed that in a field with pervasive reniform infestation, using the new varieties can increase yield up to 45% per acre on average, compared to non-reniform-resistant varieties, according to Noland and Dudak’s work.

“Considering the increased yield and the closing price of cotton in 2020, this genetic resistance represented an average $200-per-acre increase across environments,” Noland says. “The development and release of these reniform resistant varieties will bring great benefit to cotton producers. We are thrilled to coordinate this research and generate valuable information for the industry.”

Noland and Dudak’s research is an example of how the program is working

to increase on-farm profitability. Cotton Incorporated, through the State Support Program in Texas, funded this research over the past two years to quantify the value of the new varieties and inform variety selection decisions for growers.

Cotton Incorporated’s investment in battling the reniform nematodes started in the mid-1990s when program funds were first invested to reniform nematode research management. In 2001, they began to identify resistant traits, with molecular level work and research taking place years later.

“Pursuit of reniform nematode resistance is just one example of the long-term investment and collaboration between Cotton Incorporated, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, universities, Extension agents and seed companies to improve the profitability of cotton growers across the Cotton Belt,” says Dr. Gaylon Morgan, director of agricultural and environmental research at Cotton Incorporated.

Environmental Benefits

Morgan says the new nematode-resistant varieties can improve the environmental footprint of cotton in infested fields.

Historically, a grower was limited to expensive chemical options to suppress early season nematode pressure in the field.

With the success of the new nematoderesistant varieties, chemical applications will not need to be made and will save growers money. It’s also important to note that the varieties are comparably priced to non-resistant varieties, according to current pricing listed online by Plains Cotton Growers.

“This project shows how valuable program and research partnerships are for the on-farm profitability and improvements for the U.S. cotton grower,” Morgan says. “It’s great for the growers to see years of molecular and breeding work come to fruition when we can offer a tangible product to be used on the farm, like the release of these varieties.”

Christi Short is the Cotton Board’s regional communication manager for the Southwest.

Contact her at cshort@cottonboard.org.

COTTONFARMING.COM

S:7.125"

TM ® Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. Isoclast is a registered active ingredient. Transform WG is not registered for sale or use in all states. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Always read and follow label directions. © 2021 Corteva. CA38-396-023 (04/21) BR CAAG1TFRM052

T:10.75"

S:10"

Transform® WG insecticide is merciless on plant bugs. It delivers an all-out back-to-back applications assault against pests that threaten your cotton crop. Discover how Transform can knock out pests and protect your crop at transform.corteva.us.

COVER STORY

Doubling Down on

Georgia Cotton P

Cotton Scrubs Project Benefits Farmers, Rural Communities And U.S. Textile Manufacturing

I

t’s October. A nurse who works at a rural hospital in a South Georgia community looks at the clock as it ticks steadily toward 5 a.m. With a few minutes left to finish her morning routine, she finds her scrubs and sneakers to get dressed.

She welcomes the soft material of the cotton scrubs on a day she knows will be hectic. As she pulls out of the driveway, her lights shine across the clay road into the cotton field, illuminating the bright white bolls in the still-dark morning.

When the nurse comes home that afternoon, the cotton picker is rolling through the field, harvesting six rows of Southern snow one pass at a time. She knows the hard work and hours the farmer puts in to provide a comfortable garment for her and her fellow healthcare workers, while she also puts in long hours helping patients.

And they all like the extra layer of protection provided by ProTX2 AV, an antimicrobial technology, added to the material during production. Knowing American grown and made is on the rise again and started right here in her home state brings a smile to her face.

Georgia ranks second in the United States in planted cotton acres.

10

COTTON FARMING | MAY 2021

COTTONFARMING.COM

Medical scrubs made of 100% Georgia cotton will soon be delivered free of charge to 15 hospitals in rural areas of the state.

The Cotton Project

An initiative from Field to Closet is making the concept of American grown and made 100% cotton scrubs a reality. The longterm vision for this action is bold: Bolster the U.S. cotton farmer, increase domestic demand for cotton, and reshore — bring back to America — textile manufacturing.

The kick-off project, featuring scrubs woven with cotton grown in Georgia and crafted entirely in the United States, highlights the possibilities for achieving the initiative’s far-reaching goals for both the grower and the textile industry.

The medical scrubs project, spearheaded by Field to Closet, is the result of collaborative partnerships with America Knits, Deltapine seed, Helena Agri-Enterprises LLC, Nutrien AgSolutions, Georgia’s Rural Center and HomeTown Health. To spotlight the venture, 15 hospitals in rural Georgia will receive sets of the scrubs at no cost this summer.

“We are so excited to share the success of the project with hospitals in rural Georgia by providing scrubs,” says Victoria Kopyar, vice president, market brand and innovation, Field to Closet. “With frontline healthcare workers wearing scrubs made from Deltapine cotton grown in the region where they work, the project truly comes full circle.”

Farmer GiveBack Program

The initiative recognizes the rebirth of a U.S. cotton garment industry simply isn’t possible without the grower. Therefore, Field to Closet established the Farmer GiveBack program to address a fundamental issue in the garment industry in which the brand or end seller realizes the most significant profit. Farmer GiveBack is designed to ensure the grower is included financially by sharing in the profit of the goods sold.

“Field to Closet was founded to work with brands and retailers to increase the use of cotton in the products and change the economic distribution of the supply chain to include the farmer,” says Ed Jernigan, founder and CEO of Field to Closet. “It also allows people access to sustainably produced, 100% natural cotton fiber with traceability to the farm where the Deltapine cotton was grown. It’s incredible to be part of a process that connects people and brands to the farm, along with increasing awareness of creating garments TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

Why Cotton?

Cotton fibers are natural, biodegradable and recyclable, making them a good option to create sustainable fabric to wear.

The project is bringing cotton back to the forefront of the garment industry to support U.S. farmers and provide environmentally friendly medical scrubs, along with other garments. Moreover, cotton producers and the agriculture industry have worked year after year to improve the sustainability of cotton production.

When cotton breaks down, it enriches the soil and leaves less of a carbon footprint than synthetic materials. In fact, the cotton plant is carbon-sequestering when considering the stalks, leaves and other plant material are left in the soil. This means cotton aids in the long-term removal of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and works to slow or even reverse CO2 pollution after the crop is harvested.

Over the past 40 years in the United States, innovative technologies, new production methods, and research have led to significant gains of sustainability while growing cotton.

According to Cotton Incorporated, pesticide application has become 50% more efficient and applying water by irrigation has been reduced by 45%. At the same time, cotton production increased and fiber quality improved without expanding the amount of land used to grow it.

These cotton production advancements would not be realized without agricultural companies like Deltapine seed, Helena Agri-Business and Nutrien Ag Solutions, which join in support of the project.

They provide critical research and agronomic recommendations as well as innovative digital tools and cutting-edge farming inputs to help growers produce more cotton with less environmental impact.

For more information about the initiative, visit AmericaKnits.com or FieldtoCloset.com.

MAY 2021 | COTTON FARMING

11

Georgia cotton farmer Neil Lee says, “I like the complexity of a cotton plant. You start with a seed; it grows into a plant and turns into fiber to make clothes that people wear.”

from beginning to end in the U.S.” Neil Lee, vice president of operations, Lee Farms, Bronwood, Georgia, says, “Right now, three-quarters of the cotton grown in the U.S. is shipped overseas for production in other countries.

Anything that increases cotton demand domestically is positive.

The economic impact extends far beyond the farm with a ripple effect into the entire community.

“That’s why initiatives like these are so important. Creating infrastructure for a U.S. supply chain is both exciting and achievable.”

Deltapine cotton product manager Keylon Gholston says he has been asked, “Why is Deltapine involved in the project? You sell cottonseed.”

“For us to be successful, our customer, the American cotton farmer, has to be successful,” he says. “Our commitment is not just to bring the best cotton varieties to market; our commitment is to help cotton farmers be more successful in the end.

“We spend a lot of time talking to growers, ginners, mills and spinners to see what the future of the cotton industry is because that’s what we have to bring forward today.”

Textile, Manufacturing

The project also spotlights the textile and manufacturing opportunities available in the United States using cotton grown in America.

As the U.S. textile industry makes strides toward reshoring American manufacturing, America Knits is already making it happen in rural Georgia. The company serves as the final step in manufacturing the medical scrubs. It focuses on providing prosperity for rural, smaller communities and creating quality, environmentally sustainable products made in America.

“This initiative is exciting and goes to show when people work together, extraordinary things can happen,” says Steve Hawkins, CEO of America Knits. “There was a time when an end-to-end U.S. supply chain for cotton garments would have been considered a pipe dream. We’ve shown with hard work, dreams do come true.”

12

COTTON FARMING | MAY 2021

Field to Closet partnered with America Knits in Swainsboro, Georgia, to source Georgia cotton grown from Deltapine seed.

They also selected industry partners Parkdale Mills in Rabun Gap, Georgia, to spin the cotton into yarn, and Hornwood in North Carolina to weave the yarn into fabric. The material then goes to America Knits for the scrubs’ final cut and sew.

Making the project even better for medical personnel, the fabric is treated with PROTX2 AV, an antimicrobial technology that inhibits the growth of bacteria and has been shown in lab tests to destroy viruses. This is the first time PROTX2 AV has been formulated for use on 100% cotton medical scrubs, marking them as an industry first.

A Georgia Mainstay

Not only is cotton sustainable for the environment, but it also provides direct economic impact to rural areas where it is grown. In 2019, cotton lint and seed represented a $7 billion value to the United States from the nearly 20 million bales produced. Cotton is primarily grown in 17 Southern states, known as the Cotton Belt, with Texas and Georgia being the top producers.

Cotton ranks as the second-largest commodity by value in Georgia. Furthermore, University of Georgia Extension forecasted cotton’s overall impact on the state was greater than $3 billion and provided about 53,000 cotton-related jobs.

“Rural Georgia is home to agriculture — Georgia’s largest industry,” says Dr. David Bridges, director of Georgia’s Rural Center and president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. “Georgia is the second largest producer of cotton in the U.S. Cotton plays a prominent role in the economic prosperity of many rural communities in the state. Now, with this particular project, cotton can be more profitable to our farmers and also contribute to better rural healthcare.”

Supporting Rural Communities

The initiative’s overarching vision is to serve as an inspiring example of the possibility and profitability for reshoring COTTONFARMING.COM

Pictured are Wesley Horne (left), president, Hornwood Inc.; Davis Warlick (center), executive vice president, Parkdale Mills; and Steve Hawkins, president, America Knits LLC.

American manufacturing and create a long-lasting impact on rural communities.

The project is more than wishful thinking. It demonstrates a 100% U.S. supply chain that includes crafting products from cotton grown and sewn in rural Georgia. A movement toward 100% cotton scrubs and other cotton garments creates a positive domino effect, resulting in higher domestic cotton need and demand and fair compensation for farmers’ sustainability efforts. It also sheds a positive light on an end-to-end U.S. supply chain, while supporting healthcare workers.

The 15 rural Georgia hospitals receiving medical cotton scrubs include:  Brooks County Hospital.  Burke Medical Center.  Crisp Regional Medical Center.  Colquitt Regional Medical Center.  East Georgia Regional Medical Center.  Emanuel Medical Center.  Irwin County Hospital.  Jeff Davis Hospital.

 Jenkins County Medical.  LifeBrite Community Hospital of Early.  Memorial Hospital and Manor.  Mitchell County Hospital.  SGMC Berrien Campus.  Southwell Medical.  Taylor Regional Hospital.

“It’s no secret 2020 was tough on hospitals, including those in rural areas,” says Jimmy Lewis, CEO of HomeTown Health.

“For this initiative to provide scrubs at no cost to some of these hospitals is an extraordinary way to kick off a truly worthy vision of using Georgia-grown cotton to fully create scrubs in the U.S.” To highlight the initiative, a kick-off event was held April 9 at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture in Tifton. This summer, the scrubs will be delivered to the hospitals in rural areas of the state as cotton grown in the region returns home to healthcare workers on the frontlines.

Deltapine contributed to this article.

Keylon Gholston, Deltapine cotton product manager, says the company is committed to helping American cotton farmers be more successful.

TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

MAY 2021 | COTTON FARMING

13

Industry News FMC’s Vantacor Formulation Replaces Prevathon For Residual Worm Control In 2021, FMC launched Vantacor Insect Control powered by Rynaxypyr active for long-lasting residual control of lepidopteran pests. This is the same active found in Prevathon insecticide.

Vantacor contains a high concentration of Rynaxypyr, so 20 ounces of Prevathon is equivalent to 1.7 ounces of Vantacor. FMC says the new brand provides the same efficacy as Prevathon with residual up to 21 days.

Vantacor is easier to handle and transport and is rainfast as soon as it dries.

It doesn’t flare mites or aphids and has minimal effect on many important beneficial insects.

FMC’s regional technical manager, Eric Castner, says, “Vantacor has a positive environmental and worker protection profile. It doesn’t even have the word ‘caution’ on the label, and the PPE and reentry intervals are minimal.”

Castner recommends selecting the best cotton varieties for your farm and using Vantacor to manage bollworms at 1.7 ounces per acre when 20% of the plants have eggs.

He also says to use enough gallonage to achieve good coverage and don’t let your guard down in three-gene cotton under heavy bollworm pressure.

Feral Pig Baits Show Promise, Minimize Off-Target Risk Scientists with the Louisiana State University AgCenter and the LSU Department of Chemistry are working on a bait and delivery system to help reduce the population of feral hogs.

Glen Gentry, LSU AgCenter feral hog specialist, and John Pojman, a chemistry professor, have been working for more than two years on perfecting a bait and

14

COTTON FARMING | MAY 2021

Georgia Ginner Honored With Prestigious Award Each year, the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association recognizes one of its members as the Ginner of the Year. The selection guidelines require that the ginner be an active member of the association and a progressive ginner who strives to keep cotton strong in their community.

The candidate must also be active in managing his or her operation, a participant in business and civic affairs, respected by the ginning community and supportive of the cotton industry. Ken Roberts, manager of the Miller County Gin Co. in Colquitt, Georgia, is the 2020 recipient of the award. The association says he embodies each of these traits in a big way.

Roberts already had a full career working as an ag pilot and for Georgia Pacific before taking the reins of the newly built plant in 1995. He became a certified ginner in 1996.

There have been a lot of changes in cotton and at the gin since 1995. Since being hired as manager, Roberts has overseen expansions at the plant, including capacity increases and automation. He also is an industry leader and has served several terms as a director of the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association as well as held positions in other cotton organizations.

Roberts’ leadership extends beyond the gin with roles as deacon in his church and treasurer for his local camp with Gideon’s International. He has been a volunteer firefighter at Miller County Fire Department for more than 40 years and is now assistant chief. He also has served on the Colquitt City Council and the Colquitt Chamber of Commerce executive board. delivery system that minimizes the risk to off-target animals.

The researchers had to look at several factors when developing the bait. One involved choosing a formula that was more attractive to hogs — based on features such as smell and texture — than to other animals such as deer or raccoons.

Pojman’s doctoral students, Anthony Mai and Anowar Khan, helped develop the bait. Because it is soft, the pigs can swallow it whole, leaving no crumbs for scavengers.

Because of the unique metabolism of feral hogs, sodium nitrite is more effective on the hogs and poses a low risk to humans.

“If the hogs eat a sublethal dose and a hunter were to kill it and eat it,” Pojman says, “there’s no danger to them. Also,

if a hog dies somewhere and predators or scavengers find it, they would not be contaminated with the bait.”

Another part of the solution involves delivering the baits when hogs are actively feeding. Gentry has a prototype that can deliver up to 20 baits when it is activated.

The system has a live feed camera installed that people can monitor from their homes or phones. If the camera sends an alert and shows pigs are present and feeding, baits can be released remotely. This feature also helps eliminate the chance of other species being fed the baits.

Enroll, Reenroll 2021 Crop In U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol U.S. producers are urged to visit www. trustuscotton.org to enroll their 2021 COTTONFARMING.COM

Industry News cotton crop in the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. Existing members will need to reenroll their cotton operations to receive the year-over-year data from the Fieldprint calculator that helps track sustainability progress at the farm level.

To access the help desk, producers may email growers@trustuscotton.org. The help desk will answer their questions and provide step-by-step enrollment assistance.

Longtime Texas Leader Makes Big Announcement Effective June 30, Plains Cotton Growers Inc. CEO Steve Verett has decided to retire after 24 years of service to the organization and the High Plains cotton industry. He notified the PCG board of directors of his decision at the April 9 board meeting.

Verett has served as the CEO of the Lubbock-based organization since 1997 and is only the third person to hold this role since PCG began in 1956.

Before becoming CEO, he was a producer board member from Crosby County, PCG board president in 1988-89 and chairman in 1990-91. He also served as chairman of the PCG Boll Weevil Steering Committee in 1992-93.

Since joining the PCG staff, Verett’s leadership has established a positive environment. It encourages staff and volunteer leaders to find ways to improve the organization to meet the unique challenges that face the region’s cotton economy.

In the past 24 years, Verett has worked on countless legislative and regulatory efforts, including the development of four Farm Bills, crop insurance reform and numerous ad hoc assistance programs. One of the most notable efforts where he and PCG played a central role was getting cotton back into Title 1 of the 2014 Farm Bill.

Verett is also actively involved in numerous professional and community activities. In 2006, he was chairman of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce and the first cotton producer to serve in that capacity.

In 2017, Verett was named by Farm Credit as one of the Top 100 Leaders in agriculture and rural communities nationwide. In 2006, he was honored TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

by his peers for his service to the U.S. cotton industry when he was named the recipient of the prestigious Cotton Achievement Award.

In his retirement, Verett plans to continue working on the farm as well as spending more time with his wife, Patricia, his kids and his grandkids.

Following the announcement, the PCG board of directors voted to name Kody Bessent as the next CEO of PCG, effective July 1. Bessent currently serves as PCG vice president of operations and legislative affairs.

California Wildfire Insurance Concerns Addressed California farmers and ranchers are finding it increasingly difficult to purchase wildfire insurance for their businesses and properties. The California Farm Bureau welcomed a recent call by the state insurance commissioner for data on commercial insurance coverage.

California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson says he hopes the request from Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara will lead to more sustainable insurance coverage for farmers and ranchers.

“We thank Commissioner Lara for leading the efforts to bring certainty back to the wildfire insurance marketplace,” Johansson says. “Farmers and ranchers from around the state have told us they have been unable to renew insurance and have not been able to find replacement coverage. Commissioner Lara’s action should help us determine the breadth and depth of the problem.”

In a notice issued April 14, Lara directed insurance companies to provide data about the availability of commercial insurance for businesses including farms, ranches, cotton gins, timber harvesting operations, wineries and other agricultural businesses.

“We believe the commissioner’s action will help us move toward a long-term solution,” Johansson says.

Legislation sponsored by the California Farm Bureau would also address the problem by specifically authorizing the state’s insurer of last resort, the California FAIR Plan, to underwrite insurance coverage for commercial farms and ranches. The legislation — Senate Bill 11 by Susan Rubio, D-Baldwin Park — received unanimous support from the Senate Insurance Committee in early April.

CCOY Cotton Consultant of the Year established 1981

Nominations Open For 2021

CCOY The Cotton Consultant of the Year Award, sponsored by Syngenta and Cotton Farming magazine, marks more than four decades this year. The prestigious award honors a consultant for his or her dedication, innovation and hard work. Their footprints in the field and eyes on the crop help cotton farmers succeed and maintain a healthy bottom line.

Go to cottonfarming.com/ ccoy to access the 2021 nomination form and a list of past recipients. Nominees are voted on by former CCOY winners. The 2021 CCOY will be honored Feb. 25, 2022, at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and featured in a four-page salute in the February 2022 issue of Cotton Farming.

Nominate a consultant today who has enriched your cotton farming operation!

Cotton Consultant of the Year sponsored by

Cotton Farming MAY 2021 | COTTON FARMING

15

Specialists Speaking

Get On Top Of Early Season Pests CALIFORNIA Bob Hutmacher

San Joaquin Valley growers are again in the unfortunate position of having to deal with the after-effects of below-normal rainfall and a reduced snowpack. We already know of many planned reductions in irrigation district water allocations that may impact cotton management choices for this year.

Many if not most SJV cotton fields have been planted during a warm weather window that started the last part of March, extending into the first week of April. With generally dry, warm days and cool but not cold nights during the planting cycle, plus lack of rain to wet the soils after planting, expectations are this will at least be a below-average year in terms of seedling disease losses.

The relatively early plantings, if not accompanied by poor weather later in April or May, could be fortunate in terms of an earlier start to the growing season. The early start to the planting season sometimes helps us out by:  Allowing plants to develop a good root system and strong vegetative structures during cooler spring weather.  Earlier square and flower development that might avoid some of the mid-summer hot spells that sometimes affect fruit retention.

If we can get plants to hold early developing squares and bolls, it might also promote earliness that could allow an earlier termination of irrigation and even reduce crop water use.

Some years earlier, cotton plantings could be more susceptible to damage from western flower thrips, false chinch bugs, etc. coming out of neighboring crops or from lygus coming out of winter weeds. But I would expect fewer problems this year since it has been warm and dry for an extended period.

However, increases in tree and vine plantings, plus scattered plantings of other annuals such as safflower, corn and sorghum, plus a mix of vegetable crops means that cotton plantings are in competition for limited water supplies. Cotton also has to co-exist near various “neighboring crops” with some different management priorities, or even next to fallow fields. This situation may warrant extra attention later as cotton starts squaring.

With these neighboring crops, the mix of pests and beneficial insects you end up with and some treatment options may require adjustments going forward. In a year like this with limited and expensive water, pests that threaten early fruit set and yield potential can be a significant threat. A quick, good fruit set can offer earliness and less of a need for an extended irrigation season required for a late-developing “top crop.” rbhutmacher@ucdavis.edu

ARIZONA Randy Norton

Seedling cotton can be found around the entire state.

Decisions are now being made regarding the protection of the young plant and ensuring it has the resources it needs to thrive.

Early season insect pressure can sometimes be significant. Monitoring for damaging populations of insects such as thrips, false chinch bug and flea beetle among others is important in protecting the early crop.

There are times where the need for control measures is warranted for early season insect pressure. But be judicious in the use of selective chemistries wherever possible to target the pests while attempting to pre-

16

COTTON FARMING | MAY 2021

serve any beneficials that are present in your fields.

Early season nutrient management is also important in maintaining plant health. Ensuring that the crop has sufficient resources to maintain healthy growth is critical. Timing of fertilizer nutrient applications is important to maximize use efficiency. Remember that nitrogen is very mobile in the soil-plant-atmosphere system and can be subjected to loss from the system.

Soil N uptake begins to increase dramatically near first square and reaches a maximum at peak bloom. To maximize its uptake efficiency, it is best to apply needed fertilizer nitrogen during the first square window to peak bloom. This is not necessarily the case with either potassium or phosphorus. The dynamics of these additional two macro-nutrients are quite different than N. This forum does not provide space to discuss these in detail, but additional information regarding the management of all nutrients and other topics can be found at cals.arizona.edu/crops. rnorton@cals.arizona.edu

KANSAS Stu Duncan

With the recommended time for cotton planting rapidly approaching, there are a couple of early season tasks that should be completed. To give the crop a competitive advantage, it is important to plant into a weed-free seedbed. There is still time to apply a good burndown if that has not already been done.

The goal is to start clean and stay clean. If wind and/ or rain has delayed these operations, most burndown herbicides may be applied with a preplant herbicide application. Be sure to check the labels for possible antagonism between products. Preplant and preemergence herbicide applications should be designed to include a good residual herbicide(s) for problem weeds previously identified in your fields.

Once your crop is in the ground and the nearby wheat fields begin to ripen and dry down, be on guard for thrips infestations. New traits are coming available for thrips resistance in cottonseed, but may not be available yet in varieties adapted to your area. Kansas growers must keep in mind that our crop cannot afford to experience development delays, and thrips historically have been the first insect pest for which to be on guard. sduncan@ksu.edu

OKLAHOMA Seth Byrd

As of mid-April, the cotton-producing areas of Oklahoma remain fairly dry, although there are some chances for precipitation prior to the start of May in some forecasts. While moisture and temperature are typically going to be the focus as we enter the planting season, early season pest control will also be on every producer’s mind.

The residual herbicide products we typically use at planting require some method of incorporation. Because any tillage operation after planting is a rare occurrence in most current production systems in Oklahoma, this means we’ll be relying on rainfall or overhead irrigation. Dry conditions in some areas of the state have slowed weed emergence. In others, applications may have already been made to prevent weeds from becoming too large to effectively control at planting.

The two primary principals we’ve likely all heard dozens of times but still ring true are to 1) start clean, meaning to eliminate any weeds present at planting, and; 2) overlap residuals. Be sure to understand the window COTTONFARMING.COM

Specialists Speaking of effectiveness of the residual herbicide you use at planting and have a game plan in mind on what you’re using next and when you’re going to apply it to maintain effective residual control. Cotton isn’t a competitive crop in the seedling stage, so competition for water and other resources must be minimized to optimize growth and prevent delayed growth.

Beyond weeds, thrips control will also be key to ensure rapid growth is achieved early in the season. If you’re in an area where thrips pressure is common, or you have surrounding host crops that might increase the risk of thrips activity, be sure to address this threat. The first step is to have a scout in the field to provide timely updates of thrips pressure.

For control, whether it’s through seed treatment, in-furrow application or over-spray after emergence, it’s key to understand the window of control of whatever method you’ve selected. In areas or years of heavy pressure, a combination of seed treatment or in-furrow application plus an overspray may be required.

For more information on planting and early season growth, refer to our factsheet at https://bit.ly/3da7ddO. seth.byrd@okstate.edu

TEXAS Ben McKnight

Currently, any substantial relief from drought conditions has been scarce across much of Texas. Some of the earliest planted cotton in the Lower Rio Grande Valley is approaching the four true-leaf stage as I write this the first week of April. The majority of the crop in the LRGV and Coastal Bend is in the cotyledon- to two-leaf stage.

Insect pest pressure has been light so far in the LRGV with some isolated, below-threshold reports of thrips, cotton aphids, and spider mites.

Growers in the Upper Gulf Coast are busy getting the cotton crop planted into remaining soil moisture ahead of projected 90 degree high temperatures in the coming days. In the next week or so, leading up to the middle part of April, the majority of cotton acres in the Upper Gulf Coast will be in the ground awaiting some much needed rainfall.

Producers in the Blacklands have wrapped up planting grain crops and will now shift their attention to the cotton acres for the remainder of April. With the current long-term weather forecast, growers are capitalizing on current soil moisture to get the crop out of the ground. Land preparation in the Rolling Plains is in full swing ahead of planting in mid-May to early-June.

Seed and in-furrow treatment for thrips have benefits and provide control until the one- to two-leaf cotton growth stage under most circumstances. As the activity from seed and in-furrow treatments begins to decrease, timely follow-up chemical applications for thrips may be needed depending on pressure and environmental conditions. Be aware of economic thresholds and avoid spraying ahead of threshold level infestations as this increases the potential of flaring spider mite populations.

For more information on insect pests and economic thresholds of each pest in cotton visit https://cottonbugs.tamu.edu. bmcknight@tamu.edu

TEXAS Murilo Maeda

By the time you receive this issue of Cotton Farming, it is likely planting has already started in the Texas High Plains. Weather is unusually warm for this time of year, and moisture is lacking for most of the region. Despite being blessed with some rainfall, warm and windy days have prevailed. Some places have limited subsoil moisture from recent rains, but most will need supplementation, either from rain or irrigation for adequate crop establishment.

Once again, continue to be vigilant on the input front. Despite having already chosen what to plant, when to plant is the next logical question that can have season-long implications. We have no control on the TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

weather and a narrow planting window for some. Always strive for good planting conditions whenever possible.

With moisture being the obvious overriding factor here, aim for soil temperatures greater than 65 degrees Fahrenheit and 25 or more heat units accumulated within five days of planting. Our colleagues at North Carolina State University have a handy online tool to help you monitor heat unit accumulation for your location based on the National Weather Service forecast. You can find it here (https://products.climate.ncsu.edu/ ag/cotton-planting/). I also encourage you to obtain warm and cool germination test results from your seed company and/or seed retailer. These are lot-specific and can help you make an informed decision if faced with unfavorable conditions at planting. Adding those two numbers together (warm and cool test values) should give you the vigor index for that lot.

If higher than 160, that seed has an excellent vigor index, conversely 120 or less would indicate a poor vigor index.

Faced with less than adequate conditions at planting, you may prioritize planting a higher vigor index seed first as you wait for conditions to (hopefully) improve before seeding the lower vigor index seed.

The goal is to give your crop a better chance to get off to a good start.

Be mindful of farm equipment moving around as planting activity picks up, and as always, stay safe out there. mmaeda@ag.tamu.edu

LOUISIANA Matt Foster

According to the US. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service, cotton acreage intentions in Louisiana are at 120,000 acres, down 29% from the 170,000 acres planted last year.

Most cotton producing areas in the state experienced wet field conditions during March, and more rainfall is predicted as the optimal planting window approaches in mid-April. Cotton planting should begin soon, depending on the field conditions.

Thrips are a major early season pest of seedling cotton in Louisiana and throughout the Cotton Belt. Tobacco thrips are the most common species on the state’s cotton. Research has shown that severe thrips infestations can reduce yield by 200-300 pounds of lint per acre.

Cotton is most susceptible to thrips injury between emergence and the fourth true-leaf stage due to the slow development of the terminal bud. Therefore, it is important for producers to manage thrips during this critical growth stage. Cotton seedlings injured from thrips may exhibit tattered and crinkled leaves that curl upward and fail to properly expand. Keep in mind that injury from sandblasting and preemergence herbicides can mimic thrips injury.

Management options include insecticide seed treatments, in-furrow applications and foliar sprays. Insecticide seed treatments are the most popular.

Currently, acephate and neonicotinoids are the only two seed treatment options. The two most common neonicotinoids are imidacloprid and thiamethoxam and are offered alone or in combination with nematicides. LSU AgCenter entomologists do not recommend the use of thiamethoxam alone to manage thrips in cotton due to development of tobacco thrips resistance.

At planting in-furrow insecticide options include imidacloprid, acephate or AgLogic (aldicarb). Foliar rescue sprays may be necessary under certain conditions, but they should not be the only tool used to manage thrips. The decision to use a foliar insecticide for thrips control should be based on scouting.

The presence of immature thrips indicates the insecticide seed treatment has broken down and reproduction is occurring. Foliar insecticide options include acephate, Bidrin, Radiant, dimethoate or Intrepid Edge.

Implementing a good thrips management plan will help ensure your cotton gets off to an excellent start. mfoster@agcenter.lsu.edu MAY 2021 | COTTON FARMING

17

Specialists Speaking ARKANSAS Bill Robertson

The Prospective Plantings report released in March by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated cotton plantings in Arkansas at 490,000 acres, down 7% from the 525,000 acres planted last year. This estimate is in line with the National Cotton Council estimate released earlier this year.

Oftentimes, we feel the need to plant as early as possible. Our data shows we can still optimize yields with planting delays. Our optimum planting window in southeast Arkansas historically includes dates ranging from April 20-30. Locations at and north of Interstate 40 see their optimum window shifting back as late as May 9. Weather varies from year to year. However, the most important thing is to do it right the first time.

When pushing the limits on earlier-than-advised planting, replanting is sometimes necessary. When planting into cold soils, it is imperative to use the highest quality seed. As seed size decreases, seed quality becomes more critical when planting in marginal conditions.

When determining if replanting is necessary, many factors should be considered. First, it is important to evaluate the current stand of plants that will survive. Establishing the occurrence of skips greater than 3 feet in length, especially when this occurs simultaneously in adjacent rows, is critical. Cotton’s ability to adapt and maintain yield potential at lower plant populations is often underestimated. If the decision to replant is difficult, it is usually best to keep the stand.

The period from planting to first square is a critical time for the cotton plant. While water and nutritional requirements for the plant are low, cotton is not a very good competitor. Allowing weeds or other pests overcome pre-squaring cotton will affect yield potential.

It is easy to sometime overlook the importance of early season weed control when we have the tools to clean up a weedy mess down the road.

Place high priority on early season weed management to avoid losing yield potential early in the season that is difficult to regain and can be very costly. brobertson@uaex.edu

MISSISSIPPI Brian Pieralisi

December cotton futures have been trading a lot higher in recent months, which makes penciling in a profit much easier than this time last year. As I write this on April 5, cotton prices are just south of 80 cents with greater profit potential than previous years. Mississippi cotton is projected at 500,000 acres, down 5% from last year. Despite favorable cotton prices, corn and soybean will likely be planted on the voided acres.

Thrips pressure was unusually high in 2020, which triggered multiple foliar applications to avoid delays in maturity through June. As we move forward in 2021, I recommend insecticidal seed treatments or in-furrow applications to help mitigate this pest. Cotton is most vulnerable at the three- to four-leaf stage, which often times requires an additional foliar application. Acephate and imidicloprid are good seed treatment options as well as in furrow. Aldicarb in-furrow provides excellent control if you are set up for granular applications. However, this is a bit more expensive and could be more justifiable if you have a nematode problem as well.

I suggest focusing on timely nitrogen applications. Regardless of your application method, it is critical to have nitrogen applied just prior to first bloom. Nitrogen use intensifies tremendously at this point, making it critical to have a full supply available as nitrogen demand increases.

Depending on irrigation availability or impending weather, I recommend having a fully charged soil moisture profile going into bloom with all nitrogen applied. This will mitigate plant stress and help avoid excessive fruit abortion, which will hopefully translate into greater

18

COTTON FARMING | MAY 2021

boll retention later in the season. Also, late season nitrogen deficiency is not a bad thing. If properly applied, late season nitrogen deficiency symptomology low in the canopy means all nitrogen is relocating to yield components. Ultimately, this will reduce late-season diseases like boll rot, reduce late season insect pests and increase defoliation success. bkp4@msstate.edu

ALABAMA Steve M. Brown

Although I’ve evaluated seedling vigor of varieties for years, experience doesn’t give me confidence about my ratings. I tend to be very critical, and most of what I assess is confounded by thrips injury — leaves ragged, plants stunted and terminals sometimes blackened.

What I hope to see, but rarely do, is green, smooth leaves, vigorous stalks and healthy terminals.

Maybe I was spoiled by Temik in-furrow and the early years of Roundup Ready. The latter meant less pre herbicide injury and with the former, cotton jumped out of the ground. Such a wimpy starter but STRONG finisher like DP 555 BR might not have been possible without both.

Yes, more vigorous varieties tend to grow through problems more readily. Still, I want to see cotton that’s “getting it;” in more sophisticated terms, seedlings with strong plant health.

Ah, “plant health,” what a popular term, one that gets all the press … and grants. Like “sustainable.” In a recent interview, a candidate discussed sustainability in big and broad terms. I had to ask, “How do you think an Alabama farmer defines sustainability?” I was looking for PROFITability.

Excuse me for chasing (and whacking) a rabbit.

A couple of years ago I walked into a no-till field that had been planted in mid-May. It had considerable surface residue. Cotton was about 21/2 weeks post-plant and three days earlier had been sprayed with a herbicide and insecticide mix. It was the prettiest young field I’d seen in years.

Several things contributed to the goodness of that stand. It was planted under good conditions. Emergence and early growth were rapid. Old corn stalks probably reduced thrips pressure, and the insecticide treatment was out front, ahead of significant thrips feeding.

While you can’t plant every field under great conditions and cover crops may not be an option, being out front on thrips pays dividends. If heavy pressure is anticipated — and you can check this with the Thrips Infestation Predictor for Cotton at https://climate.ncsu.edu/cottonTIP — you may benefit from an early foliar treatment. Sooner rather than later. A common mistake is to wait until damage is easily recognized, which means you should have intervened days earlier. cottonbrown@auburn.edu

FLORIDA David Wright

Make wise decisions on pest management at planting so you don’t get behind in weed and insect management and spend more than necessary catching up.

Most of our cotton is grown using conservation tillage and planted into cover crops or winter fallow weeds, which need to be killed two to four weeks ahead of planting. At planting, herbicides should include something to kill emerging weeds and residuals to control weeds for the first few weeks of growth.

Some of our growers use low rates of starter fertilizer in a 2-inch-by-2inch placement during planting. Phosphorus can be applied at that time with no more than 20-30 pounds of nitrogen per acre. We do not recommend in-furrow application of fertilizer even at low rates as it can reduce population. The 2-inch-by-2-inch fertilizer is adequate to help cotton get off to an early start.

Cotton seldom responds to starter fertilizer except for early growth, while yield is often similar without starter fertilizer.

COTTONFARMING.COM

Our highest yielding cotton always follows winter grazing using less irrigation and nutrients due to recycled nutrients. This means two to four times more nitrates and two times more potassium in the root zone following cattle and enhancement of cotton roots versus non-grazed cover crops. wright@ufl.edu

Thrips damage on cotton

GEORGIA Camp Hand

In Georgia, this time of year is off to the races concerning planting. Although some cotton has been planted at this point, it will continue to be planted for a while because of our wide planting window. Here are a few early season pest management thoughts:  If you have yet to finish planting your cotton, you should be thinking about nematodes. For many cotton producers in southern Georgia, our winter may not have been severe enough to knock nematode populations back substantially. Conditions may have also allowed mowed cotton stalks to survive, which can feed the nematodes. As an example, Jeremy Kichler (Colquitt County Extension agent) took nematode samples from last year’s research plots (susceptible variety) on March 11. Root-knot nematode counts were already four times the fall threshold value. You get one good shot to punish nematodes. Once that furrow is closed, your management options are severely limited.  By now, everyone spraying dicamba or 2,4-D in-crop should have attended a “Using Pesticides Wisely” training conducted by Dr. Stanley Culpepper. This means you now know he and his team have confirmed PPO-resistant Palmer amaranth in Georgia. Georgia growers must continue properly stewarding herbicides to remain sustainable. Culpepper’s weed management recommendations for cotton can be found at https:// bit.ly/3giL0wb. Highlights from an early season standpoint include starting weed free (using tillage, cover crops or burndown herbicides), apply two mechanisms of action pre, and sequential post applications with the first one coming roughly two weeks after pre applications, and the second one roughly two weeks later.  Thrips are the main insect pest for us early in the season. At-plant insecticides must be used to manage this pest, with consistent positive yield responses observed. Follow-up applications may be necessary. The threshold for those applications is two to three thrips per plant with immatures present. Cotton planted after May 10 or planted into a cover crop will typically have less thrips pressure.

If you have any questions, your local UGA county agents, along with myself and other specialists, are here to help. camphand@uga.edu

TENNESSEE Tyson Raper

Dr. Scott Stewart has been keeping a close eye on foliar applications of acephate to control thrips for quite some time. Unfortunately, he began noticing a slip in efficacy with our standard rate several years back.

In Tennessee, cool, wet conditions can lengthen the amount of time our earliest planted cotton remains susceptible to thrips. As a result, we use imidacloprid as our go-to seed treatment and plan to make a foliar application at the one to two true-leaf stage.

A considerable slip in efficacy has been captured for several consecutive years in Jackson, and it now appears the trend is showing up in other locations beyond Tennessee. The current recommendation to overcome this reduction in efficacy is to either increase the rate of acephate or consider another product like Bidrin or Intrepid Edge.

For more information from Stewart, find his recent 2021 Cotton Focus Video Series presentation on the topic online at news.utcrops.com. traper@utk.edu TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

NORTH CAROLINA Guy Collins

By the time this is read, planting should be underway.

Let’s hope and pray our planting season brings weather noticeably better than what we experienced last year.

Hopefully, growers have used the NCDA Cotton Seed Quality Database to document both the warm and cool germ for each lot number of seed they purchased and use that to make the best planting decisions possible.

This database, along with the NCSU Cotton Planting Conditions Calculator, can be found on our NCSU Cotton Extension Portal website, https://cotton.ces.ncsu.edu/, under “Calculators & Decision Aids” on the left-side toolbar.

The NCSU Cotton Planting Conditions Calculator should probably be used daily, both in early morning and again in the evening. The calculator provides real-time recommendations based on the National Weather Service forecasts, which can change drastically in a short time during some years.

Additionally, growers can select a specific farm or field on the map to calculate recommendations, which include a five-day heat unit forecast and rating, for the day it is accessed and for the day following. During periods rated as “poor”, cotton shouldn’t be planted, regardless of seed quality. During periods rated as “adequate” or “marginal,” pay close attention to cool germ and plant the highest cool germ lots, as well the largest seed possible. Growers may also want to adjust their seeding rates according to these conditions and the cool germ of the lot to be planted.

We are always in a hurry to plant every day that brings good weather, with a favorable five-day forecast. Usually, we continue planting until it’s completed, then we start to evaluate the planted crop. Let’s not forget timely scouting is necessary as soon as the crop emerges.

Growers should use the Thrips Infestation Predictor, also on our website, to target scouting and possible treatment to particular fields. Remembering that the most important time to treat is when the first true leaf appears between the cotyledons.

Scouting for weed emergence or efficacy of your residual herbicide program is essential during this same time. There is a lot of value to being timely when action is needed. guy_collins@ncsu.edu MAY 2021 | COTTON FARMING

19

Ginners Marketplace COTTON

COTTON FARMING IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE GINNING INDUSTRY.

Take Time To Relay OffSeason Safety Message As ginners, we typically focus our attention on the gin season. We have seasonal labor that may be new or returning. We must train them and get them oriented to working long hours and around equipment they aren’t familiar with. As far as safety is concerned, it helps to assume they don’t know anything and start with fresh training for everyone…returning or new. We show videos, do verbal instruction and on-the-job training. We document everything and have regular safety meetings. But now the season’s over, and it’s time to relax … or is it?

Unfortunately, we were recently reminded that accidents happen throughout the year, not just in ginning season. We can’t take our eye off the ball for a second. We do a lot of non-routine tasks in the offseason. This provides an opportunity for the unexpected to show up. If you’ve ever worked in a gin, Murphy’s law applies. It states that if anything can go wrong, it will, and at the worst possible moment. Safety may need more attention in the offseason than during the ginning season.

Develop A Safety Mindset Working at elevated heights, moving equipment, pulling shafts and bearings, and all the other things we do during the repair time of year don’t normally have set procedures. This means we need to look at how we view safety with our yearround employees a bit differently than the seasonal folks.

Our seasonal employee-oriented safety efforts often revolve around the particular job someone does day in and day out.

There is a lot of emphasis on guarding and controlling energy because those are the things protecting workers from most of the hazards during gin season.

Our year-round employees need to hear a safety message regularly in the offseason as well. The jobs that are done during repair really need a safety mindset. The people we have doing repair around the gin or installing equipment or updating machines all need to be able to size up a situation, figure out what could bite them and work to prevent those things from getting them.

Cotton Ginners Marketplace

How To Avoid OffSeason Accidents Very few years go by that we don’t have a serious accident in the offseason. A few years ago, it was moving a fan scroll that rolled over killing the employee. Recently, a fall during blow down resulted in serious head injuries. We’ve had smashed hands and fingers, electric shocks, and various slips and trips, all resulting in people going to the hospital over the years.

Most offseason injuries seem to deal with moving heavy pieces of equipment by gantry or crane or hoists. Injuries can also result from falling from catwalks or while installing machines. Determine how employees potentially can get hurt and what you can do to help them avoid an injury.

Whether you’re a gin owner, manager or ginner, teach your workers to look at the tasks they perform with safety in mind.

Can you hold a training on using hoists? Can you train your guys on working better at elevation? Can you remind them to employ lock-out on the machines they are working on? I bet there’s a way.

20

COTTON FARMING | MAY 2021

Simple safety meetings are a start. Providing instruction on some of these topics can help create a safety mindset in your employees. When they are preparing for a job, teach them to consider not only how they are going to get a task completed but also how to get it done safely.

Dusty Findley, CEO of the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association, contributed this article. Contact him at 706-344-1212 or dusty@southern-southeastern.org.

* * * * *

2021 CCGGA Annual Meeting Announced The California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association’s 2021 Annual Meeting will be held live Wednesday, May 12, at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, California. Registration and a continental breakfast start at 7:30 a.m. The program begins with concurrent breakout sessions at 8:30 a.m. and ends with lunch.

The ginners’ breakout session, moderated by CCGGA’s Christopher McGlothlin, will be held in the upstairs conference dining room. Here are the topics:  National Cotton Ginners Association report, Curtis Stewart, NCGA president.  U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service gin lab update, Derek Whitelock, USDA ARS.  Air district incentives, Aaron Tarango, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

The growers’ breakout session, moderated by CCGGA’s Priscilla Rodriguez, will take place in the banquet hall. Here are the topics:  Air district incentives, Aaron Tarango, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.  Variety report and Fusarium update, Dr. Bob Hutmacher, University of California Cooperative Extension.  Crop protection chemical update, Renee Pinal, Western Plant Health Association.

Dan Walters, a columnist for CalMatters, is the luncheon speaker. According to its website, CalMatters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom committed to explaining California policy and politics.

You must register to attend. For registration details, visit https://bit.ly/3dkvuxX or call 559-252-0684.

Are you Serious about Cotton®?

Let’s talk about products that set your gin apart from the crowd. samjackson.com

Moisture • Drying • Control

806-795-5218 COTTONFARMING.COM

HOPPER CONVERSION KIT

“Our seed comes out with ease and trucks are loaded faster.”

Longtown Gin CO., Mason, TN

Minimize Seed Bridging 50% Larger Square Hydraulic Doors Call Jim - (972) 381-8899 / cliffgranberrycorp.com

Lubbock Electric Co.

NORTHERN / LUCUS MACHINE, INC 1116 E SLATON HWY LUBBOCK, TX 79404

MasterFlow III Gin Stand Controller Simplified Troubleshooting

ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

lllllll l lllllll l

Superior Flexibility

yy y

Is it time to UPGRADE?

Contact LECO for pricing today!

TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

MANUFACTURER OF HI- CAPACITY LINT CLEANING SYSTEMS IN 86” TO 110” WIDTHS NEW 60”, 72”, & 80” OVERSHOT BATTERY CONDENSERS 96” TO 144” INCLINE CLEANERS, STICK MACHINES, & AIR LINE SEPARATORS

Cotton Ginners Marketplace

Remote Monitoring & Control

FOR SALE: 1 – 158 GIN STAND W/ CONTROLS & 700 FEEDER

HIGH CAPACITY VACUUMS USED & FACTORY REBUILT GIN MACHINERY PLASTIC BALING PRESSES COMPLETE LINE OF REPAIR PARTS FOR MURRAY, MITCHELL, H.E., CONSOLIDATED, CONTINENTAL, MOSS, LUMMUS, HORN, & CMI

806-745-8156 1-800-776-8182 FAX: 806-745-0564 NORTHERNLUCUS@YAHOO.COM WWW.NORTHERNLUCUS.COM MAY 2021 | COTTON FARMING

21

My Turn Step Up

O

ne of my most Now, after decades of wishing the world would pr i z e d photo s appreciate modern agriculture and respect the efforts shows my father farmers make to grow crops with ever more sustainsquatting in the able practices, U.S. cotton farmers have an option to middle of a cotton field with deliver the message loud and clear. They have a tool 5-inch-high plants on both that can collate, demonstrate and advocate about sides of him. Some rows modern agriculture. The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol have grass under the cotton; finally gives every farmer I have ever talked to what several rows do not. they have asked for — the opportunity to tell their It was his first demonstra- story so that the non-producing world will listen. tion with spraying herbicide We have it. We have a tool. Just like a 9/16-inch Bill under the plants, and he wrench on a 9/16-inch nut — this tool can do the job Gillon could not have been more IF we pull it out of the toolbox, put it on the nut and pleased. He and I shared turn. The decision to use this tool should not be hard. a deep dislike of the hoe. That herbicide was the Compared to my father meticulously writing down much-preferred tool. inputs, outputs, bale weights and classing data for The emotional link for me is my father, a young each bale in pencil in those ledger books, one or farmer, right in the middle of his element. The two hours to sign up online each year doesn’t seem broader takeaway is a sense of progress and seeking a like much of a burden. The two hours each cotton better way. My father always sought a better way. producer devotes to this process, combined with two For him, that better way meant knowing what he hours of information from every other U.S. Cotton was doing. He knew the Tr u s t P r ot o c o l c otland, and in our region, “We have a tool. Just like a 9/16-inch ton producer, can help each 20-acre field was answer the sustainability wrench on a 9/16-inch nut.” probably different than questions for the cotton the 20 acres right across industry. This effort can the creek. Each field required different nutrients, provide information to direct more effective prounique water management practices, and varying duction research, and it will help sell U.S. cotton to crops for him to squeeze the most out of every acre. brands, retailers and consumers across the globe.

Before computers, precision agriculture, automatCotton growers do not have to pay to join the U.S. ed systems and electronic cotton warehouse receipts Cotton Trust Protocol. For the individual grower, it were ledger books — stacks of ledger books. My is cheaper than that 9/16-inch wrench, and it will turn father kept meticulous records, usually in pencil, a lot more bolts and open a lot more doors. It just field by field. During harvest season, he copied bale- takes the investment of a little time. by-bale records by hand from printed warehouse Will we step up and make the U.S. Cotton Trust receipts and classing documents. He wasn’t unique in Protocol a helpful tool for U.S. cotton producers? this. Every good farmer kept good records.

I know what my father’s answer would have been.

Jumping forward a bit to the mid-1980s, after There is no new tool, no new method of production DDT and after the Silent Spring, I saw firsthand that will do any good whatsoever if we do not take the gap between an environmentalist’s perception the time to use it. The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol is of farming and a farmer’s perception of environ- another evolutionary tool for producing and marketmentalists. It was pretty obvious to me then, and it ing cotton. It only takes a couple of hours. is even more apparent 40 years later, that the perceived war between these groups stems from a lack of — Bill Gillon understanding, a lack of data and a stunning lack of Germantown, Tenneessee perspective. bgillon@cottonboard.org

Cotton Farming’s back page is devoted to telling unusual “farm tales” or timely stories from across the Cotton Belt. Now it’s your turn. If you’ve got an interesting story to tell, send a short summary to csmith@onegrower.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

22

COTTON FARMING | MAY 2021

COTTONFARMING.COM

Renew your subscription online We appreciate your reading Cotton Farming magazine.

The U.S. Postal Service requires that we receive a direct request to continue mailing you our publication.

We value your time but ask that you go to www.cottonfarming.com/subscribe to verify the continuation of your FREE subscription.

Our editor, Carroll Smith, strives to provide production tips, new product information and profit-making ideas in every issue.

Please take a minute to renew online to ensure you don’t miss a single issue.

We would also love to hear about specific topics you feel need more attention to help you produce a successful crop.

Thank you for your continued support!

Lia Guthrie Publisher lguthrie@onegrower.com

Cotton Farming Cotton Farming arming Cotton Farming Cotton Farming ®

PROFITABLE PRODUCTION STRATEGIES

ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC

FEBRUARY 2021

www.cottonfarming.com

®

R GROWE ONE LLC PUBLISHING,

PROFITABL

E PRODUCTIO

N STRATEGIE

S

Seth Byrd Honored For Industry Service More Varieties ReleasedONEFor 2021 GROWER LLC

JANUARY 2021

PUBLISHING,

rming.com www.cottonfa

PROFITABL

E PRODUCTIO

N STRATEGIE

S

MARCH 2021

www.cottonfa rming.com

North Caro lina Farmer Minimizes Risks

Consultant Louisiana ute s Pays Trib Hank Jone s And Legend To Friends

Key To Success

es Cotton Shin a In Oklahom

West Texas Operation Capitalizes On Teamwork

lina Honors North Caro vil’ ‘Mr. Boll Wee

ason Planning SeHosts Q&A

NCGA Awa rds Honor Leadership And Service

Reflect & Pr oject 2021 Econom ic Outl

INSIDE: 2020 COTTON CONSULTANT OF THE YEAR DRAKE PERROW

ing Cotton Farm ipients CCOY Rec With Past

For U.S. Cott on

ook

®

consumers

CottonBoard.org The data referenced is from Cotton Incorporated’s Lifestyle Monitor™ survey and the 2016 Seal of Cotton survey. *Seal of Cotton™ introduced by Cotton Incorporated in 1973.

CB20-Logos-CottonFarmer Final.indd 1

2/25/21 11:16 AM