Cotton Farming October 2020

Cotton Farming ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC

PROFITABLE PRODUCTION STRATEGIES

OCTOBER 2020

www.cottonfarming.com

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Connect Via Cotton & Coffee Zoom Series

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Battling Contamination With Technology ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Arkansas Breeder Reflects On

50 Years Of Cotton ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

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YOU’RE MADE FOR THE FIELD THAT GROWS IT.

It’s important work. And daunting work. For you, growing. For us, protecting. A shared passion for delivering the “world’s best” cotton. For you, there are countless hours spent in the field. And late nights running the business. For us, there are countless hours in the greenhouses to find the best chemistry. And endless miles on the road to bring expert agronomists and support to you. All so you can focus on doing what you love. Work that must be protected. With best-in-class crop defense from seed to gin. Every acre. Every row. Every seed.

Not everyone is cut out for this. But we are. Just like you. Made for this.

Always read and follow label directions. Liberty, Outlook, Priaxor and Xemium are registered trademarks of BASF. © 2020 BASF Corporation. All rights reserved.

WE’RE MADE FOR THE FIELD THAT PROTECTS IT.

Vol. 64 No. 10

Cotton Farming PROFITABLE PRODUCTION STRATEGIES

OCTOBER 2020

www.cottonfarming.com

FE ATURES

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COTTON & COFFEE SERIES The Cotton Board has created a virtual meeting series to keep cotton producers connected with the Cotton Research & Promotion Program.

BATTLING CONTAMINATION The VIPR (Visual Imaging Plastic Removal) System shows impressive reults after being tested in a gin December 2019 and January 2020.

GINNERS MARKETPLACE

the official publication of the ginning industry TCGA summer interns Amos Emanis and Oscar Barajas and Texas Cotton Ginners’ Trust intern Zach Stovall report on their experiences.

8 50 Years Of Cotton

WEB EXCLUSIVE

Dr. Fred Bourland was born and raised on a cotton and soybean farm in northeast Arkansas. He began working in cotton breeding as a graduate student at the University of Arkansas in 1970 and has been actively involved in the discipline since then. During a recent webinar, Bourland shared his 50 years’ perspective on cotton.

Clemson University is developing technologies to improve ag water-use eff iciency. One project is a GPS-based center-pivot auditing software used to calculate water-distribution uniformity in fields. The software generates reports outlining costs of over- and under-irrigation. Using this information, farmers can assess return on investment of retrofits, adjustments and repairs. The system also can be adjusted based on crop rotations. Go to www.cottonfarming.com for this Web Exclusive report.

DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS

5 Editor’s Note 6 Cotton’s Agenda 10 Industry News

12 Specialists Speaking 16 Research & Promotion 22 My Turn

ON THE COVER: This painting was created by Dr. Fred Bourland’s grandson, Kash Bourland, to honor his grandfather’s 50-year career in cotton breeding.

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

Find Cotton Farming on Facebook at https:// www.facebook.com/cottonfarming and follow us on 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.

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COTTON FARMING | OCTOBER 2020

COTTONFARMING.COM

BORON ENGINEERED TO DELIVER

A KEY MICRONUTRIENT AT THE RIGHT PLACE AND TIME FOR SUCCESS. When boron’s done right, it can have a powerful impact on your operation’s ROI. That’s why we’ve designed Aspire® to provide hardworking crop nutrition where and when you need it. With a single-granule that combines potassium with two forms of boron, Aspire delivers uniform nutrient distribution at the root level, allowing for a flexible application window of fall/spring and season-long B availability – increasing yields and outperforming other methods of boron delivery year after year.

Visit AspireBoron.com to learn more. ©2020 The Mosaic Company. All rights reserved. Aspire is a registered trademark of The Mosaic Company.

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9/4/20 9:38 AM

A D V E RT O R I A L

FOCUS ON THE FUNDAMENTALS TO MAXIMIZE CROP FERTILITY With as much as 60% of yield dependent on soil fertility, crop nutrition is the foundation to produce healthier crops. When soil fertility is properly maintained, crops are set up with a better chance to maximize yield potential. Dr. Ross Bender, Director of New Product Development for The Mosaic Company, shares how micronutrients play a critical role in achieving balanced crop nutrition. However, there are many factors that affect the performance and availability of micronutrients, as well as the yield response to them.

The 3Ds of micronutrient management Dr. Bender recommends adhering to the following “3Ds” throughout your crop nutrition strategy to effectively manage essential micronutrients.

A SMARTER BORON DELIVERY SYSTEM Boron, the world’s second-most deficient micronutrient behind zinc is one of eight micronutrients needed for proper plant growth. Aspire® from The Mosaic Company is a one-of-a-kind performance potash with boron and potassium with flexible application options, in fall or spring. With a more uniform application compared to traditional blends, its proprietary formula leverages two forms of boron — sodium borate, for quick release, and calcium borate, for gradual release — ensuring season-long boron availability.

Boron deficiency in cotton can cause a distorted, stunted terminal, abnormal uppermost leaves and aborted flowers. Aspire nourishes plants at the root level, so nutrients are available when and where plants need them.

146 lbs. lint /ac INCREASE

*

when using Aspire on cotton compared to MOP fertilizer.

PROTECT YOUR FIELDS FROM BORON DEFICIENCY

DISTRIBUTION Every plant needs a little bit. Solving the distribution flaw in the micronutrient system will be imperative to improve the response to any micronutrient.

DURATION OF AVAILABILITY Higher yields produce more biomass, especially later in the growing season, and that changes nutrient uptake. As a result, plants take up micronutrients faster and for longer than ever before. Season-long availability is critical.

Preventing boron deficiency can be achieved with the right nutrient management decisions. Get the latest information, data and tools by talking to a representative from The Mosaic Company.

Get started at AspireBoron.com

DAILY UPTAKE NEEDS *Field studies were conducted by third-party, independent researchers in five trials across U.S. cotton growing regions in 2014.

Research found that a preplant application of Aspire (1.5 lb. B/ac) out-yielded MOP by 146 lbs. lint/ac. ©2020 The Mosaic Company.

All rights reserved. Aspire is a registered trademark of The Mosaic Company.

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High-yielding crop varieties have increased the daily nutrient requirements, so be mindful to provide the right amount to hungry plant roots.

9/4/20 9:38 AM

Editor’s Note

Cotton Farming

Carroll Smith

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

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‘They Gone About As Fer As They Can Go’?

n the 1943 musical Oklahoma!, cowboy Will Parker makes a trip to Kansas City in 1906 and is awed by the progress the city has made. He describes his experience in a song that includes the lyrics, “Everything’s up to date in Kansas City. They gone about as fer as they can go.”

In the cover article on page 8, University of Arkansas cotton breeder Dr. Fred Bourland reflects on 50 years of changes he has observed related to numerous facets of cotton production. Some topics he covers include legislation, plant development, yields and fiber quality.

He notes that in 1930, Arkansas had a record low yield of 119 pounds per acre. In 2019, the state had a record high yield of 1,185 pounds per acre. Over his career, he has observed yield plateaus from time to time. He says the first one, 1966-1983, “was mostly attributed to not combining new technologies in every discipline into a system. Once we did that, yields improved.”

The second plateau Bourland recalls was from 1988 to 2000. He believes it generally was caused by worm resistance to insecticides early on, followed by the genetic lag caused by the introduction to transgenes. Bourland says several factors contributed to the recovery that include:  Boll weevil eradication.  Rapid shift to transgenic cotton varieties to control bollworm/budworm.  Improved genetics and varieties.  Decreased acreage.  Improved crop management.

Bourland says after witnessing the 1,185-pound-per-acre Arkansas yields in 2019, he is encouraged by their potential to continue to rise. But as we get into these really high yields, he wonders if “they gone about as fer as they can go,” given the Mid-South region’s climate. “Are we hitting some physiological limits?” he asks.

Bourland says he believes new genetics or production system breakthroughs may be needed to make another jump. For now, only time will tell. But as talented breeders continue their work, I, like Bourland, am optimistic that “there are some exciting things around the corner.”

Carroll

Copyright 2020 © ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS – One Grower Publishing, LLC also publishes RICE FARMING, THE PEANUT GROWER, SOYBEAN SOUTH and CORN SOUTH.

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If you have comments, please send them to: Cotton Farming Magazine, 7201 Eastern Ave., Germantown, TN 38138.

OCTOBER 2020 | COTTON FARMING

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Cotton’s Agenda Gary Adams

Meeting With Resistance The National Cotton Council soon will submit comments in response to an EPA proposal that could negatively affect the way Bt crop resistance is managed.

What does the proposal entail?

n Early in September, the Environmental Protection Agency released its “Draft Proposal to Improve Lepidopteran Resistance Management.” The draft indicates EPA has accepted that some species of caterpillar pests already have developed resistance to certain Bt traits — cotton bollworm for Cry1 and Cry2 toxins, fall armyworm for Cry 1F, and western bean cutworm for Cry 1F.

EPA proposes a phase-out of certain single-toxin traits that could result in being a steppingstone for accelerating resistance to traits that are still effective.

Additionally, EPA’s proposal outlines a new strategy intended to provide early indications of “practical resistance” that wou l d t r i g ge r mitigation measures to avoid the spread of resistant insect genes.

The new effort includes requirements for regisEPA has accepted that some caterpillar species, such as this trants to plant Bt and related nonbollworm, have developed resistance to certain Bt traits.

Bt sweet corn plots (sentinel plots) that would be monitored for unexpected caterpillar damage and the presence of second-instar larvae. An unexpected damage threshold will be established for new Bt traits. Once damage exceeds the threshold, a set of mitigation measures will be triggered for the county and adjacent counties. Damage above the threshold will be defined as “practical resistance” requiring initiation of several best management practices to prevent spread of the resistant pest trait.

The strategy maintains the natural refuge for cotton, increases corn refuge-in-a-bag (RIB) from 5% to 10%, and includes required farm visits (to verify

compliance with 20%) for 20% non-Bt corn block refuge in cotton-producing states. If a producer does not have the required refuge, the company cannot sell Bt products to that farm for two years.

The proposal also includes requirements of distributorships involved in seed sales, registrants’ development of standardized lab procedures to refute or confirm resistance, long term (five-year) phaseout of some Bt stack traits (pyramids), detailed annual reporting from registrants and enhanced communication strategies.

How has the NCC responded?

n EPA’s current draft proposal follows its Scientific Advisory Panel’s July 2018 report addressing multiple questions, concerns and requests for guidance.

The NCC submitted comments to the panel prior to its meeting that:

◆ Emphasized Bt traits’ importance for cotton production systems. ◆ Supported scientifically sound resistance management that minimizes field level compliance mandates. ◆ Restated the NCC’s opinion that EPA is not legally authorized to mandate resistance management under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act. Since then, the NCC has closely monitored the advisory panel’s efforts and the development of EPA positions related to resistance management of plant incorporated protectants.

Unfortunately, EPA’s current proposed draft deviates from the panel’s recommendations in several areas due to unsolicited comments received after the panel’s report was published. The NCC is closely reviewing details of EPA’s strategy under this proposal and will submit comments to the agency’s draft proposal before the Nov. 9 deadline. The draft proposal can be viewed and downloaded at https://beta.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQOPP-2019-0682-0007.

Gary Adams is president/CEO of the National Cotton Council of America.

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COTTON FARMING | OCTOBER 2020

COTTONFARMING.COM

COVER STORY

PHOTO COURTSY OF DR. FRED BOURLAND

Grad student Fred Bourland poses in a cotton field at Texas A&M University in 1976.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Arkansas Breeder Reflects On

50 Years Of Cotton ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ Dr. Fred Bourland was born and raised on a cotton and soybean farm in northeast Arkansas. He began working in cotton breeding as a graduate student at the University of Arkansas in 1970 and has been actively involved in the discipline since then. During a recent webinar, Bourland shared his 50 years’ perspective on cotton. This synopsis highlights some of his observations.

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n September 1969, I experienced two lifechanging events. On a Saturday, I got married, and the next week, I began studying plant breeding at the University of Arkansas. In the spring, I landed an assistantship with Dr. Brad Waddle — a cotton breeder — and I have spent the past 50 years

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COTTON FARMING | OCTOBER 2020

pursuing this career.

The technological changes that have affected cotton breeders can be summed up in one word: computers. In 1970, we didn’t have personal computers.

Things like electronic data entry and analyses were all done by calculators, some of them mechanical.

We had no computer-related devices, such as seed counters, harvest weigh systems, and cotton fiber quality assessment instruments. Instead of copiers, we used carbon paper in typewriters.

There were no emails, no texting, no cell phones and no online information. In my opinion, the technology we had in 1970 was about the same as it was in 1920 when cotton breeding began at the University of Arkansas.

COTTONFARMING.COM

PHOTO COURTSY OF DR. FRED BOURLAND

50 Years Of Cotton

UA 48 and UA 222 are two cotton varieties that came from Dr. Fred Bourland’s breeding program at the University of Arkansas. The photo was taken at a 2012 field day at the Lon Mann Cotton Research Station at Marianna.

Cotton Legislation

increased maturity and uniformity. In the 1970s and 1980s, we studied a whole litany of morphological traits, such as leaf shape, bract shape, gossypol glands, in relation to host plant resistance issues. We found that cotton with a twisted bract, called a Frego bract, tended to resist the boll weevil. A trait like this took us down the road of host plant resistance, but it was not the answer to resistance for other insects.

In the area of plant development, we saw the advent of vacuum planters, which allowed us to plant to a specific stand and not have to “thin” cotton. After 1980, irrigation capability accelerated after one of the hottest, driest years on record.

We also increased use of plant growth regulators — defoliants as harvest aids, mepiquat chloride to control plant height and boll openers to facilitate once-over harvest instead of having to scrap the cotton.

We began monitoring the plant. This led to building COTMAN, an expert cotton management system that gave us a better handle on what was going on with the plant throughout the season.

Plant Development, Management

During my career, I also have observed the evolution of three major areas of cotton pests — diseases, insects and weeds.

Even in the 1990s, I could walk through a field, pull up a plant and show you sublethal seedling disease. That’s not true anymore mainly because of improvements in seed treatments. We have a high level of resistance to bacterial blight, which is also an organism involved in boll rot. Because we have molecular

Legislation also has affected cotton breeding over the past 50 years. In 1970, the Plant Variety Protection Act was passed.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this intellectual property statute “gives breeders up to 25 years of exclusive control over new, distinct, uniform and stable sexually reproduced or tuber-propagated plant varieties.”

This legislation became important because it gave private companies a way to protect their varieties, which allowed them to make a lot more investments in plant breeding. It also allowed breeders to make wider crosses for more diverse, advanced varieties.

That same year, Cotton Incorporated was founded and has conducted a lot of research and development in cotton breeding and cotton research in general. The third change that has occurred relative to legislation is the decline in state funding for cotton breeding.

Finally, we have more regulations today associated with the environment, employees and pesticide use. Many of these restrictions are good, but all of them cost time and money.

As far as the cotton plant itself, we have broken some linkages involving fiber quality and yield, but the chromosome structure is essentially the same as it was in 1970. So cotton genetics have not changed, but our understanding and use of plant genetics has changed considerably.

Through breeding techniques, we have plants that tend to produce fewer vegetative branches even though we are planting lower plant densities. By reducing vegetative branches, we have TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

Cotton Pest Changes

Continued on page 17

OCTOBER 2020 | COTTON FARMING

9

Industry News

TRAIT STEWARDSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES NOTICE TO FARMERS

ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. It is a violation of federal and state law to use any pesticide product other than in accordance with its labeling. NOT ALL formulations of dicamba, glyphosate or glufosinate are approved for in-crop use with XtendFlex® Cotton. ONLY USE FORMULATIONS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY LABELED FOR SUCH USES AND APPROVED FOR SUCH USE IN THE STATE OF APPLICATION. Contact the U.S. EPA and your state pesticide regulatory agency with any questions about the approval status of dicamba herbicide products for in-crop use with XtendFlex® Cotton.

B.t. products may not yet be registered in all states.

Check with your representative for the registration status in your state. Roundup Ready® Technology contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate. Products with XtendFlex® Technology contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, glufosinate and dicamba.

Glyphosate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Glufosinate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glufosinate. Dicamba will kill crops that are not tolerant to dicamba. Contact your seed brand dealer or refer to the Bayer Technology Use Guide for recommended weed control programs. Insect control technology provided by Vip3A is utilized under license from Syngenta Crop Protection AG. Bollgard®, Respect the Refuge and Cotton Design® and XtendFlex® are trademarks of Bayer Group. LibertyLink® and the Water Droplet Design® are registered trademarks of BASF. Agrisure Viptera® is a trademark of a Syngenta Group Company. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship. All other products, company names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Before opening a bag of seed, be sure to read, understand and accept the stewardship requirements, including applicable refuge requirements for insect resistance management, for the biotechnology traits expressed in the seed as set forth in the Bayer Technology/Stewardship Agreement that you sign. By opening and using a bag of seed, you are reaffirming your obligation to comply with the most recent stewardship requirements.

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COTTON FARMING | OCTOBER 2020

PHOTO BY USFS

Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops.

Commercialized products have been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted.

Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product.

AFBF Supports Wildfire Mitigation Efforts The American Farm Bureau Federation and 13 state Farm Bureaus have asked Congress to give federal land management agencies additional tools and resources to prevent and recover from catastrophic wildfires. The Farm Bureaus sent a letter to Senate leadership in support of the Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act of 2020.

The bipartisan legislation being considered will expedite forest management, accelerate post-fire restoration and reforestation, and remove dead and dangerous wood from national forests.

Currently, 6 million acres of forest land currently burning in the western United States. Since the beginning of 2020, wildfires have burned more than 3 million acres and destroyed 4,200 structures in California alone.

“Backlogs in adequate management coupled with drier, hotter conditions, have resulted in unhealthy, overly dense forests,” the letter states. “When fires inevitably occur, these conditions result in larger, more catastrophic fires that are difficult to control, destructive to both urban and rural communities and pose great threats to both private property and human life.”

While the legislation will help mitigate future fires, it will not address the immediate needs of farmers and ranchers suffering devastating losses from fires burning right now.

“The images of wildfires are heartbreaking when you watch a family’s livelihood disappear, but the damage contin-

ues long after the flames are put out,” says AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Smoke can damage soil and spoil crops, causing losses for several months after a disaster.

“In addition to better management of our forests, we need to be prepared to help farmers who have lost everything.

We encourage Congress to consider additional disaster funding to meet the needs of communities affected by the wildfires.”

Among the 13 state Farm Bureaus that signed the letter are the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation, California Farm Bureau Federation, and New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau.

Farm Manager Program Held As Zoom-Based Webinar University of Tennessee Extension is offering a new educational program for farm managers. The Tennessee Master Farm Manager course will focus on solid business principles and efficiently using resources on the farm.

Zoom-based webinar sessions will be held on Tuesday nights for eight weeks starting Oct. 13, 7 p.m. Eastern time (6 p.m. Central). Registered participants will be emailed a Zoom link and instructions the day before each session.

The class will focus on farm financial management. Topics to be covered include understanding financial statements, business structure, lending, equipment purchasing, trade issues, recordkeeping, tax planning, lease agreements and farm transitioning.

Any agricultural producer, regardless of location, may register for the COTTONFARMING.COM

Industry News Tennessee Master Farm Manager webinar series. As an additional benefit, Tennessee producers who have previously qualified for 50% of the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program cost share, may use Master Farm Manager for recertification.

For more information and accessing the registration form, go online to MasterFarmManager.tennessee.edu or contact David Bilderback at 865-2004545 or db@utk.edu. The cost for the eight-week course is $100, and participants may register online or by mail.

Mail-in registration ends Oct. 6.

2020 Cotton Advancement Scholarship Winners Named Amvac Corp. has announced the winners of the second annual Cotton Industry Advancement Scholarship.

Seven students were selected from 26 qualified applicants. Each scholarship recipient was awarded $2,000.

“Now in our second year, we’re thrilled to see new participants and excited to support these dedicated students as they pursue a career in agriculture and the cotton industry,” says Paul Vaculin, Amvac cotton marketing manager. “Cultivating the next generation of agricultural professionals is vital to the future of agriculture.”

These are the 2020 Cotton Industry Advancement scholarship winners:  John Lee; Jesup, Georgia. Senior attending Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia. Majoring in agribusiness. Nominated by John Beasley.  Caitlyn Lawton; Leesburg, Georgia.

Senior attending Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia.

Majoring in crop and soil science.

Nominated by Kevin Cotton.  Logan Vallee; Pineville, Louisiana.

Ju n i or atte n d i ng Mc Ne e s e St ate University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Majoring in general agric ulture.

Nominated by Travis Vallee.  Hayden Robinson; Monticello, Arkansas. Entering freshman attending University of Arkansas, Monticello.

Majoring in agriculture business.

Nominated by James Patterson.  Blain Allen; Lolita, Texas. Entering freshmen attending Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Majoring in plant and soil science. Nominated by Dale Allen.  Andrea Althoff; Stillwater, Oklahoma. Graduate student attending TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.

Obtaining a Master of Science degree in plant and soil science. Nominated by Dr. Seth Byrd.  C olton Pricolo; L os Banos, California. Junior attending California State University, Fresno. Majoring in plant science, crop production management. Nominated by Wayne Pricolo.

Winners were selected by a panel of judges and awarded based on the merits of their application.

All applicants worked for a cotton consultant between 2018 and 2020. They also were required to be a senior in high school or currently enrolled fulltime in an undergrad or graduate-level agricultural program at an accredited college or university.

Applications for the next Cotton Industry Advancement Scholarship will open in January 2021.

CCOY Cotton Consultant of the Year established 1981

Mark Nemec 2010 CCOY AWARD RECIPIENT

Texas AgriLife Hires Disaster Assessment, Recovery Agent Brandon B oug hen, a native of McLoud, Oklahoma, has been hired by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service as a disaster assessment and recovery, or DAR, agent serving the Texas Panhandle. He is headquartered at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Amarillo.

“This DAR position seems like it was uniquely developed for me,” Boughen says. “I’m a wildland firefighter and also serve as a fire-line medic and a certified EMT, so disaster relief and assessment fits well in my wheelhouse and is something I enjoy doing.”

While working on his master’s degree, Boughen served as a teaching assistant for the department of biosystems and agricultural engineering at Oklahoma State University, where he supervised labs, taught lectures and assisted professors where needed.

Wildfires, tornadoes, droughts and blizzards will be the top disasters with economic impact that could occur in the Panhandle. But Boughen is not limited to serving this region and could be called up along with other DAR agents to meet state and even national responsibilities as a member of the state disaster task force.

“Our job is to help with the assessment portion of disasters and work with various external and government agencies to assist with accessing disaster funding sources,” he says.

“My father, Stanley Nemec, was a cotton consultant and the CCOY honoree in 1987. What other career path could I have chosen after walking cotton fields with him since I was 7 years old?

“You have to be ready to roll the minute the sun comes up. I try to educate my growers as to what is going on in their fields.

In central Texas, we have to be conservative because of input costs, weather and the challenges of dryland acreage.

“To me, it was a great honor to receive the CCOY award. We, as consultants, work hard to help growers make the best and most economical decisions for their operations. It is a humbling experience to be recognized for it.”

Cotton Consultant of the Year sponsored by

Cotton Farming OCTOBER 2020 | COTTON FARMING

11

Specialists Speaking

2020 Harvest Update FLORIDA David Wright

October is the main month for cotton harvest in Florida. There are often tropical storms or hurricanes that can affect harvest timing and result in low yield and quality even though a good crop is made through good management over the previous four months.

Many of our peanut/cotton farmers set a priority on getting peanut harvested before cotton harvest begins even though both crops may be ready at the same time. We have always recommended to be ready to harvest both crops at the same time. As much as 20% to 25% of the time, the cotton crop can lose yield or quality due to waiting until peanut harvest is finished.

Many growers have turned to custom harvesters if they are projecting that both crops will be ready to harvest at the same time. This often helps with both yield and quality. In addition, it helps with timely planting of cover crops to reduce erosion and nutrient leaching during winter months as well as to have earlier winter grazing if winter grazing is part of the system.

Early planted cover crops, such as oat/rye/clover, can be ready for grazing by early December. Grazing winter cover crops will double the size of the summer crop root systems of cotton or peanut compared to the same winter cover crops that are not grazed. Grazing winter cover crops prior to cotton has been shown to reduce irrigation and nitrogen application needs up to 50% while increasing yield by at least 150 pounds per acre of lint.

Growers who have tried this practice have started fencing many fields as they are finding fewer inputs are needed while increasing yield. For peanut, prior grazing of winter of cover crops results in less need for irrigation. It is especially beneficial for reducing aflatoxin as often non-irrigated peanut will have high levels of aflatoxin and will be graded to a lower class and go into to oil stock with value being less than half those peanuts going into the edible market. Therefore, growers who do not have irrigation should try a field that may often have lower value peanut due to aflatoxin levels.

Grazing cover crops is a management plan that results in applying fewer inputs. It results in higher yields for cotton most every time and is a management plan that is being adopted by more and more cotton producers. wright@ufl.edu

ALABAMA Steve M. Brown

The following is something I wrote about in this column 14 years ago and experienced in March 1986.

In an instant, I was on my back and in severe pain.

I knew I was badly hurt, but a wiggle of my toes made me hope I was not paralyzed. I had suffered a fractured vertebra, seriously strained back muscles and compressed intestine. … While working in my field research project as a graduate student, I did something stupid and was injured in a tractor accident. … in just a few minutes, I was on a gurney in the ER. …

Harvest is often HURRY UP time, crunch time, time to “get ’er done.”

And rightly so. But it should not, must not be a time when you and your workers neglect SAFETY. The cliché is so appropriate to the issue: Safety is no accident. Terribly bad things can happen so quickly, creating life threatening or lifelong injuries. How easy it is to neglect common sense, to cut corners, to forget about the dangers of what we’re doing.

The older I get, the more I’m around stuff, the more readily I see what

12

COTTON FARMING | OCTOBER 2020

could happen. It sometimes makes me cringe. During 11 years with a global ag company, I never participated in a meeting in which safety was not addressed. I appreciated the lessons. I appreciate the cultivation of a mindset and awareness.

All this to encourage you to build a culture of safety. Even during harvest. Especially during harvest. cottonbrown@auburn.edu

MISSISSIPPI Brian Pieralisi

As of Sept. 15, Hurricane Sally is the big unknown for Mississippi cotton producers. Across the state, cotton has progressed rapidly, with many acres already defoliated. The vast majority of acres should be defoliated

by Sept. 22.

This weather system has a couple of implications regarding cotton defoliation. Obviously, potential for excessive rainfall and high winds rank top for producers at this point in the season.

At last track, Hurricane Sally will directly affect southeast Mississippi with heavy rains and damaging winds. This portion of the state plants later for this reason. With later cotton, hopefully the crop will better withstand the storm.

Since we have reached the peak of hurricane season, hopefully the tropics will settle down a bit. An approaching cold front will also affect our forecasted temperatures and humidity over the next 10 days, which could influence some defoliation strategies.

Farmers began defoliating toward the end of the first week in September using a standard treatment of thidiazuron and ethephon harvest aids and achieving approximately 80% defoliation. One week later, they applied ET and ethephon with plans to harvest seven days after the second application. This has worked well in hot, humid and dry conditions.

If we get a lot of rain or cooler temperatures, I could see the potential to tweak the defoliation strategy. The varieties we grow today often have aggressive growth habits and are waiting for a reason to start growing again, especially once the bolls have reached maturity.

An aggressive variety sitting on top of excess nitrogen can pose a regrowth problem. If temperatures are topping out in the 70s and low 80s, tribufos (Folex) is a good addition for an aggressive strategy in conjunction with thidiazuron and ethephon. A second application is typically recommended to address to address any regrowth, open bolls and clean up any remaining foliage.

For more information, check out the Mid-South defoliation guide for a list of products and defoliation scenarios. bkp4@msstate.edu

ARKANSAS Bill Robertson

Most everyone is still cautiously optimistic about the 2020 crop. Our early cotton experienced some hardlock and boll rot from Hurricane Laura and the extended wet weather that followed. The later cotton has much less boll rot than the early cotton. We have lost some yield potential statewide but could still reach the National Agricultural Statistics Service yield estimates with the right kind of weather to finish this crop out.

The NASS September Crop Production report projects Arkansas producers to harvest 1.3 million bales, up 80,000 bales from the Aug. 1 forecast but 206,000 bales below last year. Based on conditions as of Sept. 1, yield is expected to average 1,200 pounds per harvested acre, up 5 pounds COTTONFARMING.COM

Specialists Speaking from last month and up 15 pounds from our all-time high lint yield set in 2019. Planted acreage is revised to 525,000 acres, up 25,000 acres from June 2020. Harvested acreage is revised from 490,000 to 520,000 acres.

Just as pickers are ready to start rolling, mid-September NASS projections reported crop maturity slightly ahead of last year and our five-year average. Crop condition is good with 36% of the crop rated as excellent and another 44% of the crop rated good.

We have seen a great number of challenges thrown at us, and there are still challenges we must be prepared to address as 2020 comes to an end.

Get cover crops on your radar if they are not part of your current plan.

We all look forward to seeing how this season wraps up as we make plans for 2021. brobertson@uaex.edu

TEXAS Ben McKnight The Coastal Bend growing region is close to wrapping up harvest on what looks like a great year. The season for growers in this region took a sharp turn in the right direction after a very dry start. Yields are consistently in the 2.5- to 3 bales-per-acre range, with localized reports of 3-plus bales per acre.

Cotton classed at Corpus Christi so far has been very good. As I write this on Sept. 15, the average mic classed at Corpus Christi is 4.24 and only 0.4% of the cotton has a mic over 5. Farther south, the Lower Rio Grande Valley took a terrible hit from Hurricane Hanna July 24. About 140,000 acres of cotton were affected.

The Upper Gulf Coast continues to approach the tail end of harvest

as they dodge spotty rain showers. Overall, this area has seen relatively good weather for harvesting the crop and hasn’t been affected by tropical weather systems, which can be common this time of year. Some of the reported yields in this region are in the 2.25- to 2.75 bales-per-acre range.

Untimely rainfall has slowed harvest in the Brazos Bottom and the Blackland Prairie regions. Several areas have received rainfall following harvest aid applications. This has led to regrowth requiring follow-up applications. Some areas in the Blackland Prairie received almost 10 inches of rain in the past few weeks that will most likely affect fiber quality. Initial yield reports in these areas are in the 1.5- to 2.3 bales-per-acre range. bmcknight@tamu.edu

TEXAS Murilo Maeda For sure, 2020 is a year that will go on record. In the last issue of Cotton Farming, I mentioned we were hoping for an extended season to finish out the crop, especially for the late-planted fields. It did not happen.

In fact, September 7-9 brought a strong cold front that pushed through West Texas, significantly dropping temperatures across the entire region.

Generally speaking, areas north of Parmer, Castro and Swisher counties and west of Interstate 27 saw temperatures in the 30s. Areas south of that line and east of I-27 bottomed out in the 40s. As noted by the National Weather Service, this is the all-time earliest on record that Amarillo has hit a low of 40 degrees, beating the previous record set Sept. 10, 1898. Yes, that’s 122 years ago.

TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

JOSHUA A. MCGINTY/TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Texas cotton specialist Dr. Ben McKnight says the Coastal Bend is having a great year. “Yields are consistently in the 2.5- to 3 bales-per-acre range, with localized reports of 3-plus bales per acre,” he says.

OCTOBER 2020 | COTTON FARMING

13

Specialists Speaking As I write this in mid-September, the weather forecast shows temperatures in the 80s for highs and 50s for lows with virtually no precipitation in sight through the rest of the month. While it is well documented that sustained low temperatures will impact plant and fiber development, it remains unclear to what extent the weather will affect overall fiber quality in West Texas.

In that sense, being hot and dry all summer long may actually prove (somewhat) beneficial this year, if it means fiber development was ahead of schedule and we get to harvest sooner. By the time this reaches you, it is possible some early planted (and dryland) fields have already been harvested. But field activity should kick into high gear in October.

With harvest right around the corner, check the updated 2020 Harvest Aid Guide at https://bit.ly/3cgwuRq and reach out to us if you have any questions.

Safe harvest! mmaeda@ag.tamu.edu

OKLAHOMA Seth Byrd

The rapid progression of the Oklahoma crop has continued since my comments last month. While we didn’t catch the much-needed rain in mid-August, rainfall late in the month did stave off disaster and has left us with a decent dryland and an excellent irrigated crop as we approach harvest.

A cool period in the second week of September provided a bit of a speed bump, but much of the crop had started natural senescence or defoliation, and many fields are clocking in between 10% and 40% open bolls by the latter part of the month.

There’s some concern about the appearance of the crop — reddened leaves, rapid leaf drop and some necrotic leaves. In my opinion, this is mostly a cosmetic response to the hot, dry August followed abruptly by a cool, wet spell in September. It likely will not have a significant effect on yield or quality in most fields. Overall, this is something we see most years in cotton, with the exception of when the crop is behind, or we catch an early frost.

The crop always looks the worst right before we apply harvest aids. In 2020, we’ve witnessed a typical eight-week, late-season process of maturity accelerated into four weeks. However, from a fruit retention and maturity standpoint, we’re generally in great shape.

While the dryland may have missed a bell-ringing year, it still appears to be an average if not above-average crop. The irrigated continues to look amazing. Many are speculating that this year may finish among the top 10 all time for yield and production in the state.

Harvest is a great opportunity to get one last look at the field to see where problem spots are that may need to be addressed. You also can make comparisons among different varieties or management practices, such as seeding rate or planting depth.

The forecast for the Oklahoma harvest season so far looks favorable, with warm, dry conditions. Hopefully, this will allow you to get the crop out of the field and to the gin in a timely fashion. seth.byrd@okstate.edu

MISSOURI Calvin Meeks

As I write my final article before I depart the Missouri Bootheel, the cotton crop in Missouri is still lagging behind, due to a cool start to the growing season and the cool and wet conditions as of late. But the crop still has good yield potential.

Ultimately, we will need a warm and dry September and October to capture this yield potential. Hopefully, this fall will progress in a similar fashion to 2017, and we will have a good harvest season unlike the past two years.

The crop is certainly behind with heat units being in shorter supply

14

COTTON FARMING | OCTOBER 2020

from June and July. Bolls open are currently at 31% for mid-September versus 43% in the same time period last year as rated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Missouri Crop Progress and Condition report. The five-year average is 49%, so hopefully the frosts will hold off in 2020.

Once again, it is predicted that there will be a limited availability of thidiazuron in Missouri this year. Low rates in the 2-ounces-per-acre range can be used if there is a lack of juvenile tissue. Rates in the 3-ounces-per-acre range would be needed in fields with high regrowth potential.

This product also needs 24 hours to be rainfast as well, so keep that in mind to keep from wasting an application.

I would encourage considering using this product to help with regrowth, especially if the wet weather of the last two years holds for harvest season. meeksc@missouri.edu

TENNESSEE Tyson Raper

As I write this on the Sept. 16, only the earliest cotton acres have received a harvest aid application. Unfortunately, our long-term forecast through the next few weeks includes lows averaging 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thidiazuron was my product of choice last week, but if our long-term temperature averages hold true during 2020, it looks like that product may not get much use through the rest of this year. Activity for thidiazuron drops quickly as low temperatures fall below 65 F. With this forecast, we will lean heavily on tribufos or thidiazuron+diuron products. Most acres have required a two-shot approach to remove juvenile growth and open bolls.

If you’ve not started defoliating yet or will be making a second application soon, take a look at our blog to get an idea of mixtures and rates that are performing well in our current conditions. I’ll be updating that as weather conditions change.

We have been applying strip trials and plan to execute several smallplot trials that will give us insight into the best concoctions for this 2020 crop throughout this month and into next. I hope everyone has a safe and successful harvest! traper@utk.edu

NORTH CAROLINA Keith Edmisten

The crop in North Carolina is a mixed bag, but much of the crop is behind schedule due to cooler weather early in the season. We had dry conditions in much of the crop that caused it to abort bolls followed by rainfall that allowed the plant to resume setting bolls. As a result, we have a bottom crop, no middle crop and a top crop in many fields.

The earlier delay in maturity makes it difficult to determine how much of that top crop we will be able to mature. Cooler-than-normal weather in September has delayed top crop maturity. This puts growers in a difficult position trying to decide how long to wait on the top crop. We will have to have a warmer-than-normal fall to fully mature the significant top crop many growers have.

Growers should keep in mind that after the middle of October, we seldom have temperatures that will add significantly to top crop maturity. In addition, we are less likely to have warm enough temperatures after the middle of October to get good boll opening activity from our defoliation programs. Growers will likely benefit from using enhanced boll opening products (ethephon plus cyclanilide or ethephon plus urea sulfate) over products containing ethephon alone in the cooler temperatures we will likely have.

Growers who are trying to stretch out the season to maximize maturation of the top crop need to keep a close eye on weather forecasts and make a move to get defoliants with boll openers out ahead of potential frosts. keith_edmisten@ncsu.edu COTTONFARMING.COM

In Georgia, CLRDV Spreads As Research Continues

BY AMANDA HUBER SOUTHEAST EDITOR

S

ince the cotton leaf roll dwarf virus first appeared in Alabama in 2017, it has spread to all Southern U.S. cotton states.

University of Georgia cotton virologist Sudeep Bag says that based on observations from UGA researchers and Extension, CLRDV is present in every county across the cotton-growing region in Georgia. Further, researchers have determined that the genetic makeup of the virus is different from that of cotton blue disease from South America.

“According to the genetic sequence, this virus is very similar to the virus from Alabama and other states,” Bag says.

“However, it is different from the virus transmitted from South America — the cotton blue disease. It may be similar in symptomology, but it is genetically different than the one found in Brazil or Argentina.”

Serious Impact On Yield

The challenge with CLRDV is that it is not always easy to tell if cotton has been affected. At times, it may be symptomatic or asymptomatic. Symptoms of CLRDV also vary and can range from minor to severe.

Bag says symptoms also may CLRDV In Georgia: be different depending on the • Found in every county in crop’s growth stage. cotton-growing region.

“If the plant becomes infected early in the season, sympto• Present in 75% of stalks mology includes the reddening of 150 tested in Tift and of leaves and petioles, a droopBerrien counties. ing and wilting appearance, • Detected in 22 species of and stunting. It is not likely to weeds out of 54 tested. produce any viable bolls that • Expected to impact yield, will yield. Eventually, the plant possibly significantly. will die.

“Later in the season, plants may show symptoms that include deformation of the leaves, bunching of the top internodes and a lack of bolls in the upper portion of the plant.”

Bag says in late August in an Irwin County field, they detected 100% disease incidence.

“The plants showed crinkling of leaves, shortened internodes with no boll retention. The virus has the potential to cause severe yield impact in cotton production.”

Remove Stalks And Weeds

Researchers are learning more about CLRDV as quickly as possible, but there are currently no management strategies for before or during the season. However, leaving plants or stalks in the field is also leaving disease in the field.

“Don’t leave that source of inoculum in the field. The virus TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

To help avoid leaving the virus inoculum in the field, producers are urged to completely kill all cotton stalks after harvest and make sure winter weeds are controlled prior to planting their next cotton crop.

SUDEEP BAG, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

may be present in the stalks or roots that end up being left in the field.

“This year, we tested 150 different cotton stalks from Tift and Berrien counties, and 75% of those overwintering stalks carried the virus. That means if we are leaving the plant or stalk in the field, we are leaving the virus inoculum for the next season.

“The best way to manage CLRDV as of now is to remove the stalk and not have any volunteer cotton remain in the field that will act as a source of inoculum for the next year.”

Bag says they also studied weeds.

“We tend to see a lot of weeds around fields. We tested 54 species of weeds and were able to find the virus in 22 different species. Work to control weeds around the field,” he says.

As harvest continues in the Southeast, more will be known about the impact of CLRDV on yield this year. And researchers will assess what has been learned about CLRDV thus far to determine possible management strategies.

University of Georgia plant pathologist Bob Kemerait says, “We will assess the threat and determine what are the appropriate strategies. Cooperation among the researchers, the various state universities, associations that offer funding, such as the Georgia Cotton Commission, and the industry, helps us to get a handle on what growers need to do in the future to remain profitable.”

OCTOBER 2020 | COTTON FARMING

15

RESEARCH & PROMOTION

Calling All Cotton Producers

C

oordinating communication with cotton producers during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a bit of a tight-rope act.

Normally, The Cotton Board communications team implements a variety of tactics to distribute information from the Cotton Research and Promotion Program to the masses of U.S. cotton producers.

We use ag media, digital marketing, advertising and social media to communicate with our audience on a comprehensive level. We also use in-person, on-farm visits and large events and tradeshows to drive home our messages and connect face-toface with our stakeholders.

Although pandemic-related travel restrictions and social distancing recommendations have halted

BY STACEY GORMAN many of The Cotton Board’s planned MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE in-person outreach efforts, our team knew this was not the time for us to go silent. We did not want to jeopardize the relationships we have built with cotton producers over the years. Instead, we wanted to establish our team as a go-to source for information.

Cotton & Coffee Zoom Series

With the cancellation of many industry meetings, The Cotton Board has created a virtual meeting series to keep cotton producers connected with the Cotton Research & Promotion Program. The Cotton Board is asking producers to wake up with us. In the time it takes to drink a morning cup of coffee, they will get an update from Cotton Incorporated. Each session features a leading cotton industry expert and includes a 30-minute presentation with time allotted for discussion and questions at the end of the episode.

Topics range from agricultural research to consumer marketing. But they all tell the story of how research and promotion are being used to increase the demand for and profitability of cotton.

We have scheduled new episodes of the Cotton & Coffee Zoom series for every three weeks through the end of 2020.

Cotton Board Chairman Jimmy Webb, a producer from Leary, Georgia, is one of the hundreds of cotton producers who have called in for a Cotton & Coffee session.

“I’m so glad The Cotton Board is hosting these Cotton & Coffee sessions,” Webb says. “We all know that producers are busy, so I appreciate being able to log on and get a quick and concise update on how Cotton Incorporated is working to increase the demand for my cotton. Since so many industry meetings have been canceled, this gives me the chance to stay connected and even see many of my cotton-industry friends.”

Pre-Registration Required

All of the Cotton & Coffee Zoom sessions begin at 7:30 a.m.

16

COTTON FARMING | OCTOBER 2020

Cotton & Coffee Zoom Series Sept. 29

Speaker: Berrye Worsham, Cotton Incorporated Topic: Overview of 2021 Cotton Incorporated plan and budget

Oct. 20

Speakers: Kim Kitchings and Anne David, Cotton Incorporated Topic: Consumer marketing

Nov. 10

Speaker: Kater Hake, Cotton Incorporated Topic: Top priorities of the Agricultural and Environmental Research Department

Dec. 1

Speakers: Jesse Daystar, Cotton Incorporated and Gary Adams, National Cotton Council Topic: The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol

CST. Preregistration for the series is required, so please reach out to your Cotton Board regional communication manager or to me, and we will make sure to get you all the information needed to participate.

As the pandemic has evolved, so has our communication, resulting in more targeted producer outreach. We are constantly learning to adapt and use new technology to facilitate successful communication with the cotton-growing community.

Gorman is The Cotton Board’s director of communications. Contact her at sgorman@cottonboard.org.

COTTONFARMING.COM

50 Years Of Cotton Continued from page 9

markers, I suspect in the near future all of our varieties will be resistant to this disease. We now have increased tolerance to Verticillium wilt and improved resistance to nematodes.

In 1970, we had to spray for the boll weevil, which knocked out the beneficial insects, causing bollworm and budworm to explode. Today, the worm complex is mostly controlled by Bt cotton, but plant bugs have become a major insect pest.

As for weeds, 50 years ago there was a limited number of herbicides. We depended on mechanical weed control.

Now our weed management system is dictated by transgenes and chemical herbicides. We do a good job of controlling grasses, but resistant broadleaf weeds, particularly pigweed, dominate the field.

Arkansas Acreage, Yield

In 1930, Arkansas planted a record 3.5 million acres of cotton — about 10% of the total land area of the entire state.

That same year, the state had a record low yield of 119 pounds per acre. In 2019, Arkansas planted 500,000 acres of cotton and had a record high yield of 1,185 pounds per acre. This may seem to be an inverse relationship. If you decrease acreage, you increase yield. But it’s a little more complicated than that.

Over my career, I have observed two, potentially three, yield plateaus in Arkansas: 1966-83, 1988-2000 and 20102018. In some instances, the plateaus were present in other areas of the Cotton Belt as well. The first one was mostly attributed to not combining new technologies within every discipline into a system. Once we did that, yields improved.

The second plateau was generally attributed to worm resistance to insecticides early in the plateau and the genetic lag caused by the introduction to transgenes later in this plateau. Here are some factors that led to a yield recovery in this instance:  Boll weevil eradication.  Rapid shift to transgenic cotton varieties to control bollworm/budworm.  Improved genetics and varieties.  Decreased acreage.  Improved crop management.

Plateau 3 could potentially be attributed to new transgenes being backcrossed into older genetics or a climatic limits drag where it’s difficult to increase high TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

Three Major Shifts In Varieties • In the 1980s, we began to transition from full-season varieties to shortseason varieties.

• Transgenic varieties emerged.

• Old transgenics shifted to new transgenics.

Source: Dr. Fred Bourland, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension yields, particularly in the Mid-South region’s climate. Recovery from the third yield plateau might be attributed to:  Less genetic drag as we get more experience putting transgenes into varieties.  Physiological yield limits.  New genetic, physiological and/or production system breakthroughs may be needed.

Fiber Quality

They are not as demonstrative, but some major changes have occurred in fiber quality. From 1986-2002, we made a big jump in fiber strength, which increases the value of the fiber. To me, the biggest change has been in fiber length.

In the 1970 variety tests, we were at 1.1 inches, and the high was only 1.14. But in the past couple years, we’ve jumped to 1.2 inches, and the highs are pushing 1.3 inches. Even 0.1 or 0.2 inches makes a big difference for the cotton spinners. And the marvelous thing is that some of these high lengths are occurring in some of our highest yielders. I don’t see any real trend in micronaire because it’s mostly controlled by environment.

Equipment/Lint Yields

Two other changes that caught my attention involve equipment and Arkansas’s lint yield increase.

Our planting and harvest equipment is much faster and can cover a lot more acres. In 1970, most of our cotton was planted with either four- or six-row equipment. Today, most is planted with 12-row equipment. In 1970, we were still using some one-row pickers, mostly tworow. Now we are almost exclusively sixrow equipment.

In 1970, we were still using trailers to take the cotton to the gin. Later in the ’70s, the module system was invent-

ed at Texas A&M, and now we have the bale module that is actually made on the picker as it goes through the field.

Tremendous advances have been made in planting and harvest equipment.

Our state-average lint yields in Arkansas have increased 2½ fold since 1970. We’ve come a long way.

The Future?

As I look out over a field packed full of cotton, I have to wonder: Is this as far as we can go?

When my 7-year-old grandson presented me with a cotton field painting he had done, I asked him if it were a sunrise or a sunset. He shrugged and said he didn’t know.

If it’s a sunset, it would be indicative of my career. If it is a sunrise, I believe it is indicative of what the future holds for plant breeding and cotton breeding.

I think there are some exciting things around the corner.

Dr. Fred Bourland is a cotton breeder at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension, Fayetteville.

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION 1. Publication Title: Cotton Farming 2. Publication Number: 0746-8385 3. Filing Date: October 2020 4. Issue Frequency: Jan - Dec 5. Number of Issues: 12x/year 6. Annual Subscription Price: Free to qualified subscribers 7&8. Mailing Address of Known Office/Headquarters: 875 W. Poplar Ave., Ste. 23, Box 305, Collierville, TN 38017 Contact Person: Kathy Killingsworth (901-767-4020) 9. Publisher: Lia Guthrie, 7100 Black Bart Trail, Redwood Valley, CA 95470 Editor: Carroll Smith, 875 W. Poplar Ave., Ste. 23, Box 305, Collierville, TN 38017 10. Owners: Cornelia Guthrie, 7100 Black Bart Trail, Redwood Valley, CA 95470; Dr. David Scott Guthrie,Sr., 7100 Black Bart Trail, Redwood Valley, CA 95470; Morris Ike Lamensdorf, 17 S. Third St., Rolling Fork, MS 39159; Mary Jane Lamensdorf, 17 S. Third St., Rolling Fork, MS 39159 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees and Other Security Holders Owning/Holding 1% or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages or Other Securities: None 12. Tax Status: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: September 2020 15.a. Total Number of Copies (net press run): (Average No. Copies each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 24,233) (No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 22,780) 15.b.(1) Outside County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 13,003) (No. Copies of Single Issue Nearest to Filing Date – 12,585) 15.c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 13,003) (No. Copies of Single Issue Nearest to Filing Date – 12,585) 15.d.(1) Outside County Nonrequested Copies: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 10,899) (No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 10,133) 15.d.(4) Nonrequested Copies Distributed Outside the Mail: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months - 39) (No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date -0-) 15.e. Total Nonrequested Distribution: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 10,938) (No Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 10,133) 15.f. Total Distribution: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months - 23,941) (No Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 22,718) 15.g. Copies Not Distributed: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months - 292) (No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date - 62) 15.h. Total: (Average No. copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 24,233) (No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 22,780) 15.i. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 54.3%) (No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 55.4%) 18. I certify that all information furnished above is true and complete.

Lia Guthrie, Publisher

OCTOBER 2020 | COTTON FARMING

17

VIPR — Battling Contamination With Technology

BY ROSS RUTHERFORD

C

ontamination in seed cotton and lint cotton has been a critical issue facing the cotton industry for decades. This has become even more urgent in recent years with the broad acceptance/usage of cotton harvesting equipment with on-board module-making capability (round modules) wrapped in plastic.

For many reasons, whether from the module wrap or from plastic being blown into fields (shopping bags, drink cups, etc.), the problem has manifested itself so badly that new cotton classification grades of 71 and 72 were introduced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service into the marketing system.

Of course, preventing contamination from reaching the gin plant has always been the best way to address the problem, and the National Cotton Council has worked tirelessly through the years to educate the industry about the perils of contamination. However, the significant negative economic impact (through heavy price discounts for contamination calls) led Cotton Incorporated to fund research with the USDA-ARS ginning labs to develop means of detecting and removing contamination within the gin plant.

Developing A Prototype

One of the most promising was developed by the USDA-ARS Gin Lab in Lubbock, Texas. They worked with Des Moines, Iowa-based Bratney Companies, which has vast experience in optical sorting, to design a visual detection and removal system mounted above the open feeder apron of the extractor feeder over the saw gin stand. The prototype unit — installed and tested at Meadow Co-op Gin in Meadow, Texas — showed encouraging results.

Here is how the concept works.

Cameras are mounted across the entire feeder apron (e.g., eight cameras on a 96-inch-wide feeder). Each camera views

18

COTTON FARMING | OCTOBER 2020

The VIPR System is mounted on a Model 700 Feeder at Southeastern Gin & Peanut Inc. in Surrency, Georgia. approximately 14 inches of apron width (providing a small overlap of coverage).

Every pixel is analyzed to determine color. Based on color, the computer software sorts every pixel, categorizing it as either “good” or “bad.” Good is considered anything that “looks” like cotton, stainless steel (the background of the feeder apron) and shadow area (area untouched by sufficient light to determine color).

A “reject” is considered contamination or foreign material and comprises all the colors outside the profile. If there are enough reject pixels next to each other, the software algorithm classifies the pixel cluster as an object to remove.

Based on the location on the apron, the computer decides which air knife (or knives) to fire in order to effectively remove the contamination. The air knives then release a blast of compressed air to take out the contamination.

Test Results

Based on the prototype results, Lummus Ag Technology partnered with Bratney Companies to produce commercial models of the design, marketed as the VIPR (Visual Imaging Plastic

Removal) System.

The initial design of the commercial VIPR unit was for a 96-inch-wide Lummus Model 700 Extractor Feeder (the same model feeder used in the prototype installation at Meadow). Three of these units were installed in late fall 2019 at Southeastern Gin & Peanut Inc. in Surrency, Georgia, and tested in December 2019 and January 2020.

Results from these tests (using five different types of plastic module wrap) demonstrated cumulative detection/ejection efficiency over the three VIPR units of 89.44%.

While no system can detect and/or remove 100% of contamination in the gin plant, these results are certainly impressive. The three units will be operating again this fall, along with a single VIPR unit to be installed in west Texas near Lubbock.

The VIPR System is commercially available through Lummus on a limited basis for the 2021 ginning season.

Ross Rutherford is vice president, product management and marketing, Lummus Ag Technology, Lubbock, Texas. Contact him at ross.rutherford@lummus.com.

COTTONFARMING.COM

Ginners Marketplace COTTON

COTTON FARMING IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE GINNING INDUSTRY.

TCGA Summer Internships Benefit College Students And Potential Employees For 13 years, the Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association has provided an opportunity for college students to experience the cotton ginning industry firsthand through its summer intern program.

For 2020, two students — Amos Emanis, Texas A&M University, and Oscar Barajas, South Plains College — were chosen from a roster of well-qualified applicants. This year, the Texas Cotton Ginners’ Trust also hosted an intern — Zach Stovall, Texas A&M University. In July, Emanis and Stovall reported on how their experience was progressing. In August, Barajas shared details about his last two weeks as a summer intern and wrapped up with a surprise twist to the outcome.

Amos Emanis “During the first weeks of the internship, we were given the opportunity to assemble the press at Hillje, Texas. It was a great learning experience that allowed us to understand this phase of cotton processing.

“In Danevang, we installed a humidifier at the gin in three days. It was great to see how the humidifier functions. We were asked to assess cotton tarps for rat and field mice destruction.

It took us about four weeks to process the tarps as we checked them very thoroughly, replaced the ropes, cleaned and rerolled each one.

“After the tarp inspection, we began sign painting at Davevang. This entailed spray painting white backgrounds on plywood and hand painting black letters on the signs for large, round cotton module lot spaces. We returned to Hillje to paint more signs where were three times the number of signs for the round module lot spaces. We spent two weeks painting the background with white spray paint and hand painting black letters to designate the lot spaces.

“Painting in less-than-ideal circumstances was a real learning experience. The way paint behaves in windy, hot conditions is a stark contrast to painting in a shop with air conditioning and ventilation.

“Painting outdoors was extreme and worked against proper paint application with the lettering. It tended to make the best effort look juvenile. This was hard to accept, but we had too many signs to stop when the conditions were windy and difficult. I learned about perseverance and determination in the process.

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“Since July 8, we have been sampling grain in Hillje. This entails meeting trucks that arrive all hours of the day to probe the trailer’s grain shipment and extracting 50 grams of grain. We place the sample in the grinder and test for moisture level and bushel weight. We then send it through a chemical screen to check for aflatoxin. The trucks then go to the weigh station to unload the corn at the grain elevator. This was a much easier than the field work and extremely engaging.

“Some parts of the internship require grit, and it all requires thinking on your feet and having an interest in agricultural leadership.”

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Zach Stovall “The internship has been a great experience. This summer, I have had the opportunity to travel the state and see 95 different gins. I have been very lucky to tag along with Luis Garcia, Wally Davis and Jerry Multer as we perform pre-season inspections, safety audits and member calls. They each taught me a lot about safety regulations, how the gin works and the industry in general.

“I have gotten to see a lot of different gins and talk to a lot of managers. Each gin is unique, and I feel like I learned something new at every stop we made. I asked many questions throughout the summer and wrote down a lot of what I learned.

I liked hearing how problems were fixed inside the gin and how improvements were being made. I wanted to learn as much as I could, so I can better myself for my future career.

“I will finish my internship at Smith Gin Co-Op in Odem, Texas, before heading back to College Station for the fall semester. For the next two weeks, I will be working inside the gin as they start up and begin the season. I’m looking forward to this experience.

“I have worked on building and repairing gins, but I have never worked inside a running gin. I’m eager to learn all that I can and be a useful hand.”

“As my last day is approaching, I told Taylor, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Nelsen that I had to go look for work somewhere else because I would not be able to put many hours in, meaning I couldn’t afford to pay my bills. I asked them if I could come back when cotton starts coming in and work part-time since I would be able to put in more hours.

“While I was stressing out about finding another job, especially in this pandemic, Mr. Wilson called me to his office and asked if I wanted to continuing working at the gin. Of course, I said yes but there was no way I could afford my bills. Then he said he was going to extend my internship until the season starts! I really was shocked; I couldn’t believe what they were willing to do for just a first-year intern!

“As I talked with Mr. Wilson, he said they recognized my effort and would like for me to keep working for them. This meant a lot because they really did recognize my hard work. I can’t wait for cotton season to officially be an employee at United Cotton Growers! Thank you to Mr. Nelsen and Mr. Wilson for making this possible.”

TCGA contributed information for this article.

Cotton’s Calendar Due to the fluid situation involving COVID-19, some listed events may be canceled or postponed. Please verify the status with the individual organizations. ¢ Oct. 14: Plains Cotton Growers Quarterly Board Meeting, Bayer Museum of Agriculture, 1121 Canyon Lake Drive, Lubbock, Texas ¢ Oct. 21: PCCA Board, Delegate Body & Marketing Pool Committee Meetings, Lubbock, Texas

Oscar Barajas “My last two weeks as an intern have been very interesting; this internship has never disappointed me. The first week was like a scavenger hunt. I was told to help another co-worker named Dorcus (hopefully I'm spelling his name right). He is the electrical employee of the gin, and he showed me what my job was going to be like for a couple of days.

“I had to check the infrared spark detectors on all the lint pipes and, after checking, if the glass covering the sensor was damaged, I had to replace the glass, which I learned to do by myself. After that, we were setting a metal cattle guard for a steep road next to the gin so vehicles could pass without getting stuck after it rained.

“During my last couple of days, I realized how much you learn in this industry. And the gin has mobile homes for seasonal employees where they can stay if they don’t have a place to go, which I thought was nice. For my last three days, I learned how to put tile on floors, which is perfect timing because my mom has been nagging me to put tile in her home, but I never knew how. Like Taylor said, ‘It’s crazy what you learn out here.’

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My Turn South Texas Reflections

M

y father, David land loans, so the additional acreage was lost. He also F i s h e r, w a s lost money on the family farm because of little to no born in 1920 in rain. But he was still ambitious. When I was 5, I was Wichita County, with him at the farm when concrete was poured for Texas, and moved to Willacy Bracero buildings — kitchen, foreman’s house and County after serving in the the workers’ housing shed. The Bracero Program was U.S. Navy from 1940-1946. a series of agreements between the United States and He was chief quarter- Mexico that allowed Mexicans to do farm work, railmaster on the Mahan-class way repair, etc., in the United States. Because so many USS Preston destroyer. A American agricultural workers enlisted in the military Japanese cruiser sent her to for World War II, the program was deemed necessary.

Dean the bottom of the ocean off It started in 1942 and ran to 1964.

Fisher Guadalcanal Nov. 14, 1942.

I never worked for my father on the farm. He Dad lost more than half his became an alcoholic and was too sick to work, so he shipmates. After 14.5 hours in the water, an American and Mother hired out to a farmer friend. Daddy died ship rescued him. when I was 17. I suspect his alcoholism stemmed Shortly before being discharged, he met TWA stew- from post-traumatic stress disorder from the war. Bad ardess Marjorie Benson of Chicago. They courted and credit and having to skimp to meet the mortgage did then wed December 1947. Getting through the Great not help. However, I did work cotton during my high Depression, winning a war and getting married is school summers. I helped with the trailer behind a jubilation. But that does not carry you the rest of your stripper, operated a rood (my respirator was a banlife. Dad had already flunked out of Texas Tech, had dana), stripped and picked cotton by hand, stomped little education past high cotton, maintained cotschool and had no devel- “Dad knew nothing about farming, ton pickers in the field oped skills for a trade. So and served as a trailer but he was game.” what to do? jockey at a cotton gin. To He and his two older me, some of this work in sisters had inherited 380 dryland acres in the Rio the 1960s bordered on the inhumane. I graduated Grande Valley when their mother, Willie Mae, died college in 1971 and moved to Houston to be a safety in 1932. She had inherited the land from her parents, inspector for an insurance company. After my earlier George Nance and Lucinda Woodward Nance, doing experience, I didn't want anything to do with farming nothing with it other than paying taxes. A decision other than wearing cotton clothes. and a deal were made. Dad would convert that brushMother died in 2015 at age 94. The four kids now land into farmland, be a cotton farmer and pay Aunt own the land — 190 acres. We continue to rent to the Snooks and Aunt Maxine a share of the income. same brothers who are excellent stewards of our land Mom and Dad moved to Raymondville, Texas, 15 and still grow cotton. We occasionally drive down to miles from the farm. Dad knew nothing about farm- the farm in Willacy County. My sister lives in Corpus ing, but he was game. He planted cotton the next year Christi, plus I have a few high school buddies who and the year after that. The rain gods smiled. The boll stayed in Raymondville. The last trip was a shock weevils passed, both years were bumper crops, and after a 10-year gap — wind turbines all over the place. the money was good. Dad borrowed more money and Maybe we can get one of those. With a little extra bought more land. I was born in 1949, and three sib- income as steady as the South Texas wind, we would lings followed in the next 10 years. not have to worry so much about getting enough rain 1950-1957 is referred to as the Texas drought of at the right time for the cotton to flourish! record. The state’s farms and ranches shrunk from — Dean Fisher 345,000 to 247,000. Economic losses were more than Houston, Texas $25 billion in 2020 dollars. Dad could not pay his bdeanfish@gmail.com

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.

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