Cotton Farming December 2021

Cotton Farming

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ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC

PROFITABLE PRODUCTION STRATEGIES

DECEMBER 2021

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MY TURN:

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A Year Of Good Yields & Prices Cotton Farmers Cash In On A Bountiful Harvest And Strong Market

Missouri Farmer Puts A New Twist On Pickin’ And Ginnin’

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Vol. 65 No. 12

Cotton Farming PROFITABLE PRODUCTION STRATEGIES

DECEMBER 2021

www.cottonfarming.com

FE ATURES

12

PICKIN’ AND GINNIN’ Missouri farmer and ginner Allen Below describes some of the features of the new John Deere CP770 and shares insights about bigger, denser round bales.

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FERTILIZER PRICES SKYROCKET Farmers are concerned as fertilizer prices have risen 50% to 90%. The Texas Farm Bureau talks about contributing factors and other supply chain tensions.

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WEST TEXAN HONORED Cotton farmer Barry Evans has been recognized for implementing sustainability and conservation practices on his operation to make the land better.

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GINNERS MARKETPLACE

the official publication of the ginning industry More details have been released about the upcoming Cotton Ginning Conference that will be held during the 2022 Beltwide Cotton Conferences in Texas.

10 Good Yields, Prices Farmers across the Cotton Belt are reaping the benefits of a bountiful harvest and strong market. Dr. Yangxuan Liu with the University of Georgia Agricultural and Applied Economics Department presents a national and global snapshot of the current marketing environment. She also discusses the roles of stock and futures markets and potential marketing opportunities for cotton producers.

WEB EXCLUSIVE BASF's e3 Sustainable Cotton program is designed to help farmers grow cotton more eff iciently and decrease environmental effects. Learn more about the initiative and see what producers have to say about it. Go to www.cottonfarming.com for this Web Exclusive report.

DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS

6 Editor’s Note 20 Specialists Speaking 9 Cotton’s Agenda 24 Industry News 11 Research & Promotion 30 My Turn ON THE COVER: A beautiful field of California Pima cotton reflects the landscape seen by many U.S. cotton farmers this year. Cover photo by Fred Rehrman.

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DECEMBER 2021

‘Dead man’s fingers’ Scientists work on taproot decline

Start planning for herbicide shortages

Look for Soybean South following page 24 in the Mid-South and Southeast editions of Cotton Farming. To have industry news and content delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for the monthly e-newsletter at www.soybeansouth.com.

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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DECEMBER 2021 | COTTON FARMING

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Editor’s Note

Cotton Farming

Carroll Smith

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

I

Goodbye To The Grinch

f I had to put a face on the pandemic, it would be a big, green, ugly Grinch with a furrowed brow and villainous eyes. Two years ago, it sneaked into the lives of people around the world and took away so many things we hold dear to our hearts — even those of the mundane everyday kind. It caught us off guard.

Our first reaction was to retreat and contemplate what had happened. As the days and months went by, we found ways to adapt in our personal and business lives. It was awkward, but it was doable.

Then we began to realize the one thing the greedy Grinch couldn’t get his hands on was the resilience of the human spirit. “Necessity is the mother of invention” moved up in status from “old cliché” to a motivating force with which to be reckoned.

It comes as no surprise that the concept aptly describes the agricultural world. This community of innovators is always up for a challenge. Examples of their creative spirit are sprinkled throughout this issue of Cotton Farming. As Missouri cotton farmer Allen Below told me during our interview, “A farmer and a ginner can always come up with some kind of contraption!”

This year, he bought a new John Deere CP770 harvester and was running it through his fields for the first time. In “Pickin’ And Ginnin’” on page 12, Below and his picker operator, Josh Morgan, discuss different aspects of the newly designed machine. But being a ginner as well as a farmer, Below has already turned his thoughts to how the bigger, denser round bales can be transported and then handled efficiently at the gin. He is formulating ideas to make sure everything goes smoothly once the cotton leaves the field.

Although Below was contemplating mechanical situations, the same holds true to developing solutions for something intangible. For example, the Grinchiness of the pandemic is still evident in agricultural supply chain issues.

On page 9, Gary Adams, National Cotton Council president and CEO, talks about the organization’s efforts to find “remedies to an economically debilitating supply chain situation.” The NCC’s recommendations to the Biden administration are not just vague ramblings, they contain specific ideas to bring relief.

I challenge you as members of the agricultural community to keep fighting the good fight to overcome the hopefully temporary adversity we are facing. As we are about to embark on a new year, it’s time to say goodbye to the Grinch.

Carroll

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 David Boyd dboyd@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.

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

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COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

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Transform Low-Quality Cotton Into A Plastic Alternative How To Market Cotton Not Suited For Textile Processing

BY KAREN MICHAEL TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

W

hen cotton is abundant but the quality is low, farmers still need to sell the product.

Texas Tech University researchers are exploring ways to use cotton that may not be ideal for a shirt or jeans.

Noureddine Abidi is a professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Science and the director of the Fiber & Biopolymer Research Institute, or FBRI. One of the possible ways he has found to make a profit from low-quality cotton is in mimicking another product entirely.

Researchers at FBRI have found a way to make a gel from low-quality cotton that can be formed into a product similar to plastic.

When handled, the smooth and pliable product looks and feels like the same plastic found in sandwich bags. It can also be made into thicker forms for other needs.

Normal plastic is a petroleum-based product. It does not decompose easily. But the benefit of using cotton for a similar purpose, such as the ubiquitous grocery bags overflowing from under the sink of almost every home, is that once the product is tossed in the trash and exposed to rain and soil bacteria, it will decompose.

“It is basically going from the soil to the soil,” Abidi says of that process.

The tricky part of using cellulose in cotton fibers to form a product is that it cannot simply be melted into the desired shape. Cotton fibers must be dissolved and molded in a gel form and film because cotton does not melt.

Discounted Cotton Market

Abidi says the new “plastic” was not developed to make a new cotton product necessarily, but as a way to make a product from low-quality, low-micronaire, cotton.

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COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

Bioplastic, made from cellulose, can mimic petroleum-based plastic but will decompose when thrown away.

“We are not just going to tell cotton producers, don’t worry about cotton quality, just make fiber,” Abidi says.

There is plenty of demand for high- quality cotton from textile mills.

However, growing cotton can be affected

by Mother Nature. When cotton producers harvest cotton that is less desirable for textile processing, they need a place to sell it.

“We are still going to find a market for that,” Abidi says. “Every year, we have a good amount of cotton that is discounted.

That is really what we are looking for.”

FBRI Labs

For many years, FBRI has been a leader in interdisciplinary, collaborative research with different entities within and outside Texas Tech. The FBRI labs provide valuable research and evaluation services to cotton breeders, researchers, producers and seed companies. They also provide opportunities for undergraduate

and graduate students to perform their cotton research projects.

The FBRI facility, located off East Loop 289 in Lubbock, tests every aspect of the cotton fibers, from seed cotton ginning, to processing, spinning, dyeing and finishing.

“Everything is under one roof,” Abadi says. “We gin the cotton. We test for the quality. We spin, and then we form a small piece of textile product, either knitted or woven, and then we can test for the quality of that textile product. We can also do dyeing here, and we can also finish. Everything here is under one roof.

“I think we are the only one in the world going all the way from the seed to the final product. FBRI is becoming the premier institute to do this kind of work on cotton.”

Karen Michael is a senior editor in the Texas Tech University Office of Research Development and Communications.

COTTONFARMING.COM

Cotton’s Agenda Gary Adams

Seeking A Smoother Supply Chain Throughout 2021, the National Cotton Council engaged with the Biden Administration and Congress on finding remedies to an economically debilitating supply chain situation.

What has been conveyed?

■ Early in 2021, the NCC, the American Cotton

Shippers Association and other agriculture groups told the Federal Maritime Commission that U.S. transportation infrastructure is a key component of the U.S. cotton industry’s market competitiveness.

We briefed the FMC on container shortages and the importance of trade — especially to Asian markets — and the use of forward contracts that necessitates timely shipping. A letter to Congressional Members soon after conveyed concerns and suggested solutions regarding the three major freight transportation modes as Congress considered an infrastructure package.

of changes. We noted U.S. South Atlantic ports also faced stiff challenges and that a lack of adequate labor now is a significant supply chain constraint.

We pointed out that accessibility to export containers has been further limited by record shipping costs and harmful surcharges — thereby limiting U.S. cotton’s ability to satisfy strong export demand.

The NCC also joined members of the Ag CEO Council/Agriculture Transportation Working Group in responding to President Biden’s Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains — saying the disruptions have led to “higher prices for inputs, lower prices for outputs and, in some cases, the inability to purchase goods or services regardless of price.”

The NCC participated with other groups on an open letter to the President urging the Administration to continue investigating the causes of ports’ inefficiencies and to work on “minimizing the bottlenecks and operations practices that prevent the seamless movement of cargo through the supply chain.”

How about other transportation relief?

■ That open letter to President Biden asked for his

Declining accessibility to export containers has limited U.S. cotton’s ability to satisfy strong export demand.

More recently, the NCC described to U.S. Department of Agriculture officials the supply chain disruption’s unique, acute effect on cotton due to the: • Importance of export sales.

• Exposure to increased storage, interest, insurance and other costs.

• Container use as the sole export shipment method.

• Reliance on Los Angeles/Long Beach ports.

We raised alarm over ocean carrier/U.S. port terminal practices that ignored the FMC’s demurrage/ detention guidelines and limited containers for agricultural export cargo. We also weighed in on those that canceled or refused export container bookings and gave U.S. shippers no timely notice

leadership on surface transportation initiatives that could ease a crippling truck driver shortage and strengthen the supply chain. They included implementing a young driver pilot program, promoting transportation/supply chain careers and providing flexibility in vaccine mandates/commercial drivers’ hours of service relief.

The NCC earlier had joined the National Cotton Ginners Association and other agricultural organizations in supporting proposed surface transportation legislation. This included amendments on modernizing both the agricultural exemption to HOS rules and the Farm-Related Restricted Commercial Driver’s License that is essential for farm-related service industries. We also asked the Surface Transportation Board to implement two provisions to help address pervasive challenges faced by rail shippers, including poor rail service and unreasonable practices and rail rates, which have increased by 28% since May 2020.

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

TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

DECEMBER 2021 | COTTON FARMING

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COVER STORY

A Year Of Good Yields & Prices Farmers Across The Cotton Belt Reap The Benefits Of A Bountiful Harvest And Strong Market

BY YANGXUAN LIU

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

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very year in October and November, harvest fast approached across the Cotton Belt. This year was no exception, as cotton producers worked to wrap up this busy time and enjoyed the payoff of their hard labor.

The 2021 cotton harvest combined both good yields and good prices, which is rare for cotton producers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Crop Progress report, released Nov. 8, indicated 98% of cotton bolls opened nationwide, with 55% of cotton acres harvested. Cotton conditions have remained steady this year, with more than 60% of the crop rated good to excellent compared to last year, when only 37% rated in good-to-excellent condition.

The November USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report projected 2021 U.S. cotton production at 18.2 million bales. This is slightly over the U.S. cotton demand — 15.5 million bales of exports and 2.5 million bales of domestic mill use. This year’s national yield level is at 874 pounds per acre, which is the second highest on record. The U.S. ending stocksto-use ratio is forecast at 18.9% for the 2021/22 marketing year, slightly above last season but below the previous three years.

Global Snapshot

Globally, 2021 cotton production is projected at 121.8 million bales, which is 9.6 million bales more than last year. World cotton mill use is projected slightly higher than production at 124.1 million bales, 3.2 million bales above last season and the second largest on record.

Current global and domestic supply and demand fundamentals do support high cotton prices.

However, it is hard for the cotton supply and demand fundamentals to explain the recent price surge. Since the middle of September, cotton prices have skyrocketed, with December Futures rising from mid-90 cents per pound to a high of $1.22 per pound Nov. 2. If supply and demand fundamentals cannot explain the price increase, then what could be the cause of the recent price surge?

Stocks And Futures

Historically, cotton prices tend to follow the stock market — with an increase in cotton prices when the stock market rises and a decline in cotton prices when the stock market drops. After the pandemic unfolded, cotton markets have been on an upward trajectory since April 2020, with a recovery of futures prices from the low 50 cents per pound to more than $1 per pound that began in October.

Since September of this year, the stock market has been on a roller coaster ride with ups and downs. This created uncertainties for investors concerned about the next stock market price drop. Some investors pulled their money out of the market, seeking the next opportunity for a short-term gain.

Under the circumstances, other markets, such as the cotton futures market, experienced an inflow of speculative money, pushing prices higher. This money flow has pushed cotton prices to levels that exceed those indicated by supply and demand fundamentals, creating a potential marketing opportunity for cotton producers.

Marketing Tip

However, the flow of money in and out of cotton markets can also make prices unpredictable and volatile. Thus, it is difficult for producers to predict the direction cotton prices will take.

Speculative money could continue to push cotton prices higher. However, when speculative money leaves cotton markets, prices will fall sharply (possibly with a temporary correction below the price supported by global cotton supply and demand fundamentals).

For now, producers may want to consider completing 2021 crop marketings at very profitable levels.

Dr. Yangxuan Liu is assistant professor, Agricultural and Applied Economics Department, University of Georgia. Contact her at Yangxuan.Liu@uga.edu or 229-386-3512.

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COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

COTTONFARMING.COM

RESEARCH & PROMOTION

Information At The Ready

T

here seem to be so many buzzwords that come and go in the business world. I remember the days of trying to “think outside the box” to achieve team “synergy.” And goodness knows we have all grown tired of the phrases “the new normal” and “pivot” after the last year. However, sometimes a buzzword comes along that just gets it right.

Over the past couple years, there has been a continued focus on stakeholder transparency among all commodity boards. While some may think of “transparency” as another passing buzzword, The Cotton Board doesn’t see it that way.

The Cotton Board is dedicated to making sure the stakeholders of the Cotton Research and Promotion Program have access to reliable, up-to-date information in an easyto-find format. A new section of cot tonboard.org, called “Stakeholder Transparency,” makes it easier than ever to access important program-related information.

We think of it as giving the cotton producers and importers who pay into the program an all-access pass to look behind the curtain, so they can understand how their investment is being used. After all, this is their program, and we want them to be aware of and satisfied with the work being done on their behalf.

Program Accountability

Information in the Stakeholder Transparency section of cottonboard. org includes links to The Cotton Board’s current and past annual reports, Cotton Incorporated activity reports, program governing documents and The Cotton Board ‘s budget breakdowns.

Other resources include The Cotton Board’s audited financial documents, Cotton Incorporated budget breakdowns, Cotton Incorporated financial Information, and board rosters.

Additionally, The Cotton Board conducts an independent, in-depth economic analysis of the effects of the program every five years — and TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

we always share the results with our stakeholders. The analysis uses an economic simulation model of U.S. and foreign fiber markets maintained at Texas Tech University.

The economists responsible for the report look at the interactions between supply and demand and price and production. They also analyze the impact on cotton and cotton product markets both with and without the program. The study focuses on the effects generated by Cotton Incorporated’s marketing and consumer promotion efforts, agricultural research projects, and cottonseed research and marketing projects.

BY STACEY GORMAN WARREN, ARKANSAS

Positive Findings Noted

The most recent study was published earlier this year. It is detailed and explicit in its findings, saying, “The cotton checkoff program has enhanced cotton and cottonseed demand, augmented U.S. cotton yields and production as well as cottonseed prices, and generated a positive return to both cotton producers and importers.”

The study goes on to say the program has “reduced the dependance of cotton producers on government farm programs and benefited taxpayers.” Additionally, due to investment in agricultural research, the checkoff program has reduced costs per acre planted to Upland cotton, primarily for fertilizer, chemicals, fuel and custom operations.”

The reports from the past three evaluations can also be found on our website’s stakeholder transparency page.

I would like to invite program stakeholders to visit our website and review this analysis and the other data we have posted under the stakeholder transparency tab. A lot of material is housed there. But it is information that will help illustrate how the program is working to increase the demand for and profitability of cotton.

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

DECEMBER 2021 | COTTON FARMING

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Missouri cotton farmer Allen Below (right) discusses features of the new CP770 with Roger Zey (left), John Deere global cotton business manager, and picker operator Josh Morgan.

Pickin’ And Ginnin’ Missouri Cotton Farmer And Ginner Shares Insights About Bigger, Denser Round Bales

BY CARROLL SMITH EDITOR

A

llen Below, who grows mostly cotton in Stoddard, New Madrid and Wayne counties, Missouri, says farming is all he has ever done since he was a kid.

“My great grandfather started an operation here years ago, so I am the fourth generation,” he says. “Like everybody else, we have increased in size and tried to be more efficient across the farm. I took over when I was 20 years old, and we were farming about 1,500 acres. Since then, I’ve seen some dramatic changes, such as the introduction of the John Deere CP770, which is able to make larger, denser round bales.”

Today, Below farms 10,000 acres at Keesler Farms Inc. in partnership with two brothers — Austin and Justin Littleton.

About 6,500 acres are planted to cotton, and the rest is split among corn, peanuts and soybeans.

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COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

“We share equipment, and they farm about half the acres, and I farm about half,” Below says. “One of the pickers is theirs, and two are mine. We also make decisions together.

Every morning we meet at the shop to decide what we are going to do that day.”

Although most of the farm’s cotton acres are planted to Deltapine, they also grow some Stoneville, NexGen and DynaGro varieties as well.

“We are Deltapine New Product Evaluator growers and have been in the program for a long time,” Below says. “We like being able to see the new varieties firsthand in our NPE trials.

Throughout the year, Deltapine has several conference calls with its NPE growers so everyone can talk about what they’re seeing in the plots. It’s a good learning experience for us.”

COTTONFARMING.COM

Changing The Bale Wrap Josh Morgan, who works for Keesler Farms Inc. and has been running a picker for the past 18 years, says changing the bale wrap is much easier on the CP770. “ The CP7 70 holds five rolls of bale wrap — one roll is in use and the other four are stored above it,” he says. “On the older model round bale pickers, I had to climb down the ladder to the ground to change the wrap. Now, I just open the door of the cab and walk down the new platform to the back of the machine, which is more efficient.

“Then I flip a switch to load the new roll, feed it into the machine, flip another switch and it’s ready to start wrapping again. This process usually takes me about a minute to a minute and a half. “ The new platforms on both sides that run from the cab to the back of the CP770 are also a good safety feature. Instead of hanging off the side of the picker, you have something to stand on when you’re blowing cotton off in the morning before getting out in the field.”

Josh Morgan

Stoddard County Cotton Co.

When Below got into the cotton business in 1993, he and three other farmers had the opportunity to buy into a co-op gin — Stoddard County Cotton Co. — after his first season.

“When I first got into it, I knew zero about ginning,” he says. We all just stepped in with the attitude of ‘Well, here we are.’ But it’s been good. An older gentleman named Don Farmer was there and had been the ginner all his life. He has long passed, but he knew his stuff.”

Twenty years ago, Pedro Rivera was employed by the gin, learned from hands-on experience and worked his way up.

Today, he runs the plant, does all the day to day maintenance and hires most of the crew.

“Finding gin labor has been difficult,” Below says. “Before ginning season starts, we usually have a big stack of applications. We had two this year. Pedro found other people to come to work, but we are still about one person short on each crew right now. We run day and night shifts and take off every other Sunday.”

Stoddard County Cotton Co. typically processes 25,00030,000 bales per year.

“We mainly gin our own cotton, but we have a handful of customers, too,” Below says. “When we bought the gin, we upgraded to make it faster and bigger. We added a module feeder and changed the press. We did a lot of work on it and increased the number of bales being brought in.”

John Deere CP770 Harvester

One of the most recent additions to the farming operation is a new John Deere CP770 cotton picker that Below purchased.

He and his partners typically run three machines. This year, they have the CP770 and two John Deere CP690s.

Below says they figure about 2,000 acres per picker to get over the crop efficiently. In some years, such as this one, the TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

Missouri farmers push that number a bit. But unless the acreage goes up or down dramatically, they believe three pickers will meet their needs.

“The CP770 is capable of making a larger, 96-inch round bale,” he says. “The bigger bales cut down on the number of sheets of wrap, which reduces costs. But it’s the producer’s choice. We’re still making 92-inch bales with the CP770, but they are denser. If you compare a 92-inch bale that comes out of this picker to a 92-inch bale that comes out of the CP690, the CP770 bale is going to weigh more even though the circumference is the same.”

Transporting Denser Bales

The weight increase is a consideration when transporting the CP770 round bales, Below says. Right now, they are hauling eight, 92-inch bales on a flatbed truck.

“This gives us a full load that meets the legal weight for the highway,” he says. “If we hauled eight, 96-inch bales that weigh several hundred pounds more, we would be overweight for the road. I think we could haul seven 96-inch rounds instead of eight 92-inch rounds and still bring the same amount of cotton to the gin with one less wrap. If we don’t have to stack and tie them down on the truck, the bales would be easier to load and unload, too. That’s one scenario I envision and would like to try.”

Because he is part owner in a gin, Below is also interested in how to handle the larger bales once they get to the lot and have to be moved into the plant.

“We may have to modify a module truck or do something else to get them into the gin,” he says. “I believe our feeder and unwrapping system will accommodate the 96-inch round bales. I want to build some before we finish harvest, so I can experiment. We want to know how to make everything work for next year.”

DECEMBER 2021 | COTTON FARMING

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Fertilizer Prices Skyrocket, Worry Texas Farmers

BY JENNIFER WHITLOCK TEXAS FARM BUREAU

I

n recent weeks, farm input costs have soared to record highs, leading farmers and ranchers in the Lone Star State to become increasingly worried.

During an interview with RFD-TV, Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening relayed fertilizer costs have jumped anywhere from 50% to 90%.

“There are some alternatives, like possibly going to a different crop,” he says. “But you can only cut back so much. When you start shorting your crops on fertility and crop protection products, you usually pay for that in the long run.”

Boening is a fourth-generation farmer who grows feed grains, cotton, watermelons and wheat, as well as operates a 450-cow dairy with his brother and father, and a beef cattle operation near Floresville, Texas.

Factors Behind The Shortages

Tariffs are in place on raw phosphate from Russia and Morocco and urea ammonium nitrate from Russia and Tobago related to U.S. anti-dumping investigations. These tariffs combined with factory slowdowns and shutdowns are partly to blame.

Rising energy costs for fertilizer producers also are contributing to the price increases. It’s what Boening called the “perfect storm.”

Some Texas farmers have completed harvest, while others are just entering their harvest season. But Boening says all are keeping an eye on input costs for the next crop year.

Trucker Shortage

Supply chain tensions continue to be a concern, but he notes, thankfully, Texas Gulf ports don’t appear to be facing the same backlog as those on the West Coast.

“We have heard of supply chain issues in our area, especially trucking issues,” he says. “It really doesn’t matter if you’re talking about trucking product out or trucking inputs in. We’re having a difficult time getting enough truck drivers and that impacts how many trucks we can get to move things.”

In addition to fertilizer, corn and soybean seed costs are expected to rise anywhere from 5% to 15% in 2022 due to supply chain issues.

Quick Takeaways •

Fertilizer prices have increased 50% to 90%.

•

Tariffs exist on raw phosphate and urea ammonium nitrate related to U.S. dumping investigations.

•

Factory slowdowns and shutdowns are partly to blame.

•

Fertilizer producers are experiencing increased energy costs.

•

Difficulty securing truck drivers affects trucking product out and trucking inputs in.

Jennifer Whitlock is a field editor for the Texas Farm Bureau, which contributed this article.

“When you start shorting your crops on fertility and crop protection products, you usually pay for that in the long run.”

TFB PRESIDENT RUSSELL BOENING

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COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

A spreader is checked to ensure it is applying fertilizer in a uniform manner. The row of containers catch the fertilizer behind the machine, with the grates preventing granules from bouncing out.

COTTONFARMING.COM

The 7th Generation Alabama Farmer Shares Insights With Arizona Agriculture

BY JULIE MURPHREE ARIZONA FARM BUREAU

TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MARTIN FAMILY

A

graduate of Vanderbilt University, Larkin Martin is managing partner of Martin Farm, a family farming operation in northern Alabama. The farm’s principal crops are corn, wheat, soybeans, and cotton.

In recent years, they have also raised canola, sesame, peanuts and sorghum. The operation covers about 7,000 acres of owned and rented land. She’s also vice president of the Albemarle Corp. — another family business — and has held both positions since 1990.

Because of Martin Farm’s tradition over the generations to continually improve, Martin has been at the forefront of using RTK guidance on their equipment, GPS mapping and precision technologies for soil sampling, prescription fertilizer applications and business recordkeeping.

I recently discovered her business insights and acumen listening to her speak on a panel during the 2021 Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Agricultural Symposium.

People who know Martin will tell you she is the daughter who tagged along with her dad, the late Sykes Martin. She went everywhere with him, which gave her a sense of what it takes to run a family business.

Perhaps this experience also resulted in industry recognition as one of its most innovative young cotton producers and advanced her understanding of the grand scheme of things when it comes to American agriculture. So, to me, it made sense to interview Martin for our ongoing “conversation series.”

Arizona Agriculture: Tell us about your farm.

Martin: Our farm has been in continuous operation through multiple generations, and I am the seventh. Over the generations, it has changed with the times. Today, Martin Farm is a row-crop operation, raising primarily corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat, but we will try other crops.

Recently, that list has included canola, peanuts, sorghum and sesame. We farm land we own, and then we rent additional land on both cash and share leases.

In the early 1990s, Larkin Martin joined her father, Sykes Martin, to help manage Martin Farm near Courtland, Alabama, before he passed away in 1993.

Arizona Agriculture: What inspired you to get into farming?

Share a bit about your family’s farming history in Alabama.

Martin: I got into farming by generational chance. I am the oldest of four daughters. My father was diagnosed with cancer in 1990 when he was in his 50s and I was in my 20s working in Washington, D.C. I moved home to help while he underwent treatment and have been here ever since. My father’s family has roots in our community dating back to the early 1800s. Some of the land we farm has been in continuous crops since that time.

Arizona Agriculture: Regarding your company, what have Continued on page 23

DECEMBER 2021 | COTTON FARMING

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YOU COULD AVOID THIS.

West Texas cotton farmer Barry Evans says, “Anytime you can make your farm better, it’s going to be more profitable.”

Sustainability, Conservation Define West Texas Farmer

I

Evaluate your planter in 3 easy steps. See how on the opposite page.

t’s been nearly 90 years since the last “black blizzard” of the Dust Bowl swept through the Texas Panhandle, a harrowing storm of topsoil and dust that turned day to night and destroyed the livelihoods of countless frontier farmers. But for producers like fourth-generation cotton farmer Barry Evans, the catastrophe is recent history, one that is still shaping a multi-generational cycle of resilience and hope that defines agriculture in West Texas.

“The Dust Bowl was one of the worst environmental disasters the United States has ever had,” Evans says, looking out over broad cotton fields and endless blue skies. “My grandpa would tell stories about having a wheat crop growing and the dirt would start blowing and they couldn’t stop it. The only way they could control weeds was with a plow, and we lost a lot of topsoil during that time.

“I hope to be the generation that changes that. We’re starting to build the topsoil back. It’s a horribly slow process, one that I’ll never achieve in my lifetime.

It’s one thing to farm it. What we want now is to make it better.”

Resource-Limited Farming

An early pioneer of conservation practices in the region, Evans grew up with stories of the Dust Bowl, but he did not start on his own sustainability journey in earnest until the dangers of blowing topsoil arrived in his own backyard. One day in the mid-1990s, Evans’ wife, Lindy, looked out their farmhouse window and

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COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

pointed out to him that a dust cloud had kicked up over their field.

“Well, she’s a city girl, so I was sure she was mistaken,” he says with a smile. “But she insisted: ‘That dirt’s blowing.’ And I looked outside and in 20 minutes on a Sunday afternoon we had lost our entire crop.”

Shocked by the quick destruction that even a mild dust storm could produce, Evans moved quickly to rethink his practices, looking for adaptive management techniques that would build organic matter while reducing any kind of disturbance on his fragile topsoil. The answer emerged in what was then considered an unusual practice: no-till.

“When I first adopted no-till, it was pretty far out there. Twenty-five years later, we do see the benefits of it and it’s nice to be recognized for that,” Evans says.

“The whole impetus was to help stop the dirt from blowing, but what we’ve seen is it also helps us capture rainfall, and now water has become my main focus.”

By eliminating the disturbance caused by tillage, Evans has been able to improve his soil’s structure, reducing the likelihood of surface runoff and allowing water to better infiltrate the soil. This practice is even more effective when married with a diverse crop rotation.

Evans achieves this by planting a high residue crop such as grain sorghum in rotation with cotton, leaving nutrientdense residue on his soil after harvest.

That soil, undisturbed by tillage and covered in organic matter, is able to better COTTONFARMING.COM

capture and retain precious Texas rainfall, reducing the need for irrigation.

“Our water resource issue is the No. 1 limiting factor that we have in our agricultural production for this region,” says Dr. Donna McCallister, assistant professor of agricultural economics at Texas Tech University and one of Evans’ trusted advisers. “We get our irrigation water from the Ogallala Aquifer, and that is a declining resource. So once that water is gone, it’s gone forever.”

For Evans, the knowledge of those limitations has been a powerful motivator to adapt his management towards conservation practices and one reason he is now being recognized for his efforts.

“When we had lots of irrigation water, we could do things differently,” he says. “It was cheap and plentiful. But as the aquifer has declined, every drop is important, and we want to capture that rain. It’s changed my mindset. We’ve got to capture rain and utilize it the best we can.”

Alongside regenerative practices like no-till and diverse rotations, Evans says that new technologies provide clear solution to help farmers adapt to the reality of limited resources. These range from genetically modified, weed-resistant traits to low-energy precision-application irrigation systems.

“The reason my grandfather’s generation relied on the plow during the Dust Bowl wasn’t because they were ignorant, it’s because it’s all they had,” he says. “It’s up to us now to use the technology to make the land better.”

With the availability of these new technologies, Evans has been able to control weeds without destroying organic matter through tillage while increasing his water use efficiency from 60% to more than 95%.

“Barry is a prime example of somebody that understands the environment and is a steward,” says Rick Kellison, Texas Alliance for Water Conservation project director. “If we’re going to survive in production agriculture, we have to be stewards of the land here especially as it pertains to water and soil.”

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In 2013, Barry signed on to an initiative at Texas Tech University called the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation, hoping to connect with a cohort of like-minded farmers eager to explore how to efficiently use their limited shared water resources while maintaining profitability.

“Barry has been with us for eight years, and over that time we’ve seen his operTWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

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17

A Leader And Teacher

Bolstered by data and a dedication to his West Texas farming community, Evans is on a mission to demonstrate to other farmers that environmental sustainability need not come at the expense of profitability.

“One of the things we try to do at TAWC is put the economic component with the technology,” Kellison says. “There’s a lot of different perceived definitions of sustainability, but the first one is if you don’t make a profit, nothing else matters.”

Evans builds on this mantra through his partnership with TAWC, serving as a leader in their peer circle and beyond through leadership engagements at the National Cotton Council, the Texas Grain Sorghum Producers Board and the Texas Agriculture Lifetime Leadership Program.

“What I wish other farmers in Texas and really everywhere knew is that it’s not a trade-off between the environment and the economics,” Evans says. “Anytime you can make your farm better, it’s going to be more profitable. When you look at it that

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COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

way, you really have a lot of incentive to pick up these practices.”

McCallister says, “Barry is definitely a leader in his community, in the agricultural industry as a whole. He has proven that you can reduce your water use and still maintain your economic sustainability or your profitability over time.”

Kellison says Evans’ legacy will be as a teacher and leader for others.

Generation Of Change

Almost a century since the environmental crisis of the Dust Bowl hit Evan’s family farm, he is grappling with a very different set of environmental constraints while retaining the same hope and optimism for the future.

“What I would like for other farmers in Texas to see is that we are caring for the soil,” Evans says. “We are making the soil better. We are working to conserve water and to do the best we can with what we have left.”

In a community continually grappling with this set of finite natural resources, Evans hopes to serve as a model for success, while recognizing he is only one part of a greater movement for resilience and adaptation.

Recognized for outstanding conservation efforts on his farm and leadership in advancing sustainable agriculture, Evans was honored as Field to Market’s 2021 Farmer of the Year.

Farming 4,500 acres of cotton and grain sorghum in the Texas Panhandle, he pioneers a resilient approach to dryland farming by balancing dual natural resource concerns of soil and water conservation in the resource-limited High Plains.

The Farmer of the Year Award celebrates Evans’ innovation and dedication to advancing sustainability while grappling with the region’s declining Ogallala Aquifer. This demonstrates to his peers that it is possible to farm profitably and sustainably through an adaptive approach to conservation.

His commitment continues to yield dividends. Evans has reduced his energy use by nearly 80% and improved irrigated water-use efficiency, conserving precious air and water resources while rebuilding three generations’ worth of degraded soil health.

“I have a son who’s starting to farm and he loves the farm he grew up on and now they’re expecting their first child,” he says.

“We can farm different than how my dad and my grandad did.

The legacy I hope to leave is doing it the best way I can.”

MARY JANE BUERKLE

ation change and grow,” says McCallister, who also serves as one of TAWC’s program managers. “I think sustainability is so important to Barry because he’s seen his operation change over time. He’s seen a decline in his irrigation capacity and through that, he’s had to make some really hard decisions about how he manages his operation.”

TAWC brings together area producers and industry partners to introduce West Texas farmers to new sustainability technologies and measurement tools, with a goal of extending the life of the Ogallala Aquifer while maintaining the viability of local farms and communities.

Through Texas Tech’s membership in Field to Market, TAWC has relied on the Fieldprint Platform as one of these tools for nearly a decade. This means Evans is one of the longest-standing users of the pioneering sustainability measurement platform.

Harnessing data from their engaged growers in the Fieldprint Platform, TAWC shares research and analysis back to growers like Evans, further strengthening their confidence in making good decisions driven by science.

“I’m going to grow roughly 40 crops in my lifetime, and every year it’s different,” Evans says. “The TAWC project has put together research over a lot of farms over several years. That research is really critical to help me know what I need to do and see not just what works on my farm, but what works for others.”

Field to Market contributed this article.

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Specialists Speaking

2021 Cotton Season Recap ALABAMA Steve M. Brown

The U. S. Department of Agriculture estimates for the 2021 Alabama cotton crop have remained slightly above 900 pounds per acre since the initial August report. Maybe they are close, but I don’t know HOW they make their guesses. Cotton production in the state is so incredibly diverse!

Significant concentrations of cotton exist in the sandy coastal plain of South Alabama and the rolling red fields of the Tennessee Valley in the north. Elsewhere, there are scattered pockets with river bottom soils, others in proximity to real mountains, a few die-hard acres in the hard red dirt of the Piedmont and the heavy, shrink-swell clays of the Black Belt.

Some prime production is among houses and/or large water bodies.

Urban encroachment pressures production in multiple places. Rainfall patterns vary widely as well. The highest annual precipitation is typically in Southwest Alabama, parts of which received more than 80 inches of rainfall this year and way too much from late July through early October.

My field and yield observations are from small- and large-scale research plots and farmer visits. A picker seat is a good vantage point from which to assess a crop. Unfortunately, I’ve seen fields that look great from the road but with little cotton below the knee or in some cases, below mid-thigh. Excessive late-season rains took much of the crop in too many places.

Generally, yields are better to the north and better later than earlier.

I’ve seen yields ranging from 300-2,000 pounds per acre. My guess is that we lost 30% of the crop we once had, primarily through adverse weather at season’s end. The last 40 days have a profound impact on our crop.

Season’s end compels a review. What worked well … or didn’t? How did we fare with pest management? Should we adjust nitrogen or plant growth regulator use? Did weather simply overwhelm the best intended or executed plans? In terms of variety selection, we are in period without a single dominant option, which is reason to study trial data and recap sheets. Going forward, we will likely plant a true mix of varieties. Year’s end also compels a rest. It’s needed here. cottonbrown@auburn.edu

ARKANSAS Bill Robertson

The 2021 season continues to surprise most with very good yield prospects, a great price and a good stretch of favorable harvest days. Many felt we would still be picking cotton at Thanksgiving in Arkansas. Onboard module pickers and favorable weather helped many reach the finish line by early November.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service November Crop Production report estimated Arkansas production at 1.2 million bales. Based on conditions as of Nov. 1, yield is expected to average 1,226 pounds lint per acre on 470,000 harvested acres. This yield projection surpasses our previous high of 1,185 pounds lint per harvested acre established in 2019.

With about 25% of our projected crop graded in early November, our grades are good. Greater than 90% of the bales classed had a color grade of 41 or better. Micronaire averaged 4.5 with less than 5% in the discount range. Leaf is averaging just shy of 3.5. There is little reason to expect this trend will not continue for most of our crop.

Plans for next year are falling in place. Input availability and costs are part of the process and will create new and difficult challenges. Fertilizer

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COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

prices are center stage now, but other inputs will soon follow.

Planting seed availability should not be an issue. Evaluate the performance of newer varieties to the ones you grow. Compare notes with onfarm variety testing programs near you and the official variety trial or OVT conducted by Dr. Fred Bourland. This will help provide information needed to select the best varieties for your operation.

Visit the University of Arkansas System Division of Ag Variety Testing webpage at https://arkansas-variety-testing.uark.edu/ for variety testing results from county trials and the OVTs. Contact your local county Extension agent for updates on this season’s testing programs and to get details regarding upcoming production meetings. brobertson@uada.edu

ARIZONA Randy Norton

As we come to the end of the 2021 season, we can look back and evaluate what went well and what did not. As of this writing, yields have been reported as relatively good. Overall performance has been at or slightly above average, with some reports of Upland yields surpassing 4 bales per acre and Pima yields surpassing 3 bales per acre.

We are currently seeing unprecedented lint prices available to growers, with Upland reaching well above $1 per pound and Pima cotton well above $2 per pound. However, we are also seeing prices for fertilizer reach extremely high levels. There is talk about availability, or lack thereof, of inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides for the upcoming season. Rising costs and availability of equipment, fuel and other resources all add uncertainty to the future. These are real challenges facing our industry right now. However, we have faced similar challenges in the past and will be up to these as well.

Implementing sound management practices proven to maximize the production efficiencies will be critical to remaining successful. Making decisions that over years of experience have been effective in your production system will help provide stability. Seek out and use resources from research-based experience.

University Cooperative Extension Services and reliable industry sources across the Cotton Belt will also assist in providing stability to your system during unstable times. As an industry, we will move through these challenges and learn valuable lessons that will make us more resilient in the future. rnorton@cals.arizona.edu

CALIFORNIA Bob Hutmacher

One of the most significant challenges for the 2021 California growing season was limited irrigation water availability. Most production areas in the San Joaquin Valley had serious limits on available surface irrigation from water districts. In areas with limited groundwater availability, there was less water to produce crops. In many cases, cotton was one of the deficit-irrigated crops.

In areas able to rely on wells, growers had more ability to consider if they wanted to fully irrigate or deficit irrigate. Where deficit irrigation had to be practiced during the early to midseason, the effects meant smaller plants, earlier harvest readiness and easier defoliation. To some extent, these effects could be pluses, but the downside of deficit irrigations is often reduced yields.

This year’s observations also pointed out a lot of yield variability across both Pima and Acala/Upland fields. This resulted in early problems with COTTONFARMING.COM

Specialists Speaking uneven stand establishment with some varieties, repeated early and midsummer hot spells, and difficult irrigation and plant growth regulator decisions given some fruit retention difficulties associated with lygus damage.

At the time of this writing, there are many fields likely to be in the 3to 4-bale-per-acre range. Many others are yielding closer to 2-plus bales per acre. Yield differences can be attributed to a range of partial causes, including limited water, high temperature stress during mid-July or early August, and in some areas, high lygus counts at critical times.

With the potential threat of La Niña weather systems this winter, it may be useful to remember that most cotton varieties can be managed to shorten the growing season. This is done through reductions/delays in irrigation and more aggressive plant growth regulator applications. It can be more easily accomplished with drip irrigation than with furrow irrigation, especially across different soil types where rooting depths and water-holding capacity differ.

Cotton varieties and types (Upland, Pima) can also make a difference in how much you can shorten up the growing season to reduce water use and resulting yield reductions and effect on quality. It may be worthwhile to consider some on-farm strip trials to evaluate these options with multiple varieties on your own operation in 2022. rbhutmacher@ucdavis.edu

FLORIDA David Wright

When cotton started opening in early September, it looked like the lower crop was hard locked as we had about six to eight weeks of almost daily rains. However, weather improved by mid-September and the later opening bolls looked good. Picking began in mid-October.

Most of Florida’s cotton had ample rain, if not too much, for top yields or for managing growth and getting through fields for insecticide and nitrogen applications. Even though the state will not make record yields, most growers had decent yields and quality. The heaviest soils that normally have highest yields had less-than-average yields due to wet soils preventing timely N and growth regulator applications. This led to lower yields. Sandy fields were able to be managed better and often made good yields.

Growers are excited to grow cotton again with current prices and are planning ways to better manage new varieties. Our farmers who have stripped-tilled cotton behind grazed winter cover crops have continued to find these are their highest yielding fields (often by 200-300 pounds per acre). Producers are finding ways to fence new fields and put in wells for watering livestock through EQIP and other incentive programs.

Many different contracts can be made with livestock producers through cattle gains. This practice can add profits during the winter and leave more nutrients in the root zone for summer crops. wright@ufl.edu

GEORGIA Camp Hand

As I write this Nov. 12, it feels like we are just getting going good with cotton harvest in Georgia. The latest crop progress report puts us just shy of halfway done, which is right on track with last year. This is also where I am for on-farm variety trials. I am just shy of halfway done. Hopefully, by Thanksgiving we will pass the halfway mark!

In terms of yield, from what I am hearing across the state, Georgia will have an average to above-average year. It seems that 900 to 1,200 pounds per acre is a good average for right now. But occasionally, I’ll hear a number around 1,500 to 1,600 pounds.

The first variety trial that was harvested this year was in Midville, Georgia, at the Southeast Georgia Research and Education Center. It averaged more than 1,400 pounds (shout out to Anthony Black and the TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

crew in Midville — some of the best in the business!!). As I mentioned before, our crop as a whole was fairly late. As the late-planted crop gets harvested, things are sure to change. But this is where we currently stand.

With respect to quality, I would say we are off just a hair, but not way in left field. Micronaire is about normal, while strength and uniformity are slightly down. The question everyone had this year regarding quality was, “Do you think we will have seed coat fragment issues again this year?” We had a little scare there at first, but our seed coat calls have gone down since the first report. It isn’t zero, but thank the good Lord it isn’t where it was last year.

As always, your local UGA county Extension agent and specialists are here to help! Reach out if you have any questions. camphand@uga.edu

LOUISIANA Matt Foster

Cotton harvest in Louisiana is wrapping up and was about 90% complete as of Nov. 8. Harvest operations are going smoothly this year due to good weather conditions.

Looking back on the growing season, the cotton crop was extremely variable due to fluctuation in planting dates, excessive rainfall and heavy plant bug pressure.

Despite those challenges, about 92% of this year’s crop currently is considered in the fair to good range. Average yields for the state are projected to be about 1,000 pounds of lint per acre, which is in line with the 2020 state average.

Fiber quality for the 2021 crop is looking good. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Marketing Service figures Nov. 12 out of Rayville, 8.2% of the bales received have produced a micronaire value of 5 or greater. This year’s fiber length, strength and uniformity are averaging 1.19, 30.72 and 81.91, respectively.

In preparing for the 2022 growing season, one of the most important decisions producers make is variety selection. The results from the LSU AgCenter official variety trials and on-farm demonstrations will be available soon at https://www.lsuagcenter.com/topics/crops/cotton. With favorable weather conditions following harvest, now is a good time for soil testing.

Evaluating soil test results in the fall will give producers ample time to plan for fertilizer applications in the spring. mfoster@agcenter.lsu.edu

MISSISSIPPI Brian Pieralisi

We are in the short rows for Mississippi’s cotton harvest as I write this Nov. 11. I have mentioned delayed maturity in most of these articles, and hopefully this will be the last time it’s mentioned for a while.

Considering the wetter-than-normal year, harvest season has been relatively dry. Most of the “on-time” cotton was picked by mid-October. The only real problem we have faced with harvest was cool weather defoliation. Much of the late cotton had a reservoir of nitrogen underneath it and immature fruit at the top, which resulted in slow defoliation. This cotton received three defoliation applications in some cases.

In terms of yield, most growers are pleased with their outcomes given the weather challenges we experienced from planting until now.

Obviously, cotton yields were below those anticipated at the start of the season. On average, they were off a couple hundred pounds, which can mostly be blamed on lack of a solid bottom crop. Fields that stayed more saturated throughout the season, especially in the eastern portions of the state, experienced greater yield losses.

Fiber quality has been good for much of the crop. As I mentioned earlier, there has been very little weathering, and loan value reports from many producers have exceeded 52 cents. Fewer reports of high micronaire can likely be attributed to less of a bottom crop when compared to most years.

DECEMBER 2021 | COTTON FARMING

21

Specialists Speaking As we put this year in the rearview mirror and look forward to 2022, a few things should be considered. Input costs will likely increase over the coming months, so locking in prices on fertilizer and fuel may be a good idea. Also, pay attention to variety trial data and any data from new technologies that are released. Mississippi Official Variety Trial and On-Farm Variety Trial data should be available at the Mississippi Crop Situation blog in December. Happy Holidays! bkp4@msstate.edu

NORTH CAROLINA Keith Edmisten

Most North Carolina growers are experiencing a better-than-average year for cotton yields with good fiber quality. With the prices, this should be a successful year for most cotton farmers in North Carolina. Our growers certainly can use it. I think they deserve it after the crop was cut short by cool weather last year and affected by hurricanes for several years in recent memory.

I have noticed when we have a good year, growers often assume that whatever they did was great and should be repeated next year. This can promote complacency about things like evaluating varieties for the coming year. It can also make one think the new foliar fertilizer, growth regulator, fertilizer rate, etc. they used to be the key to making a good crop. It also includes things like variety selection, the use of new inputs, planting decisions and changes in fertility programs.

Growers should keep in mind that their neighbors also had good cotton and might not have included the same inputs. That is why we recommend that when you add inputs or make changes to your production system, try to include some checks to truly evaluate how beneficial they were. keith_edmisten@ncsu.edu

OKLAHOMA Seth Byrd

Cotton harvest in Oklahoma is a little more than halfway over as I write this in mid-November. Favorable weather has persisted for most of harvest, allowing for rapid progress to be made since early October. Early reports are variable, with some fields outperforming expectations. Others are reporting average yields or yields falling slightly below expectations.

The 2021 season threw a lot at the Oklahoma crop, although it didn’t seem as challenging as 2020. Early season struggles with cool weather and slow growth were evident as harvest began. It’s likely that both planting date and variety selection will be the primary drivers of the yield and quality variability we’ll see as ginning and classing activity progresses.

These results and trends will be presented in our annual on-farm variety trial report available at cotton.onstage.edu. seth.byrd@okstate.edu

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COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

TENNESSEE Tyson Raper

This has been an incredible season. We were able to somehow mature bolls that a textbook would say shouldn’t have made the picker. Boll opening was difficult and slow, but most of the crop was very good to excellent.

Reports from the classing office include micronaire that is lower than normal for us but still falls just above premium. I suspect we will see that number slide into the premium range as we continue to move into later-planted and slightly less mature cotton.

Variety trial data is streaming now, and although we started harvesting later than normal, we are well ahead of schedule. Only a handful of our Tennessee trials remain in the field. I believe we will be able to deliver our variety testing data before Christmas. Keep an eye out for those results and expect information on our Cotton Focus meeting in February to be available shortly. You will not want to miss it! traper@utk.edu

TEXAS Ben McKnight

As the 2021 growing season comes to a close, now is a good time to reflect on how our management programs shaped up during a challenging year. Moving forward, rising prices and product availability will be on everyone’s radar. I’ve heard many growers share their concerns about product availability going in to the 2022 growing year. Finding commonly used products for my field research trials has already become a concern.

Perhaps now is the time for folks to give next year’s inputs and management practices some thought. For example, determining what our weed control program is going to look like in 2022 may be the difference between securing certain products now instead of running the risk of low or no product availability in a few months. Contact your distributors and agrichemical representatives about product availability and start securing needed products as soon as possible.

As the cost of fertilizer inputs have increased significantly, I would encourage growers to be proactive in soil testing now more than ever.

They will provide the information growers can use as a tool to determine how much fertilizer is needed to obtain a desired yield goal. Knowing the precise amount needed will assist with minimizing the unnecessary costs associated with over-fertilizing with no yield benefits.

The Texas Plant Protection Association Conference is scheduled for Dec. 7-8 at the Brazos Center in Bryan, Texas. The Beltwide Cotton Conferences are slated for Jan. 4-6 in San Antonio, Texas. Pencil in those dates on your calendar. I look forward to seeing you all at the meetings! bmcknight@tamu.edu

COTTONFARMING.COM

you brought to the farming operation that’s different from past generations, specifically as it relates to management and the whole scope of your day-to-day?

Martin: I think the biggest changes that have occurred during my tenure have been brought by the technology that has become available over the past 30 years and our ability to adopt the ones that best fit our farm.

When I began managing the farm in 1990, landlines were the only kind of phone and fax machines were modern. We had a desktop computer, which was still a little unusual in a farm office. I used measuring wheels in the fields and a planimeter on large maps to measure acres.

Saving seed and moldboard plowing every year was the norm. Revolutions in digitization, communication, automation, genetics, telematics, soil health awareness and more have all happened since then and dramatically changed how we farm and the cost structures for raising the same crops.

Arizona Agriculture: Obviously, farming in Alabama is quite different than in Arizona. Highlight the biggest difference as well as the commonalities.

Martin: The biggest difference is climate and availability and necessity of irrigation. We average 55-60 inches of rain a year, but it does not come when we order it. Less than 10% of our cropland is irrigated.

The commonalities are many. We all try to farm keeping an eye out for the best options for our operations and putting together the puzzle of economics, people and natural resources.

Arizona Agriculture: You’ve been keen to advance your farm’s recordkeeping management. Talk about this.

Martin: I inherited a focus on farm recordkeeping from my father. It was important for him to know how the business was doing and a way to be careful and accurate in paying participating share rents.

We still have those same two areas of focus. Over my tenure, computer and digital technology has made it easier in many ways but more complex in others.

Arizona Agriculture: We all talk about technology advances in agriculture and on-the-farm application. But what’s the biggest challenge for us on the farm as it relates to data gathering and management? Maybe a better question, what’s holding us back?

Martin: The sources of data for farms to use to improve farm financial and operational records, as well as field operations and machine efficiency, are exploding — as is the complexity of organizing and managing it all. Agriculture suffers from a lack of data interoperability. Pieces of software are often special purpose. File formats are not standardized, often proprietary and often incompatible across different pieces of software.

Software that is marketed for helping farm offices with recordkeeping can be too narrowly focused. While designed to provide a service, it’s also designed primarily to quietly gather information from the farmer rather than assisting the farmer with private business decisions.

Arizona Agriculture: On regulation, what concerns you?

Martin: I believe there are good regulations, especially in areas of product safety, worker safety and environmental matters. However, I become concerned when the atmosphere around regulation is excessively aggressive or uninformed and misses the mark on what is workable or reasonable for achieving a stated goal.

Arizona Agriculture: Where are we a decade from now in TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MARTIN FAMILY

Continued from page 15

In the past few years, a cover crop has been grown on most of the cotton acres at Martin Farm.

American agriculture?

Martin: I certainly don’t know, but I see continuing trends toward consolidation of farming operations and corporate investment in farmland in some regions. At the same time, I see an increase in “non-traditional” agriculture, things like vertical and urban farming. I believe the use of biologicals and robotics will grow quickly.

Plus, the recognition and valuation of the carbon sequestration done by growing crops becoming an economic consideration for farmers in the next 10 years is a big win.

Arizona Agriculture: Global markets: Especially for cotton and other global crops, what opportunities are you hoping to see develop in the next few months?

Martin: I believe recent supply chain strains — brought on by geopolitical struggles and COVID-19 — and production and shipping disruptions are redirecting U.S. sourcing executives toward U.S. production. That should be good for U.S. farmers.

Arizona Agriculture: What encourages you about the future of agriculture in America?

Martin: The general productivity of the land and the spirit of innovation among U.S. farmers and the U.S. business community.

Arizona Agriculture: You have a passion for agriculture. Why? Martin: I enjoy growing things.

Julie Murphree is the Arizona Farm Bureau outreach director.

Business Interests Outside Ag Beyond the farming operation, Alabama producer Larkin Martin’s business resume in agriculture is nothing less than impressive. She is a past chairman of The Cotton Board and the Farm Foundation and a current Farm Foundation trustee.

On the board of several other companies, Martin previously was chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, associate at Arthur Andersen LLP and is currently a director of Rayonier Inc., a timberland real estate investment trust headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

Martin is also a member of the board of directors of the Public Research Affairs Council of Alabama, Africa Harvest — a Kenyanbased non-governmental organization helping to improve the lives of smallholder farmers and rural communities across Africa — and the Soil Health Institute in Cary, North Carolina.

She has served on the Alabama Ethics Commission. Martin has also been on the boards of The Alabama Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, The Vanderbilt Alumni Association, Camp MerrieWoode and Leadership Alabama. She currently serves on the Agriculture Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Martin was named an Eisenhower Fellow in 2012.

DECEMBER 2021 | COTTON FARMING

23

CCOY Cotton Consultant of the Year established 1981

Eddy Cates 2019 CCOY AWARD RECIPIENT

Eddy Cates consults in Northeast Arkansas and the Missouri Bootheel.

“My employees and I all work on the same farm together,” he says. “To me, that makes my business special. I like to provide hands-on service for my growers.

“The relationships between a consultant and his farmers are built around trust — them trusting you and you earning their trust.”

Cates says he was humbled and excited to have been chosen as the 2019 Cotton Consultant of the Year.

“Knowing that my peers think I am worthy of this honor is like a lifetime achievement award.”

Cotton Consultant of the Year sponsored by

Cotton Farming 24

COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

Industry News BASF Opens Application Submissions For Cotton Clubs

Phil ‘Tug’ Tugwell, Developer Of COTMAN, Remembered

FiberMax and Stoneville cotton growers can now apply to join BASF’s FiberMax One Ton Club and Stoneville Legacy Club.

The application deadline for the FiberMax One Ton Club is Feb. 28, 2022.

Printed qualification forms will be mailed to FiberMax growers, and applications can also be submitted online.

Qualifying growers who attend the banquet in Lubbock, Texas, April 7, 2022, can also enter for a chance to win a twoyear lease on a Ford Super Duty F-350 King Ranch truck.

To qualify for the club, FiberMax One Ton Club growers must produce a minimum of 2,000 pounds of ginned cotton per acre on a minimum of 20 acres planted with 100% FiberMax cotton from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2021.

Cotton acreage can be either irrigated or dryland. Growers must provide gin recap sheets and qualification forms to verify 2,000-pound-per-acre yields.

The application deadline for the Stoneville Legacy Club is Jan. 31, 2022.

Printed qualification forms will be mailed to Stoneville grower, and applications can also be submitted online.

Applicants who rank in the top 10% of yields submitted for their state will qualify to receive a prize package, including a 60-inch Samsung Smart TV and soundbar.

To apply for the Stoneville Legacy Club, growers must plant Stoneville cotton on a minimum of 20 acres from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2021. The club is open to growers in all cotton-producing states.

There are two divisions: one for Stoneville cotton grown on irrigated land, and one for Stoneville cotton grown on non-irrigated land. Growers must provide complete gin recap sheets and qualification forms to verify yield.

“There’s a passion and pride that runs deep when it comes to growing cotton, especially when you achieve high-quality yields — and that’s a success worth celebrating,” says Rachel Walters, regional grower and channel marketing manager seeds, BASF. Learn more about the clubs by visiting FiberMax.com/OTC, Stoneville.com/LC or by contacting your BASF agronomic solutions adviser or agronomic services team member.

Noel Philip Tugwell died Oct. 20 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He was 88.

He served the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas as an entomology researcher and teacher for 36 years.

Mark Cochran, who recently retired after 39 years with the Division of Agriculture and a decade leading the division as U of A System vice president-agriculture, remembers Tugwell as the motivating force behind the COTMAN project.

COTMAN is a cotton management system that times everything from irrigation and fertilizer to pest control and harvest preparation to the physiological development of the plant. It is widely used in cotton production in Arkansas and other states.

Cochran was part of the COTMAN research team that also included Tugwell, cotton researchers Fred Bourland and Derrick Oosterhuis, and research associate Diana Danforth.

“Phil was a very unusual combination of a great Southern gentleman and a highly observant scientist,” Cochran says.

Tugwell had observed that cotton plants give off physiological signals that indicate when they are experiencing stress from pests, disease or lack of water.

“His observations were key in initiating the COTMAN program,” Cochran says. “He was very, very innovative and, in many ways, the genius behind COTMAN.” Bourland, a Division of Agriculture cotton breeder, says Tugwell was the driving force behind that project, although he was loathe to take the credit.

“He was the one who wanted to take a back seat when it came to taking credit,” Bourland says, “But he deserves the credit for getting that project going. Tug was really the instigator of that project.”

Americot Inc. Announces New Growth Across The Cotton Belt Americot Inc. is expanding its cotton seed sales team and adding new staff members and sales regions.

Continued on page 26 COTTONFARMING.COM

GROWING IS IN YOUR HANDS. PROTECTING IS IN OURS.

It’s hard work. And important work. For both of us. A shared passion to grow

the best cotton. You give it your all with countless hours in the field. And our tried and tested products support your hard work to ensure success from seed to gin.

Not everyone is cut out for this. We are. Like you. Made for this.

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Engenia® herbicide is a U.S. EPA Restricted Use Pesticide.

Always read and follow label directions. Stoneville, Engenia, Liberty and Outlook are registered trademarks of BASF. © 2021 BASF Corporation. All rights reserved.

Industry News

Soil Liming And Lime Qualities

throughout that area.

Charlcey Plummer has been proPurity And Particle Size fter receiving a soil test report, the first thing to check “As Americot continues to expand moted to regional manager, leading The quality of liming materials — purity and particle size — is is soil pH, which influences soil nutrient availability. our presence and add new regions, the Americot’s realigned Northern Plains Most nutrients are available at the soil pH of 6.5. important to raise soil pH. Purity is determined in relation to pure addition of new customer support team region.

Therefore, soil pH needs to be adjusted to the tar- calcium carbonate — calcitic limestone — that is rated as 100%. members allows us to keep our commitShe joined Americot as a sales repreget pH either by applying lime for low pH (less than 6.0) soils This rating is called calcium carbonate equivalent. The lime rate ment to growers throughout the Cotton sentative in the Northern Plains region or with elemental sulfur for high pH (greater than 7.5) soils. recommended by soil testing labs is based on pure calcitic limeBelt,” says Chiree Fields, Americot’s gen- and was previously a territory managstone with 100% CCE. The lime application rate should be adjustLiming is the most common practice. eral manager. er for Corteva Agriscience. In her new ed based on the CCE of the liming materials. For example, if the Will Brown, a Clemson University role, Plummer will support growers in Soil Buffering Capacity CCE is 80% and the recommendation is 2 tons of lime per acre, graduate, joins Americot’s Southeast Kansas, Northern Oklahoma and the The lime rate depends on the initial and target soil pH and then 2.5 tons of lime (2 tons x 0.8) per acre should be applied. region team as a sales representative. He Texas Panhandle. the soil’s buffering capacity (ability to resist the pH change). If Another lime quality is particle size, or fineness factor, and previously was with Crop Production Jerrid Small has rejoined Americot the soil buffering capacity and the difference between initial is expressed as the percentage of liming material that passes Services (Nutrien Ag Solutions) and as the eastern regional sales manager. and target soil pH are low, the lime rate would be low. However, through various sized screens. Finer particles are more efficient Meherrin Ag & Chemical Co. Based in He supports all regions and states east for soils with high buffering capacity (low buffer pH), the lime in neutralizing soil acidity (increasing soil pH).

Kingstree, South Carolina, Brown will of Texas. rate would be high even for a small change in soil pH. Clay soils However, the liming materials should have a good distribusupport Americot growers in southern Small started at Americot as a sales have higher buffering capacity and require a greater amount of tion of both smaller and larger particles. The smaller ones can North Carolina and above the lakes in representative. Now based in Wynne, lime for each unit increase of soil pH than silt loam soils. raise the soil pH quickly, and larger particles can have long-term South Carolina.

Arkansas, he will support sales operThe Louisiana State University AgCenter Soil Testing and control in neutralizing soil acidity. Both purity (CCE) and parRyan Long started in agriculture ations and growers in the eastern and Plant Analysis Lab does not run buffer pH. It does indicate the ticle size (fineness factor) of the liming material are expressed working in crop consulting where he southeastern areas of the country. unit change of soil pH with the addition of maximum 3 tons of together as effective CCE or effective neutralizing value. The scouted cotton and peanuts in Alabama.

Jason Walton has been promoted to lime and lets the farmers decide how much they want to spend, higher the ECCE or ENV of the liming material the more effiA graduate of Auburn University, he was regional manager, leading Americot’s assuming more than 3 tons of lime may be too expensive. cient it is in increasing soil pH. Like CCE, the actual lime rate previously in sales for Local Seed Co. South Delta region. He has been a sales Target soil pH should be set at 6.3 for soybean and 6.0 for corn also needs to be adjusted with the liming material’s ENV if the Based in Headland, Alabama, Long representative in the Mid-South. Based and cotton. Lime is required if the target soil pH is 0.2 unit more recommendations are based on ENV. joins Americot as a sales representative in Pontotoc, Mississippi, Walton will than actual soil pH. Lime takes six to nine months — depending in the Alabama and Florida Panhandle support growers in Mississippi and on liming materials — to react with the soils and raise soil pH. It This feature is excerpted from an article by LSU AgCenter soil sciregion, supporting cotton growers Louisiana in his new role. should be applied uniformly and incorporated in the fall. entists Rasel Parvej, Brenda Tubana and Jim Wang.

A

Continued from page 24

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION 1. Publication Title: Cotton Farming 2. Publication Number: 0746-8385 3. Filing Date: October 2021 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: David Boyd (901-626-1730) 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 2021 15.a. Total Number of Copies (net press run): (Average No. Copies each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 22,421) (No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 21,753) 15.b.(1) Outside County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 12,120) (No. Copies of Single Issue Nearest to Filing Date – 11,610) 15.c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 12,120) (No. Copies of Single Issue Nearest to Filing Date – 11,610) 15.d.(1) Outside County Nonrequested Copies: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 10,157) (No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 10,057) 15.d.(4) Nonrequested Copies Distributed Outside the Mail: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months - 0) (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 – 10,157) (No Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 10,057) 15.f. Total Distribution: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months - 22,277) (No Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 21,667) 15.g. Copies Not Distributed: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months - 144) (No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date - 86) 15.h. Total: (Average No. copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 22,421) (No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 21,753) 15.i. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: (Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months – 54.4%) (No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date – 53.6%) 18. I certify that all information furnished above is true and complete.

Lia Guthrie, Publisher

18 26

OCTOBER 2021 COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

Join Us In Orlando!

NAICC ANNUAL MEETING AND AG PRO EXPO January 24 - 28, 2022

Rosen Centre Hotel • Orlando, FL For information visit: www.naicc.org

COTTONFARMING.COM

Ginners Marketplace COTTON

COTTON FARMING IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE GINNING INDUSTRY.

More Details Released About The Cotton Ginning Conference The Cotton Ginning Conference will take place during the 2022 Beltwide Cotton Conferences. Meetings begin at 1:30 p.m. CST Wednesday, Jan. 5, and conclude at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 6, at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas.

This technical conference provides a forum for researchers and industry representatives to exchange information on new technology to improve gin operation efficiency and the preservation of fiber quality. Industry issues will be addressed by researchers and industry experts covering areas such as innovative management strategies, energy conservation and contamination. They also will discuss environmental regulations compliance, labor law compliance and safety.

A joint session with the Cotton Engineering Systems Conference will include the most recent cotton ginning and harvesting research results. The primary focus of these presentations is related to cotton ginning and harvesting, environmental quality measurements and fiber quality preservation.

Here are a few of the topics and speakers:

 Cottonseed electronic monitoring. Michael Prochar, speaker.  Tama proactive actions to minimize cotton contamination. James Cundiff, speaker.  Saw thickness impact on ginning energy. Paul A. Funk, speaker.  Improving the performance of a cotton gin plastic contamination cleaner. Derek P. Whitelock, speaker.  Product updates from Lummus Ag Technology 2022.

Ross D. Rutherford, speaker.  John Deere C770 cotton harvesters. Christopher Murray, speaker.  Experimental investigation on seed cotton conveyance and drying for improving energy efficiency. S. Kumar, speaker.  Effect of moisture content on cottonseed shear strength.

Caleb Riehl, speaker.

Those planning to attend the 2022 BWCC are encouraged to register by clicking on the registration tab at the BWCC home page, www.cotton. org/beltwide/. The home page also

Lummus Ag Technology is pleased to announce the debut of its new Parts website, featuring online parts ordering capability for domestic customers. The new Parts website address is:

https://shop.lummus.com The new site features hundreds of our most common repair parts, and we are continually adding to it.

And while you are online, check out the all-new Lummus Ag Technology website at www.lummus.com, featuring updated information related to the broad range of Lummus product offerings in Machinery, Parts, and Technical Service. Just more ways Lummus is prepared to serve you now and in the future.

®

®

TWITTER: @COTTONFARMING

Cotton Ginners Marketplace

https://shop.lummus.com

http://www.lummus.com Physical Address: 225225 Bourne Boulevard • Savannah, Georgia 31408-9586 Physical Address: Bourne Boulevard • Savannah, Georgia 31408-9586USA USA Mailing Address: P.O. Box 929929 • Pooler, Georgia 31322-0929 USA Mailing Address: P.O. Box • Pooler, Georgia 31322-0929 USA Phone: (912) 447-9000 • Fax: (912) 447-9250 Phone: (912) 447-9000 • Fax: (912) 447-9250 TollToll Free (USA Only): 1-800-4LUMMUS (1-800-458-6687) Free (USA Only): 1-800-4LUMMUS (1-800-458-6687) Web Site: www.lummus.com • E-mail: lummus.sales@lummus.com Web Site: www.lummus.com • E-mail: lummus.sales@lummus.com

© 2020 Lummus Ag Technology DECEMBER 2021 | COTTON FARMING

27

includes links to more information about the forum, including housing reservations. Registration costs for the 2022 BWCC before Dec. 16 are:  $200 for NCC/Cotton Foundation members, university and USDA researchers, Extension personnel, associations and consultants.

to accompany a bale of cotton from the gin to the textile mill).

Additionally, the gin would assist in the desktop reviews with the growers who are Trust Protocol members. Please see https://trustuscotton.org/about/how-it-works/#verification.

 $500 for non-U.S. research, Extension, associations and consultants.

In some situations, grower protocol members may want to designate the gin as their marketer to upload the PBI data to the Trust Protocol platform. In this case, the gin does not need to take title as described above and can upload the data as prescribed by the producer. The gin is merely designating the gin as a marketer as a service to the producers. The gin also would have to agree to conduct desktop reviews.

Trust Protocol members will be eligible to receive a redistribution of income that is to be paid no earlier than fall 2022.

For the services as outlined above, gins may take a share of the redistribution of income. This amount is contingent upon the net revenue that the brands and retailers generate by the uptake of consumption units.

Complete information on the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol can be found at www.trustuscotton.org.

 $400 for non-NCC/Foundation members.  $80 for students.

On-site conference self-registration kiosks will be available 24 hours a day starting on the evening of Jan. 3. Beginning on the morning of Jan. 4, NCC staff will be available for attendees needing assistance with registration and name badge printing.

* * * * *

TCGA Calls For Texas Ginner Of The Year Nominations

Cotton Ginners Marketplace

Now is the time to send in your nomination for the Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association Ginner of the Year. Please take time to recommend someone. This is the highest honor a gin manager can receive from his or her peers in the industry. Here are the guidelines used to select the Ginner of the Year: 1. Service to customers by: • Quality ginning.

• Ethical business standards.

• Other constructive activities.

2. Service to all branches of the cotton industry through support and leadership of constructive activities and programs.

3. Other contributions to the people of the community, county and state such as: • Civic leadership.

• Philanthropic work.

If you know someone who deserves this prestigious honor, send a letter to the Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association describing his or her attributes. Support letters from other industry individuals and organizations are encouraged.

The deadline is Dec. 31.

Send the information to TCGA, Ginner of the Year, 211 W. Bagdad Ave., Round Rock, TX 78664-5803.

The Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association provided this information.

Cotton’s Calendar Some listed events at https://www.cottonfarming.com/calendar/ may be canceled or postponed due to COVID-19. Please verify the status with the individual organizations. ¢ Dec. 15: PCCA Board, Delegate Body & Marketing Pool Committee Meetings, Lubbock, Texas. ¢ Jan. 4-6: 2022 Beltwide Cotton Conferences, San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, Texas. ¢ Jan. 12: Plains Cotton Growers Quarterly Board Meeting, FiberMax Center for Discovery, 1121 Canyon Lake Drive, Lubbock, Texas. ¢ Jan. 12-15: Southern Southeastern Annual Meeting, Westin, Hilton Head, South Carolina. ¢

Jan. 19: PCCA Board of Directors Meeting, Lubbock, Texas.

Jan. 26: 2022 Georgia Cotton Commission Annual Meeting, UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center, Tifton, Georgia. ¢

¢ Jan. 26-28: ACSA’s Mid-Winter Board Meeting, The Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C. ¢

Feb. 11-13: NCC Annual Meeting, Marriott Marquis, Houston, Texas

* * * * *

Feb. 16: PCCA Board, Delegate Body & Marketing Pool Committee Meetings, Lubbock, Texas.

How Gins Can Assist With Bale Data In The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol

¢ Feb. 22: Rolling Plains Cotton Growers Annual Meeting, Big Country Hall, Taylor County Expo Center, Abilene, Texas.

There are several ways gins can be involved in the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. You likely have been made aware that gins, as a show of support, can sign up to be members of the Trust Protocol so you can be counted as a supporter of the initiative and receive e-mails and information.

However, some gins are more involved in the marketing process. Gins that assist producers in marketing their cotton may take title and, therefore, are the aggregator for the producers' bales. In this instance, the gin would be designated as the marketer to upload the Permanent Bale Identification data into the Trust Protocol platform. (The PBI system enables a unique number and standard barcode

28

When Gins Don’t Have To Take Title

COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

¢

¢ Feb. 24: PCCA South Texas Area & Marketing Pool Committee Meetings, Corpus Christi, Texas. ¢ April 20: PCCA Board, Delegate Body & Marketing Pool Committee Meetings, Lubbock, Texas.

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DECEMBER 2021 | COTTON FARMING

29

My Turn Dude, The Barking Dog

I

’ve written about Dude beginning to think we shouldn’t have told Dude how before. He’s the mongrel much we loved him. He seems to be taking advantage of unknown heritage who of it. His barking has occasionally been annoying but moved from California to was for good canine causes — motorcycles, delivGeorgia over a year ago. Dude ery trucks or anything with a loud muffler. In early and Louise, a streetwise chi- September, however, Dude transitioned to all-night huahua, shared a house with bark parties. He has shown a special affinity for trains. our son, Seth, in Los Angeles.

A railroad track is about a mile from our home, with Louise and Seth now have mostly open fields between us. We often hear the soft their own place at the farm. rumble of trains at night, a distant noise that’s rather Dude lives with Jane and me. conducive to sleep. But Dude has a different opinion.

Neil Seth’s back yard in Los He hears the trains long before they reach here and Joiner Angeles was enclosed with a well after they’re gone. He barks the whole time, then high wooden fence, but Dude celebrates running them off. I’ve tried to quiet him but barked too much to be left there. Neighbors on both had no success. sides had regular sleeping habits that the big dog did not My first technique was to open the back door and fully appreciate. The animal shelter said if Dude came gently reason with him. “Dude,” I would say calmback again, he wouldn’t be leaving on a leash. They had ly while looking into his big innocent eyes, “do you a three-strike rule and Seth had tossed the third pitch. remember what we talked about? Remember how The first challenge we faced was convincing Dude I told you that we like to sleep at night? We’d really to remain inside our fenced yard. It’s a nice area, appreciate your help. You’re a good boy.” Two weeks which has been home later, I switched to my firm to three other fine dogs, voice. “Dude!

“I switched to my no-nonsense no-nonsense all now happily roaming Knock it off! I’m tired of voice. Dude! Knock it off!” in the land of golden fire all that barking. I don’t hydrants. Libby, Freckles want to hear another peep and Lilly were perfectly content with their grassed out of you! Don’t make me come out here again!” playground, luxury garage suite and 24-hour buffet.

Then finally, I stumbled across something that But not the Dude. He kept climbing the chain-link worked. When I shined a flashlight at him through fence and showing up at our back door. our bedroom window, he retreated to his quarters.

It took several months for Dude to understand how Apparently, his past included a bad experience with good he has it and stop looking for escape routes. a beam of light. Sadly, it took him less than a week to Except for occasional barking that was slightly beyond figure out my ploy. the norm, all was well. Lately, however, he’s reverted to Thinking music might soothe him, I tuned his his California ways. He barks nonstop for hours, most- radio to Willie’s Roadhouse for some classic country. ly at night. I don’t think he’s wakening our neighbors, It seemed to be working until they played “Folsom but I’m afraid to ask.

Prison Blues.” When Johnny Cash sang, “I hear the Our current troubles can be traced back to Dec. train a coming,” Dude howled along. He didn’t stop 8 of last year. Without any warning, Dude suddenly until Conway Twitty said, “Hello Darlin’.” appeared to be dying. Rather than going with us for his I don’t know what else to do, so that’s why I’m writusual afternoon walk, he struggled to even stand. Jane ing this column. A solution that doesn’t involve shockand Seth coaxed him into the cab of my pickup and ing, shooting or bringing him inside is what we’re took him to the vet. looking for. You can call most any time, even at night.

An X-ray showed a mass in his stomach and internal If there’s a train rolling through Coley Crossing, we’ll bleeding. The vet said he’d probably live a couple of probably be awake. weeks. They discussed putting him down, but Dude apparently understood the conversation. He perked — Neil Joiner up and trotted out the door with pain pills, steroids Vienna, Georgia and a new attitude. That was almost a year ago, but I’m gneiljoiner@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.

30

COTTON FARMING | DECEMBER 2021

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