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Industry News
NCC Resumes Producer Information Exchange Tours
The National Cotton Council’s 2022 Producer Information Exchange program (P.I.E.) enabled Mid-South and Southeast cotton producers to see cotton and other agriculture related operations in Texas’ Lubbock and Lower Rio Grande Valley areas. West and Southwest region producers participated in the second of the two P.I.E. tours, which took place in North Carolina.
After this year’s tours, more than 1,200 U.S. cotton producers will have been exposed to innovative production practices in Cotton Belt regions different than their own since the program was launched in 1989. Now sponsored by BASF Agricultural Solutions through a grant to The Cotton Foundation, the P.I.E. is resuming after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NCC Chairman Ted Schneider, a Louisiana producer who was a 1994 P.I.E. participant, said, “The U.S. cotton industry is very appreciative to BASF for underwriting the P.I.E. program because it is providing its producer participants an exceptional opportunity to improve their on-farm efficiency by seeing what works and doesn’t work.”
The 2022 Southwest tour participants included: Alabama – Andy Armstrong, Dothan; Arkansas – Ryan Johnson, Wilmot; and Connor Miller, Leachville; Florida – Phillip Melvin, Altha; Georgia – Patti Niewoehner, Dixie; Mississippi – Bo Leatherman, Robinsonville; North Carolina – Kellum Cahoon, Engelhard; Travis Grimes, Battleboro; Denton Spruill and Blake Sumner, both of Como; and Ryan Tolley, Scranton; South Carolina – Weston Green, Lynchburg; Tennessee – Scott Farmer, Stanton; Chad Hardy, Gates; Will Robinson, III, Lavinia; and William Walker, II, Somerville; and Virginia – Bland Pope, Courtland; and Travis Snyder, Capron.
The 2022 Southeast tour participants included: Arizona – Burleson Smith, Tucson; California – Doug Cardoza, Tipton; Kansas – Ian Parker, Mulvane; Oklahoma – Matt Braun, Hobart; and Texas – Joe Baumgardner, II, Wellington; Trey Beyer, III, Portland; Russ Eggemeyer, Midkiff; Brent Halfmann and Paul Kocich, both of San Angelo; Brett Howard, Dalhart; Zachary Mengers, Tynan; Landon Mires, O’Donnell; Orin Romine, Big Spring; Layton Schniers, Wall; John Walker, II, Stamford; and Hunter Wilde, Lyford.
Bryan Perry, U.S. head of seeds and traits for BASF Agricultural Solutions said, “BASF is proud to support this unique educational opportunity for America’s cotton producers. New technology continues to accelerate at a rapid pace but adapting these tools and techniques to specific farming operations is a challenge.
“These P.I.E. participants are receiving an invaluable experience by not only seeing innovative farming practices firsthand but getting to ask questions about them face-to-face with their peers.”
As the agricultural aviation industry moves from its first century into its second, it faces a strong and increasing demand for fast and effective agricultural input services.
It also faces challenges from additional regulations, public input, rising insurance costs, stiffer pesticide label language and competition from technological advances in other facets of agriculture.
To meet these challenges, the National Agricultural Aviation Association is launching its Certified-Professional Aerial Applicator Safety Steward program in 2023.
C-PAASS will enable aerial applicators to augment their advancement of safety and application accuracy while demonstrating their professional nature to their customers, regulators and the public.
Requirements for certification will ensure C-PAASS members are taking part in the best available educational opportunities for agricultural aviation.
C-PAASS is a voluntary program that will allow those aerial applicators who strive to constantly educate themselves to better their safety and applications to be recognized for their efforts.
There will be four requirements for an ag pilot to earn their C-PAASS designation during the program’s 2023 launch year, with additional requirements forthcoming in subsequent years.
The PAASS Program, from the National Agricultural Aviation Research and Education Foundation (NAAREF), has a proven record of reducing accidents and drift incidents. Five years after it debuted, the industry saw a 26% drop in drift incidents from drift surveys collected by state pesticide enforcement agencies.
Since the first PAASS season in 19981999, the ag aviation accident rate (number of accidents per 100,000 hours flown) has dropped by 26%, and the fatal accident rate has dropped by 10%.
For more information about the program, visit AgAviation.org/cpaass.
CCGGA Submits Comments Opposing Statewide Pesticide Application Notification
In a letter to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association expressed serious concerns with the current proposed concepts for a Statewide Pesticide Application Notification System.
Allowing anyone to sign up for any notification was the biggest concern expressed by the association.
Under the currently proposed plan, all an individual had to do is provide a valid address within a certain distance of where the pesticide application is going to occur. Then they would be notified regardless of whether or not that individual lived at that address. This means the individual could live on the East Coast and still get notified of any application they signed up for.
The association is extremely concerned this could disrupt some pesticide applications by anti-pesticide activists, such as what has occurred in Monterey County, where they have had a similar pesticide application notification system in place.
Multiple applications have been appealed and held up due to protests. This is what the association fears will happen with CDPR’s proposed system.
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Harrison Ashley Honored With ASABE Mayfield Cotton Engineering Award
According to an announcement by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), Harrison Ashley is the recipient of the 2022 Mayfield Cotton Engineering award for his superior service to the cotton industry and for his leadership in cotton ginning advocacy and education. Ashley is vice president of ginner services at the National Cotton Council and executive vice president of the National Cotton Ginners’ Association. In these roles, he serves and coHarrison ordinates the NCGA, board of directors and Ashley annual membership meeting. He develops and oversees budgets for the NCC Ginners Services department, NCGA and the Peary Wilemon-NCGA Scholarship Foundation.
A Recognized Driver Of Research
Ashley is a liaison between the NCC, NCGA and other ginner associations and coordinates the U.S. cotton industry response to the federal legislative and regulatory initiatives a ecting the ginning sector. He has used his ability to identify and prioritize research topics and technology transfer that have resulted in significant improvements to the overall cotton industry.
Ashley has played a key role in maintaining coordination between the cotton research community, the cotton gin machinery industry and the ginning industry. He has driven research in several cotton harvest and processing areas, among them combustible dust, bale contamination, air pollution and work safety.
Ashley also played a key role in maintaining funding for the three USDA-Agricultural Research Service ginning laboratories as well as for robust ginning-related research. He also has been the national lead advocate for the cotton ginning industry before the federal government.
An Advocate For Ginning Industry Education
Throughout his career, Ashley has supported improvements to the cotton industry and encouraged education of new and experienced ginners. He supports the three Ginner Schools taught in three locations across the Cotton Belt. This is a key part of the Certified Ginner Program, which provides industry plant personnel with educational certification.
A 16-year member of ASABE, Ashley is a long-standing member of the Machinery Systems Cotton Engineering committee and has been a contributor to several ASABE Standards related to the U.S. cotton industry. He also maintains membership with the American Chemical Society and the National Council of Agricultural Employers.
Ashley has authored or coauthored several peer-reviewed journal articles, many conference proceedings papers and popular press articles. He coauthors the tri-annual The Cost of Ginning Cotton surveys and has made hundreds of presentations to cotton industry professionals and researchers. *****
TCGA Interns Provide Late Summer Reports
Josh Handley: “For the second half of my TCGA internship, I have been working with United Ag Co-op in El Campo at their cotton gin in Danevang, Texas. I was welcomed by the manager, Jimmy Roppolo, and gin superintendent, Clay Whitley.
“I arrived just under a month before gin season, which means there is a bunch of little fixes and last-minute equipment installments happening. My first task was assisting in aligning the fan motors and installing their new belts. Next, I gained a substantial amount of electrical knowledge working with Mark Gentry on the computer program used to run the gin. I installed several sensors, solenoids and limit switches, along with terminating dozens of wires in the control room.
“I am very glad to be here working with these wonderful people at United Ag andexcited to see this gin running. I am also very thankful for this TCGA internship. I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience in the cotton industry over the summer and cannot wait to see where it leads me in the future.”
Julia New: “As this summer comes to an end for me, I can’t help but think of how fast it has gone! Being a TCGA intern has been nothing short of a blast and exceeded all expectations. The second half of my summer started with the summer meeting in Horseshoe Bay where I had the pleasure of meeting most of you. It was such a great experience getting to hear about what everyone does and contributes to the cotton industry. I can confidently say that I have never met more down to earth, family oriented people in a professional setting before.
“After the summer meeting, I got right to work updating the TCGA website. I enjoyed getting to sharpen up the pages and make the website more visually interesting for those who do not know what the Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association is. Aside from that, I helped update the Red Book. I also spent time visiting other aspects of the TCGA, like seeing those working at the trust and attending the Waco safety seminar.
“I would like to thank Aaron Nelsen, Kelley Green, Duncan McCook and everyone else who allowed me to be here and see my potential and let me contribute to an association that has given me a greater understanding of the importance of the cotton industry. I had a great time with the sta in Round Rock and am so thankful for this opportunity.”
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