Cotton’s Agenda

Gary Adams

A Solution For Success

The National Cotton Council’s export promotions arm, Cotton Council International (CCI), is finding its new global textile manufacturing advisory initiative very popular — and resulting in significant purchases of U.S. raw cotton.

What is this cotton consultancy?

■ CCI created the COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™ program to help textile manufacturing firms achieve greater profitability through improved productivity, including use of the latest technology/ techniques. The SOLUTIONS™ team of experts created five business-building programs and is working with more than 1,500 mills in 50 countries. The programs are complimentary for U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol® members or COTTON USA™ licensees, and are available in person or virtually.

How do the five SOLUTIONS™ programs help?

■ The 1:1 Mill Consults program can help manufacturers reduce operational costs by 10% to 25% as it brings to the mill a world class mill expert for a one-day, in-depth mill examination followed by a consult that can last one or two weeks and then a Cotton Council International created the COTTON USA SOLUTIONS™ program to help global textile manufacturing follow-up six months later firms achieve greater profitability. to determine if the adopted measures have generated the desired results. Through Technical Seminars, the SOLUTIONS™ technical consulting team advises the mill executives/staff on how to buy and optimize the use of U.S. cotton. Topics include best practices in spinning, handling, managing consistent quality and purchase strategy.

The third program, the Mill Mastery® Course, helps SOLUTIONS™ clients gain a new level of expertise with this informative course of study led by experts who have a combined 200 years plus experience. Next, the mill studies program provides a unique collection of research that offers hard data to boost mill efficiencies. Research topics range from the technical and financial advantages of different cotton types in various stages of the process, to dye uptake, the impact of fiber quality and more.

The Mill Exchange Program enables mill executives to tour COTTON USA™ licensee “Signature Mills” and learn more about U.S. cotton’s advantages. They exchange ideas with textile mill leaders from around the world and discuss best practices in yarn manufacturing, procurement, production and more — all with the aim of becoming more competitive.

Expected future sales of 1.7 million U.S. cotton bales resulted from the 10 technical seminars/webinars conducted in seven countries. Estimated future sales of 257,000 U.S. cotton bales stemmed from 87 mill visits in nine countries. The 23 mill executives representing 23 mills from three countries who participated in the Mill Mastery® course indicated they expect to purchase an additional 531,000 U.S. cotton bales.

Have CCI’s other programs had an impact this year?

■ Participants in CCI-coordinated webinars to raise awareness of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol® sustainability initiative expect to purchase 452,000 additional U.S. cotton bales. The 19 Pakistani textile executives who participated in CCI’s Special Trade Mission here expect to purchase an additional 575,000 U.S. cotton bales.

CCI’s Western Hemisphere Sourcing Fair attracted 112 executives representing eight U.S. yarn and textile companies, 35 Latin American textile/garment manufacturing companies, and 20 U.S. and Latin American brand, retailer and corporate image wear firms. Some $18 million of U.S. cotton-rich product purchases are expected from the Latin American firms. CCI’s Cotton Days Northeast Asia attracted 665 brand/retailer and mill attendees — and 80% of the mills are expected to purchase an additional 630,000 U.S. cotton bales.

Bayer is a member of Excellence Through

Stewardship® (ETS). Bayer products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Bayer’s Policy for Commercialization of BiotechnologyDerived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. Commercialized products have been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from this product can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for this product. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship.

ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE

LABEL DIRECTIONS. It is a violation of federal and state law to use any pesticide product other than in accordance with its labeling. NOT ALL formulations of dicamba, glyphosate or glufosinate are approved for in-crop use with products with XtendFlex® Technology. ONLY USE FORMULATIONS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY LABELED FOR SUCH USES AND APPROVED FOR SUCH USE IN THE STATE OF APPLICATION. Contact the U.S. EPA and your state pesticide regulatory agency with any questions about the approval status of dicamba herbicide products for in-crop use with products with XtendFlex® Technology. B.t. products may not yet be registered in all states. Check with your seed brand representative for the registration status in your state. Performance may vary, from location to location and from year to year, as local growing, soil and weather conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible and should consider the impacts of these conditions on the grower’s fields.

Products with XtendFlex® Technology contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, glufosinate and dicamba.

Glyphosate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. Dicamba will kill crops that are not tolerant to dicamba. Glufosinate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glufosinate. Contact your seed brand dealer or refer to the Bayer Technology Use Guide for recommended weed control programs. Insect control technology provided by Vip3A is utilized under license from Syngenta Crop Protection AG. Bayer, Bayer Cross, Bollgard®, Respect the Refuge and Cotton Design®, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® and XtendFlex® are registered trademarks of Bayer Group. LibertyLink® and the Water Droplet Design® is a trademark of BASF Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2022 Bayer Group. All rights reserved.

Field Watch

To Those Who Served Farmers

BY CARROLL SMITH

EDITOR

Their day typically begins before sunrise as they roll out of bed, pull on their boots and head to the fields. Their trucks are full of tools of the trade — cell phones, laptops, notebooks, sweep nets, drop cloths and maybe a pack of Nabs or a protein bar to sustain them on the turnrows while they check your crops throughout the long, hot days. These are cotton consultants — most of whom will say their profession is more than a job. It’s personal.

Since 1981, the Cotton Consultant of the Year peer recognition award, sponsored by Syngenta and Cotton Farming magazine, has paid tribute to this critical segment of the cotton industry. Through the years, we have been saddened to hear of the passing of some of these individuals whose careers were marked by commitment to farmers, early mornings and busy days.

This summer, Mills Rogers Jr., who was selected as the Cotton Consultant of the Year in 1990, passed away July 12. He started Rogers Entomological Services in Cleveland, Mississippi, in 1954 for 75 cents an acre and ran it until he retired in the late 1990s. His son, Lee Rogers, took over the family business at that time.

According to a 1991 tribute written by Cotton Farming Editor Patrick Shepard, “Rogers normally services from 35 to 40 cotton producers. About 60 percent of the cotton that he handles is farmed in the Missouri Bootheel. … Five years ago, Rogers began using motorcycles to get around his cotton acreage. ‘At first, I laughed when other consultants began using

motorcycles. But I saw they were checking a little more acreage than I was and they weren’t worn out at the end of the day. So we added Honda 200 Fat Cats to our business.’” In another tribute published that year, Rogers was asked, “You are a pioneer of the modern cotton consultant. Would you recommend consulting as a livelihood to a younger person?” He answered, “Yes, if he or she doesn’t mind hard work in addition to being trustworthy. When the grower asks him if he walked the back of that field next to the trees, the consultant will have to be ready to tell the truth. The grower usually knows where you’ve been on his farm. “I think we have both professional entomologists and scouts in the consulting business. Those of us who make a living out of consulting and depend on six to seven months of the year have to always assume a profesMills Rogers, 1990 sional manner.” Cotton Consultant The working relationship between of the Year a consultant and his farmers is based, in large part, on mutual respect and trust. Thanks go out to those we have lost and those who are still watching the cotton fields and making recommendations to keep their producers profitable.

In Remembrance

• Bob Stanford: 1981 CCOY – Flagstaff, Arizona • Jep Gates: 1982 CCOY – Memphis, Tennessee • Dennis Bouchard: 1983 CCOY – Minter City,

Mississippi • John Nickelsen: 1984 CCOY – Shafter, California • Stanley Nemec: 1987 CCOY – Snook, Texas • Robert Moore: 1988 CCOY – Hartsville, South

Carolina • Curtis Wilhelm: 1989 CCOY – Harlingen, Texas • Mills Rogers: 1990 CCOY – Cleveland,

Mississippi • John Christian: 1992 CCOY – Raymondville,

Texas • Lonnie Bull: 1997 CCOY – Cameron, South

Carolina • John Hunter: 2005 CCOY – Lubbock, Texas

Cotton and peanut farmer Jake Teichroeb is pictured with his family in Dawson County, Texas. From left are: Kooper, Maelie, Diamond, wife Chloe, Jake, Clay, Lane and Malachi.

Enterprising West Texan

Builds Career On Cotton And Peanuts

BY CARROLL SMITH

EDITOR

Jake Teichroeb’s father, John, was part of a Mennonite community in Mexico that moved to west Gaines County,

Texas, to pursue various agricultural occupations. The elder Teichroeb began as a custom harvester of wheat and cotton and eventually got into farming.

“As a little kid following Dad around, I grew up in farming,” Jake said. “That’s all I knew. In my early 20s, I worked for a short time for one of my brothers who was established in the irrigation business building circle pivots. But I soon realized I missed farming.”

While working in construction, the young Texan was always out in other people’s fields from the Rio Grande Valley to Kentucky and everywhere in between. As he learned about different crops and production techniques, he knew farming was in his blood, and he needed to go back.

“When Dad got a little older, he offered to lease the farm to some of my brothers and me,” Jake said. “There wasn’t enough land for all of us, so my brother, Poncho, and I split the farm in half in 2005, and the other brothers found land to rent somewhere else. Prices were fair, and it was a rainier time, so we were making good crops and doing well.”

The two brothers began looking for more land, but the competition was heavy in Gaines County. When 640 acres became available in Dawson County, Jake and Poncho worked out a deal that resulted in Jake farming the Dawson County property and Poncho taking over Jake’s half of the family land in Gaines

County.

“I was lucky enough to be surrounded by some older farmers in Dawson County who were getting ready to retire and didn’t have kids standing in line to take over,” Jake said. “This allowed me to pick up land, mostly in Dawson County, pretty much every year since I started farming. Although I let the family land go in Gaines County, I did end up picking up some more land in that area.

“Today, we run a 12,000-acre operation — some irrigated, some dryland. Our primary crop is cotton, and we also have peanuts and cattle. We raise winter wheat for the cows and collect some of the seed to grow a cover crop to protect our cotton the next year.

“My oldest son, Clay, who is 20, is working for me on the farm now. I will eventually move Lane, 18, and Malachi, 16, out here as well. Right now, Lane is working at the peanut plant, and Malachi is still in school.”

Cotton And Peanut Rotation

As his father had always done, Jake rotates cotton and peanuts. He said the system most farmers use around there is to plant peanuts where water is available and put cotton on the dryland. The exception is where the dirt is not that good for peanuts, they will plant cotton and irrigate it.

Gaines County is often called peanut country, and Dawson County is known as cotton country.

“The reason for this is that cotton tolerates salinity in the water pretty well, but peanuts do not,” Jake said. “The quantity of water on my Gaines County farm is no better than it is here in Dawson County, but the water quality is better so the peanut crop in Gaines County is beautiful compared to the one in Dawson County.

“At times, I’ve been laughed at for farming peanuts in Dawson County. A man once told me, ‘You’re trying to grow peanuts in cotton country,’ and he has a good point. That’s why I typically have about a third more peanut production per acre in Gaines County.”

In 2021, Jake planted almost 100% to PHY 480 W3FE on his cotton acres.

“Unlike this year, in wetter years when there is underground moisture, and you know you stand a chance of making a dryland crop, 480 is a good one to plant,” he said. “It does well on my farm. Last year, my average yield for 480 was 1,300 pounds per acre. We also had a PhytoGen test plot with an experimental variety (now available as PHY 411 W3FE), and it did really well. It may be one we switch to on our better, irrigated land.

“One of the reasons I grow PhytoGen cottonseed is that it is the best I’ve ever seen when it comes to vigor. When I plant my cotton, I chase moisture. If I have some underground moisture, I put the cotton in a little deeper to make sure I am in a good moisture bed.

“But if I get a rain on it and the sun comes out the next day and it is hot, it’s like pouring a layer of concrete over your cotton. That happened to me last year, but I didn’t have to replant all of those fields. That’s when I became a big believer in PhytoGen’s vigor.”

The West Texas farmer said choosing the right variety for your farm is critical. He considers numerous factors when making his variety choices and relies heavily on the research done by Scott Fuchs, his PhytoGen cotton development specialist.

“If Scott tells me a certain PhytoGen variety is good for my area, I am going to plant some of it,” he said. “I also make sure the varieties I plant are nematode resistant.”

Herbicide Resolves Challenges

The primary nuisance weeds Jake has to contend with in his cotton crop are pigweed and tumbleweed. When pigweed developed resistance to glyphosate, and the population exploded, he couldn’t find enough people to chop them out of his fields.

West Texan Jake Teichroeb rotates cotton and peanuts in Dawson and Gaines counties.

CARROLL SMITH

West Texas farmer Jake Teichroeb runs a 12,000-acre operation and is a partner in Trico Peanut and the newly launched Texas Roasting Co.

“The weeds were growing faster than we could contain them,” Jake said. “I had to walk away from some fields because we lost control. I was discouraged and wondered if it was time to quit farming. Then the Enlist weed control system was launched, and I started using it. Enlist herbicides killed the grass and tumbleweeds, as well as pigweeds. This gave me a whole new outlook on the farming business.”

Another challenge Jake faced in his cotton and peanut rotation was having one half of a circle in cotton and the other half in peanuts, so the rows touched each other. Over the years, he knew he would burn and kill some cotton rows and some peanut rows because of the different herbicides used on each crop. 2,4-Db was used to kill weeds in peanuts but would damage any cotton it drifted onto. On the other hand, herbicides used to kill weeds in cotton damaged the peanuts.

“One of the main reasons I switched to PhytoGen varieties is the Enlist herbicide technology,” Jake said. “When the Enlist weed control system was launched, it made my life a lot easier because I am essentially using a form of 2,4-D on both crops. If Enlist drifts on peanuts or 2,4Db drifts on cotton, there is no damage. That herbicide system saved my career.”

Peanut Facilities

To make his peanut operation more sustainable, Jake and two other farmers established Trico Peanut — a peanut buying point and a sheller — in 2015 in Seminole, Texas.

“The way it works is the farmer sells the peanuts to a buying point, and then we shell them, clean them up, put them in 2,000-pound bulk bags and sell them to consumers,” he said. “We are mostly Virginias, which are not grown for peanut butter. We found a market for them, and it works for us.”

In a move to become vertically integrated, the partners recently started a new business called Texas Roasting Co. next door to Trico.

“Now we are the farmer, the sheller and the roaster,” Jake said. “We have a manager who runs the business. Right now, we grow a lot more peanuts than the roasting company can handle, but we hope one day to get to the point that the company can consume all our peanuts.

“This past year when we were preparing to launch the company, I spent a lot of time over there building the business and marketing our product. Once we are consistently roasting and turning out packaged, branded product, I can step back some. But while the company is in development, I need to be hands on.”

A Five-Year Plan

Jake said this year was a tough one because of the drought — the worst he has seen during his farming career, including 2011. Following a season of challenging environmental conditions can make it difficult to mentally prepare yourself to move forward and plan for the upcoming season.

“It worries you,” he said. “This was a rough year, but last year was very good to us. I’ve always said, ‘Never farm one year at a time. Farm five years at a time.’ I’ve seen years where I couldn’t pay the bank back and had to finance something to finish up.

“Because we had a good year last year, I paid off as much as I could to build some equity and looked for ways to minimize my expenses. Then when another rough year comes around, we can survive it.”

Texas Roasting Co. offers salted, in-shell peanuts. Flavors for the kernels include salted, lemon salted, hot and spicy, habanero, jalapeño and chili and lime.