With planting time approaching and cotton acres projected to be up this year, we asked our readers what they expect the most from the 2010 varieties. Higher yields? Better quality characteristics? Technology traits? Attrac-tiveness to export customers?
Not surprisingly, after the votes were tallied, a whopping 71 percent of the respondents say they are looking for higher yields. Nothing pleases a cotton farmer more than looking down the turnrow and seeing module after module after module.
And the seed companies strive to accommodate the producers by breeding and offering higher-yielding cotton lines in order to give them what they want the most.
The high percentage of votes for higher yields does not mean that the other choices are not important, too, but the question only asked for the No. 1 expectation for 2010.
Following is a pretty straightforward comment about yields from one of our readers who voted in the Web Poll:
• “Without high yields, none of the other answers even matter. Under the current WTO situation, our government has thrown the American farmer ‘to the wolves,’ so our yields have to be high just to stay in business.”
This month’s subject is about crop insurance. The results of the April Web Poll question will be reported in the Cotton Farming June issue.
Web Poll Results
In February, we asked: As planting time nears and cotton acres are up, what is your greatest expectation from the 2010 varieties?
• Higher yields — 71 %
• Better quality characteristics — 8 %
• Technology traits — 19 %
• Attractive to export customers — 2 %
April Web Poll Question
Given the adverse weather conditions that many areas experienced last year, did you opt for buy-up crop insurance for 2010 or just stay with the required CAT? Please share your thoughts in the “Comments” section.
(1) Opted for buy-up
(2) Stayed with required CAT
Register your vote
at www.cottonfarming.com. |
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