RESEARCH & PROMOTION

Listening To The Producer

Cotton Farmers To Help Guide R&P Program

Input from key individuals is always important whenever you’re trying to accomplish any goal. At its June 2010 meeting, Cotton Incorporated’s Agricultural Research Division was assigned a specific task to accomplish in a relatively short period of time, and it needs the help of all U.S. cotton farmers.

“The Ag Research Committees of both the Cotton Board and Cotton Incorporated have requested that we conduct a Producer Priority Survey and draft a subsequent report before our June 2011 Board of Directors meeting,” explains Dr. Kater Hake, Vice President of Agricultural Research, Cotton Incorporated.

“To encourage all of our producers to take the survey, we have come up with a very unique gift for the first 1,000 respondents who complete the survey – one of the new Charged Cotton t-shirts from Under Armour.”

What Producers Can Expect

Every U.S. cotton producer in the United States who grew at least 100 bales of cotton in 2010 will receive a postcard with a code to “unlock” the survey. The survey itself is designed with a few open-ended questions to allow producers the opportunity to clearly offer their opinions about what they feel are the top three most important issues facing them and their farming operation.

“We also have a few in-depth questions related to specific phases of the growing season,” says Hake.

From pre-plant and squaring, to harvesting and ginning, the survey delves into specific subjects and then asks producers to rank what they think are some of the broader issues they see developing in the industry that may not be directly related to a specific growing season.

“We even have a section in the survey where producers can input any concern they may have that was not mentioned in the rest of the survey,” says Hake. “We need to hear exactly what’s on their minds.”

As cutbacks in federal and state public research funding dollars continue, assessments collected through the Cotton Board for disbursement to Cotton Incorporated become more important to the cotton industry each year.

“We want to hear the key issues our producers feel they are facing so we can design research to address those needs – even as far as 10 years out,” says Hake. “They’ll also help us test market the new Charged Cotton t-shirts.”

The Cotton Board, which administers the Cotton Research and Promotion Program conducted by Cotton Incorporated, contributed information for this article.