Is there a sense of cautious optimism for Texas cotton producers and ginners in 2012? That might be a major understatement. After surviving a recordbreaking drought in 2011, the mood is definitely different in the Lone Star State this year.
That was obvious at the recent Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association Annual Meeting and Trade Show in Lubbock. As visitors walked through the Civic Center and visited industry representatives, farmers and ginners, it appeared that prospects for cotton were much brighter.
“Why is our attitude so good out here in West Texas?” asks TCGA Executive Vice President Tony Williams. “Maybe it’s because we have faced these situations so many times. As far as the mood at our meeting, I was very pleased. Given everything we’ve been thro-ugh recently, I think the attitude of our Texas ginners was very positive.”
Big Crowds At Trade Show
The mood of TCGA members was reflected among the 130 exhibi-tors at the Trade Show and at the various meetings conducted during the week. Most exhibitors reported heavier traffic during the two-day event.
As Williams has pointed out, there is no guarantee that the weather will be 100 percent improved compared to 2011, but anything will be better.
Unless someone experienced the wide scope of last year’s drought, it’s hard to understand the impact it had throughout the cotton production chain in Texas. Producers and ginners weren’t the only sector in the state’s ag economy that felt the full brunt of
the drought.
Everyone in the supply chain was affected after cotton production in the state dropped by more than 50 percent.
“When you think about everybody in the chain, it includes a lot of folks,” says Williams. “I think about the truckers who haul the cotton and cottonseed. And what about the companies that sell the electricity to a cotton gin for processing the crop? There are a lot of things that you don’t look at directly.”
Highlights of the week included an address from Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) at the TCGA Board breakfast meeting, as well as election of new officers for 2012-13. Dan Jackson of Meadow, Texas, is president, while Danny Moses of Wharton, Texas, is vice president and Buzz Cooper of Slaton, Texas, is secretary.
Phil Hickman of Tornillo, Texas, was honored as “Ginner of the Year” and two persons were given “Life Member” awards at the TCGA dinner – National Cotton Council regional representative Rick King of Slaton, Texas, and former TCGA president Jerry Multer of
Wall, Texas.
Another highlight of the final night’s awards dinner was Cotton Farming magazine’s presentation of a check to the Texas Tech/TCGA Scholarship fund. A check for $5,435 was presented to TCGA, marking the second straight year the magazine’s contribution has exceeded $5,000.
TCGA’s summer meeting is scheduled for June 23-26 at the Omni La Mansion Del Rio Hotel in San Antonio, Texas.
Contact Tommy Horton at (901) 767-4020 or thorton@onegrower.com. |
.jpg)