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 Commitment To Cotton
Since the early years of my life, all I have known is cotton. It
started out when I rode on the tractor with my father, hauling
cotton trailers to the gin with my grandfather, and now I have
followed in their footsteps to make raising cotton my life. The
changes that have just taken place during my lifetime have had
an incredible impact on the cotton industry. From the changes in
transgenic technologies to new harvest techniques, we have all
been affected.
Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Indonesia and
Hong Kong where I reported to cotton merchants and garment
manufacturers about my West Texas cotton farming operation.
The opportunity to see this side of the industry has been very
influential to me. The mills’ major concern is fiber quality. They
want a high-quality product no matter where it comes from.
Considering the fact that we are in a global cotton market,
fiber quality should concern all of us as cotton producers. In my
operation, I have discovered that the FiberMax genetics deliver
that fiber quality.
Impact On Final Product
Even with technological advances, such as high-quality
genetics from FiberMax, we, as producers, can have an impact on the final quality of our product. As harvest time approaches,
we need to be reminded of some very important management
practices that will maintain a quality product.
The first is preparing for harvest. We must use the proper
harvest aids for each field. Don’t rush into harvesting; give the
harvest aids ample time to work. Secondly, before a machine
starts into a field, inspect it for contaminants. One of the worst
contaminants is a plastic grocery sack.
Also, make sure your harvester is properly calibrated for the
job. Next, module placement is very important. Stay away from
low areas that hold water. Last, but not least, communicate with
your ginner. Even though the cotton is in the possession of the
gin, it still belongs to you.
Keep an eye on it through the ginning process. As producers,
we need to do all we can to deliver that quality product. |
