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It is easier to sell fear than facts. This is a concept that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) knows all too well and has built a brand and an empire based on that business model. Scaring people about everything from suntan lotion to farm policy, you name it, they probably have some pseudoscientific report for it. And, if you just “rush a donation to help EWG before midnight tonight,” the group can “shut down” this problem once and for all, the email blasts to their followers usually reads. But, people are catching on to that game. Specifically, this past weekend, one mother and writer took EWG to task in an editorial that describes pointedly how the group has been using fear as a revenue raiser while pushing dubious claims. “It was only fairly recently that I learned that even though the EWG has secured the trust of many parents, some of their warnings and recommendations don’t hold up to scientific scrutiny,” writes Jenny Splitter in the Salon.com story. In fact, as the story highlights, the EWG uses this misplaced trust to endorse certain products and industries it is financially linked to through other business arrangements. “Now more than ever, their plans for profit are tied to the very companies they’re supposed to be independently reviewing,” continues Splitter. “If parents knew the facts, the EWG couldn’t prey on our fears.” Farm Policy Facts agrees.

Cotton and quail reflect the Southern traditions of this southwest Georgia operation By Carroll Smith, Editor When he was 18 years old, Larron Copeland purchased 30 acres from his father and began shaping what is now known as Showtime Farms in...

The National Cotton Council’s Cotton Economic Outlook sees 2016 as another challenging year for U.S. cotton — with uncertainties regarding global mill cotton use and prices unattractive to producers. What is the export demand situation? Export markets continue as the primary outlet for U.S. raw cotton fiber. China, traditionally U.S. cotton’s largest export market, is importing considerably less in the 2015 marketing year — U.S. sales to China are about 80 percent less than this time last year. Thus, the NCC sees total U.S. exports at 9.5 million bales for the current marketing year, down 15.5 percent from 2014. This estimate may prove to be optimistic as the weekly pace will need to increase throughout the remainder of the 2015 marketing year to reach 9.5 million bales. An even more aggressive approach by China to reduce her cotton stocks would be bearish for world prices. That estimate reflects the situation in China where massive cotton stockpiles and expectations for limited quota mean that raw cotton imports by China are expected to fall further in 2016 to 4.75 million bales, down from 5.5 million in 2015. China’s mill use also is projected to decline in 2016. Even though China’s internal cotton price has declined in the past year, it is still almost twice that of polyester prices...

Cotton Incorporated has released an executive summary report on the Natural Resources Survey that was conducted in late spring and early summer 2015. Results indicate the No. 1 concern of growers across the Cotton Belt is input costs, but...

Farmers now have access to the breakthrough technology of Enlist cotton in 2016. As part of the Enlist weed control system, the Enlist cotton trait represents the most innovative advancements in weed control technology for the cotton industry. Enlist cotton provides exceptional crop tolerance to Enlist Duo herbicide — a combination of glyphosate and new 2,4-D choline — and full tolerance to glufosinate herbicides. “We have a level of glufosinate tolerance now that is comparable to the other products that you see in the marketplace,” says Chris Main, Ph.D., PhytoGen cotton development specialist for the Upper Mid-South. “In 2016, cotton farmers will have the option to apply glufosinate over the top of these varieties with confidence since the glufosinate tolerance has been increased.” Growers such as Virginia-based Mike Griffin participated in the 2015 Enlist cotton grower research plots. He understands the importance of new technology and is ready to use the Enlist system on more acres. “The Enlist system specifically has been brought forward to help control weed species that have been unmanageable,” he says. “We look forward to using this technology to help us with resistant and hard-to-control weeds.”

Texan Taps Into Network Of Advisers By Carroll Smith Editor Dimmitt is a small town on the Old Ozark Trail in the Texas Panhandle and is known as the home of bluegrass musicians Smokey, Edd and Herbert Mayfield. Cotton producer Bill Myatt...

Farmers now have access to the breakthrough technology of Enlist cotton in 2016. As part of the Enlist weed control system, the Enlist cotton trait represents the most innovative advancements in weed control technology for the cotton industry. Enlist cotton provides exceptional crop tolerance to Enlist Duo herbicide — a combination of glyphosate and new 2,4-D choline — and full tolerance to glufosinate herbicides. “We have a level of glufosinate tolerance now that is comparable to the other products that you see in the marketplace,” says Chris Main, Ph.D., PhytoGen cotton development specialist for the Upper Mid-South. “In 2016, cotton farmers will have the option to apply glufosinate over the top of these varieties with confidence since the glufosinate tolerance has been increased.” Growers such as Virginia-based Mike Griffin participated in the 2015 Enlist cotton grower research plots. He understands the importance of new technology and is ready to use the Enlist system on more acres. “The Enlist system specifically has been brought forward to help control weed species that have been unmanageable,” he says. “We look forward to using this technology to help us with resistant and hard-to-control weeds.” What other efforts are targeting economic improvement? Early in 2015, the NCC sought relief from the onerous payment limit provisions of the 2014 farm law by urging Congress to restore USDA’s authority to allow marketing loan redemptions with commodity certificates. Fortunately, commodity certificates were restored in the omnibus appropriations act approved late in 2015. Redemptions with certificates are applicable to the 2015 crop, and any marketing loan gains under certificate redemptions do not apply...

By Carroll Smith Editor The red brick building that stands at 221 North Main St. in Como, Miss., has housed the Taylor family’s business since 1900. What was once a bustling general store with an office tucked in the back is...

Tony Cox always has an infectious laugh that seems to settle into a warm smile. Farming just outside of Wellington, Texas, since he was a teenager, Tony had a lot to smile about during last year’s harvest as he stepped out of his pickup truck and pointed toward his field of DP 1518 B2XF that lived up to the saying, “Everything’s bigger in Texas.” Located 15 miles from the Texas-Oklahoma border and 25 miles from Memphis (Texas, that is), Cox learned to farm from a good farmer and a good man – his father. “Dad always had excellent insight whether he was giving me advice on farming or about life in general. I remember when I thought college was the best career path for me, but he told me if I didn’t bear down and apply myself, I wouldn’t be going to college. He knew my propensity for ‘having a good time,’ and it turned out, he was right,” laughs Cox, shaking his head and confirming his father’s early intuitive observation. So, when Tony’s senior year of high school rolled around, he found himself heading back home to the farm every day after class, and with no regrets, he has been farming ever since.

The expansive fields of defoliated cotton on Davis Family Farms in Doerun, Ga., caused 51-year-old Bart Davis to sit back in his pickup truck, take a deep breath, exhale and smile. The farmer and father of three with 34 cotton crops under his belt was thrust into farming’s center stage when he was only 18-years-old after both his mother and father passed away in a span of six months. “That was a tough period in my life. I’ll be honest with you, I was scared,” remembers Davis. He was a high school senior. Luckily, he had earned nearly all of his credits and had to attend classes only one quarter that year. Davis never played sports because his life revolved around school and the family farm. At the time, his father was farming between 1,200 and 1,500 acres before complications from diabetes caused declining health. By the fall of 1981, he was diagnosed with cancer. “I love this time of the year. It’s a big relief to see those harvesters running down straight rows of three-plus bale cotton,” says Davis, with a great sense of relief in his voice as his son confirmed from the picker a yield monitor reading of nearly 2,000 pounds.

Tennessee cotton acreage is down 38 percent from last year. Producers in Tennessee planted 275,000 acres in 2014, and it is reported that 170,000 acres were planted in 2015. We are hopeful that cotton will rebound in Tennessee and...

For more than a quarter century, Wes Briggs has been the “footprints in the field,” helping his Georgia cotton farmers achieve the best possible yields. Wes Briggs was raised in Greenville, Miss., attended Mississippi State University and later settled in...

The Cotton Research and Promotion Program has announced dates for the 2016 Young Guns Tour of Cotton Incorporated headquarters in Raleigh, N.C. The Young Guns Tour targets young cotton producers who have not had the opportunity to visit the...

When I was a toddler, I got lost in a cotton field, literally. The brilliant white cotton seemed very tall to a little black-haired girl dressed to withstand the heat of a Louisiana afternoon in a red-checked pinafore. I...

Once the harvest machinery has been parked, most farmers and consultants like to enjoy a little downtime and recreational activities. But before long, it’s time to start thinking about the next season in order to be properly prepared. Most consultants schedule sessions with their farmer clients during the winter to begin this process since there is a lot of information to disseminate. The hot topic for everyone is how to protect and grow the bottom line in light of low commodity prices. In California, water availability still drives many of the decisions that cotton farmers have to make. For example, California pest control adviser Larry Gallian, whose consulting career spans more than half a century, says “rain-snow-rain-snow-rain” is the plan that California cotton producers are interested in at this time. Gallian says competing crops, the price of cotton and trees being planted daily on agricultural land are some of the factors that are affecting cotton acreage and production decisions out West. In other areas of the Cotton Belt, seasoned cotton consultants Bob Glodt, Bob Griffin and Mark Nemec agreed to share some of their top-of-the-list winter planning topics with Cotton Farming magazine.