Properly cleaning and servicing the cotton picker each night or morning will result in better performance and lower potential of fire throughout the day. Most producers do a thorough cleaning from top to bottom before greasing, adding fluids, and...
By Carroll Smith
Editor
Singer and philanthropist Bryan Adams once said, “I like the idea of helping people help people.” To expand that thought, one might say, “I like the idea of helping people help their communities.”
The Transform My Community Contest,...
The National Agricultural Statistics Service October Crop Production report estimated Arkansas cotton production to be at 1,088 pounds lint per acre, unchanged from last month but down 4 pounds from 2015. This exceeds our 5-year average of 1,073 pounds lint per acre by 15 pounds.
Our crop continues to be ahead of schedule. As about half of our crop has been harvested this season, the 5-year average for the same date was just shy of 30 percent harvested.
Reports of fiber quality have been good. Lack of rainfall during much of the harvest season has resulted in excellent color grades. Just over 45 percent has received a color grade of 31 or better. About 80 percent of the bales classed have a leaf grade of 4 or less. Micronaire values this season have averaged 4.6 with less than 17 percent in the discount range of 5 or greater.
In Arkansas, we generally expect to see our early crop outyield our later crop. This is not what most farmers are experiencing this season. The extended wet and cloudy August weather came just as our early crop was starting to open. Reports of 1.25 to 1.5 bales per acre were heard from our early cotton as the occurrence of boll rot and hard lock was great. Fortunately, yields improved as harvest progressed. Our good fields are yielding in excess of 3 bales per acre. The 4-bale yield potential we had in many fields the first part of August slipped away.
Entomologists from South Carolina, Mississippi and Texas offer an early outlook for potentially damaging cotton insect pests
By Carroll Smith
Editor
Rows of young cotton not only are a beautiful sight to behold but also an attractive buffet for insect pests in...
From planting depth to thrips control, North Carolina cotton experts designed these reminders to help you achieve optimal stands and good early season growth.
By Guy Collins
North Carolina State University
The wet and cold 2016 planting season we encountered in North...
By Dominic Reisig
North Carolina State University
Editor’s note: Dr. George Kennedy, North Carolina State University, has developed a tool for predicting thrips risk to cotton.
Most everyone knows some type of preplant control measure is needed for thrips, whether it’s an...
Estimated From Days Suitable For Fieldwork
By Terry W. Griffin, Ph.D., Kansas State University; Michael J. Buschermohle, Ph.D.,
University of Tennessee; and Edward M. Barnes, Ph.D., Cotton Incorporated
Editor’s Note: As Tennessee cotton specialist Tyson Raper says on page 21, the forecast...
ARIZONA
Deciding on the appropriate time to begin planting cotton in the spring can be a difficult decision. Warm, early spring days will sometimes provide an “itch” to get into the field and start planting. However, warm spring days can...
By Christine Souza
California Farm Bureau Federation
To help young farmers and ranchers negotiate the financial, political and regulatory challenges that come their way, young agriculturalists met in Modesto for the 2017 California Young Farmers and Ranchers Conference.
California Farm Bureau Federation...
By Clinton Evans
Cotton farmer, Brownsville, Tenn.
I was born Nov. 14, 1959, in Haywood County, Tenn., raised on this farm and spent my childhood in Davie Place — my family’s ancestral home built in the mid-1800s by my great-great-grandfather, John...
Dr. Mark Lange, who served as president and chief executive officer for the National Cotton Council from 2003 until his retirement in 2015, is the recipient of the 2016 Harry S. Baker Distinguished Service Award. He was honored during...
TCGA Annual Meeting & Trade show
BY TONY WILLIAMS
TCGA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
As cotton planters prepare to roll across Texas, a feeling of anticipation is in the air — and for good reason.
Most areas experienced an exceptional crop in 2016,...
Lifetime Achievement Award
Arizona Ginner Honored
The late Charles C. Owen, an Arizona ginner whose career was marked by his strong desire to advance the U.S. cotton industry through quality preservation, research, employee education and outreach to U.S. cotton’s customers,...
Southern Southeastern ANNUAL MEETING
By Carroll Smith
Editor
Southeast cotton producers and ginners gathered in Charlotte, N.C., prior to the beginning of the 2017 season to meet and share ideas about how to address important issues that affect the industry on...
The National Agricultural Statistics Service October Crop Production report estimated Arkansas cotton production to be at 1,088 pounds lint per acre, unchanged from last month but down 4 pounds from 2015. This exceeds our 5-year average of 1,073 pounds lint per acre by 15 pounds.
Our crop continues to be ahead of schedule. As about half of our crop has been harvested this season, the 5-year average for the same date was just shy of 30 percent harvested.
Reports of fiber quality have been good. Lack of rainfall during much of the harvest season has resulted in excellent color grades. Just over 45 percent has received a color grade of 31 or better. About 80 percent of the bales classed have a leaf grade of 4 or less. Micronaire values this season have averaged 4.6 with less than 17 percent in the discount range of 5 or greater.
In Arkansas, we generally expect to see our early crop outyield our later crop. This is not what most farmers are experiencing this season. The extended wet and cloudy August weather came just as our early crop was starting to open. Reports of 1.25 to 1.5 bales per acre were heard from our early cotton as the occurrence of boll rot and hard lock was great. Fortunately, yields improved as harvest progressed. Our good fields are yielding in excess of 3 bales per acre. The 4-bale yield potential we had in many fields the first part of August slipped away.
