By Jim Melvin, Clemson University
Just days before the majority of South Carolina’s cotton was about to be harvested, the historic October 2015 storm drenched most of the state with trillions of gallons of rainwater, ravaging a crop that had...
The annual meetings of the Southern Cotton Growers Inc. and the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association Inc. were held recently in Savannah, Ga. The well-attended event featured several committee meetings and breakout sessions in which numerous production topics were discussed.
U.S....
Louisiana farmers at the Northeast Louisiana Row Crop Forum heard from LSU AgCenter experts who told them about recent developments as they prepare for the upcoming growing season. Nearly 50 farmers attended the event.
Carol Pinnell-Alison, LSU AgCenter Extension agent...
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...
It’s Showtime!
By Carroll Smith
Editor
In a few short weeks, it’s time to head to Memphis, Tenn., to attend the 64th Annual Mid-South Farm & Gin Show. Hundreds of exhibitors will be on hand to provide the latest information suited to...
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.”
‘Enormous Potential’ Sets The Stage
BY TONY WILLIAMS
TCGA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Optimism is running high in Texas as cotton farmers and ginners prepare for the 2016 season. To help kick off the year on a positive note, The Texas Cotton Ginners Association...
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 (the Program) will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2016. The Program is carried out by cotton farmers and cotton importers who work together to increase the demand for and profitability of cotton. Its...
The steel blue eyes of West Texas cotton farmer Abe Froese Jr. are slightly shaded from the high-noon Texas sun by the brim of his black John B. Stetson cowboy hat as his head turns to gaze across his Lea County, N. M., cotton field.
“This field looks good. I was worried about how well it would take the rain, but she held up,” he says, pointing to an endless white blanket of DP 1522 B2XF that could yield between 3 and 4 bales an acre.
Froese’s father farmed cotton. So did his grandfather. Cotton farming isn’t just in his blood; it is in his heritage. The Seminole, Texas, farmer will have his 15th production season under his Texas-size rodeo belt buckle by the time the gins turn out his last bale. Froese also produces cotton in Gaines and Donley counties in Texas, while overseeing an additional 300 acres of chili peppers and 20 acres of jalapeños.
Sometimes a man just needs a chance to prove himself. For Bronwood, Ga., cotton farmer Neil Lee, that chance came in 2002 when the manager in his father’s farming operation left to take another job.
“I had two years at Georgia Southern University under my belt and had begun classes at Georgia Southwestern when Dad told me about the vacant position,” remembers Lee, thinking in the back of his mind that this might be the chance to start his farming career. The 22-year-old Lee told his father, Ronnie, he would like to take over the position because nobody else would care as much about the operation as a family member. Ronnie Lee didn’t have to consider it for long and said, “Let’s give it a shot.” Neil Lee has been running the crop production side of Lee Farms and learning the intricacies of farming ever since. In 2015, Lee and his farm team planted 5,500 acres of cotton in the heavy red clay soils of Lee and Terrell counties. At the beginning of the 2015 ginning season, they hoped to press 90,000 bales by the time gin stands shut down for the year.
In recent years, the presence of glyphosate-resistant pigweed in Mid-South cotton has compelled producers to grow glufosinate (Liberty)-tolerant varieties. In 2015, more than 85 percent of cotton acreage in Arkansas was planted to varieties that are tolerant to glufosinate. This acreage included 11 percent planted to XtendFlex (resistant to dicamba) varieties.
However, dicamba applications beyond the current burndown label were not allowed. Almost half of the transgenic entries in the 2015 Arkansas Cotton Variety Test were resistant to dicamba or 2,4-D (Enlist) – a clear indication of the direction of variety development.
The Enlist trait is fully registered in the United States, and the herbicide is labeled in all Mid-South states except Tennessee. Import approvals for some Far East countries are still being pursued. We expect a limited release of Enlist cotton in 2016. It is expected, but at this point still uncertain whether labels will allow spraying of dicamba beyond burndown on XtendFlex cotton in 2016. Thus, producers should make their variety choices accordingly and follow all label requirements.
Selection of varieties then returns to long-established principles of choosing varieties that are likely to produce stable, high yields of premium quality cotton – regardless of their transgene conf iguration.
The ABCs of variety selection may start with letters behind a variety name denoting insect resistance or herbicide tolerance technology, but they certainly do not end there.
Beyond the letters are complex characteristics controlled by multiple genes – yield, fiber quality, stress response, disease resistance, plant type and relative maturity.
“A” stands for area-appropriate. Consider performance data generated from the same area as your farm. Know specific field production constraints and choose varieties with appropriate disease resistance, nematode tolerance and moisture stress response.
“B” is for broadening risk with more than one variety in more than one maturity class so harvest on large farms can be staggered. Broadened risk improves the odds of catching beneficial rains and avoiding widespread hail damage.
“C” is for control. Stay grounded with input capabilities. Highhorsepower varieties in low-input situations can lead to quality problems. “Control” reminds me of the first cotton farmer to ask my advice on variety selection – my father, who passed away in May. Professional presentation of yield data did not impress him. He told me, “I can make these varieties yield. Show me something with the potential for good fiber quality. I have less control over that.”
How are you dealing with the current situation?
I could probably write a book about this. First, ginners love to gin cotton, but we know it will be a different fall with the reduced cotton acres. To me, the best thing to do is think positive. You can’t shut the doors while the game is still going on. We’ve had something that has been good, and it will probably be good again. It’s all about maintaining an attitude that will help you survive.
Can cotton survive in a diversified crop mix in your area?
We are definitely looking at a major shift in acres in Arkansas. Frankly, I don’t think we need to go back to a “fencerow to fencerow” cotton environment. I think we need to diversify. The farmers need it, and the soil needs it. The problem occurs when you see cotton harvesters on acres that reduced cotton by 25 to 50 percent. That is a concern.
