Special Report

Delivered As Promised The menu of cotton varieties from which to choose in 2017 includes a host of high-yielding, good quality selections. To help you get started, seed companies from across the Cotton Belt provided information about their headliners on...

Farmers use crop insurance to protect themselves against risk — primarily against crop failure and low market prices. In the United States, the federal crop insurance program has grown steadily since the mid-1990s and become the single largest individual program providing support to farmers under the 2014 Farm Act. Growth in crop insurance programs — both in the United States and in developing countries — appears to be driven in part by premium subsidies from governments. Unlike previous research on the topic, which emphasizes a farmer’s attitude toward risk as the primary driver of insurance uptake, this report analyzes the relationship between wealth, savings and insurance over time to identify alternative approaches to managing farm risk. What Did The Study Find? When farm households consider multiple growing seasons, insurance and savings are substitutes. Demand for insurance will fall as the interest rate on savings rises; similarly, farmers will save more and insure less as insurance premium rates increase. The exception is among farm households that are less wealthy; when wealth is low to start, additional savings complements insurance, allowing households to be able to afford to pay an insurance premium when they do not yet have enough savings to completely self-insure. Demand for crop insurance, when examined over multiple years, is primarily driven by the farmer’s financial wealth rather than the farmer’s attitude toward risk. Both uptake of insurance and choice of coverage levels are heavily determined by the producer’s income and savings. Crop insurance is in low demand at both

Cotton producers in West Texas got a sneak peak at up to a dozen potential new varietal releases during Deltapine's annual field day at Blaine Nichols Farm near Seminole. Nichols and his father, Mark, are two of about 200 producers nationwide that participate in Deltapine's NPE, or New Product Evaluators, program. For the past 10 years or so, the Nichols have planted advanced experimental lines in large 3- to 5-acre plots. They farm the plots as they would their commercial acreage, with each plot being harvested, graded and milled separately. Come December or January when the data on the experimental varieties has been disseminated, NPE producers participate in a conference call to vote on the varieties they think should be released. Between the experimental and commercial varieties, the Nichols have about 20 Deltapine large-scale plots on their farm this season. Mark says they continue to participate because of the benefits the NPE trials provide the industry. Blaine says he's anxious to see how the new XtendFlex system will work once the low-volatility formulation of dicamba is registered. The varieties have been engineered to contain genes that impart resistance to both glyphosate and dicamba herbicides sprayed over the top. Although the Nichols have several XtendFlex varieties on their farm, the plants were only sprayed over the top with Roundup. Blaine stays on top of weeds using the Roundup Ready system as well as several different residual herbicides. He also has adopted a zero-tolerance approach to weeds, but he says controlling Palmer amaranth and Russian thistle as well as a host of others is a constant challenge.

After rallying to the upper 70 cents per pound range during the month of July, new crop cotton futures prices appear to be working their way back down. For much of 2016, new crop cotton futures prices seemed to be stuck in an upper 50 cents to low 60 cents per pound trading range. All of the fundamental supply and demand news pointed to larger acreage and larger production in 2016. With no significant signs of improved domestic or export demand, the potential for a large 2016 crop weighed heavily on the market.However, as the summer progressed, the development of hot, dry conditions in Texas and parts of Georgia along with dry conditions in India began to foster concerns of lower cotton supplies. This introduced a considerable amount of risk premium in the markets and helped support prices. Speculative interests took this momentum and continued to push prices higher by going from a net short position (selling more contracts then purchasing) in early 2016 to the highest net long position (purchasing more contracts then selling) in more than two years. However, this has brought prices to levels that are not fully supported by the underlying supply and demand fundamentals.

Before members of Congress left Washington for the political conventions and August recess, the House of Representatives passed a 2017 appropriations bill that included California drought-relief provisions. California Farm Bureau Federation President Paul Wenger says passage of the appropriations legislation by the House represents an important step toward addressing problems that limit the flexibility of the California water system. By a vote of 231-196, the House passed the 2017 Interior appropriations bill, HR 5538, including the California-related water provisions. The inclusion of the provisions on water could help set the stage for negotiations with the U.S. Senate this fall, says Erin Huston, CFBF federal policy consultant.“This is the first time the House has passed an Interior bill since 2009, which can be seen as a milestone in itself,” Huston says. “This bill provides a potential path for desperately needed federal drought legislation. We are still working under a very limited calendar, but we will continue to urge a federal legislative solution.”

The West and the Southwest are areas of the Cotton Belt that typically experience water shortages. Instead of giving up on trying to irrigate their crops, cotton farmers have adopted systems to make the most of the water that they have. “California is the only state that has to rely fully on irrigation to meet crop water needs,” says Bob Hutmacher, University of California Extension cotton specialist. “We are growing cotton in a dry environment with essentially no chance of rainfall during most of our cotton-growing season. Arizona growers may get growing-season water from monsoon rains, but there is little chance of that for most California producers. “In the past, when we had more consistent, favorable water supplies, better quality water, and weren’t competing as much with permanent crops, furrow irrigation was a typical system used by cotton farmers. Today, we still have large acreages of level basin irrigation – a type of border system – on land well suited for it, such as the finer-textured lake bottom land in the San Joaquin Valley. For these specific soil types, soil characteristics allow this ground to be irrigated quite efficiently at low costs with the level basin system.”

A.J. Hood knows firsthand the personal gratification derived from taking the time to compose a heartfelt essay about how his community could be transformed. Hood, a grower and farm manager for Tillar & Co., an 18,000-acre tract of land in southeast Arkansas, was motivated to enter the contest in 2015 for very personal reasons. His brother had lived for more than 40 years with several disabilities before losing his courageous battle this past spring. Transform My Community, sponsored by Dow AgroSciences and Cotton Farming, is a way for cotton growers and crop consultants to parlay suggestions on how local communities could be “transformed” with the positive experiences they’ve had using Transform® WG insecticide. The 2016 Transform My Community contest kicks off Aug. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, 2016. Due to Section 18 label use restrictions, only cotton growers and consultants in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee are eligible to submit essays.

By Guy Collins And Keith Edmisten North Carolina State University Authors’ note: These general irrigation guidelines were developed several years ago by other faculty at the University of Georgia. In some cases, deviating from this model may be appropriate. Much of...

By Rad Yager Whether you’re a cotton breeder, researcher or grower, it’s time to consider using soil moisture sensors if you irrigate. Basically, they will help you understand what’s going on deep below the soil surface. Here are some tips...

By Carroll Smith Editor If standing the test of time is an acceptable measure of success, then AgriEdge Excelsior, which has been in place for 15 years, satisfies this requirement. What started off as a cotton program from Syngenta has evolved...

Southern States Cooperative, a Richmond, Va.-based farm supply and service cooperative, recently launched a new precision ag program for its farmers across the Southeast. The three-tier program features packages – Discover, Evaluation and Analysis – designed to provide farmers with beginner, intermediate and advanced-level precision ag opportunities. “Communication among the farmer, salesperson and precision ag personnel ensures that everyone is on the same page as to program expectations and timing of any particular service,” says Dave Swain, Southern States’ manager of precision ag. “If the farmer has a crop consultant who performs functions such as scouting, Southern States can provide the farmer with data or information, such as imagery, that the farmer can then provide to his consultant. The farmers own the data, and Southern States will not share their data with any entity without their written permission.” Three Programs Available The entry-level option features precision ag basics and allows growers to “dip a toe” into the waters of farm technology. It’s a season-long program designed for those who want to learn how agronomy technology helps provide information to make better crop management decisions.

Seven-plus bales was the high. Cotton yield and quality records are made to be broken, and that’s just what FiberMax cotton growers did in 2015 to qualify for the elite FiberMax One Ton Club. During a celebration in Lubbock, Texas, Bayer recently honored 127 members who qualified for the One Ton Club during the 2015 crop year. The 2015 qualifiers included 40 new members and 87 returning qualifiers, making the total number of FiberMax One Ton Club members 848. The highest yield for those who qualified for the FiberMax One Ton Club in 2015 – 3,717 pounds, or 7.7 bales, per acre – was recorded on 32 acres by Vance and Mandie Smith, of Big Spring, Texas. The seven-year members of the One Ton Club topped their previous record by 400 pounds per acre. For the Smiths, that’s more than six times the Texas average in 2015, which was 614 pounds per acre. The highest acreage winners, Eric and Christy Seidenberger, of Garden City, Texas, averaged 2,054 pounds per acre on 564 acres. What makes the numbers posted by the 127 FiberMax One Ton Club members more remarkable is that 2015 was marked by rains that delayed or prevented cotton planting in some areas, notes Jeff Brehmer, U.S. product manager for FiberMax cotton.

After a prolonged drought, rain finally fell in Texas. The much-needed water boosted the spirits of farmers and ginners, which was evident at the 109th Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association Annual Meeting and Trade Show. Attendees were upbeat and ready to learn more about the products and services being offered by numerous companies gathered at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. Tony Williams, TCGA executive vice president, says he received positive feedback during the show regarding the upcoming season. “Promising soil moisture appears to have generated a good attitude among the attendees who see enormous potential for the 2016 crop,” he says. “After going through a tough drought that began in 2011, conditions in 2016 are much improved. The South Texas crop is planted, and West Texas received timely rains to start the season. We have heard predictions that 5.5 million acres of cotton will be planted in the state this year. The general consensus is, ‘If we can’t get price, we can get yields.’” From the ginners’ perspective, Williams says farmers need to “bring bales to the gin.” Although the economic environment is tough, there is hope and good potential for that to happen in 2016.

Six years after production was discontinued in the United States, aldicarb is making a comeback. Production of the farm chemical aldicarb, formerly sold under the trade name Temik, was discontinued in 2010 and has gradually disappeared from the market. A new product, AgLogic 15G Aldicarb Pesticide, is making an initial run in Georgia this season. It is expected to be released in other cotton-producing states in 2017 and 2018. Jeremy Greene, entomologist at the Clemson Edisto Research and Educational Center, says the U.S. cotton crop has suffered with declining availability of aldicarb. Temik was a valued part of many growers’ integrated pest management programs for control of early season insect pests and nematodes. There is little to no Temik 15G available for purchase today. “Control of thrips and nematodes has been challenging since the availability of aldicarb, or Temik 15G, has diminished,” Greene says. “Temik 15G was on the market for about 40 years and was used on a significant number of cotton acres for control of thrips and nematodes. Aldicarb was very effective.” Since Temik essentially was taken off the market when the registrant stopped production, cotton growers have been using neonicotinoid seed treatments.

The Southern Cotton Ginners Association’s Awards Banquet held during the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show is all about honoring the cotton industry. Three awards presented this year include the Cotton Ginner of the Year, the A.L. Vandergriff Pioneer Award and the SCGA Memorial Scholarship. The Cotton Ginner of the Year award, which began is 1990, is based on three criteria. First is service to his or her customers, including quality of ginning, ethical business standards and other constructive activity. Next is service to all branches of the cotton industry through support and leadership of activities and programs. The third consideration weighs community outreach, as well as civic and philanthropic factors. “George LaCour, Tri-Parish Gin, Lettsworth, La., represents of all of these criteria,” says SCGA Executive Vice President Tim Price. “He is committed to cotton, has an excellent relationship with his customers and knows the value of having a local gin.” The A.L. Vandergriff Pioneer Award is given to a person who has developed an idea, an invention, a technique or a program that pioneering in nature. Woods E. Eastland, Staplcotn, Greenwood, Miss., who was instrumental in developing the seasonal pool and pool call marketing concept, is the recipient of this year’s award.