Specialists Speaking

Specialists Speaking Zachary Treadway / ARKANSAS As I write this, it’s Feb. 9, and there are still slight traces of snow out of my window in Northeast Arkansas. Although we have just thawed out, we will be looking at planting season before...

Specialists Speaking Hunter Frame / VIRGINIA Planning for the 2026 cotton production season has brought more anxiety than any other year since becoming Virginia’s cotton specialist in 2012. Cotton lint prices are essentially the same as they were in October 2014,...

Specialists Speaking Randy Norton / ARIZONA Cotton Planting Considerations for Today’s Conditions Recent warm weather across Arizona has led many to begin thinking about the planting season. While early-season warmth can create opportunities for timely planting, increased weather variability in recent years...

Specialists Speaking Keith Edmisten / NORTH CAROLINA North Carolina has two variety testing programs: the Official Variety Testing (OVT) program and the On-Farm Testing (OFT) program. Growers should consider the results from both programs, as each has advantages and disadvantages. The...

Specialists Speaking Josh Lee / ALABAMA  As we get ready to start the 2026 cotton growing season, one of the questions is always “What variety are you planting this year?” Cotton variety selection is one of the first management decisions a...

Specialists Speaking Brian Pieralisi / MISSISSIPPI Variety selection should be at the forefront of cotton farmers’ to-do lists. Like most years, there are several new varieties hitting the market with limited third-party performance data. In Mississippi State’s On-Farm cotton variety demonstration,...

Ben McKnight As the 2025 growing season draws to an end in the South, East, and Central regions of Texas, many producers across these areas are pleased with cotton yield and fiber quality. With the price of cotton where it’s...

Brian Pieralisi To say that 2025 has been a challenging year for cotton growers and the cotton industry would be grossly understating it. Going into this year, there were no surprises from high input costs and low market prices. However,...

Tyson Raper The 2025 season has been tough. Generally, Tennessee’s cotton acres were extremely wet through the end of June and extremely dry from July through early October. The weather pattern created a very shallow-rooted crop, which had very little ability...

Shelly Kerns We are nearing the very end of cotton harvest here in Louisiana, with the exception of a some later planted acres. So far, growers have reported picking around 1,200 lbs. to 1,600 lbs., with some reports nearing or...

Randy Norton The 2025 Arizona cotton season has been a year of contrasts marked by encouraging progress and a few lingering challenges. The crop got off to a strong start with solid germination and stand establishment across most regions. Coming off...

Guy Collins This year has certainly been unique and has brought its share of challenges as every year does. Planting season started out well. A noticeable number of acres were planted in mid- to late-April and early May as warm...

Ken Legé Soil moisture and rainfall are at the focus of everything for the cotton crop in the High Plains of West Texas, and 2025 was no different. A dry winter was followed by very timely planting rains that were...

Camp Hand It is amazing how much can change in a year. Looking back at what we wrote in May — which was the most recent Specialists Speaking — and comparing where we are now, it feels like 2025 was...

Jenny Dudak The 2025 cotton season started wet for most areas, leaving us with replanted or late-planted cotton across the state. Heat units were also something we were tracking closely all season as we were consistently, on average, 200 heat...