NORTH CAROLINA | Guy Collins
As I write this in late March, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture is in full swing with the cotton seed quality testing program as seed is moving into North Carolina more and more rapidly. By...
VIRGINIA | Hunter Frame
April is burndown month for cotton here in Virginia and sprayers are covering as many acres as possible. As I write this in March, it looks like cotton acres will be up in Virginia as corn and...
NORTH CAROLINA | Guy Collins
As I write this on Jan. 29, we are preparing for our winter cotton meeting season during the month of February. When looking at the article I wrote exactly a year ago, I mentioned we made...
NORTH CAROLINA | Keith Edmisten
I am sure it is hard for growers to get too excited about planning for the 2025 season with the prices we are seeing now. It looks like a year to pay close attention to inputs and focus...
MISSISSIPPI | Brian Pieralisi
2024 cotton harvest was a LONG one in Mississippi. At least it was for me with on-farm demonstrations from September to December. As we steam roll into 2025, it appears to be a challenging year for row-crop...
TEXAS | Ben McKnight
As the 2024 growing season winds down and we begin to shift towards making plans for the 2025 cotton crop, there are some decisions made now that can help get next year’s cotton crop off to a...
ALABAMA | Scott H. Graham
In the August edition of Specialists Speaking, I mentioned that July was good to the crop. Unfortunately, that trend did not continue. August was not kind. Scattered rains seemed to hit towns and cities and missed...
ALABAMA | Scott H. Graham
Overall, July was good to our crop. Many fields received abundant rainfall during the month. In fact, one grower (and close friend) in east Alabama changed his prayer requests from “just pray for rain, whatever amount”...
ALABAMA | Scott H. Graham
I would like to start by congratulating Dr. Steve Brown on his retirement on June 28, 2024. Steve has been a wonderful mentor and friend to me since I started as Extension cotton entomologist at Auburn...
ALABAMA | Steve M. Brown
Perched in my office in the hanging fluorescent light fixture typical of old buildings is a crow. Yes, a crow. Actually, it is a life-size crow decoy that looks every bit the part. It has connections...
ALABAMA | Steve M. Brown
Dry weather — prolonged dry weather — scares me. I recall a summer that the “spigot” shut off, and I thought it would never rain again. It finally did so… when I was at a Friday...
VIRGINIA | Hunter Frame
In Virginia’s climate, early season growing conditions can be highly variable during the month of May. Thrips are the No. 1 pest in Virginia, and there seems to be concerns of insecticide resistance to commonly used chemical...
MISSISSIPPI | Brian Pieralisi
Establishing a cotton stand can be tricky. Given the current time of year, I will give an analogy that compares college baseball to healthy cotton stand establishment. Here it goes: in baseball, it all begins with planning...
ALABAMA | Steve M. Brown
Our suggested topic for March is “Preparing for Potential Challenges.” Without question, in every production year, “CHALLENGES” arise. Obvious sources include weather, pests, labor, equipment, finances, personal matters, etc. Two words come to mind relative to...
MISSOURI | Bradley Wilson
It is time to turn our attention to the 2024 season that will quickly be upon us. The annual cotton Extension production meeting will be held at the Fisher Delta Research and Extension Center Feb. 6, from...
