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BY KATE CAMPBELL CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU The serious consequences to food production from the ongoing California drought rose to national prominence recently, as President Obama toured drought-stressed areas of the San Joaquin Valley, U.S. senators introduced a bill to address the...

The National Cotton Council has scheduled 45 informational meetings in 15 Cotton Belt states during March 17-25 to provide its members with a greater understanding of The Agricultural Act of 2014. NCC President/CEO Mark Lange said, “This new five-year...

Wallace L. Darneille, a Lubbock, Texas, cooperative marketer, was elected National Cotton Council chairman for 2014. Named during the NCC’s recent annual meeting in Washington, D.C., he succeeds Jimmy Dodson, a Robstown, Texas, cotton producer. Since 2004, Darneille has been...

I couldn’t help but notice some of the reports that were coming out of the recent American Farm Bureau meeting in San Antonio on how journalists cover agriculture in the United States. It was an interesting panel discussion consisting...

Another year has come and gone, and I’m having a hard time dealing with how quickly the calendar moves these days. The seasons seem to run together, and in a blink of an eye we’re looking at Christmas, New...

Cotton seed breeders continually work to bring new varieties to the field in an effort to offer producers more options from which to choose for the upcoming season. 2014 is no different. In addition to companies conducting field trials and...

By Brent Murphree Maricopa, Ariz. In the Western Cotton Belt, cotton acreage has been in decline since the late 1980s. Much of the decline has been due to rapid urbanization in river valleys that support productive land area in the arid...

By Tommy Horton Editor Never let it be said that Mississippi Delta cotton producer Mike Sturdivant Jr. lacks the ability to adapt to new technology or changing production environments on his farm. Complacency simply isn’t a part of his vocabulary. A willingness...

Sometimes we can observe random acts of kindness in the unlikeliest of ways. That’s what happened to me recently when I received a handwritten note from retired Texas ginner Myrl Mitchell. I have known Myrl for more than 20...

It seems like it was just a few months ago that we were finishing up the 2013 Beltwide Cotton Conferences in San Antonio, but it’s already time to make preparations for the 2014 conference scheduled for Jan. 6-8 in...

By Jeff Nunley Victoria, Texas You’re in the middle of a 20-year drought, deal with it! Those were the first words of the keynote speaker at our Victoria Farm & Ranch Show a few years ago. It was my good fortune to...

Mississippi State To Host Row Crop Short Course Mississippi State University’s Extension Service will host its annual Row Crop Short Course on Dec. 2-4 at the Bost Extension Center on the campus. Online registration is available at: //msucares.com/rowcrops/shortcourse/index.html. Pre-registration is free...

How does a seed company celebrate 90 years of service to the cotton industry? That’s easy. You turn the celebration into a year-long family reunion and let everyone continue to reminisce about an amazing journey that began when patriarch...

In case anyone missed the announcement, something very significant occurred in Lubbock, Texas, the other day, and it will have a serious impact on the promotion of agriculture for years to come. Bayer CropScience is now the primary sponsor...

It’s refreshing when you can find a farmer here in the Mid-South who remains loyal to cotton, despite the temptation to follow the market and chase those high grain prices. Such a farming operation exists in West Tennessee, and...