Tidewater Research Station To Host Cotton Field Day
The Tidewater Agricultural Research & Extension Center in Suffolk, Va., will host its 2015 Cotton Field Day on Aug. 11, beginning at 8 a.m. A broad range of cotton discipline research findings will be presented at nine different tour stops by some of the leading researchers in Virginia and North Carolina. “The tours will include information about weed and disease management, variety selection and plant growth regulator management, as well as nitrogen timing and sulfur management,” says Guy Collins, North Carolina State University Extension Cotton Associate Professor, Crop Science. Todd Spivey, a Ph.D. student in Dr. Keith Edmisten’s program at NCSU, will highlight ongoing research in the university’s Cotton Agronomics Research and Extension program. Other tour stops will cover topics from High Input Cotton Management Systems and Optimal Nitrogen Rates to In-Furrow Fertilizers and In-Season Insect Management. For more information, contact Gail White at (757) 657-6450, extension 430 or via e-mail at guwhite@vt.edu. Private pesticide re-certification credits will also be available. The Tidewater Agricultural and Research Extension Center is located at 63321 Holland Road, Suffolk, Va. On-site registration will begin at 7:30a.m.
Georgia Producers Urged To Enroll In CTAP By Sept. 30
Eligible Georgia cotton producers are reminded that the enrollment period for the Cotton Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) is currently underway until Sept. 30. CTAP was created in the 2014 Farm Bill as a means of transitioning producers into the new Stacked Income Protection Program (STAX). For 2015, CTAP is only available to cotton producers in counties where STAX is currently not available. For Georgia, those counties include Baldwin, Barrow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Jackson, Jasper, Madison, Newton, Talbot, Walker and Wilkes. The 2015 CTAP payment is calculated as 36.5 percent of a farm’s upland cotton base (now generic base) times a farm’s direct payment yield times $0.09. Payments are capped at $40,000 per individual or entity and are subject to congressionally mandated reductions of 7.3 percent. For additional information, interested persons can contact their local USDAFSA office or the Georgia Cotton Commission at (478) 988-4235 or www.georgiacottoncommission.org.
Jesse Curlee To Retire From Supima Association
Following an illustrious career that has spanned more than three and a half decades at Supima, Jesse W. Curlee, president/CEO, has announced to the Supima Board of Directors that he will retire effective Dec. 31. Curlee’s stewardship of the organization during his tenure has covered a remarkable career of more than 36 years of service to Supima, its producer-members and the American Pima cotton industry. Curlee began his career with Phoenix-based Supima in October of 1979 as general manager, and in 1981 he was named president/CEO. American Pima cotton production averaged approximately 75,000 bales annually when he joined Supima and steadily increased to more than 850,000 bales in recent years – a 1,000 percent increase. The Supima Board of Directors has selected Supima’s current executive vice president, Marc A. Lewkowitz to assume the duties of president/CEO effective Jan. 1, 2016. For additional information, go to www.supima.com.
Texan Industry Leader Dan Krieg Passes Away
Dan Krieg, long-time cotton producer, industry leader and professor at Texas Tech University, passed away earlier this summer at age 72. Born in Thrall, Texas, in 1943, he grew up on a family farm and graduated from Thrall High School in 1961. He earned a B.S. degree in agronomy and later a Ph.D. in plant physiology from Texas A&M University. He moved to Lubbock and pursued a career in teaching at Texas Tech University where he spent 35 years on the faculty. His devotion to improving cotton production on the High Plains helped farmers improve their crop management. As a teacher, he brought a unique perspective to the classroom. Krieg served on the board of directors at Liberty Co-op Gin and as president of Lubbock County Farm Bureau. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Lee Ruth; daughters Andrea and Dana; and brother Will.