Cotton Ginning Cost-Share Signup Deadline Ends Aug. 5
The National Cotton Council reminds producers eligible for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Cotton Ginning Cost-Share program they have until Aug. 5 to sign up. There will be no deadline extension. USDA has begun distributing program payments, which are issued soon after an individual signs up.
A CGCS fact sheet, including eligibility and payment calculation information, is on the NCC’s website at www.cotton.org/issues/2016/upload/16cgcsfact.pdf. More information also is at www.fsa.usda.gov/cgcs. It also is in the Farm Service Agency’s recently issued Notice CN-1057 – “Cotton Ginning Cost-Share (CGCS) Program for 2015 Cotton Crop” at www.cotton.org/issues/2016/upload/ginnote.pdf. In addition, producers may contact their local FSA offices. To find your local FSA office, go to http://offices.usda.gov.
Field Day Features Deltapine Cotton Varieties, Technologies
More than 100 farmers attending the recent fourth annual Paul Freund Farms Field Day in Needville, Texas, had a chance to see and hear about top-performing Deltapine cotton varieties for the Texas Upper Gulf Coast region, as well as cotton technologies, such as Bollgard II XtendFlex, and developing cotton technologies, such as Bollgard 3.
One new Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton variety garnering a lot of attention was DP 1646 B2XF, a full-season product that has shown outstanding yield and quality potential in many areas of the Cotton Belt, including the Texas Gulf Coast. “There’s a lot of excitement around DP 1646 B2XF, and we’ve got a good bit of this variety out this year,” says Tom Owen, an area business manager with Monsanto. “We think it’s going to be a good fit in a lot of areas, including this region. It really travels well.”
Jim Bosch, East Texas technical agronomist for Monsanto, told growers that DP 1646 B2XF has performed well in tests so far this season, showing strong emergence and good vigor characteristics. Compared to other full-season, high-yield potential varieties, “You’re going to get a much longer staple length out of DP 1646 B2XF,” Bosch says. “It’s been running from a 37 to a 40 staple length, so it’s got a premium length that will add a few pennies to your loan price. That’s a differential that is pretty important to farmers.” Other cotton varieties Bosch des-cribes as being well-suited to the Upper Gulf Coast region include DP 1518 B2XF, DP 1522 B2XF and DP 1553 B2XF.
In 2016, growers can use Roundup brand glyphosate-only agricultural herbicides and Liberty herbicide (glufosinate), while over-the-top use of dicamba is still pending approval from the Environmental Protection Agency. Beginning in 2018, pending approvals, farmers will have access to varieties with Bollgard 3, which will enhance the insect protection in earlier Bollgard products. This next-generation technology will provide season-long protection with multiple modes of action against key lepidopteran pests in cotton fields.
PEP Members Complete Training
This year’s Policy Education Program (PEP) participants completed their training during sessions in Greensboro, N.C., and Washington, D.C. The group included: Chris Crivelli, Dos Palos, Calif; Marsh Matthew, Cammack Village, Ark.; Matt Mobley, Moultrie, Ga.; Garron Morgan, Jr., Lamesa, Texas; Tyler Oxford, Frederick, Okla.; Wade Vaughn, Lubbock, Texas; James Wray, Jonesboro, Ark.; and Andy Zarecor, Newbern, Tenn.
The PEP is now in its 18th year of providing U.S. cotton producers an opportunity to learn more about the NCC’s policy development and implementation process as well as the issues affecting the industry. More than 200 NCC producer members have participated in the PEP, which is supported by Syngenta Crop Protection through a grant to The Cotton Foundation.
While in Greensboro, the group received communications training, met with Syngenta’s management team and toured the company’s research facilities. In Washington, D.C., the group visited with various Congressional staffers and the House and Senate agriculture committees, met with key USDA officials and received a briefing from Syngenta. The group also was updated on key industry issues and given a legislative process overview by NCC Washington operations staff.
Final 2015 Cotton STAX County Yields, Revenue Announced
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced the approved final STAX county yields and county revenues for the 2015 crop year. The announcement at www.rma.usda.gov/bulletins/pm/2016/16-039.pdf contains links to detailed county data for yields and revenues. A summary spreadsheet, also available on the RMA website and that gives general guidance on counties eligible for indemnities, is at www.cotton.org/econ/govprograms/crop-insurance.cfm. Based on an initial review, STAX indemnities will be paid in selected counties in 14 of the 17 cotton-producing states for the 2015 crop year. States expected to receive significant indemnities include South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana and Missouri.
In South Carolina, actual yields will result in many counties receiving the maximum STAX indemnity. For a non-irrigated South Carolina producer who purchased a 90-70 STAX policy with a 1.2 protection factor, STAX indemnities (in counties triggering an indemnity) range between $107 and $145 per acre. Individual indemnities will vary depending on coverage levels. Farmers should check with their insurance agent for exact indemnities. A number of North Carolina counties also are expected to trigger indemnities, with actual indemnities varying based on final yields.
North Carolina Cotton Farmer Wins Grand-Prize Package
When cotton producer William Dunlow makes yearly plans for his farming operation, he steps back to consider the big picture and get a bird’s-eye view. That’s going to be a little easier now that Dunlow won an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as the grand-prize winner in the 2016 PhytoGen Best Yielder Club sweepstakes.
In addition to the UAV, the grand prize includes UAV operation training and a professional photo shoot at Dunlow’s farm in Gaston, N.C. The photos will be used to create a one-of-a-kind personal coffee table book featuring his operation. Dunlow says he is surprised to win the Best Yielder Club sweepstakes and excited about the prizes.
“I was at a meeting where they were talking about the PhytoGen Best Yielder Club so I pulled out my phone and signed up,” Dunlow says. “I can’t believe I actually won. I am really excited to use the UAV on the farm. I think it could be a good tool to get an overview of a field and check things you can’t see from the end row.”
Dunlow, who farms with his father, David, said they’ve planted PhytoGen cottonseed for the past eight years with great success. Dunlow says PhytoGen brand varieties were his top yielders in 2015, when he planted PHY 499 WRF and PHY 333 WRF. In 2016, he added two more PhytoGen brand varieties to the mix: PHY 444 WRF and PHY 490 W3FE.
“PhytoGen cottonseed was the highest yielder on the farm last year. It’s always at the top, if not the best, on the farm,” Dunlow says. “I love the vigor of PhytoGen cottonseed coming out of the ground. It handles environmental stress well, and it is very uniform across the different soil types on our farm. We plant it because it is consistent cotton, year after year.”
Dunlow also plants PhytoGen cottonseed because of the potential for excellent fiber quality and high grades. That’s one of the reasons he was interested in PHY 444 WRF for 2016.
“Fiber quality is a big topic of conversation in our area,” Dunlow says. “These yields are high, and now the conversation is turning to grades because of the benefits. In this part of the world, we are used to a little premium in our lint grades, and we want to stretch for even higher quality. That’s what sets U.S. cotton apart from the rest of the world.”
The Best Yielder Club sweepstakes also awarded UAVs and operation training to three regional winners in the Southwest, Mid-South and Southeast. The regional winners were: Brady Weishuhn, Vancourt, Texas; Nathan Lee, Tallulah, La.; and James Johnson, Mayesville, S.C. To read about growers’ experiences with PhytoGen cottonseed or to learn more about the Best Yielder Club, visit BestYielderClub.com.