12 Cotton Industry Members Chosen For NCC’s Emerging Leaders Program
Twelve U.S. cotton industry members have been chosen to participate in the National Cotton Council’s (NCC) Emerging Leaders Program for 2015-16. Participants include:
Producers:
Rafe Banks, Clarkedale, Ark.
Brandon Brooks, Phoenix, Ariz.
Matt Coley, Vienna, Ga.
Paul Minzenmayer, Rowena, Texas.
Sutton Page, Avoca, Texas.
Brad Williams, Burlison, Tenn.
Ginners:
Phillip Kidd, Edmonson, Texas.
Todd Waters, Pantego, N.C.
Merchants:
Cory Barnes, Cordova, Tenn.
Ken Burton, Montgomery, Ala.
Warehouser
Joe Cain, Bakersfield, Calif.
Marketing Cooperative
Vicki Dorris, Lubbock, Texas.
Now in its third year, the program is supported by a grant to The Cotton Foundation from Monsanto. Overall, the Emerging Leaders Program provides participants a better understanding of how the NCC carries out its mission of ensuring the U.S. cotton industry’s seven segments can compete effectively and profitably in the raw cotton, oilseed and U.S.-manufactured product markets at home and abroad. Class members will participate in three sessions. The first session, set for the week of June 21 in Memphis and St. Louis, will provide an orientation to the NCC, professional development and communication skills training and an agribusiness briefing. Class members will see policy development at the NCC’s 2016 Annual Meeting in February during the second session, while the third session in Washington, D.C., will provide a focus on policy implementation and international market development. For more information, go to www.cotton.org.
Bayer, FiberMax Honor One Ton Club Members
Bayer CropScience and FiberMax cotton seed celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the FiberMax One Ton Club and honored 183 producers for producing one-ton yields in 2014 at the recent annual banquet in Lubbock. During its first decade, the FiberMax One Ton Club has recognized 806 cotton farmers who produced 2,000 pounds or more of lint cotton per acre on at least 20 acres using FiberMax cotton seed. In 2014, a producer from North Carolina became the first One Ton Club member from east of Texas. This year, FiberMax One Ton Club members from Texas, Arizona, California and Oklahoma qualified for a chance to win a Ford F-350 Super Duty King Ranch truck in the FiberMax One Ton Club Sweepstakes. Willem and Ruth Hartman, first-year One Ton Club members from Pampa, Texas, won the One Ton Club truck. The Hartmans averaged 2,321 pounds per acre on 54 acres, using FM 2011GT, with a USDA loan value of 57.23 cents. The 2014 season was the third year the Hartmans grew cotton, and it was the first year they planted cotton on an irrigated circle that didn’t share water with another crop. For a complete rundown on all the winners, go to https://www.bayercropscience.us/products/seeds/fiber max-cotton/one-ton-club-winners.
Monsanto Announces Insect Research Grants
Monsanto has announced that six recipients will be awarded research grants as part of the Insect Management Knowledge Program (IMKP). The program, which started in early 2013 as the Corn Rootworm Knowledge Program, provides merit-based awards of up to $250,000 per award per year for up to three years for outstanding research that will not only enhance the collective understanding of insect management but help address significant challenges and issues in agriculture. “The valuable research that is being generated through this program will provide industry and academia further opportunity to enhance our collective understanding of insect management, leading to even more effective solutions for farmers in the future,” says Dr. Sherri Brown, vice president of science strategy for Monsanto. The six awards granted focus on a number of items from addressing the management of insect threats such as whitefly, soybean aphid and corn earworm resistance to creating a new model for determining how key risk factors affect the development of insect resistance in transgenic Bt corn. The award recipients are: Peter Ellsworth, University of Arizona. Felicia Wu, Michigan State University. Jeff Gore, Mississippi State University. Matthew O’Neal, Iowa State University. Tom Coudron, USDA-ARS. Phillip Zamore, University of Massachusetts. For additional information about the program, interested parties should visit www.monsanto.com.