Texan To Lead The National Cotton Council In 2018
Ron Craft, a cotton producer and fifth-generation ginner from Plains, Texas, was elected National Cotton Council chairman for 2018.
Named during the NCC’s 2018 annual meeting, Craft moves up from NCC vice chairman to succeed Ronnie Lee, a cotton producer from Bronwood, Georgia.
Active in state and national farm and gin organizations, Craft has held numerous NCC leadership positions. Among those are director, chairman of the Packaging and Distribution Committee, and member of the Executive Committee, Cotton Flow Committee and Quality Task Force.
Craft also was chairman of the National Cotton Ginners’ Association in 2017, after serving as its president in 2016. He is a member and past president of the Plains Ginners, Texas Independent Ginners and Texas Cotton Ginners associations. He also is the secretary and treasurer of the Yoakum County Farm Bureau.
Craft, the owner of New-Tex Gin Company in Plains, also is a co-owner of Lov-Cot Warehouse in Lubbock.
Syngenta Herbicides Cleared For Tankmixes This Season
The Environmental Protection Agency says several Syngenta herbicide tankmix options have been cleared for inclusion with XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology and Engenia herbicides. These herbicides will be available for use on Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans and Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton traits.
Syngenta herbicide tankmix options* now include the following products: Boundary, BroadAxe XC, Caparol, Dual Magnum, Flexstar (currently for XtendiMax only), Prefix, Reflex and Sequence.
“The Syngenta soybean and cotton portfolios provide the most effective dicamba spray programs through overlapping residual applications and multiple effective modes of action,” says John Appel, herbicide product lead, Syngenta.
Syngenta herbicides cleared for tankmixing with XtendiMax and Engenia may be used only when listed on the following websites, which will happen within 90 days of EPA clearance: www.XtendiMaxApplicationRequirements.com and www.EngeniaTankMix.com. Syngenta does not recommend using dicamba herbicide tankmixes until they are posted on these websites.
Syngenta is also currently pursuing dicamba tankmix clearance for Envoke, Flexstar (with Engenia), Fusilade DX and Gramoxone SL 2.0 herbicides.
*Check www.XtendiMaxApplicationRequirements.com and www.EngeniaTankMix.com for approved drift-reduction agents.
CFBF Seeks Alternative Immigration Solution
As the U.S. House of Representatives continues discussion on proposed immigration legislation, the California Farm Bureau Federation says it cannot support a part of the bill that addresses agricultural employees.
Now before Congress, H.R. 4760, the Securing America’s Future Act, would fund a border wall and address internal immigration enforcement and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It also includes an Agricultural Guestworker Act, or AG Act, which would create a new agricultural visa program.
CFBF President Jamie Johansson says the AG Act, in its current form, contains a number of features that would harm the current immigrant employees on whom California farms and ranches depend.
It also would mandate use of the E-Verify electronic workplace-eligibility system, which could affect a large proportion of current agricultural employees.
“As now written, the AG Act just wouldn’t work for California farms and ranches,” Johansson says. Johansson says CFBF and other organizations have offered a number of recommendations for creating a more practical and flexible program to allow people from other countries to enter the U.S. to work on farms and ranches.
“As the largest agricultural organization in the largest agricultural state, we must advocate for a solution that works for our members and their employees,” Johansson says. “For California farmers and ranchers, the combination of the AG Act and E-Verify would worsen chronic agricultural employee shortages. We will press for a better solution.”
American Cotton Producers Chairman Elected
Shawn Holladay of Lubbock, Texas, was elected chairman of the American Cotton Producers of the National Cotton Council for 2018, during the NCC’s annual meeting in Fort Worth, Texas. Currently an NCC director, he has chaired the ACP’s Farm Policy Task Force and served on various ACP and NCC committees and task forces.
Elected as ACP vice chairmen were Jason Condrey of Lake Providence, Louisiana, Dan Thelander of Maricopa, Arizona; and Neal Isbell of Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Elected as ACP producer directors were James Jones of Windsor, Virginia, representing the Southeast region; Patrick Johnson of Tunica, Mississippi, representing the Mid-South; Doyle Schniers of San Angelo, Texas, representing the Southwest; and Mark McKean, Riverdale, California; representing Far West.
Shawn Holladay, Lubbock, Texas, was re-elected to serve as the ACP’s at-large director.
Serving as ACP state producer chairmen in 2018 will be: Alabama – Nick McMichen, Centre, and Ricky Wiggins, Andalusia; Arizona – Gregory Wuertz, Casa Grande, and K.C. Gingg, Buckeye; Arkansas – Nathan Reed, Marianna; California – Gary Martin, Firebaugh.
Florida – Nick Marshall, Baker; Georgia – Matt Coley, Vienna, and Chad Mathis, Jr., Arlington; Kansas – Kent Goyen, Pratt; Louisiana – Ben Guthrie, Newellton; Mississippi – Ted Kendall, IV, Bolton; Missouri/Illinois – Chris Porter, Essex, Missouri; New Mexico – Dean Calvani, Carlsbad; North Carolina – Andrew Burleson, New London; and Rob Fleming, Jr., Zebulon.
Oklahoma – Mark Nichols, Altus; South Carolina – William Bull, Cameron; and Daniel Baxley, Dillon; Tennessee/Kentucky – John Lindamood, Tiptonville, Tennessee; Texas – Richard Gaona, Roby; Craig Heinrich, Lubbock; and Toby Robertson, Corpus Christi; and Virginia – James Ferguson, Emporia.