Phosphorus Is About Availability, Not Quantity
Phosphorus is often fixed and not available to the plant. Avail T5 Phosphorus Fertilizer Enhancer from Verdesian Life Sciences helps unlock that P that is fixed in the soil, making it available for the plant.
Avail T5 slows fixation by temporarily binding the positively charged calcium, magnesium, aluminum, and iron. The result is more P in solution and the formation of more soluble forms of P minerals in soil.
Keeping P fertilizer more soluble allows phosphorus to spread into a larger volume of soil, increasing the opportunity for root interception. Improved P solubility and root interception results in greater P uptake by the crop.
Recent analyses indicate that two-thirds of the Avail T5 benefit is the increase in plant available P, and one-third is from the improved early start of the crop with better early root development that allows the plant to better tolerate stresses throughout the season.
To learn more about Avail T5, visit VLSCI.com, call 800-868-6446 or contact your Verdesian Life Sciences technical sales representative.
Mike Tate To Lead The National Cotton Council In 2019
Mike Tate, a cotton producer from Huntsville, Alabama, was elected National Cotton Council chairman for 2019.
Named during NCC’s recent 2019 annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, Tate moves up from NCC vice chairman to succeed Ron Craft, a cotton producer from Plains, Texas.
A graduate of the NCC’s Cotton Leadership Program, Tate previously was a NCC director and has served on numerous NCC committees. He performed duties as a director and board adviser of the NCC’s export promotions arm, Cotton Council International, and has held multiple leadership positions in the NCC’s American Cotton Producers including as its chairman in 2016-17.
A past president of Southern Cotton Growers Inc., Tate also has held leadership positions in Cotton Incorporated, the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and many state agricultural organizations. He currently serves as a Staplcotn director.
Tate is the owner/manager of Tate Farms, a family-owned partnership in Meridianville, Alabama, where cotton is the principal crop of the 6,000-acre Tennessee Valley operation. He also is president of Cotton Growers Cooperative Gin & Warehouse and has an interest in Tate Farms’ agri-tourism operation, “Cotton Picking Pumpkins.”
NCC Completes Slate Of Officers During 2019 Annual Meeting
During the NCC’s 2019 annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, Kent Fountain, a Surrency, Georgia, ginner, was named vice chairman.
Elected as NCC vice presidents are Kirk Gilkey, ginner, Corcoran, California, and Ron Harkey, warehouser, Lubbock, Texas. Re-elected as vice presidents are Robert Lacy, Jr, cottonseed processor, and Kevin Brinkley, marketing cooperative executive, both from Lubbock, Texas; Joe Nicosia, merchant, Cordova, Tennessee; and David Hastings, textile manufacturer, Mauldin, South Carolina.
Re-elected as secretary-treasurer is Barry Evans, a producer from Kress, Texas.
NCC staff officers include Dr. Gary Adams, NCC president and CEO; Reece Langley, vice president, Washington Operations; and Craig Brown, vice president, Producer Affairs; and Dr. Jody Campiche, vice president, Economics and Policy Analysis. Dr. Bill Norman is vice president, Technical Services; Harrison Ashley, vice president, Ginner Services; John Gibson, vice president, Member Services; and Marjory Walker, vice president, Council Operations.
Louisiana Agriculture Hall Of Distinction Names 2019 Inductees
The sixth annual Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction honors this year’s inductees on Thursday, March 7. Ceremonies begin at 7 p.m. at L’Auberge Casino Hotel in Baton Rouge.
The Hall of Distinction recognizes those who have significantly contributed to the state’s agriculture community in farming, ranching, forestry, aquaculture, education and agribusiness. This year’s four inductees all made crucial contributions to Louisiana’s agriculture community: Grady Coburn, Jack Hamilton, George LaCour and Linda Zaunbrecher.
A native of Gueydan, Zaunbrecher is only the second woman to enter the Hall of Distinction. Her career is distinguished by her pioneering work in increasing leadership opportunities for women in agriculture.
In 1984, she was the first woman elected to the Louisiana Farm Bureau State Board of Directors’ executive committee. She also helped create the Louisiana Farm Bureau Foundation, a scholarship program named in her honor.
A long-time farmer in Lake Providence, Hamilton is a Korean War veteran who passed away in 2001. He’s being honored posthumously for crucial innovations in cotton production and ginning. He was a driving force in the formation of the Louisiana Agricultural Corporation Self-Insurance Fund, which offers workers’ compensation coverage to employers across the state.
Coburn, of Cheneyville, is a long-time crop consultant and contract researcher. Over the past 40 years, he’s had an integral role in increasing producer profitability.
Coburn is a founding member of the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants and the Louisiana Agricultural Consultants Association, where he also served as president. He has developed a national reputation, and his advice is sought frequently when agriculture-related issues arise in Washington, D.C.
A native of Morganza, George LaCour is respected worldwide for his expertise with sustainability and conservation in the cotton industry. In his work for the Cotton Research and Promotion Program, LaCour has traveled as far as China and Vietnam to share his knowledge with cotton production and has been a presenter multiple times for international meetings in Brazil.
He is a former president of the Southern Cotton Ginners and Louisiana Cotton Producers Association, as well as immediate past chairman of The Cotton Board.
The annual Hall of Distinction induction ceremony is presented by Louisiana Radio Network in cooperation with the LSU AgCenter, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.
Monsanto serves as title sponsor and First South Farm Credit is the presenting sponsor.
Stanley Creelman Wraps Up Year As NCGA President
At the National Cotton Council’s recent annual meeting, Stan Creelman, manager of the Tulare, California-based, Mid Valley Cotton Growers gins, wrapped up his tenure as president of the National Cotton Ginners Association.
Creelman, board member and past chairman (2001-2002), of the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association, continued a long tradition of leaders from the California cotton industry.
Past California NCGA presidents include Kirk Gilkey, Cross Creek II Gin; Michael Hooper, Farmers Cooperative Gin; Bob Cozzi, Anderson Clayton Corp.; Ken Rowan, Broadview Co-op Gin; Macon Steele, Producers Cotton Oil; and Harry Thompson.
The California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association recognized and thanked Stan Creelman for his industry service and his willingness to go above and beyond to serve the cotton industry.
California Farm Bureau Appoints Jim Houston As Administrator
An experienced agricultural advocate and executive, Jim Houston has been appointed administrator of the California Farm Bureau Federation. He will succeed Rich Matteis, who will retire at the end of March after serving as CFBF administrator since 2007.
Houston joined CFBF in October 2017 as manager of its Governmental Affairs Division. In January 2018, he assumed additional duties managing the CFBF Legal Services Division and serving as the organization’s administrative counsel.
Prior to joining CFBF, Houston worked for six years at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, first as deputy secretary for legislation and public engagement, then as department undersecretary.
“Jim brings a combination of advocacy and governmental experience that makes him uniquely qualified to lead our Farm Bureau staff,” says CFBF President Jamie Johansson. “As our organization celebrates its centennial, Jim is the best person to help guide Farm Bureau into a successful second century of service to California farmers and ranchers.”