Industry News — July 2020

Field-To-Market’s Newest Technology Partner Named

The Seam has been approved as a qualified data management partner with Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture. This completes an integration of sustainability metrics powered by Field to Market’s Fieldprint Platform into The Seam’s latest technology suite, allowing farmers to assess the environmental performance of their management practices against regional, state and national benchmarks for key sustainability indicators.

The Seam’s first deployment of the technology is for the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, in collaboration with the National Cotton Council. The farmer-friendly platform allows U.S. cotton farmers to assess and verify production practices, their environmental footprint and progress measurement toward long-term sustainability goals.

The platform includes a mass-balance chain of custody model and a bale registration and verification process that digitally links cotton production to the sustainability profile of the producer. With this comprehensive integration, farmers can document and demonstrate their sustainability performance using the common measurement framework offered by the Fieldprint Platform.

California OKs New BASF Insecticide For Use On Cotton

sefina insecticideThe California Department of Pesticide Regulation recently registered Sefina Inscalis insecticide from BASF for use on cotton.

Containing the active ingredient Inscalis, the brand name for afidopyropen, the product is both an insecticide and ovicide.

It is labeled for whiteflies and aphids in cotton and carries a seven-day preharvest interval. Sefina is active against egg, early instar and adult whitefly life stages.

Maximum application rates are 26 ounces per acre for whiteflies and 3 ounces per acre for aphids. The label recommends applying it in 10 gallons of water per acre by ground or 2 gallons per acre by air.

No more than 28 fluid ounces of afidopyropen can be applied per acre per year, according to the label. The chemistry disrupts the sensory responses of target insects, quickly stopping feeding and slowing the spread of diseases, according to BASF. Sefina belongs to the Insecticide Resistance Action Committee Group 9D.

Dr. Bob Scott Tapped To Lead UArk Coperative Extension

bob scott
Dr. Bob Scott — photo courtesy University of Arkansas

Bob Scott has been named director of Arkansas’ Cooperative Extension Service, the organization that delivers the education outreach portion of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s land-grant mission.

Mark Cochran, vice president-agriculture for the University of Arkansas System, announced Scott’s appointment June 19. Scott started his new position July 1, succeeding Rick Cartwright, who retired June 30.

As director and a senior vice president within the University of Arkansas System, Scott faces significant issues. His statewide workforce will be in various stages of returning to the office while COVID-19’s progress takes unpredictable turns.

“I am coming into this position with the objective of seeing the Cooperative Extension Service grow and advance,” Scott says. “We need to keep pace with a rapidly changing society, advances in technology and lead by example in social issues, which also divide some parts of our society today. I look forward to these challenges and see only opportunities for us as we go forward.

“It will be a challenge to replace Dr. Rick Cartwright and I cannot begin to express how much I enjoyed working with him, having him as a boss and mentor for the past 18 years. I only promise to do my best, a promise I would also expect from every Extension worker going forward.”

Scott will be based in Little Rock.

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