Another bearish cotton supply and demand report is released and ongoing issues continue with Turkey – our second largest market. Cheap oil means cheaper polyester. A generation of our greatest leadership is retiring in Phil Burnett, Mark Lange, Wally Darneille and John Maguire – not to mention others. Cotton has dipped below 60 cents per pound, and the Commerce Department ... Read More »
Crisis. It’s hard to even think about the future when things seem to be crumbling down around you. In the cotton business, it’s rare to find a sustained period of good crops, reasonable prices, a stable farm program, strong demand, affordable input costs…and the list goes on. At the moment, each of these issues is a challenge for us. Cotton ... Read More »
By Kelli Merritt merrittkelli@gmail.com Perhaps the most unwieldy element I encounter as a producer is the market. It might feel like it’s the lack of rain, or the heat or even the surprise hailstorms, but really the most dynamic and unpredictable part of growing cotton is the buying and trading, selling and hedging, marketing and promoting. Very few of these ... Read More »
By Wayne Ebelhar Stoneville Miss. webelhar@drec.msstate.edu George Washington once said, “I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture.” Having worked in agricultural research for 34 years in the Mississippi Delta and witnessing the migration from King Cotton to a landscape dotted with grain bins, I ... Read More »
Today's world poses many challenges, particularly to those of us in agriculture. One challenge farmers face is consumer awareness. For example, were you aware that, according to the website FarmersfeedUS.org, advances in production efficiency have resulted in U.S. farmers feeding 155 people worldwide Read More »
By Robert Royal Midnight, Miss. rroyal@wildblue.net As I pedaled my new bike down the dusty turnrow toward the barn, I noticed bolls opening in the cotton field along the way, and I smelled the acrid stench of defoliant in the air. Inside the barn, I found my father and his men huddled around the biggest machine on our farm. It ... Read More »
Agricenter International is a self-sustaining, not-for- profit organization that provides economic development and improved quality of life by facilitating agricultural research, educational programs, environmental conservation, natural area preservation and recreational opportunities. It is truly a unique place. Read More »
Cotton Farming One Grower Publications