We hear about “big data” all the time. All kinds of claims about data are made by all kinds of people. “Data makes our lives better and cheaper.” Or “data is the end of the world,” some say. “Data...
Cotton Ginning Cost-Share Signup Deadline Ends Aug. 5
The National Cotton Council reminds producers eligible for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Cotton Ginning Cost-Share program they have until Aug. 5 to sign up. There will be no deadline extension. USDA...
A.J. Hood knows firsthand the personal gratification derived from taking the time to compose a heartfelt essay about how his community could be transformed. Hood, a grower and farm manager for Tillar & Co., an 18,000-acre tract of land in southeast Arkansas, was motivated to enter the contest in 2015 for very personal reasons. His brother had lived for more than 40 years with several disabilities before losing his courageous battle this past spring.
Transform My Community, sponsored by Dow AgroSciences and Cotton Farming, is a way for cotton growers and crop consultants to parlay suggestions on how local communities could be “transformed” with the positive experiences they’ve had using Transform® WG insecticide. The 2016 Transform My Community contest kicks off Aug. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, 2016. Due to Section 18 label use restrictions, only cotton growers and consultants in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee are eligible to submit essays.
The Cotton Research and Promotion Program continues to support Western cotton growers with research programs specifically tailored to the region through Cotton Incorporated’s State Support Program. This program allows regional cotton organizations to have direct input into the funding...
By Carroll Smith
Editor
Matt and Sherrie Miles come from multi-generational Arkansas cotton families. Although cotton is in their blood, they farmed only 180 acres last year. In 2016, they embraced the crop once again by planting 3,300 acres. “Cotton...
Although export of raw cotton has become essential to U.S. cotton producers’ economic well-being, the National Cotton Council continues its longstanding work for our domestic textile industry.
How about assistance in the legislative arena?
n A major effort is the NCC’s work to maintain the highly successful “Economic Assistance to Users of Upland Cotton” program first introduced in 2008 farm law and reauthorized in the 2014 bill. This program makes a payment of 3 cents per pound to U.S. textile manufacturers for all upland cotton consumed. Payments must be used for specific purposes such as acquisition, construction, installation, modernization, development, conversion, or expansion of land, plant buildings, equipment, facilities or machinery.
More recently, the NCC has been working with the Washington D.C.-based National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and key lawmakers to make sure the Berry Amendment is not weakened in the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act. That Amendment requires the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to purchase textiles and apparel made with 100 percent U.S. fiber and labor. Likewise, the NCC, NCTO and others have conveyed to lawmakers the critical need for Export-Import Bank Reauthorization. The Ex-Im Bank provides important financing for the U.S. textile industry and its ability to export products.
Cotton has always been a part of my life. I got “lost” in a cotton field as a toddler in south-central Louisiana while my parents were visiting friends. My mom rescued me although I wasn’t frightened. I was just...
When I was invited to write this column, I was asked “to tell some stories of things, people and events you may have encountered through your career.” Quite frankly, some of those stories are best told and not written.
I...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DJ6TsaSNxg
Do you think Bollgard II® XtendFlex® cotton technology will shape the future of cotton?
Deltapine NPE grower Kevin Gardner, of Mocksville, SC, explains why he thinks new Deltapine cotton varieties and technologies will ease resistant weed pressures and improve growers’...
Cotton Incorporated is dedicated to providing valuable tools and resources to cotton farmers as part of an overall commitment to improving the profitability of growing cotton. To help achieve the goal, Cotton Incorporated has partnered with the Plant Management...
There were images evoked of the cotton ball diet, and baking with candle wax and a dirty crop and Indian farmer suicides. There was a boldface statement that screamed, “Cotton is not food,” followed by an ominous whisper, “It’s...
The National Cotton Council (NCC) is urging U.S. cotton producers to participate in USDA’s Cotton Ginning Cost-Share program (CGCS), a one-time initiative with a June 20-Aug. 5 sign-up window.
What is the CGCS program’s purpose?
Using administrative authority it has under the...
ARKANSAS
Even with the difficult start we have experienced with this crop, we should be on track to find flowers by July 4. The status of our cotton plants at first flower reveals much about the past and gives us...
By Guy Collins And Keith Edmisten
North Carolina State University
Authors’ note: These general irrigation guidelines were developed several years ago by other faculty at the University of Georgia. In some cases, deviating from this model may be appropriate. Much of...
On May 12, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration published the final regulations for the Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. The first two parts of this rule become effective on Aug. 10.
Part one requires employers to inform their...
