ARIZONA Planting time is upon us and, as of this writing, spring is shaping up to be a very good planting season. With warm temperatures and dry conditions, emergence and stand establishment should be uniform and swift. However, as you...

The Southern Cotton Ginners Association’s Awards Banquet held during the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show is all about honoring the cotton industry. Three awards presented this year include the Cotton Ginner of the Year, the A.L. Vandergriff Pioneer Award and the SCGA Memorial Scholarship. The Cotton Ginner of the Year award, which began is 1990, is based on three criteria. First is service to his or her customers, including quality of ginning, ethical business standards and other constructive activity. Next is service to all branches of the cotton industry through support and leadership of activities and programs. The third consideration weighs community outreach, as well as civic and philanthropic factors. “George LaCour, Tri-Parish Gin, Lettsworth, La., represents of all of these criteria,” says SCGA Executive Vice President Tim Price. “He is committed to cotton, has an excellent relationship with his customers and knows the value of having a local gin.” The A.L. Vandergriff Pioneer Award is given to a person who has developed an idea, an invention, a technique or a program that pioneering in nature. Woods E. Eastland, Staplcotn, Greenwood, Miss., who was instrumental in developing the seasonal pool and pool call marketing concept, is the recipient of this year’s award.

When I look back on my childhood, it always seems that cotton was king of my memories. My family grew wheat, grain and cotton, but, for some reason, cotton holds the most memories for me. Grain harvest was always...

In sports, it is inevitable that a player (or a team) will go into a slump. In every case, the recipe for getting out of that slump and back into high performance is to break down the training routine...

The National Cotton Council works to ensure cotton producers can operate in a regulatory environment based on sound science and common sense — and one that includes the availability of safe and effective crop protection products. Are there chemicals facing scrutiny? The NCC recently submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s registration review of specific sulfonylurea chemicals in herbicides important to cotton production. Thifensulfuron-methyl, tribenuron-methyl and rimsulfuron are used in pre-plant burndown herbicides, and trifloxysulfuron-sodium is a post-emergent. The NCC urged EPA to consider in its review these chemicals’ weed resistance management benefits. We emphasized producers’ need for multiple herbicides with different modes of action so they can continue rotating or combining MOAs. Late last year, the NCC and producer interest organizations also provided comments to USDA in support of a deregulation decision regarding Dow AgroSciences’ genetically engineered cotton that is resistant to 2,4-D and glufosinate. There are several organophosphate pesticides under EPA review. NCC-submitted comments urged the agency to recognize the benefits of the insecticides dicrotophos (Bidrin) and dimethoate. These provide producers

By Clint Thompson To combat the threat of thrips infestations in cotton, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension cotton entomologist Phillip Roberts encourages Georgia farmers to be proactive with at-plant insecticide applications. Doing so will provide vital protection to cotton plants during...

By Carroll Smith Editor In 1949, U.S. President Harry S. Truman was inaugurated for his second term, world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis retired, and Doc Kirby, B.H. Bass Jr. and Duff Holcomb – three men from the Mississippi Delta –...

By Jodi Raley California cotton producers, ginners, pest control advisers and cotton industry organizations gathered in the halls of the Visalia Convention Center for the California Cotton Growers Association’s 26th Annual Meeting. With 2015 California cotton acreage hitting a historical...

Aldicarb Available For Use In Georgia In 2016 Farmers will soon be able to purchase AgLogic 15G Aldicarb Pesticide, which is essentially the same as Temik in formulation and performance. Ag Logic Chemical LLC, the registrant of AgLogic 15G Aldicarb Pesticide,...

California’s drought and environmental water reallocations  take a chronic toll on cotton. By Vicky Boyd Managing Editor Ever since he was 3 years old, Chad Crivelli — a diversified row-crop producer near Dos Palos, Calif. — has wanted to be a farmer....

This month I had the pleasure of interviewing award winners, company managers and people in leadership positions in industry organizations. All are very successful in their careers. You would think with these personal accomplishments that it would be all...

Now that everyone has settled into the New Year, it is a perfect time to review and update your estate plan. Because situations change–marriages are celebrated, children are born, deaths occur–taking the time to update previously drafted documents is critical. Draft Basic Documents First, ensure at least the basic estate planning documents are in place. This includes a will, power of attorney, medical power of attorney, and an advanced healthcare directive (often called a living will). For some, trust documents or life insurance policies may also be beneficial. Additionally, it is recommended that an inventory list be prepared. This list should include information about bank accounts, insurance policies, retirement accounts, property ownership and so forth. Taking the time to prepare these documents now can help avoid conflict and stress for loved ones left behind. Prepare A ‘Death File’ Once the basic estate planning documents are in place, it is important to ensure that they are all collected in one place and that at least one other responsible person is aware of this location. Ideal locations include a home safe, bank deposit box, or on file with an attorney. Ensure that the person(s) named power-of-attorney and executor know the location of these documents and are able to access them if needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZXTwmEZ2Kc Cotton farmers need advanced technologies to increase their productivity and profitability. Deltapine® NPE Keeff Felty of Altus, OK, says the upcoming technology that he is most excited about is dicamba-tolerant cotton. Key Takeaways: Dicamba tolerant cotton gives growers another weed management...

Assessments Fund Improvements in Cotton Production, Marketing & Research Andrew Burleson, president of the North Carolina Cotton Producers Association, and a cotton producer in Stanly County, has announced that a referendum will be held on Friday April 01, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on the question of the continuation of the assessment, or “check-off”, on cotton for another six-year period. Purpose of assessment: The assessment allows North Carolina cotton producers to assess themselves to provide funds to pay for improvements in cotton production, marketing and research and to promote the general interests of North Carolina’s cotton industry. Amount of the assessment: The referendum authorizes up to one dollar per-bale, although the North Carolina Cotton Producers Association board of directors plans to continue the assessment at the current level of .80 cents per-bale for the foreseeable future.

By Seth Fiedler CSP Program Manager Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced that $150 million in funding is available for agricultural producers through the Conservation Stewardship Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s largest conservation program that helps producers voluntarily improve...