Charles Burmester Contract Agronomist Decatur, Ala. I was raised on a small farm in Alabama where we always grew cotton and became very familiar with the crop at an early age. In, fact, my mother made me my own “pick sack” when...

In the January 2015 issue of Cotton Farming, Dusty Findley discussed the new Occupational Health and Safety Administration reporting rule. This rule has greatly increased the number of ginners who have to call OSHA to report an accident. If...

ARKANSAS The National Agricultural Statistics Service November Crop Production report lowered our yield estimate for Arkansas cotton to 1,124 pounds of lint per acre down from last month’s estimate of 1,218 pounds of lint per acre. The November estimate is...

Source: John Deere news release Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) said today it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Monosem, the European market leader in precision planters. The purchase includes the company's four facilities in France and two...

New pesticide regulations issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mean state regulations will need to change to harmonize with the federal rules – but in California, observers expect those changes to be relatively minor. Planting CottonEPA announced revised Agricultural Worker Protection Standard regulations in what it described as an effort to reduce risks of injury and illness for ag workers and chemical handlers who use and come into contact with the products at farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses. The federal regulations will take effect in 14 months, revising rules originally issued in 1992. But many of the regulations already apply in California. Bryan Little, California Farm Bureau Federation director of employment policy and chief operating officer of the Farm Employers Labor Service, monitored development of the original EPA rules and later revisions when he was employed by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). “When I came to California a few years ago, I found that we already had regulations on the books that went way beyond the federal standards,” Little says. “The current administration in Washington, D.C., has decided to beef up the federal standards. In the process, the EPA has made the new federal standards very similar to the California standard and the Washington state standard, which is similar to ours.”

Nearly 16 years ago in the spring of 2000, I wrote my first Editor’s Note column for this magazine, and it was titled, “Making The Right Decision Is A Stress Breaker.” As I recall, I was trying to convey the thought that farmers always try to make the best possible decision when the crop season starts. They try to gather all of the facts and then trust their judgment that they are headed the right way. I was doing my best to begin this journey on a good note. And, not surprisingly, I thought I was making the right decision to join Cotton Farming, and I already knew that this industry was special. Now, here we are in the fall of 2015, and I am having to say good-bye to all of you, and it’s hard to find the words. I have officially retired from this position in order to help my mother at home. She has some health challenges, and I feel it’s the right thing to do. As with any big change in life, the transition will be a bit daunting, but I know that my mother and I will both benefit during this time together.

What is the primary concern? The World Trade Organization (WTO) failed to meet the July 31, 2015 deadline to agree on a work program for the WTO Ministerial scheduled for Nairobi, Kenya in December. However, there have been repeated comments from numerous countries and WTO officials for there to be “something more” done on cotton policy at this meeting. Thus, the NCC has engaged with U.S. trade officials at the WTO in Geneva and in Washington, as well as with Congress, to ensure U.S. trade negotiators maintain a firm commitment not to accept any further restrictions on U.S. cotton policy. Did you testify before Congress? Gary Adams testifies NCC President/CEO Gary Adams testified that other countries’ agriculture and trade policies threaten U.S. cotton’s viability. In mid-October, I testified at a House Agriculture Committee hearing on “Foreign Subsidies: Jeopardizing Free Trade and Harming American Farmers.” The Committee wanted to further explore the trade-distorting tools that some countries are using and the detrimental impact on American farmers. I told the Committee that U.S. cotton farmers are indeed competing with international farmers who are benefitting from higher support levels. I cited a recent International Cotton Advisory Committee report that estimated average direct assistance to cotton production across all countries at $0.26 per pound – but only $0.07 per pound average support for U.S. cotton production. The NCC opposes any efforts to further limit U.S. cotton policy in the WTO’s upcoming Ministerial.

It’s The Time Of The Season Late fall, early winter is the time of the season for slowing down a bit after a hectic harvest and contemplating which varieties will have the best fit in your operation in the upcoming...

Picture this. A future time, perhaps 10 years from today. It’s Christmas morning, and a young kid opens the Christmas gift his grandparents gave him. He unpacks it quickly hoping he likes whatever is being given because he needs to...

Clemson Assists With Flood Recovery, Damage Assessment Scott Miller, writer/editor with Clemson University recently reported that Clemson Extension agents across the state continue to help communities recover from the historic flood and are scouting fields to assess losses to the...

As a fourth generation farmer in South Texas, you could say that I make my living with water. My crops will not grow without it. Our dairy cows will not give milk without enough fresh, clean water. photo Clean Water ActI use what we call “best management practices,” meaning that we comply with label directions, use conservation methods and other tools of modern agriculture. We also plant biotech crops. That means we use fewer and smaller amounts of chemicals than we needed two decades ago. We live on the land. Our children and grandchild drink water from this land. If we did not take care of our resources, including the water, we’d be in serious trouble. It would be bad for our business. Besides, it’s my job to take care of the land. Anything less would be wrong. All people everywhere have a responsibility to take care of the environment. This is especially true of farmers. That’s why it disturbs me some that I, and most other farmers, must oppose the EPA’s recent changes to the Clean Water Act, sometimes referred to as WOTUS. That stands for Waters of the United States. Good regulations for agriculture protect the environment, delivering benefits that outweigh the costs. It will regulate ditches and low spots in the field. Our analysis says farmers might have to obtain permits for the most routine of farming practices. The new Clean Water Rule does not come close to that.

In recent years, the presence of glyphosate-resistant pigweed in Mid-South cotton has compelled producers to grow glufosinate (Liberty)-tolerant varieties. In 2015, more than 85 percent of cotton acreage in Arkansas was planted to varieties that are tolerant to glufosinate. This acreage included 11 percent planted to XtendFlex (resistant to dicamba) varieties. However, dicamba applications beyond the current burndown label were not allowed. Almost half of the transgenic entries in the 2015 Arkansas Cotton Variety Test were resistant to dicamba or 2,4-D (Enlist) – a clear indication of the direction of variety development. The Enlist trait is fully registered in the United States, and the herbicide is labeled in all Mid-South states except Tennessee. Import approvals for some Far East countries are still being pursued. We expect a limited release of Enlist cotton in 2016. It is expected, but at this point still uncertain whether labels will allow spraying of dicamba beyond burndown on XtendFlex cotton in 2016. Thus, producers should make their variety choices accordingly and follow all label requirements. Selection of varieties then returns to long-established principles of choosing varieties that are likely to produce stable, high yields of premium quality cotton – regardless of their transgene conf iguration.

The ABCs of variety selection may start with letters behind a variety name denoting insect resistance or herbicide tolerance technology, but they certainly do not end there. Beyond the letters are complex characteristics controlled by multiple genes – yield, fiber quality, stress response, disease resistance, plant type and relative maturity. “A” stands for area-appropriate. Consider performance data generated from the same area as your farm. Know specific field production constraints and choose varieties with appropriate disease resistance, nematode tolerance and moisture stress response. “B” is for broadening risk with more than one variety in more than one maturity class so harvest on large farms can be staggered. Broadened risk improves the odds of catching beneficial rains and avoiding widespread hail damage. “C” is for control. Stay grounded with input capabilities. Highhorsepower varieties in low-input situations can lead to quality problems. “Control” reminds me of the first cotton farmer to ask my advice on variety selection – my father, who passed away in May. Professional presentation of yield data did not impress him. He told me, “I can make these varieties yield. Show me something with the potential for good fiber quality. I have less control over that.”

ARKANSAS The National Agricultural Statistics Service October Crop Production report kept the yield estimate for Arkansas cotton at 1,218 lbs lint/A. Last month, I felt this estimate was too high for a number of reasons. However, as our harvest is...

Since 2010, the Importer Support Program (ISP) of the Cotton Board and Cotton Incorporated has funded annual farm tours for brands and retailers as part of a concentrated effort to educate decision makers in the supply chain about cotton...