Mid-April marked the release of Cotton Incorporated’s new advertising campaign with a heartfelt look at why cotton is a consumer favorite and a call to action to check your labels for cotton content. The new campaign focuses on real stories, from real people talking about their favorite cotton items. The “favorite” commercials feature various cotton staples such as denim and shirting but will also include trending favorites such as athletic apparel. Kim Kitchings, vice president of corporate strategy and program metrics for Cotton Incorporated, says that many cotton pieces have a great story to tell.

Farmers are making plans for the coming season, and in some regions crops are already in bloom. A big question for many farmers is whether they’ll have enough workers to harvest those crops. Well, Congress has been busy making plans, too. In the last few weeks, the buzz around immigration has picked up on Capitol Hill. Unfortunately, the plans Congress has in mind stop short of what agriculture needs, and would do farmers more harm than good. The House Judiciary Committee recently pushed forward so-called e- Verify legislation that would require workers to present a more secure form of identification before they could be hired. Congress, in short, seems ready to require stricter enforcement of immigration laws without first repairing the broken immigration system that exists today.

When I look back over the years since I first moved to Lubbock to begin my career with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service working in cotton, several things are clear with regards to cotton production in the Texas High Plains and Panhandle regions. Producers in the region are highly progressive and always looking for and trying new technologies and varieties that enable them to continue to produce high yields of excellent quality cotton. Also, their faith in God is unwavering as proven by their resolve even when faced with less than favorable growing conditions in an ever-changing environment. As I have heard, and have repeated several times myself, “if you don’t like the weather in Lubbock, just wait a minute, it will change.” As we have witnessed over the years, each growing season is different with its own set of “challenges” that producers must overcome in order to have a successful cotton harvest. More recently, Texas High Plains and Panhandle producers have dealt with extreme drought conditions that have, just this winter, shown significant signs of improvement.

ARIZONA Nearly all of the cotton is in across the deserts of Arizona. Cotton in the far West region of the state is quickly approaching first bloom, and the remainder of the state is nearing first square. Decisions regarding irrigation...

The Bootheel of Southeast Missouri is home to about 98 percent of the state’s cotton acreage. Cotton, as a high-value commercial crop, has seen a significant increase in pesticide use over the past five years. With this increased use, more attention is being paid to those insecticides that are not only most appropriate for pest control in individual fields but also affect the pest, crop and surrounding environment. Insecticide choices must be concerned with efficacy, selectivity and secondary pests. In addition, frequently used insecticides must be continually monitored for pest susceptibility (i.e. evolving resistance).In the case of pesticide sprays, the monitoring of pest incidence and intensity is nothing new. What are new are the technology tools that make pest observations more than just numbers.

Across the Cotton Belt, the strategy is the same this year – no matter the location. Producers must find a way to manage this crop efficiently. And that means planting on time and starting the season strong – much like a racehorse bolting out of the starting gate at top speed. It will be a challenge as farmers deal with low cotton prices, a new farm law, weed resistance and water availability in many locations – namely in California and Texas. Add in the big front-end investment with the seed, and you begin to get the picture. Nobody wants to re-plant the crop, and it is essential that young cotton seedlings have plenty of vigor and growth potential.

Wes Briggs Briggs Crop Servics, Inc. Bainbridge, GA While in high school, I spent my summers employed by crop protection companies as an ag laborer. After entering Mississippi State, I had the opportunity to work under Jack Reed and Randy Luttrell –...

I have attended the Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association Annual Meeting and Trade Show since 2004, and I always enjoy spending time with this group each spring. You’ll recall in last month’s Editor’s Blog that I alluded to how special it is to visit Texas for this meeting – mainly because of the warm hospitality of farmers and ginners there. And this year’s event certainly lived up to expectations. Even with low cotton prices, heavy rains in South Texas and the challenge of the new Farm Bill on everyone’s mind, a lot of optimism was on display at the Lubbock Civic Center and Overton Hotel. You might call it cautious optimism, for lack of a better term. Texas producers and ginners are fully aware that many factors must fall together perfectly to deliver a good cotton crop in the fall. Every financial expenditure must be scrutinized at the farm level, and ginners will be even more diligent to achieve efficiency. Maybe it was the beneficial winter rains and additional precipitation in recent weeks...

Nobody in Texas expects 2015 to be an easy season for growing or ginning cotton, but the industry will persevere and do its best to deliver a highquality crop in the fall. That’s the unanimous opinion of producers, ginners and...

Now that planting season is upon us, the question becomes how can this year’s cotton crop get started in the best possible way? Most farmers and Extension specialists will tell you it’s all about timing and making sure optimum conditions exist for that tiny seed in the ground. It’s such a simple scenario, and yet so crucial for the success of the crop. Sometimes I like to think of planting season as another version of the Kentucky Derby, which ironically takes place on the first Saturday in May at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Starting the race fast is so crucial for the horse that eventually wins. And, likewise, the young seedling needs to emerge from the soil with plenty of vigor and growth potential after planting.

Call me sentimental or predictably nostalgic, but it is always good to see many of my friends moving on to leadership positions in the cotton industry. In fact, that is one of this industry’s strengths. Strong leaders continue to emerge and are helping U.S. cotton survive through some difficult times. As I was reading about Kevin Brinkley being named the new president and chief executive officer of Plains Cotton Cooperative Association, I couldn’t help but remember those days when we worked together at the National Cotton Council between 1990 and 1998. Kevin was an excellent economist and benefited by working with Economic Services Director Mark Lange for a decade. Then, he and I went our separate ways. I joined Cotton Farming magazine in 1999, and Kevin moved on to The Seam 15 years later. He became an important part of that company’s growth as the world’s first completely online, neutral exchange for cotton trading.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5gyWlLwkZE&feature=youtu.be As weeds and pests evolve, good cotton breeding is more important than ever. Deltapine NPE Kevin Gardner, of Macclesfield, North Carolina, says the Deltapine breeding program is leading the nation in its research and development of high-performance varieties, helping...

Cotton Farming wishes to thank these companies for buying ads in the TCGA Program. Their support benefits the TCGA/Texas Tech Scholarship Program. Scroll below for more photos from TCGA 2015. 2015 TCGA Photos