Missouri Pollinator Conservancy’s Future Goals Protect bees from pesticide drift problems. Promote dialogue among all industry groups. Specifically protect 400 species of bees in Missouri. Prove that the state can solve the problem by itself. Preserve bees’ contribution to value of crops. A new program...

One of my favorite trips of the year is about to occur, and it promises to be just as rewarding as the previous ones of the past decade. It’s the Cotton Farming staff’s annual trek to Lubbock, Texas, for the Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association Annual Meeting and Trade Show. For more than 20 years, our magazine has co-sponsored this show, and to say that it has been a rewarding experience doesn’t really say it all. Through the years, we have cultivated many friends in the country’s No. 1 cotton production state. Whether it’s producers, ginners, equipment manufacturers or friends of the industry. What makes this trip so rewarding is that we also get to attend the Plains Cotton Growers’ annual meeting, which is conducted on Friday, April 10, at the Lubbock Civic Center. It’s a jam-packed two days at the trade show, plus meetings in the Civic Center as well as the Overton Hotel just five minutes away. It seems that the Texas cotton industry has had to deal with a different kind of issue every year, but this group of farmers and ginners always finds a way to survive the crisis. For the past three years, a persistent drought has created the biggest challenge of all. But, as many had predicted, the drought seems to have subsided, and steady rainfall patterns have moved through all parts of the state in the last two or three months.

Delta’s Justin Cariker Remains Committed To Reliable Crop The facts are clear. Cotton prices are a lot lower now than any farmer could have imagined several months ago. A year ago, everyone felt very positive about 80- to 85-cent prices. Today,...

For many people, the term “globalization” only has significance as a label for business development over the past 25 years or so. In fact, globalization is nothing new and is typified by the cotton business. The rise of textiles, as the first rung of industrialization, the rise of textiles, particularly in 19th century Europe, would not have been possible without the globalized production of cotton in Africa, Asia, the Americas and elsewhere. Cotton, so it seems, was an essential, if unassuming, raw material of not only textiles but world development as well. “Today, cotton is so ubiquitous that it is hard to see it for what it is: one of mankind’s great achievements,” so declares Sven Beckert, a historian at Harvard University and winner of the prestigious Bancroft Prize, in his newly published Empire of Cotton: A Global History. Even so, as Beckert elaborates, “cotton is as familiar as it is unknown," a prescient observation when we consider the current state of the cotton industry.If you’ve ever wondered why the cotton business behaves as it does, I recommend reading this insightful history. Deeply researched, highly analytical and well written, Beckert successfully relates the importance of cotton to the evolution of global capitalism.

Mike Lovelace Field Scientist, Dow AgroSciences Lubbock, Texas As with other farming regions, Texas growers are faced each year with a host of agronomic challenges, unpredictable weather and pest outbreaks that can impact their crops – and their profit potential....

 This Farm Bill will help keep cotton grown in Georgia." Being a cotton farmer seems to change every time we go through a Farm Bill. This time, we are going through significant farm law changes, and the market isn’t helping...

The National Cotton Council: 1) sought useful risk management tools for inclusion in the new farm law; 2) educated its members on that law’s cotton and other provisions; and 3) continues to press for the law’s proper implementation. How is...

In a speech at the National Farmers Union Convention, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the availability of $96.8 million in grants to fund innovative projects designed to support specialty crop producers, local food entrepreneurs and farm-to-school efforts, which...

No matter how challenging the task, you can count on cotton producers to find a way to deal with a crisis. That is their nature. Whether it’s unpredictable weather, insect or weed pressure, new farm laws, political questions or,...

By Brent Murphree: Raised beds have been the standard row configuration in the West since modern cotton farming began more than 100 years ago, but that doesn't mean all Arizona producers have to be tied to the method.Wuertz should know about water conservation. His family has raised cotton on drip irrigation, a major water saver, in Coolidge for many years. However, on ground that is leased or where the cost of drip irrigation installation outweighs the advantage, planting on level ground seems to give the producer a savings advantage. Pat Cockrill, another producer in the Coolidge area, says he saves a great deal on his water bill as well. "It depends on the year," he says. "We can save at least half an acre-foot and sometimes close to a full acre-foot of water." In Coolidge, Ariz., several producers have been planting their crops on level ground with borders for irrigation. It is a traditional method for crops such as grain and alfalfa...

It is another tool in the toolbox for cotton farmers. It will definitely help us out and is something that we need.” – Tucker Miller One fact is clear about today’s cotton production. Numerous strategies exist to deal with glyphosate-resistant...

Americot Introduces Three Varieties For 2015 Following the deregulation of Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton by USDA in January, Americot is introducing three new Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton varieties for the 2015 growing season. The new varieties will incorporate two-gene insect...

By Larry Steckel, Jackson, TN I have been very proud of how good a job most of our producers are doing handling glyphosate-resistant (GR) Palmer amaranth. In both 2013 and 2014, I did not get a report of a cotton...

ARKANSAS As planting time approaches, decisions concerning varieties and how much to plant have likely been made. Other decisions such as when to start planting and which varieties to plant first can and do vary with whomever you ask. The...