When you thumb through this issue of Cotton Farming, you will notice a definite Texas theme in the stories – and there is a reason for that. Our staff is preparing to travel to Lubbock next month for the...
By Christine Souza, California Farm Bureau
In counties throughout California, farmers and ranchers are working to improve the quality of water that leaves irrigated fields by using best management practices to reduce sediment, silt and other materials through regional Irrigated...
As implementation of the 2014 farm law continues, the National Cotton Council (NCC) reminds industry members of the obstacles that were overcome in order to maintain effective risk management tools in that law.
What was the initial obstacle?
Even before the...
Cotton Incorporated and the Cooperative Extension cotton specialists across the Belt have partnered to combine field variety trial data in a single webbased resource called SeedMatrix.
This online program provides access to new variety performance data. It is just one...
As I have mentioned in this space before, the U.S. cotton industry has a rich history that is always on full display at the National Cotton Council Annual Meeting each year. That was the case again at the meeting at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis just a few weeks ago. Call me sentimental or nostalgic, but it’s hard to put into words how special it is to meet cotton friends that I haven’t seen in many years. Maybe it was because of the retirements of long-time staffers John Maguire and Mark Lange, but a large number of cotton industry persons showed up at this meeting.
It was a particular pleasure to spend time with two persons – Mississippi producer Bruce Brumfield and former NCC executive vice president Earl Sears. When I think about people who have always been willing to share their time, these two are at the top of the list.
Brumfield was president of the NCC in 1994, and when I think about how he juggled farm and business responsibilities in Inverness, Miss., it’s hard to believe he could manage his time so well that year.But, like every NCC industry leader...
Bowen Flowers, a Clarksdale, Miss., cotton producer, was re-elected as chairman of the American Cotton Producers (ACP) of the National Cotton Council (NCC) for 2015, during the NCC’s annual meeting held in Memphis, Tenn. Currently a NCC director, Flowers has served on and chaired various ACP and NCC committees and task forces.
Elected as an ACP vice chairmen were: Kendall Wannamaker, St. Matthews, SC; and Doyle Schniers, San Angelo, Texas. Re-elected as a vice chairman was Dan Thelander, Maricopa, Arizona.
Elected as a NCC producer director was Ronald C. Lee, Bronwood, Ga., representing the Southeast region; and Cannon Michael, Los Banos, Calif., representing the Western region. Re-elected as producer directors were Ted Schneider, Lake Providence, La., representing the Mid-South region; Shawn Holladay, Lubbock, Texas, representing the Southwest region, and Flowers, as at-large director.
Stan Winslow of Belvidere, N.C., winner of the 2014 Cotton Consultant of the Year (CCOY) award, was honored by his peers at a special reception last month at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in San Antonio.
A crowd of more than 150 attended the event at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel. The award is co-sponsored by Cotton Farming and Syngenta.
Winslow and his wife Lou Ann, along with nine family members, were in attendance. Publisher Lia Guthrie joined Syngenta’s Josh Kelley in presenting the traditional CCOY winner’s green jacket and special plaque to Winslow. “I have to say that this is easily the highlight of my career,” Winslow said in accepting the award. “It’s just a very special honor to be a member of this group of previous winners.”
Winslow is the president of Tidewater Agronomics, which he started in 1998. He also is a past president of the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants and the North Carolina Ag Consultants Association.
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...
PhytoGen Introduces New Varieties For 2015
PhytoGen has announced its lineup of new cotton varieties for 2015, and they will have three-gene insect trait technology and industry leading rootknot- nematode (RKN) and bacterial blight resistance.
One of the most broadly adaptable...
It suddenly dawned on me recently that there is a lot of history in the Cotton Consultant of the Year (CCOY) program. That is a natural conclusion to reach when you consider that this program – co-sponsored by Cotton Farming and Sygnenta – has been around since 1981. That means 34 different industry leaders have been honored during this period of time.
As I was walking around a crowded room at the CCOY reception at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in San Antonio, that thought was reinforced everywhere I turned. It’s a good thing everybody was wearing a name tag. Otherwise, it would have been difficult identifying so many friends. I recognized the faces, but the name tags made it much easier to connect with each person.
Then I realized that I had interviewed and photographed 14 of the winners, and that covers a lot of time. The years fly by way too fast in this business, but no amount of time will make me forget about how each consultant in our industry fulfills an important mission. This is a fraternity that is as strong...
