Arkansas Producer Sam Stuckey's Crop
Has Weathered The Storm
Cotton has always had a reputation for being able to withstand a lot of adversity during a long production season. If you want proof of that statement, pay a visit to the...
The Texas Cotton Ginners' Association summer meeting at the Lost Pines Resort near Austin and Bastrop was dominated by one theme – the potential for a bigger crop in 2014.
Timely rains earlier this summer created an excellent opportunity for...
When I learned that I’d be traveling to Montana earlier this summer with a group of cotton farmers, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. But I had a pretty good idea that it would be a fabulous time for everybody. Believe it or not, I had a positive experience two years ago when I traveled with a similar group to North Dakota – and I knew this trip might be even better.
Nematodes – those microscopic pests that attack a plant's roots and adversely affect cotton yields – can cause enough headaches for a farmer to last a lifetime. Whether it's reniform or root-knot, this pest can often go undetected...
Can a cotton producer learn anything valuable after spending a week in Montana? To the uniformed outsider, that would be a logical question. For participants in this summer's Multi-Commodity Education Program (MCEP) tour, it all makes sense now.
This program...
Cotton has made up a lot of ground during the last couple of weeks in northern Alabama. Several fields had blooms the first week of July, and younger cotton fields are growing rapidly. I am seeing more sulfur deficiency symptoms on cotton this year than in years past. This may be due to the heavy rainfall in some areas and poor cotton rooting early in the season. We definitely need to pay more attention to sulfur fertilization on cotton in Alabama. Late emerging glyphosate-resistant horseweed is also a problem in several cotton fields I visited last week. These fields had pre-plant and pre-emergence herbicides applied, but new horseweed plants are continuing to emerge. Many of these farms will be using hooded sprayers to control these troublesome weeds.
Agricenter International is a self-sustaining, not-for- profit organization that provides economic development and improved quality of life by facilitating agricultural research, educational programs, environmental conservation, natural area preservation and recreational opportunities. It is truly a unique place.
Nearly every gin in the country has some type of air quality or environmental permit. Some are simple, and some are complex. It is important to know what your permit says because, just like every other government document, you're...
This crop season appears to be moving along way too quickly. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were talking about how this year's cotton might be delayed by rain events in the Mid- South. And simultaneously...
The International Textile Manufacturers Federation’s “Cotton Contamination Survey 2013″ shows the level of cottons moderately or seriously contaminated worldwide increased from 23 percent to 26 percent compared to the last survey in 2011. Though U.S. cotton still is considered one of the least contaminated growths, the survey found that plastics, stickiness and seed-coat fragments, along with other foreign materials
Cotton producers are increasingly taking advantage of smartphone technology to improve the effectiveness of their operations. In the Western Cotton Belt, a number of smartphone applications or apps, specific to that region, are taking office work into the field.
Given...
"We do not learn from experience," philosopher John Dewey said. "We learn from reflecting on experience." As Texas cotton growers are in the midst of or nearing cotton harvest, this is an ideal time to gauge the success of the season and determine how to improve in the future. I always emphasize the importance of reflecting on what worked well over the past growing season to be ready for the next year.
Quality sets cotton apart from most agricultural commodities. That is, a bale of cotton possesses a unique set of characteristics that renders it suitable for certain uses, and less so for others. Producers are familiar with these characteristics as they show up in premium and discount tables and recap prices. Consumers see quality reflected in premium prices for high-end textiles and garments made from Pima, Sea Isle or others.
