There was a time a few years ago when I could drive south on US 61 from Memphis, and all I could see were cotton fields on either side of the highway. When you thought of the Mississippi Delta, this is the picture that always came to mind. The crop and region were intertwined in history, and it didn’t seem possible for the landscape to ever change.

Why the big focus on safety? It's no secret that your associations are the smallest of small businesses, but the role of your associations has become a big part of what you know about ginning cotton. Cotton ginners associations started like most other associations – a way to organize and learn from each other.

In recent remarks at the National Farmers Union National Con-vention, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced new and expanded efforts to connect small- and mid-sized farmers and ranchers with USDA resources that can help them build stronger businesses, ex-pand to...

The Cotton Board recently conducted its March Annual Meeting in Santa Fe., N.M., where board members, in their respective committees, reviewed Cotton Incorporated’s proposed plans for 2015 and developed strategic recommendations. The meeting was well attended by both producer...

As the marketplace continues to demand organic options in purchasing choices, thoughtful discussion regarding organic cotton production continues to circulate in the Western Cotton Belt. Making the option work for an operation takes dedication to prepare for the transition to organic.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will make $6 million in grants available this year, and up to $30 million total over the next five years as part of a...

Encouraged By Mississippi’s Cotton Acreage Outlook In 2014 By Tommy Horton Editor If you’re a cotton producer in Mississippi or other parts of the Mid-South, you’re feeling cautiously optimistic about the 2014 season. In fact, you might say that there is a...

If you read the cover story for April Cotton Farming or my Editor’s Note, you know that I spent some time recently in the Mississippi Delta visiting with long-time producer Bowen Flowers. Not only was it a chance to...

There was a time when I was younger that National Agriculture Day didn’t resonate with me the way it does now. I was a city kid growing up in the suburbs of northeast Memphis. I just didn’t have an...

There was a time when I was younger that National Agriculture Day didn’t resonate with me the way it does now. I was a city kid growing up in the suburbs of northeast Memphis. I just didn’t have an...

For many years, you’ve heard me talk about the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show in Memphis, Tenn., as one of the most informative and entertaining ag events of the year. Last week’s show continued that tradition in many ways....

A decade and nearly $1 billion have been spent on the management of glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth by Geo-rgia cotton producers. Who could have known in 2004 when we couldn’t kill a pigweed with Roundup in Macon County, Ga., that our entire agricultural industry was beginning the process of changing forever.

The new farm bill repeals the direct and counter-cyclical programs and authorizes a new revenue insurance product that can be purchased in addition to a producer’s existing coverage. However, enactment of the new law came too late for USDA and the private sector to offer the Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) until 2015. Then, it will be available for purchase on all acres planted to upland cotton. As with existing insurance products, STAX

The NCC Planting Intentions Survey shows less than a one percent increase in acreage for Missouri. Based on past reports, this may or may not happen with a lot depending on the weather. In the past, I have noticed that the Missouri intentions are usually overestimated.

CHRIS DRAKE OWNER OF SANDY POINTS FARMS AND TERRITORY AGRONOMIST FOR PHYTOGEN COTTONSEED NEWSOMS, VA. I am a fourth-generation farmer in Southampton County, Va. During the summers while in college, I was employed by different entities in which I worked with cotton programs,...