I am hoping for a lot of things, and I certainly hope that by the time this magazine is published in January that we’ll have a Farm Bill. We need for that to happen, along with a settlement of the WTO/Brazil case. And I am also hoping for some stability in the markets – especially as it pertains to China and India. It distresses me that these two countries’ actions can have such a significant impact on what happens to U.S. cotton in terms of cotton prices.

BY LIA GUTHRIE PUBLISHER Bug man. That’s what I remember consultants being referred to when I started in this business more than 25 years ago. My, how times have changed. One of my first mentors was a family friend who happened...

BY TOMMY HORTON EDITOR How do you convince 150 farmers and their wives to make a quick trip to Charleston, S.C., just a couple of weeks before Christmas? You make sure that the schedule appeals to everybody. And that is precisely what...

After months of anticipation, Monsanto has announced that three new cotton varieties will be launched for the Deltapine Class of 2014, including a variety bred for resistance to root-knot nematodes (RKN). The announcement occurred at the Charleston Place Hotel...

OSHA has rewritten the Hazard Communication Standard, and all employers (including agricultural employers) were required to have their workers trained on this new standard by Dec. 1. This rulemaking is complete and being implemented. A second rulemaking that would directly...

BY TOMMY HORTON EDITOR Can torrential rains keep a cotton crop from surviving and delivering any kind of yield? If you had talked to the Doyle farm family in Emporia, Va., last July, you would have heard that question. As a matter...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has recently announced funding for projects in 40 states to finance investments in improved water and waste-water systems for more than 200,000 rural residents. “Rural businesses and residents need access to clean water and modern waste...

BY BRUCE KIRKSEY MEMPHIS, TENN. We are very blessed to be part of American agriculture. Maybe it’s be-cause of the Thanksgiv-ing and Christmas seasons, but I am truly proud to be a part of agriculture. I am very proud of the fact...

BY TOMMY HORTON EDITOR Being a ginner in the Texas Cotton High Plains has become significantly easier – if you are looking for quick repair on equipment or in need of a new part. That is the general consensus from ginners...

Bryan Clenney has plenty of experience with sandy soils and nematodes where he farms in Baker and Miller Counties of southwest Georgia. One field in Baker County is so sandy that he’s nicknamed it the “Mojave Desert.” “When you’re in...

A 2011 tour of Mid-South cotton fields was organized by the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) to acquaint federal agencies with the emerging problem of glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth. One tour participant thought fluridone (trade name Brake), originally discovered nearly...

BY ANDREW OLAH PRESIDENT/CEO, OLAH, INC. NEW YORK, N.Y. Stoneville’s Quality We all know that once upon a time there was a Mr. Levi Strauss, who came to America from Bavaria and started selling jeans to miners in San Francisco. We also know...

No matter what month of the season, you can always find these unsung heroes’ “footprints in the field.” Through the years, the cotton consultant has always been a crucial part of any producer’s operation. He walks the fields, monitors the...

Another year has come and gone, and I’m having a hard time dealing with how quickly the calendar moves these days. The seasons seem to run together, and in a blink of an eye we’re looking at Christmas, New...

By Ross Rutherford Lubbock, Texas Okay, I’ll say it. I love tradition and nostalgia. Always have and always will. Looking back on things through the prism of nostalgic spectacles (some call them “rose-colored glasses”) brings a certain comfort in today’s ultra-fast-paced...