If you hang around long enough in the cotton industry, you see a lot of people change careers, retire or pass away. It’s a fact of life, but it doesn’t make it any easier when the event happens. Such...
By Ronnie Hopper
Petersburg, Texas
For the past decade, our goal has been to apply no-till farming practices to our land located in the Pan-handle region of the South Plains of Texas. Overall, no-till has worked in our operation, but it...
Few people expected the use of round modules to grow so rapidly, but now almost all gins have some cotton in round modules. Even though the introduction of the round module was met with apprehension, ginners have now accepted...
MISSOURI
Mike Milam
[email protected]
The remnants of Hurricane Isaac brought some welcome rainfall to southeast Missouri. While this drops our area out of the worst drought category, we are still listed as extreme. The good news is that we are projected to...
By Mark Lange
NCC President/CEO
A key National Cotton Council priority is coordination of the annual Beltwide Cotton Conferences, which foster research and facilitate technology transfer to U.S. cotton producers with the aim of helping them increase their overall efficiency and...
Based on the comments received in the September Cotton Farming Web Poll, many farmers in parts of Texas and Oklahoma are still feeling the effects of the drought on their 2012 cotton crop.
In other areas of the Belt, some...
Eric Leach
Crop consultant with Ag Aviation
Muleshoe, Texas
As they say, time does fly when you’re having fun. In 1984, I took an internship job scouting fields for Fred Locker’s business, Ag Aviation, in Muleshoe, Texas. Muleshoe is northwest of Lubbock...
By Tommy Horton
Editor
A year ago we were talking about how Texas cotton producers were trying to survive a drought that had to be seen to be appreciated. It’s hard to know how difficult this weather event was unless you...
Recognizing that recovery from the drought that affected much of the farm belt will be a lengthy process, Agri-culture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the scheduling of four regional meetings that will outline available resources to assist with local,...
By Doug Wilde
Producer
San Angelo, Texas
Commitment To Cotton
Since the early years of my life, all I have known is cotton. It started out when I rode on the tractor with my father, hauling cotton trailers to the gin with my...
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced $11.8 million in additional financial and technical assistance to help crop and livestock producers in 22 states apply conservation practices that reduce the impacts of drought and improve soil health and productivity.
The U.S....
By Brent Murphree
Maricopa, Ariz.
Cotton ginners have a slightly different take on cotton harvest than the producers who bring their crops to the gin.
While producers focus on yields, micronaire and how quickly they can get their crops ginned, ginners are...
By Tommy Horton
Editor
When attempting to grow cotton on the Texas High Plains, it pays to expect the unexpected. In other words, be prepared for unusual weather and try not to become easily discouraged. This is the simple philosophy that...
I will probably sound somewhat repetitious in sharing my thoughts about the failure of Congress to pass a Farm Bill this fall. It seems that everyone in the media and out on the turnrow is saying the same thing...
By Roger Carter
Clayton, La.
It was with both pride and sorrow when Tommy Horton email-ed me and asked if I would write the My Turn column for this edition of Cotton Farming – given that I am being forced to...
