Joe Nicosia, the president of Allenberg Cotton in Memphis, Tenn., has probably never thought about running for public office. But, if the thought ever crossed his mind, it wouldn’t necessarily surprise a lot of folks. This...
When you read the February issue of Cotton Farming, you’ll learn a lot about a fascinating farm family I met in mid-January. The Darnells of Hillsboro, Ala., join a long list of farmers I’ve had the...
In late December, the American public saw some emotional speeches given in the U.S. Senate. It’s hard to know how many people viewed these farewell addresses on C-SPAN, but if you saw Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s message...
For those on the outside, it might seem like a tall mountain to climb as cotton and other Southern row-crop commodities prepare to work with Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), new chairman of the Senate Ag Committee. She doesn’t have...
In late September, the cotton crop in the Texas High Plains was almost too good to be true. That may sound like an exaggeration, but that’s how it seemed just a month ago. I was attending...
What are the odds of Texans being in leadership positions in nearly every major cotton organization this year? Was it the law of averages? Was it because of a possible record crop in Texas this year? Were the stars...
It isn’t often that we throw around the word “legend” when describing someone who has invested any amount of time in serving the U.S. cotton industry. But Dr. Bill Meredith, research cotton geneticist for USDA-ARS in Stoneville, Miss., might...
No matter where I’ve traveled this summer, the topic of resistant Palmer pigweed dominates the conversation at field days like nothing I’ve seen in recent years. Whether it was at Milan (Tenn.), Stoneville (Miss.) or any other location in...
By now, everyone knows that Arkansas’s incumbent Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln faces a monumental challenge in her bid to win a third term in Washington. Most of the polls have her trailing Republican Rep. John Boozman by nearly 30...
Is it just me or does it seem like the House Ag Committee’s field hearings on the 2012 Farm Bill are just a tad early in this entire process? We’ve heard both sides of the argument for starting these...
We all know how important Texas is to U.S. cotton production, and nowhere was that more evident than at the recent Texas Cotton Ginners Annual Meeting in Lubbock. Our magazine co-sponsors this show, and it’s obvious...
Recently, I read a rather gloomy story in In the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper about U.S. cotton’s future, and I have to be honest with you. It upset me. I always react that way when I read...
I’ve been attending the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show for the better part of two decades, and it never disappoints. Last week’s show was no exception. In fact, I can’t recall a Gin Show in Memphis...
Don’t worry about certain areas of the Cotton Belt not having enough soil moisture before planting begins. Record snowfall across the Belt has taken care of any early drought possibilities in key regions. At least, that’s the impression here...
Well, our staff is glad to be back from the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in New Orleans, and it’s always a challenge to digest all of the information we collect at this great meeting. But that’s actually a nice problem...
