USDA NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE What is Soil Health? Soil health is defined as the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans. Healthy soil gives us clean air and water, bountiful crops...

Specialists Speaking Zachary Treadway / ARKANSAS As I write this, it’s Feb. 9, and there are still slight traces of snow out of my window in Northeast Arkansas. Although we have just thawed out, we will be looking at planting season before...

Specialists Speaking Hunter Frame / VIRGINIA Planning for the 2026 cotton production season has brought more anxiety than any other year since becoming Virginia’s cotton specialist in 2012. Cotton lint prices are essentially the same as they were in October 2014,...

Specialists Speaking Tyson Raper / TENNESSEE The 2025 variety testing data from Tennessee was released immediately after Christmas and you can find that report on news.utcrops.com. While we were able to achieve higher-than-average yields in two locations (Grand Junction and Ridgely), most of...

Specialists Speaking Randy Norton / ARIZONA Cotton Planting Considerations for Today’s Conditions Recent warm weather across Arizona has led many to begin thinking about the planting season. While early-season warmth can create opportunities for timely planting, increased weather variability in recent years...

Specialists Speaking Ken Legé / TEXAS West Texas growers are somewhat optimistic after having an above-average year in 2025 with good yields and very good fiber quality.  That optimism unfortunately wanes because of commodity prices.  Regardless, it is time to begin...

Specialists Speaking Keith Edmisten / NORTH CAROLINA North Carolina has two variety testing programs: the Official Variety Testing (OVT) program and the On-Farm Testing (OFT) program. Growers should consider the results from both programs, as each has advantages and disadvantages. The...

Specialists Speaking Josh Lee / ALABAMA  As we get ready to start the 2026 cotton growing season, one of the questions is always “What variety are you planting this year?” Cotton variety selection is one of the first management decisions a...

Specialists Speaking Camp Hand / GEORGIA Going into 2026, my entire county meeting presentation has to do with variety selection. In a year where all growers in my neck of the woods want to talk about is the “J-word” (jassids), why...

Specialists Speaking Brian Pieralisi / MISSISSIPPI Variety selection should be at the forefront of cotton farmers’ to-do lists. Like most years, there are several new varieties hitting the market with limited third-party performance data. In Mississippi State’s On-Farm cotton variety demonstration,...

Specialists Speaking Ben McKnight / TEXAS Looking forward to the 2026 growing season, perhaps the most important decision growers will make about next year’s crop is the varieties they will plant and manage for the remainder of the season. With so...

Karn Dhingra / Communications Specialist / Texas A&M University Texas Crop and Weather Report Texas row crop producers are heading into planting season amid early weather uncertainty, shifting price relationships in major commodities, and ongoing economic pressure from high input costs,...

DR. John R.C. Robinson Professor and Extension Specialist for Cotton Marketing It is never too early to develop a marketing plan for the next crop year. Longer run price outcomes for the 2026 crop depend on expectations of supply and...

By Grant Saum, Mid-South Regional Communications Manager, The Cotton Board Across the Mid-South, Cotton Incorporated continues to invest in the future of cotton through its Agricultural and Environmental Research Division, funding projects that directly impact grower profitability and sustainability. Through two...

Brenda Ortiz, UC Merced / ucmerced.edu From colorful scraps to soil-like material, a groundbreaking two-year research study explores the journey of cotton textiles through composting. UC Merced researchers are collaborating on a two-year research project to develop effective composting methods for...