This year’s Beltwide Cotton Conferences attracted about the same size crowd as last year according to National Cotton Council Vice President of Producer Affairs, Craig Brown. I sat down with Craig to find out how he thought things were going and to talk about upcoming format changes for the annual event. Craig says this is the second year they have …
New Holland Announces Boomer 555 Contest Winners
New Holland has announced the eight regional winners of their Boomer 555 Contest. This was a great promotion and we congratulate the winners. Lots of interesting and well done photo, video and written entries were submitted. These winners will enjoy the use of a Boomer tractor protected by the “industry-leading Boomer Guard-5 Warranty” for the next five years! Daniel Del Vicario, Merrimack, NH Wounded …
2012 Cotton Market Outlook
We’ve had a look back at the cotton industry in 2011 but how about 2012? At the Beltwide Cotton Conferences we got that outlook from J. Michael Quinn, Carolinas Cotton Growers Cooperative. He started with a look at supply and demand. The December acreage projection was down from the November report. December had a significant slow down in mill use …
2011 Cotton Year In Review
How did things go in the cotton industry in 2011? The answers were included in a Beltwide Cotton Conferences general session presentation by Dr. David Wright, University of Florida. Florida wound up the 13th largest cotton growing state last year as an fyi. David says there was just too much that happened in 2011 to cover it all but he …
The Beltwide FMC Team
Here’s the FMC team ready for the start of the trade show at the 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences. I really appreciate their support and making my coverage of this year’s event possible. To find out what cotton growers will find when they visit with FMC I spoke with Stu Throop, Product Manager. Stu says that FMC has “placed a tremendous …
Welcome To Beltwide Cotton Production Conference
Missouri cotton farmer and Chairman of the National Cotton Council Charles Parker welcomed everyone to the 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences. His remarks kicked off the Beltwide Cotton Production Conference. Besides talking about this year’s conference Charles talked about the activities of the National Cotton Council during 2011. Following the opening remarks we heard about weather patterns in the cotton belt, …
Wild Weather Tops 2011 Ag Stories
Wild weather was the winner for the biggest ag story of 2011 according to our latest ZimmPoll. We asked the question, “What do you think is biggest ag story of 2011?” Wild weather got 40% or the response followed by Record farm land value – 17%; New free trade agreements – 16%; High commodity prices – 16%; Super committee “no”- …
The Environmental Footprint of Cotton
At the 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences the media received a preview of the Cotton Life Cycle Inventory & Life Cycle Assessment. This is a benchmark study for cotton sustainability. Cotton Incorporated announced today the completion of a comprehensive life cycle inventory and life cycle analysis of cotton products. The endeavor is part of the Cotton Foundation VISION 21 Project and …
Beltwide Kicks Off 2012 Ag Conference Season
This image greets you as you take the escalator down to the meeting room and registration floor for the Beltwide Cotton Conferences at the Orlando World Center Marriott. I got in too late to register but will get that taken care of early in the morning. While wandering around to get my bearings I did find the general session of …
Meet New Director-General of the FAO
Want to meet the new Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations? Yeah. Can’t say I’m really excited to but . . . His name is José Graziano da Silva and he’ll be holding a press conference which will be webcast tomorrow. The Brazilian agronomist and economist will discuss urgent food security issues and answer journalists’ …