At the start of 2025, the U.S. cotton industry is facing some tough times right now, according to National Cotton Council president and CEO Gary Adams. “It’s tough from an economic standpoint for producers,” said Adams this week at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences in New Orleans. “We have seen costs that have increased substantially over the last several years. In …
Cotton Consultants Focused on Regulatory Issues
Adapting to regulations is a constant theme in the life of cotton consultants, but this year more than ever the Beltwide Cotton Consultants Conference wanted to stress how new regulations will be impacting the industry. “We set up a central theme this year of regulatory issues, primarily focused around the marriage of EPA with Fish and Wildlife with some of …
2025 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Preview
The National Cotton Council is ready to welcome all to the 2025 Beltwide Cotton Conferences next week, January 14-16, at the New Orleans Marriott, New Orleans, LA. Three days of individual reports, panel discussions, hands on workshops and seminars are designed to provide attendees with information they need to help producers make key cotton production/marketing-related decisions. Conferences coordinator Lauren Krogman …
Syngenta’s Victrato® Getting Closer to Registration
Syngenta Seedcare technical lead Dr. Dale Ireland has been working on developing TYMIRIUM technology for over a decade and it is finally approaching the finish line. “We’re nearing registration for soybeans and once it’s registered, it will be called Victrato®. And that’s for soybeans for nematodes, sudden death syndrome, red crown rot and several other early season diseases that it …
Helene Causes Extensive Damage in Southeast
Agricultural damage from Hurricane Helene is being evaluated this week around the southeast. At a press conference Sunday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said they expect the damage toll to be worse than Hurricane Michael in 2018. “We know we have 107 poultry facilities damaged or totally destroyed, 15 dairies that have been affected and dozens and dozens of other facilities,” …
Syngenta Excited For New SCN Seed Treatment
At Farm Progress Show this week, Syngenta was promoting its highly anticipated seed treatment for soybeans and cotton using TYMIRIUM® technology, called Victrato. With approval by EPA for registration anticipated by the 2025 growing season, the new seed treatment will introduce targeted technology to stop nematodes, Sudden Death Syndrome, and Cotton Root Rot without harming beneficial organisms. “Its wheelhouse is …
USDA Forecasting Record Corn and Soybean Yields
The latest Crop Production report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is forecasting record corn and soybean yields this year, with higher total production for soybeans and slightly lower for corn. Corn production is expected to be down 1% from last year at 15.1 billion bushels while soybean production is forecast to be 10% higher than 2023 at a …
Cotton Council Announces Don Parker Memorial Scholarship
The National Cotton Council (NCC), in collaboration with The Cotton Foundation and Mississippi State University, has established the Don Parker Memorial Cotton Foundation Endowed Scholarship to honor the memory of Dr. Parker who passed away in 2023 after serving NCC since 2007. Parker first served as Manager of Integrated Pest Management and later as Vice President, Technical Services and Executive …
USDA Estimates Corn Acres Down 3%, Soybeans Up 3%
The planted acres report out Friday from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates 91.5 million acres of corn planted in the United States for 2024, down 3% from last year, with soybean acres estimated at 86.1 million acres, up 3% from last year. The estimate for all cotton planted area for 2024 is 11.7 million acres, 14% above 2023. …
Breeding for Fusarium Wilt Race 4 Resistance
Cotton production across the United States is under serious threat from a soil-inhabiting fungus called Fusarium oxysporum vasinfectum race 4 (FOV4), which causes Fusarium wilt. After years of fighting the fungus in California, the battle field is now in Texas and cotton breeder Dr. Jim Olvey discussed the topic at the recent Beltwide Cotton Conferences. “It’s been a great collaborative …