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 …
Beltwide Cotton Awards
Several awards were presented at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences last week. Here are two of them. Each year the University Extension Cotton Specialists select a colleague to recognize as the Beltwide Extension Cotton Specialist of the Year. Camp Hand, University of Georgia assistant professor in Crop & Soil Sciences, received this annual award for his leadership, dedication and exceptional service …
2024 Cotton Economic Outlook
One of the drawbacks of having a conference right after the holidays is that you may have some presenters end up sick. But not usually four in the same session. That’s what happened at the Economics and Marketing part of the National Cotton Conferences last week in Fort Worth, but Dale Cougot of Olam Agri, who serves as the National …
U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol Update
The Beltwide Cotton Conferences Sustainability Conference included an update on the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol by new executive director Daren Abney who assumed that position in July 2023. Abney says membership in the program continues to increase. “We work with the entire cotton supply chain so we take memberships from growers all the way up to retailers and brands,” said …
Cotton Consultants Kick Off Beltwide
The Consultants Conference kicked off three days of Beltwide Cotton Conferences Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas. Louisiana consultant Hank Jones says the committee works to include lots of topics of interest to cotton consultants. “We try to cover a wide range of topics and certainly we want to stay current, and want to address topics that are going to provide …
2024 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Kick Off
The National Cotton Council (NCC) and its cooperating partners are starting the new year with the 2024 Beltwide Cotton Conferences getting underway today in Fort Worth, Texas. Conferences coordinator Lauren Krogman says attendance is back to pre-COVID levels. “Right now our registration numbers are close to 800 so we are really happy to see everyone here,” said Krogman, who adds …
USDA Lowers Forecast for Corn, Soybeans and Cotton
The October Crop Production report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) lowered the production forecast this year for corn, soybeans, and cotton. Corn production is forecast at 15.1 billion bushels, down less than 1% from the previous forecast but up 10% from last year; soybean growers are expected to decrease their production 4% from 2022, forecast at 4.10 billion …
USDA Predicts More Corn, Less Soybeans and Cotton
Corn production is up, while soybean and cotton production is down from 2022, according to the latest Crop Production report issued Tuesday by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Corn production is forecast to be up 10% from last year, at 15.1 billion bushels; soybean growers production is down 3% from 2022, forecast at 4.15 billion bushels; and cotton production …