FiberMax One Ton Club Celebrates 10 Years, Honors 183 Growers

Bayer CropScience celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the FiberMax One Ton Club and honored 183 growers for producing one ton yields in 2014 at the annual banquet in early April in Lubbock.

During its first decade, the FiberMax One Ton Club has recognized 806 cotton growers who produced 2,000 pounds or more of lint cotton per acre on at least 20 acres using FiberMax cotton seed. In 2014, a grower from North Carolina became the first One Ton Club member from east of Texas. Growers have used 37 different FiberMax varieties to produce One Ton Club yields.

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Bayer CropScience brought FiberMax cotton seed to the West Texas market in 1998 and revolutionized cotton production on the High Plains. The region once known for producing lower yields and quality began producing some of the highest yields and best quality in the United States.

Lee Rivenbark, head of Seeds North America for Bayer CropScience, remembers those early days when growers first started achieving yields that were previously unknown in West Texas.

“By elevating the use of water management, equipment and technology, these innovative growers showed they could successfully manage for high yields and high quality with FiberMax cotton,” Rivenbark said. “We began to hear stories about 2,000-pound cotton yields, and we needed to come up with a way to recognize producers who grew four-bale cotton. Then a grower told us, ‘It’s not just four-bale cotton. It’s a ton of cotton.’”

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Through the last decade, FiberMax growers across the Southwest have refined agronomic practices and brought new innovations to continue producing high yields and excellent quality, even during a three-year drought and other challenges. At last year’s banquet, one Texas grower was recognized for producing 6.9 bales to the acre with FiberMax cotton.

“The piece we can’t forget is the expertise these growers bring in this harsh and difficult environment,” Rivenbark said. “I don’t know where the top end is. But wherever it is, we’ll be shining a spotlight on the growers who make the One Ton Club.”

This year, FiberMax One Ton Club members from Texas, Arizona, California and Oklahoma qualified for a chance to win a Ford F-350 Super Duty King Ranch truck, which was won by Willem and Ruth Hartman, first-year One Ton Club members from Pampa, TX. The Hartmans averaged 2,321 pounds per acre on 54 acres using FM 2011GT, with a USDA loan value of 57.23 cents.

“We started growing cotton three years ago, and tried to grow dryland cotton during a drought,” Hartman said. “It was a really tough year, but we stayed with it. Last year, I went all out in cotton and focused on irrigated cotton where we could get plenty of water on it. We had more rain, and it turned out a lot better.”

Other individual awards presented during the banquet included highest yield, highest gross value, highest loan value, most acres and most varieties:

Highest Yield and Highest Gross Value per Acre – Larry Hancock, with 3,260 pounds and $1,854.94 per acre with FM 2334GLT

Highest Loan Value – Mark Pratt, 58.17 cents with FM 2322GL and FM 1830GLT

Most One Ton Club Acres – Chris Matschek and Doyle Schaefer, 425 acres with FM 1944GLB2 and FM 2484B2F

Most Varieties Achieving One Ton Club Yields – Eleven farming operations made One Ton Club yields last season with two varieties.

 

Source – Bayer CropScience

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