Mid-South Cotton Producers to See Texas Agriculture

Ten Mid-South cotton producers will observe cotton and other agricultural operations in Texas the week of July 26 as part of the National Cotton Council’s 2015 Producer Information Exchange (P.I.E.) Program.

Sponsored by Bayer CropScience through a grant to The Cotton Foundation, the P.I.E. program is now in its 27th year of helping participants improve yields and fiber quality. The program specifically aims to help its participants boost their overall farming operation efficiency by gaining new perspectives in such fundamental practices as land preparation, planting, fertilization, pest control, irrigation and harvesting; and observing the unique ways in which their peers are using current technology.

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Upon completion of this year’s tours, the P.I.E. program will have exposed nearly 1,200 U.S. cotton producers to innovative production practices in regions different than their own.

Making the trip from the Mid-South are Cameron Boyd, Jonesboro, AR; Adam Lemoine, Moreauville, LA; Victor Lemoine, Cottonport, LA; George Jeffords, Jr., Greenwood, MS; Bill Skinner and Bill Skinner, Jr., both of Macon, MS; Gerald White, Marks, MS; Jason Luckey, Humboldt, TN; Freeman Smith, Brownsville, TN; and Andrew Zarecor, Newbern, TN.

The group will begin their activities on July 27 in Lubbock, where the group will get an overview of High Plains cotton production from Steve Verett of Plains Cotton Growers, an update on managing weed resistance from Peter Dotray of Texas Agri-Life Extension, and a tour of the Bayer CropScience research facility. They also will visit United Cotton Growers Gin in Levelland and Sudan Coop Gin in Sudan, plus tour local cotton producers’ operations.

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July 28 will feature tours of Smith Farms in Floydada and Hurst Farm supply in Lorenzo, where the group will also receive updates on Texas water rights and GPS and soil monitoring technology.

The group moves to the Coastal Bend area of Texas for the next two days. On July 29, the group will be in Corpus Christi for visits with Stover Equipment Company, Gulf Compress, the Port of Corpus Christi, Gatefront, LLC’s fertilizer terminal and individual farms in the Odem area.

The tour concludes on July 30 with a tour of the King Ranch in Kingsville and a visit to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Fish Hatchery in Corpus Christi.

Two other P.I.E. tours are scheduled for this season. Mid-South producers will travel to Texas on July 26-31, Far West producers will visit Georgia on August 2-7, and Southwest producers will travel to Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi on August 16-21. Southeast producers visited California’s San Joaquin Valley in early July.

 

Source – National Cotton Council

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