Southwest Growers to See Mid-South Cotton Operations
August 11, 2015 Twelve cotton producers from Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas will see cotton operations in Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee on August 17-20 as part of the National Cotton Council’s (NCC) 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.
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 Southwest are Merle Rose, Haviland, KS; Tyler Oxford and Austin White, both of Frederick, OK; Charles Braden and Pat Pelzel, both of Garden City, TX; Orland Cadena, Alice, TX; David Carter, Levelland, TX; Terry Coker, Roby, TX, Eric Englund, Slaton, TX; Sutton Page, Avoca, TX; Brade Weishuhn, Vancourt, TX; and Ricky Yantis, Littlefield, TX.
Following an orientation, the group will begin their Mid-South activities in Tennessee on August 17 with a look at cotton trait introgression at Bayer CropScience’s research facility in Memphis. They will then visit Kelley Farms in Burlison, where they also will get briefed on Tennessee cotton production and weed resistance management in the state.
The group then moves to Arkansas for two days. On August 18, they will visit McClendon Farms in Marianna and tour the Lon Mann Research Station, where they will get an update on the University of Arkansas’ cotton breeding program and a comparison of Mid-South and Southwest cotton production. They also will tour the W.G. Huxtable Pumping Station for a briefing on Delta flood management.
On August 19, the participants will see rice production at White & Flye Farms in Weona and rice processing at the Windmill Rice Company in Jonesboro. They will also see Bayer CropScience’s variety trials at Wildy Farms in Manila, before touring individual cotton farms in that area.
The tour concludes August 20 with a presentation on Mississippi River Commerce and a port tour by the Pemiscot Port Authority in Caruthersville, MO, before the group returns to northeast Arkansas for a look at cotton production in the Wilson area.
In this season’s other P.I.E. tours, Southeast producers saw operations in California in mid-July, Mid-South producers traveled to Texas in late July, and Far West producers visited Georgia in early August.
Source – National Cotton Council
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