Orlando Boom
February 14, 2012 Cotton producers and industry professionals from across the Cotton Belt are gearing up for the 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences, set to take place January 3-6 at the Orlando World Center Marriott. As always, the Conferences offer cotton growers the opportunity to gain valuable insight on practices ranging from pre-emergence weed control systems to precision agriculture management techniques – information designed to impact each farmer’s bottom line.
Conference information, including instructions for housing and registration, is available at www.cotton.org/beltwide. Organizers with the National Cotton Council say they’re excited to bring the Beltwide Cotton Conferences back to Orlando.
“Orlando really has a lot to offer as far as bringing the family,” says Bill Robertson, the NCC manager of agronomy, soils and physiology. “At a time of year when some kids may still be out of school and others are just starting back, they can get down there and have some fun with the family at the amusement parks and so forth.”
While some information from the Orlando conferences will be available to growers through media coverage and regional winter meetings, Robertson says there’s no substitute for attending the meetings first-hand.
“There are a number of things you can get by being at the Beltwide in person that you can’t get anywhere else,” Robertson says. “Interacting with producers from across the country is something that you just can’t get sitting at your computer desk or at your local meetings.
“There is an opportunity to visit one-on-one with the university Extension and research specialists that are dealing with these problems. You aren’t always able to have access to a Stanley Culpepper or a Chris Main or a Ken Smith – those are the experts, and you can get your information straight from the horse’s mouth at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences.”
The 2012 Cotton Production Conference general session is set to focus on several topics, including; What went right and wrong in the 2011 growing season, including what was learned from the extreme weather events across the Cotton Belt; Proven marketing strategies; New farm policy development and impending regulations; And producing cotton with a changing arsenal of plant protection products.
“These program topics were chosen to help producers deal with the unique challenges they will face in the 2012 growing season,” says Kenneth Hood, a Mississippi producer and ginner who chairs the Beltwide steering committee. “One of those challenges, for example, will be achieving efficiency and profitability with a declining number of plant protection products. Today’s producers are trying to manage cotton with fewer plant protection products coupled with more restrictions on the products that are available.”
At the 2012 Production Conference workshops, the goal will be to foster interaction between speakers and attendees on challenging agronomic issues such as herbicide resistance, prevention and management as well as producing cotton without Temik. Workshops will also focus on insect and weed management strategies when planting conventional varieties and irrigation, with an emphasis on scheduling.
Among other workshops will be one with entomologists and agronomists discussing their use of social media, such as Facebook and blogging, to disseminate timely information and to gather feedback with the goal of helping improve producers’ in-season decision-making. As in the past, a workshop also will have allied industry representatives talking about new and emerging technology and products such as plant varieties, chemistries, equipment and software.
“The workshops are especially good for posing questions to other cotton producers, researchers, Extension, agribusiness representatives and consultants,” says NCC Chairman Charles Parker, a Missouri producer and ginner. “Overall, I believe the Beltwide gives producers a great opportunity to not only hear what their peers are doing in other parts of the Cotton Belt but talk to them face-to-face about proven farming practices.”
Another staple of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences is the Cotton Consultants Conference, which will be offered for the fifth consecutive year. The Consultants Conference will offer insight gained from the 2011 growing season and a discussion on dealing with weed resistance management, particularly ways to enhance pigweed control, in 2012.
The Beltwide Cotton Conferences also include the Cotton Foundation Technical Exhibits and 13 cotton technical conferences.
The Beltwide Cotton Conferences bring together those with a stake in a healthy U.S. cotton production sector, including cotton industry members, university and USDA researchers, Extension personnel, consultants, and service providers, to share timely information.
GET THE NEWSLETTER TODAY!
