Luncheon Honors Cotton Achievement Award Winner Bowen Flowers
March 3, 2019 Bowen Flowers was honored as recipient of the 2018 Cotton Grower Cotton Achievement Award during a special luncheon March 1 during the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show in Memphis.
Flowers, a partner in Omega Plantation in Clarksdale, MS, is the 49th recipient of the annual award, which is sponsored by NexGen brand cottonseed from Americot. He was honored for his unceasing leadership and involvement in the U.S. cotton industry, management of one of the top farming operations in the Mid-South, and the time and attention he gives to conservation efforts in his beloved Mississippi Delta.
“This is a special program to Cotton Grower,” said Beck Barnes, editor/publisher of Cotton Grower Magazine, in presenting the award. “As evidenced by the list of past recipients, it has become a special fraternity. A lot of you know the sacrifices and the work and the time that people like Bowen Flowers put into this industry. It’s important to us to get to honor them.”
Honoring Bowen Flowers (second from left) with the 2018 Cotton Grower Cotton Achievement Award are Cotton Grower Editor/Publisher Beck Barnes (second from right), and Americot’s Terry Campbell (left) and Chiree Fields (right).
A fourth generation farmer, Flowers is active with the National Cotton Council (NCC), serving as a producer delegate from Mississippi in the early 1990s and more recently as an NCC director from 2006-2008 and from 2013-2015. He has served on various NCC committees and task forces, including the Farm Policy Task Force, Environmental Task Force, Cottonseed Program Task Force and the Crop Insurance Implementation Working Group.
He also served as chairman of American Cotton producers in 2014 and 2015 and is currently a member of the ACP Farm Policy Task Force. He’s a past president of Delta Council and a member of the Staplcotn Board of Directors. He also sits on the Coahoma County Farm Bureau board, is a Soil and Water Commissioner for Coahoma County, and remains active in local community activities.
“Bowen exemplifies the best in American agriculture,” said Terry Campbell, director of business development for Americot and NexGen. “He is among a very elite group of people who have been recognized for their significant contribution to the cotton industry over the years.
“We want to thank Bowen – as well as his wife, Susan, their family and Omega Plantation – for all of the hours, days, weeks, and even months on an annual basis that he has given to better the cotton industry and his fellow cotton growers.”
In accepting the award, Flowers said, “I’ve always looked up to the people who have received this award in the past, and it’s humbling and an honor to be part of that group.” He also offered a challenge to the U.S. cotton industry.
“I want to tell you to be sure to encourage young growers coming up,” he stated. “Encourage them to get involved with local, state and national organizations and work to become our future leaders. It’s critical to the cotton industry. The industry has been so good to all of us, and we need to carry it forward.”
Since 1970, Cotton Grower Magazine has annually identified and honored an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment, leadership and innovation to the cotton industry with the Cotton Achievement Award. Winners are selected after extensive research and thoughtful input from cotton’s most dedicated organizations and individuals.
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