Ron Rayner Honored with NCC Cotton Service Award
February 21, 2022 
Ron Rayner (right) receives the 2021 Harry S. Baker Distinguished Service Award from outgoing NCC Chairman Kent Fountain. (Photo: NCC)
Ron Rayner, a third generation Arizona cotton producer, received the 2021 Harry S. Baker Distinguished Service Award from the National Cotton Council (NCC).
The award, presented during the NCC 2022 annual meeting in February, is named for the late California industry leader and past NCC President Harry S. Baker and is presented annually to a deserving individual who has provided extraordinary service, leadership, and dedication to the U.S. cotton industry.
In presenting the award, outgoing NCC Chairman Kent Fountain said Rayner has long been an industry leader and very active in the Council, serving in numerous Council leadership positions as a director, treasurer, and as its 1999 president.
Fountain said that while serving as NCC president, “Ron met that year’s challenges head on and promoted industry unity that led to many cotton priorities being met. Among positive results for the industry that year was restoration of sound cotton policy and the approval of emergency assistance to help cover 1998 crop losses, including $180 million for cottonseed support. Ron also appointed a special Council committee to look at future farm policy.”
Before and since his time as president, Rayner has been very involved in industry affairs. He served on multiple Council program committees, the Program Eligibility and Quality task forces, and the Beltwide Cotton Conferences Steering Committee. He chaired the Council’s American Cotton Producers in 1996 and 1997 and served as a director and executive committee member of Cotton Council International (CCI) in 1998.
For many years, Rayner has provided valuable input to the Council through his participation on its future role study and new finance plan steering committees, among others. He currently serves as vice chairman of the Council’s Operations Committee and as an advisor to the Council’s Board of Directors.
In addition to his NCC involvement, Rayner served as a Cotton Incorporated director, as president of the Arizona Cotton Growers Association, chairman of Calcot, and as a member of USDA’s Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service’s state committee. He currently is a board member of the Central Arizona Project and the Family Farm Alliance.
Rayner, who is a partner in A Tumbling T Ranches with his two brothers and two nephews, produces cotton, alfalfa, and grains on about 6,000 acres. The partners own another 3,200 acres of farmland in California of which they lease a portion to other producers. He is also a former president of Farmer’s Gin, Inc., in Buckeye.
He has long been recognized for his innovative production practices and conservation efforts such as water use efficiency and his multi-year, minimum tillage crop rotation system. He has received numerous awards including Cotton Farming magazine’s “Cotton Farmer of the Year” in 1989, Arizona Farm Bureau’s Farmer of the Year in 1998, and more recently was honored as a 2018 High Cotton Award recipient.
Based on information provided by the National Cotton Council
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