Third P.I.E. Tour Takes Southwest Growers to San Joaquin Valley
July 26, 2016 Eleven cotton producers from Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas will see cotton and other agricultural operations in California’s San Joaquin Valley the week of August 1 as part of the National Cotton Council’s 2016 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 28th 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 more than 1,100 U.S. cotton producers to innovative production practices in regions different than their own.
Participating in the California tour are cotton producers are Jayme Dunn, Santata, KS; Ron Wollmann, Bessie, OK; Corbin Clements, Snyder, TX; Anthony Furgeson, Shallowater, TX; Marcus Galle, Raymondville, TX; Greg Harper, Sudan, TX; Cody Hughes, Sweetwater, TX; Sam Kellermeier, Garden City, TX; David Kubenka, San Angelo, TX; Dane Sanders, Floydada, TX; and Nick Seaton, Meadow, TX.
The group begins their activities on August 1 in Fresno with a briefing from the California Cotton Ginners/Growers Association, followed by a tour of the Bayer CropScience research facility. They also will tour Don Cameron’s Terra Nova Ranch in Helm, as well as other cotton operations in the Tranquillity area.
The next day, the group will observe Gilkey Enterprises’ cotton operations in Corcoran and visit other area farms before traveling to Lemoore to see Droogh Dairy. The group then heads to Laton for a tour of Jovie & Mark Rosa Farms and other farms in that area.
On August 3, the producers will tour the Quady Winery in Madera, then go to Los Banos to see tomato processing at the Ingomar Packing Company and meet with local cotton producers. The group will conclude their tour on August 4 with a look at table grape harvesting at the Kirschermann Farms in Shafter and a visit to the Farmers Coop Almond Huller in nearby Wasco.
One other P.I.E. tour is scheduled for this season, when Western producers visit two of Texas’ cotton production regions on August 14-19. Earlier, Mid-South producers visited the Carolinas in mid-July, and Southeast growers toured Mid-South operations in late July.
Source – National Cotton Council
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