Satisfied with Beltwide

Before the Texas “Charter for Success” farmers headed back to the Southwest, I caught up with two of them named Don Marble and Keith Marble. Don and Keith farm together in Southplain Texas. I mentioned in an earlier post, that the “Charter for Success” program is a Monsanto and Delta and Pine Land sponsored event to expose farmers firsthand to Beltwide Cotton Conferences. These farmers came from all over the Texas high plains close to Lubbock, TX. I didn’t have much time to have an in depth conversation with them but I did manage to interview them on their breif recap on their experience. Click the link to hear what they said. Interview

Believe it or not this was my very first interview and thank goodness I had to great farmers to make it a smooth process. As Marble mentioned he and the other growers in attendance learned valuable information about new technology and upcoming varities in the pipeline. Overall they had a very good experience at Beltwide and are looking forward to coming back next year.

An Expert in Agricultural Blogging

What better person for me to get agricultural blogging infomation from than an expert in the field. That is exactly what Chuck Zimmerman is, an expert in the field of agricultural blogging. I had the opportunity to interview Chuck and gain insight as to what he does and how it has impacted agriculture journalism.

Zimmerman explained to me that “There are a lot different things that I do” in the broad spectrum of his career as an agriculture journalist. With a broadcasting background, he started his blogging Career with Agwired.com at the end of 2004. Since then he has started his own company called ZimmComm. ZimmComm is essentially a company that creates and manages blogs and pod casts for clients. His company currently manages 21 blog sites, 6 of which are his own. In addition to that, he manages 9 pod casts, 3 of which are his own. He also does a fair amount of consulting and training for companies interested training their own employees on blogging.

I asked Zimmerman how he feels about the criticism and questioning of whether or not blogging is a legitimate source of journalism. He explained to me that initially they question the legitimacy of blogging. However upon reviewing his website they come to realize and respect blogging as "real" journalism. Zimmerman reveals that the value in his blogging business is that it allows him to directly communicate with the customer. He adds that "you don't need to use a newspaper or a radio or a television to communicate with the work. It is important to not that Zimmerman writes from a news perspective rather than from a personal perspective as many bloggers do.

Since 2004, Zimmerman has blogged almost every major Agriculture related event or conference. Some of these include the Indy 500, Country Music Festival, Farm Progress, Beltwide Cotton Conference, Florida Citrus Expo and World Dairy Expo. He had the opportunity to meet and interview celebrities at the National Bio Diesel Conference some of which were Willie Nelson, Luke Perry and Larry Hagman.

For all of you facebookers, Zimmerman has a group on there for farm podcasters and agri bloggers so check it out!

Mingling with Growers

My colleague Tyne Morgan, a Monsanto public affairs intern who is soon to be hired full time, and I went to the Delta and Pine Land reception last night and had a blast with some West Texas growers! We ended up at thier table after scouring the crowded room looking for a place to sit. Luckily for us, they were very welcoming to perfect strangers as southern people usually are. Tyne, from Lexington Missouri, has actually been amazed all week in experiencing the "southern hospitality" first hand from the southern growers of the Beltwide. These Munday, Texas natives were no exception. We exchanged wisecracks and personal experiences. These growers came to the conference as part of the "Chater for Success" program sponsored by Delta and Pine Land. For these growers, it was their first experience at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences and they were excited to be there learning valuable information. By the end of the night we had been formally invited to their farm if we were ever in the West Texas area. This is just one of the many experiences I have had the opportunity to enjoy this week!

Graduate Student Competitions

Today, the graduate student paper competition took place. Graduate students from various universities submitted research pertaining to cotton agronomy and physiology and were given the opportunity to present their research today. The winner of this contest is awarded $500. I wish I could have entered! I had the chance to sit in on a few presentations and found that their research was quite interesting. One presentation given by a particular student was on the evaluation of cotton varieties double-cropped with wheat and wheat stubble management. Now, being as I am an undergraduate student who is still unfamiliar with cotton I couldn't quite pick up on everything in his presentation. However I do think I gathered his findings correctly which were that double cropped systems yielded less than stale seedbed systems with an April or May planting date but that double cropping is still a viable option. That's just my take on it. Other topics of research from students were the effects of irrigation and plant density on yield quality and within boll yield components. Another was project was done on polyamines during cotton reproductive development as affected by nodal position. I only named a few research projects out many presented. Even though I'm unaware of the exact content of their research I can attest to obviousness of the hard work that each student put into their research and for that I commend each presenter.

High Cotton Award Breakfast

A very unique award show called the High Cotton Award breakfast took place this morning bright and early! It's a tradition every year at the Beltwide Cotton Conferences to highlight and award growers from four different regions across the Cotton Belt: Southeast, Mid-South, Southwest and Western states. The recipients of the award are growers who continually practice environmentally sound production. In addition to that, these recipients have proven that they consistently produce profitable yields and high quality cotton. These recipients demonstrate leadership in their communities and are usually involved in various cotton organizations. They also illustrate their commitment to the advancement of cotton and agriculture by embracing new technology. This award is sponsored by Farm Press Publications and The Cotton Foundation.

This year, the High Cotton Award was given to five recipients, two of which are brothers in the Southeast region. They are Mike and Timmy Haddock and they farm together in Trenton, North Carolina. Shortly after their father retired in 1985, the brothers acquired the family tobacco farm and formed a partnership. In 1990 the Haddock brothers assisted with 15 local farmers to build the first gin in the area. Shortly thereafter, they followed the trend of their neighbors and planted 525 acres of their first cotton crop. An important change came in the Haddock brother's farming practice in 1998, when they made a decision to no-till. Since then, their farming has changed for the better! In 2007, the planted 900 acres of cotton with Roundup Ready varieties 500 of which were Bollgard Flex II. This was the first time they used Bollgard Flex II and were pleased with the results. These two brothers demonstrate what it takes to be named the Southeast High Cotton Award recipients.

The High Cotton Award for the Mid-south was given to B Lindsey (yep that's his name), from Caldwell, Arkansas. Unlike your typical farmer, Lindsey preceded his farming career with a career as a professional athlete. Lindsey played double A baseball for Memphis and Texas. Athletics genes definitely run in that family seeing as how B's brother Jimmy played professional football for the Minnesota Vikings! In Cross County, Lindsey farms around 4,000 acres for several landlords. Lindsey has two sons who farm separate from their father. As a skillful hunter and farmer, Lindsey values the preservation of wildlife habitat. He is constantly searching for ways to keep topsoil in tact and for that reason he has put dozens of drop pipes and drop inlets on the farm. The attention that Lindsey has put into quality cotton has reaped many benefits and allowed him to have loyal customers. Because of that Lindsey had many people in favor of him winning the High Cotton Award for the Mid-south region.

Clint Abernathy from Altus, Oklahoma is the recipient of the Southwest High Cotton Award. One interesting fact about Abernathy is that he has been extremely innovative by incorporating new technology on his farm with the use of GPS, drip irrigation, transgenic cotton varieties and reduced tillage. His use of technology has has saved him time and money. Abernathy involves his two sons in the family business and together they farm over 4,000 cotton acres. In that 4,000 acres, 1,800 are dryland, 2,400 are irrigated and one-third of the irrigated cotton is no till. For the 2008 season he plans to install another 300 acres to his 530 acres of drip irrigation. Last growing season, Abernathy planted several different cotton varieties including our very own DP 143 B2RF. He believes that Flex cotton is a valuable tool. Overall Abernathy's system of management for his farm is what you would consider adaptable in that he is able to embrace and take advantage of the changing technology. This is a key component of a grower nominated for the the High Cotton Award.

The last High Cotton Award is for the Western Region and was given to Aubrey Hatley from Mesa, Arizona. People who know and interact with him say he's a role model for cotton growers. In addition to that, he's got one of the best smiles in the west! His farm operation called Associated Farms literally includes his whole family; his wife, his daughter his son and his son's wife. This year Mesa had a diverse crop variety which included 450 acres of corn silage, 600 acres of alfalfa, and 2,130 acres of cotton. Hatley's location in Arizona is unique in that it is under the regulations of both the state of Arizona and the Indian environmental protection agencies. Not to mention, Arizon's air quality/dust regulations are among the most rigid in the nation. Hatley's key varieties have been Deltapine 655, 555 and 449 all stacked gene Bt and Roundup-resistant varieties. He, as well as other High Cotton Award winner embraces new technology, in fact he stated to Harry Cline, Farm Press editorial staff that "I'm not sure I'd want to try farming today without transgenics." It was because of his innovation and positive influence that Hatley was award the High Cotton Award for the western region.

As you can see from the photos above, the families of all these recipients were in attendance to the breakfast in full support. They even put me on the family payroll and had me take their pictures with all of their cameras! I was definitely glad to do it because I know how important it was for them to capture the glorious moment in which their loved ones get awarded for something they love doing well.

Green vs Red

The guests today had the unique opportunity to a hear harvesting technology panel discussion. In this panel, the benefits of the new on board module building on the Case IH and John Deere pickers were explored from two different perspectives.

One perspective came from Kenneth Hood, an accomplished cotton producer and ginner from Gunnison Mississippi. Kenneth has been farming in the Mississippi Delta for close to 50 years. Hood has held many leadership positions in the cotton industry and is very awarded. Hood also had a hand in the development of the new Case IH harvester. Needless to say he offers the Case IH perspective.The John Deere perspective comes from Charles Parker, an experienced cotton producer and ginner from Senath, Missouri. Parker is president of Parker and Jones Farms and is vice president of the Farmers Union Gin Company. In addition to that he has held numerous leadership in the cotton community.

Guest were able to get a look at both company's new innovations. What they found was that both systems are very similar in terms of the yield monitors, the onboard cameras with TV screen to visually see the cotton, the lighting system to gage how full the system is and the one button unloading system which allows very simple unloading of the cargo. They also found that both systems increase production by about 25% and significantly reduce labor. Getting to each picker specifically, Parker found that with the new John Deere picker there was not as much loss of cotton before it gets to the gin. He also found that the moisture is more consistent throughout the picker. Hood stated that the Case IH picker does not weigh any more than a conventional picker and it can vary the size of the bale module.

Overall it seems that both of these new technologies are very competitive and offer great advantages to the producer.

Updates and Reports

This morning guest heard numerous reports and updates from several leaders in the cotton industry. It began with a warm welcome from Kevin Givens, the commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, followed by an official Cotton Council Report from John Pucheu, Chairmen of the National Cotton Council. In Pucheu's report, he reviewed the current US position in cotton world market. He discussed enhancing US cotton's image in the market and how this can be achieved through sustainability in all meanings of the word. The Chairman also affirmed the Council's longstanding commitment to research, education and technology transfer.

Guests then heard a report from Cotton Incorporated given by Berry Worsham, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Worsham stated that in 2007 sustainability was a primary focus as well for Cotton Incorporated. He went on to say that "sustainability doesn't just stop at the farm," but rather continues in all sectors of the cotton industry. The CEO also mentioned several focus areas of the company which include improving farm profitability, enhancing cottons' global presence, enhancing environmental research to the consumer, meeting challenges that face cotton and continuing to connect with the US consumer. Worsham also introduced a new DVD that features the new eco-friendly processes of the company.

Following Worsham's report came a Washington update from John Maguire. Maguir is the Senior Vice President of Washington Operations for the National Cotton Council. In his update, Maguire made reference to the constant criticism of the cotton program under the current Farm Bill and that many call for a reform. He mentions several remarks made by critics erroneously stating that the program stimulates over production, fails to adjust to new market values, is too expensive and is out of balance with other commodities. Maguire follows this by showing evidence that negates those comments and states that the program should remain as is and not reformed for the new Farm Bill. Maguire then goes on to briefly explain the legislative processes that have taken place in the House and the Senate regarding the cotton program. He wraps up his update by explaining several opportunities and challeges facing the cotton industry in the future such as the value of the US dollar, cotton's impact on world markets, the US economy, and the implementation of the New Farm Law.

Next, Dr. Gary Adams gave an update from and economic standpoint. Dr. Adam's is the Vice President of Economics and Policy Analysis for the National Cotton Council. He began with a recap of the cotton movement in the last three years. He then explained the breakdown of cotton production markets. In Dr. Adam's breakdown, he mentioned that China and India together accounted for more than 50% of the world market cotton production. That is a lot! Then he commented the change in the 2007 cotton area and that the US declined in 29% of its cotton acres last year. Dr. Adam's made mention of some noticeable changes in the world cotton economy. One change is that India is emerging as a large exporter and that its production has more than doubled from 2002 to 2007. Adams told guests to be on the lookout for the USDA's Winter Week Seeding's Report this friday.

The session ended with a discussion on variety improvment given by Dr. Kater Hake, the Vice President for Agriculture Research at Cotton Incorporated. Dr. Hake began his discussion by mentioning some major initiatives for Cotton Incorporated such as sustainability, resistance management, economics, farm profitability, innovative machinery, and precion cotton. He stated the the company is rethinking variety improvement and that it is a critical concept in longterm decision making. He goes on to explain the regulatory approval process for traits. Dr. Hake concludes his discussion the process of fiber quality into yarn quality. I am sure I speak for everyone in attendance when I say that hearing those updates and reports allowed so much valuable information to be gathered in such a small amount of time!