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Cotton News

April 4, 2022

By December 29th, 2022No Comments
PCG 65th Annual Meeting

Plains Cotton Growers Inc. 65th Annual Meeting Recap

 Plains Cotton Growers Inc. held its 65th annual meeting Friday, April 1st at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. Brent Nelson, producer in Lamb County and PCG President, reported on the accomplishments of Plains Cotton Growers during the 2021 crop year. To see a list of these accomplishments, visit:
https://bit.ly/3wZ8miF. 

Josh Brooks, Danny Nusser, Rick Auckerman, Dan Hale

Josh Brooks, Danny Nusser, Rick Auckerman, Dan Hale

Rick Auckerman, extension agent in Deaf Smith County received the 2021 Outstanding High Plains Cotton Agent award for his dedication to the industry. 

The farm policy panel — consisting of Jennifer Cervantes, Texas and Florida Sugar Cane League, Reece Langley, National Cotton Council Washington Operations and Tim Lust, National Sorghum Producers — discussed the upcoming farm bill as well as the value of advocacy as a whole. 

Peyton Harper with The Fertilizer Institute discussed supply and demand factors relating to fertilizer markets, while Tiffany Lashmet, J.D., with AgriLife extension, had the entire room pinky swear that they would read the entire carbon contract before they sign it. “Don’t read it farmer-style,” she said. “Read every single word.” 

David Wasserman with The Cook Political Report reflected on upcoming elections and what that might mean for agriculture in future farm policy legislation. 

The meeting ended with a CEO report from PCG’s Kody Bessent who summed up the day perfectly. “I love this industry and I love what I do. None of this is possible without all of us working together to make the cotton industry strong, successful, resilient and ready to answer the call of clothing the world.” 

Special thanks to our sponsors: BASF, Deltapine, Farmers Cooperative Compress and Tucker Oil

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Tribute to Stacy Smith, PCG Officer 2014-2022

 As a PCG Officer for eight years, Stacy Smith was an avid advocate during theStacy Smith development and implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill along with various “ad hoc” programs that have been critical to keeping cotton producers in business. 

Additionally, under the Trump Administration, Smith was one of 33 members selected nationwide to serve on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee (FRRCC). The FRRCC provides independent policy advice, information, and recommendations to the EPA administrators on a range of environmental issues and policies that are of importance to agriculture.

We appreciate Stacy’s dedication to PCG and thank him for his service. 

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A Cotton Farmer’s Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for this day and thank you for all who are gathered here to support the cotton industry… And lastly, Lord, we pray that all who are wearing 100% polyester are really uncomfortable. 

Amen. 

-Travis Mires, producer in Lynn County at the 65th Annual Meeting 

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Round Module Wrap Standard Developed

The cotton industry is moving forward on a standard for round module wrap. According to Lauren Krogman, manager of Marketing and Processing Technology for the National Cotton Council (NCC), new policy was added during their annual meeting. 

“This standard addressed key properties around module wrap such as tinsel strength, abrasion resistance, puncture resistance, adhesive properties and colors that can be easily detected,” Krogman added. 

The standard was created to address inferior wrap that was beginning to come into the marketplace. This wrap was unable to withstand climate and harvest conditions ultimately leading to increased amounts of plastic contamination. 

On Feb. 15, 2022, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers fully approved and released the updated S615.2 Cotton Module Cover Material Performance Standards. 

Although this is a voluntary standard, NCC urges all producers to consider only purchasing wrap that has met or exceeded the standards. 

Moving forward, the NCC will be the depository for the names of manufacturers who meet these minimum standards. 

– Haylie Shipp, Southeast Regional Ag News 

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O.A. Cleveland on Trading

“It’s not over. Old crop May and July futures contracts will shoot for higher highs, 150 cents, maybe, maybe not, but the ride will be wild. It’s no longer about cotton demand, but rather mills must get out of the market — nothing more. Volatility will be a challenge.” 

To read the full article by economist O.A. Cleveland, click here. 

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