Browse Cotton Stories - Page 4

As Georgia cotton farmers prepare for this year’s growing season, some are still trying to harvest what’s left of the 2018 crop, according to Jared Whitaker, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension cotton agronomist.

When University of Georgia graduate Stefano Gobbo received his master’s degree last week, he made history, both for UGA and for the University of Padova (UNIPD) in Italy.

A state program aimed at teaching farmers and other pesticide applicators how to properly apply pesticides continues to limit pesticide drift in Georgia. The educational training system, called “Using Pesticides Wisely,” was created by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension and the Georgia Department of Agriculture. UGA Extension weed scientist Stanley Culpepper, who developed the training, credits Georgia farmers’ excellent teamwork and decision-making for the low number of pesticide drift complaints in Georgia in 2017.

To avoid losing their farms following Hurricane Michael, Georgia farmers need financial relief as soon as possible, according to Jeff Dorfman, a professor and agricultural economist in the University of Georgia Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

University of Georgia agricultural economists believe that Georgia cotton farmers in the path of Hurricane Michael have only begun to feel the impact of the storm that took 90 or 100 percent of many area growers’ crops.

All farmers with crops and commodities affected by Hurricane Michael are invited to attend an agriculture disaster assistance information session to be held at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center at 2 p.m. Monday, October 22.

What was an extremely promising Georgia cotton crop was devastated when Hurricane Michael ravaged south Georgia Oct. 10-11. According to Jared Whitaker, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension cotton agronomist, the prospects of 1,500 to 1,800 pounds of dryland cotton for some producers were reduced, resulting in 80 to 90 percent losses in some fields.

Georgia cotton farmers who planted their crop late this year need to be mindful of potential whitefly pressure, according to Phillip Roberts, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension entomologist.

Farmers and industry supporters are invited to the annual University of Georgia Cotton and Peanut Research Field Day to be held on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, on the UGA Tifton campus and UGA research farms in Tift County.

University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) researchers and Cooperative Extension agents and specialists will share current research on popular Georgia row crops at the 2018 Midville Field Day, set for Wednesday, Aug. 15, at the Southeast Georgia Research and Education Center in Midville, Georgia.