Everybody's picking
California and Virginia began harvesting their cotton crops last week, the last states to get started. California growers brought in the crop from 3 percent of their acreage, and Virginia growers harvested 2 percent, according to USDA's weekly Crop Progress report. A few North Carolina growers had begun harvesting two weeks earlier, but by Oct. 1 the state was reporting only 3 percent of the cotton acreage harvested.

These three states, along with Arizona, also report the best crop condition. California reports 100 percent of its crop as in fair condition or better. Arizona, which has harvested 21 percent of its acres, has 97 percent fair or better; North Carolina 95 percent; and Virginia 92 percent.

South Carolina, with 11 percent harvested, reports 90 percent fair or better.

Louisiana has now harvested close to three-quarters of its acres, and reports the highest percentage of its crop as very poor, 29 percent. Texas, with 35 percent harvested, reports that 25 percent of the crop is very poor. Oklahoma, 18 percent harvested, has 24 percent very poor. Alabama, 27 percent harvested, has 23 percent very poor.

Oct. 19
USDA:Treflan, Temik most used pesticides in U.S. cotton
Trifluralin was the most commonly used pesticide in upland cotton during the 1999 season, according to a USDA report issued Wednesday. The herbicide was applied an average of 1.1 times to 52 percent of cotton acres. The average application rate was 0.7 pounds per acre, for an average seasonal total of 0.77 pounds per acre. Trifluralin (Treflan) is incorporated into the soil before cotton planting to prevent weeds in the early season.

The Agricultural Chemical Usage 1999 Restricted Use Summary extrapolates averages from a survey of 10 states that accounted for more than 80 percent of U.S. cotton acreage in 1999.

The most widely used insecticide in the survey was aldicarb, which was applied to 29 percent of cotton acres. The average number of applications was 1 at 0.59 pounds per acre. Average application for the season was 0.63 pounds per acre. Aldicarb (Temik) is a soil-applied systemic insecticide used to protect cotton from early season attack.

The pesticide applied in the greatest amount per acre was methyl parathion. It was also the pesticide with the highest average number of applications. It was applied an average of 2.2 times at a rate of 0.6 pounds per acre for an average seasonal total of 1.3 pounds per acre. Methyl parathion was used on 8 percent of cotton acres in 1999. Sold under a variety of brand names, methyl parathion is the insecticide of choice in state-run boll weevil eradication programs.

Bt insecticide distributed through genetically engineered cotton plants was not surveyed. And glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, was not identifiable in the summary.

Inconsistencies in the reports for 1999 and 1998 lead to questions about the method and the survey results. Land of Cotton has asked USDA for an explanation. (See correction from USDA.)

Production estimate drops 5 percent
The U.S. cotton crop is projected to be 17.5 million standard bales, according to USDA’s October Crop Production report. The forecast lowers production 5 percent from the September estimate, but is still 3 percent higher than 1999 production. Yield is expected to average 620 pounds per harvested acre, down 2 pounds from last month.

Increased abandonment was blamed for the drop in production. The expected harvested acreage of at 13.5 million acres is down 600,000 acres from September — more than 500,000 of those in Texas alone. Missouri growers have abandoned 25,000 acres and Oklahoma 50,000. The expected harvested acreage is 2 percent above 1999. Planted acreage was 4.6 percent above 1999.

Expected American-Pima harvested acreage, at 172,000 acres, is down 4,000 acres from last month and is 114,000 acres less than in 1999. Pima production is forecast at 406,100 standard bales. Yield is expected to average 1,133 pounds per acre, an increase of 5 pounds per acre over 1999 and 12 pounds per acre above the September estimate. The increase in yield resulted from additional abandonment, as Texas reduced its expected harvested area to 16,000 acres, 4,000 acres below the Sept. 1 estimate. Arizona, California and New Mexico's forecasts are unchanged from last month.

Ginnings approached 3.3 million running bales as of to Oct. 1, according to the Cotton Ginnings report, compared with 2.7 million running bales ginned by the same date last year and 2.1 million running bales in 1998. Texas has ginned 1.3 million bales, while Mississippi has ginned almost 600,000 and Louisiana more than 400,000.

The Midsouth is far ahead of other regions in harvesting progress, according to the weekly Crop Progress report. As of Oct. 8, Louisiana had harvested 91 percent of its crop, Mississippi 76 percent; Tennessee 62 percent, Missouri 60 percent and Arkansas 53 percent. Texas had harvested 42 percent.

More growers join fight to stamp out boll weevil
By Roger Haldenby
The Texas Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that cotton producers in the Northern High Plains Zone have voted to establish a boll weevil eradication program. Final results were 1,603 voting in favor and 521 voting against establishing an eradication program.

Producers in the zone also voted to set a maximum annual assessment for the program not to exceed $12 per land acre for irrigated cotton and $6 per land acre for dryland cotton.

The proposition had to be approved by a two-thirds vote, or those voting in favor had to farm more than 50 percent of the zone's acreage. Both propositions passed with more than 72 percent of the vote, and the percentage of zone acreage voting in favor exceeded 58 percent in each proposition. The Texas Department of Agriculture issued 3,410 ballots to cotton producers in the zone who were eligible to vote in the referendum. Some 2,306 ballots were postmarked by the Oct. 2 deadline and counted. Of these, 2,161 were deemed valid by the canvassing committee with 145 being adjudged invalid.

Cotton producers also elected Weldon Melton of Hale County to represent the Northern High Plains Zone on the statewide board of directors for the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation Inc. Melton is a cotton producer who farms in the zone. The Northern High Plains Boll Weevil Eradication Zone consists of approximately 550,000 acres in Briscoe, Floyd, Hale and Swisher
counties.

Roger Haldenby is executive director of Plains Cotton Growers Inc.
 

Results of Oct. 2 NHP Zone Referendum
Proposition 1: Establishing a boll weevil eradication program in the Northern High Plains Boll Weevil Eradication Zone
FOR:	1,603	75.47%
AGAINST:	52	24.53%
Percentage of all zone's acreage voting in favor of Proposition 1: 60.95%
Proposition 2: Setting a maximum annual assessment not to exceed $12 per land acre for irrigated cotton and $6 per land acre for dryland cotton
FOR:	1,555	72.9%
AGAINST:	578	27.1%
Percentage of all zone's acreage voting in favor of Proposition #2. 58.38%
Board member election to represent NHP Zone on the TBWEF Board of Directors:
Weldon Melton	1,264
Donald Ebeling Jr.	708
Write-In Candidates	21
Referendum results reported by the Texas Department of Agriculture on Oct. 11, 2000.

ICAC: 71 cent cotton two years ahead
Sharp increases in world cotton prices are likely during the next two crop years, according to an International Cotton Advisory Committee forecast. Consumption is expected to exceed production in each of the next three years, driving the Cotlook A Index up to 62 cents in 2000-01 and 71 cents in 2001-02.

The forecast pegs world cotton production at 19 million tons in the current crop year, just 100,000 tons more than in 1999-00. Production is expected to increase to 19.6 million tons in 2001-02, but that won't keep up with consumption if it continues to rise as expected.

World cotton consumption, which increased by a brisk 4.2 percent in 1999-00, is expected to increase by 1.4 percent and reach 20 million tons in 2000-01 and 20.3 million in 2001-02. With consumption exceeding production, stocks, which declined by 1 million tons during the last season, are expected to decline by another 1.7 million tons over the next two years.

Despite the decline in cotton prices in 1999-00, the ICAC expects world production in 2000-01  to register a slight upturn. Increases in the United States (up 300,000 tons), Brazil (up 100,000 tons), China (up 70,000 tons) and another 23 countries will partially offset declines elsewhere. The United States, Brazil and China provide direct subsidies to cotton production.
 

WORLD COTTON SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION
	1999/00	2000/01	2001/02	1999/00	2000/01	2001/02
	Million Tons			Million Bales
Production	18.89	19.01	19.63	86.7	87.3	90.1
Consumption	19.76	20.04	20.20	90.7	92.0	93.1
Exports	6.05	6.21	6.47	27.8	28.5	29.7
Ending Stocks	8.70	7.69	7.05	40.0	35.3	32.4
Cotlook A Index	52.80	62*	71*	52.80	62*	71*
* U.S. cents per pound. Statistical estimates are based on current estimates of supply and use; 95% confidence intervals extend 12 cents per pound above and below each point estimate. SOURCE: International Cotton Advisory Committee

Southern Rolling Plains declared weevil free
By Steve Byrns, Texas A&M University

WALL, Texas --  Powder-dry conditions and another failed cotton crop had little effect on 700 farmers, legislators and others who packed St. Ambrose Hall here recently to celebrate victory over the boll weevil in the Southern Rolling Plains Boll Weevil Eradication Zone. The zone made history by being the first in Texas to rid itself of the boll weevil.

The weevil is the No. 1 pest of cotton in the United States. Before eradication, the pest annually cost the 10-county Southern Rolling Plains zone $2 million to $4 million and the state $25 million to $50 million. The counties in the region are Coke, Coleman, Concho, Irion, Mason, McCulloch, Runnels, Schleicher, Tom Green, and southern Taylor. To date, the program
has cost about $20 million. It is funded by individual farmer assessments and some state monies.

"I'm truly thrilled to be here today to make this declaration that the Southern Rolling Plains zone is functionally eradicated," said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs. "We're here to say thank you, because you never quit."

Combs was also quick to commend the region's legislators, past and present, for their strong role in backing the effort and especially for convincing their urban peers to support it. "See No Weevil' will soon be Fear No Weevil,'" Combs said, referring to a pamphlet warning of the dangers of
weevil reinfestation into the now weevil-free zone. "I want to do more of these (declarations) across the state," she said. "Call your friends and neighbors everywhere and say cotton is still king in Texas."

The "See No Weevil" pamphlet is part of a statewide awareness campaign developed by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and funded by the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation. Its purpose is to heighten awareness among ginners and producers of the real threat of reinfestation from non-eradicated zones. It also stresses ways to prevent such a disaster.

Woody Anderson, board chairman of the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation from Colorado City, thanked those responsible for the 6-year-old program's success, including the growers who helped put the zone's plan together, the zone's employees, the various agencies involved and State Rep. Rob Junell, D-San Angelo; Sen. Bob Duncan, R-Lubbock, and U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Abilene.

David Kubenka, a Wall cotton grower and president of the Southern Rolling Plains Cotton Producers Association, reminded the gathering of the historic importance of what they had accomplished. "This was the first area to initiate the eradication program and as such was viewed as a test site," he said. Originally, the state plan was to begin in the lower Rio Grande Valley
and move north, but Southern Rolling Plains growers persuaded the foundation to start on two fronts -- theirs and the valley.

Kubenka said the Rio Grande Valley growers gave up after the beet armyworm largely destroyed their crops in 1995. But, the Southern Rolling Plains producers, despite the loss of a top crop, decided to buckle down and make the grower-owned program work.

Junell, a staunch supporter of the program, stressed the importance of partnerships necessary to make producer programs work. "The best thing we (government) can do is provide expertise and dollars and then get out of the way," he said. Junell added that a key reason for the success and
acceptance of the Southern Rolling Plains program was that early on it was understood that landowners and producers were not asking for a handout, but for assistance with a war they were putting their own money into.

Sid Long of Robert Lee, executive director of the region's Cotton Growers Association, has been a driving force behind the eradication effort. "Naturally I'm elated that we finally reached this milestone," he said. "But, I'm also pessimistic that it's not all over yet. We must keep our
guard up against the very real threat of reinfestation. We'll have to be on our toes, especially when we do finally get a good wet year. If we don't, we might suddenly wake up at mid-season with weevils. "I'll not rest easy until the whole state is eradicated. The worst thing we could do now is waste these producers' money by becoming complacent."

Steve Byrns writes for Ag News, a publication of the Texas A&M University Agriculture Program News and Public Affairs division.

Gramm applauds eradication effort
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm applauded the efforts of farmers in Texas' Southern Rolling Plains as they become the first such area in the state to achieve functional eradication of the boll weevil.

"This is an outstanding achievement by farmers in the nation's largest cotton-producing state to eradicate this pest and prevent its reintroduction into other areas of the state and nation. The leadership shown by the Southern Rolling Plains zone is an example for the rest of the nation to follow. They are to be commended," he said.

In an effort to assist farmers in their battle against this crop-destroying pest,  Gramm introduced the Boll Weevil Eradication Equity Act in June of this year to authorize a federal cost-share contribution to the states and producers which still must contend with boll weevil infestation. "We must continue to build upon the past success of the existing program (and) join with individual states and provide technical assistance and federal cost-share funds," Gramm said in a statement on the floor of the Senate.

SHP/Caprock to try again for BWEP
Cotton producers and landowners will soon take another shot at establishing a boll weevil eradication program in the eight-county Southern High Plains/Caprock zone. A referendum last spring failed despite a favorable vote of more than 62 percent. A two-thirds majority or 50 percent of the zone acres is required to establish a program.

The Nov. 15 referendum will also establish a maximum assessment rate and elect a board member from the zone to serve on the statewide Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation Inc.
Local committee members have proposed a maximum assessment rate of $6 per acre for dryland cotton and $12 per acre for irrigated cotton.

Cotton producers who farm in the zone and who have grown cotton for at least seven years have until Oct. 15 to submit their names for the board member position. Those wishing to be placed on the ballot must fill out a nomination form and biographical information sheet. The nomination must be supported by the signatures of at least 10 other eligible cotton growers in the zone.

The forms must be completed and received in Austin no later than Oct. 15. Forms can be mailed to the Texas Department of Agriculture at P.O. Box 12847, Austin, Texas, 78711 or faxed to (512) 463-1104.

Nomination forms are available at local county extension service offices and the Texas Department of Agriculture in Austin at (800) 835-5832 or (512) 463-7593.

The Southern High Plains/Caprock Boll Weevil Eradication Zone consists of approximately 1.1 million acres in eight counties: Cochran, Hockley and Lubbock and portions of Terry, Lynn, Crosby, Garza and Dickens counties.

NCC changes its officers' titles
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The National Cotton Council’s Board of Directors approved a change in the Council’s officer structure which establishes the office of "Chairman" as the industry’s chief elected industry officer, with responsibility for serving as Chairman of the Council and Chairman of the Board.

A new office of "Vice Chairman" was also authorized, and barring unforeseen circumstances, the holder of this office will be nominated for election to the office of Chairman the following year. Under this new officer structure, the chief staff officer of the Council will be designated "President and Chief Executive Officer," and this person will also serve as Secretary of the Council.

These changes in the Council’s officer structure were approved on the recommendation of a special Management Advisory Committee through the Committee on Council Operations to the Board of Directors. F. Ronald Rayner, Chairman of Board and Chairman of the Management Advisory Committee, said, "The primary goal of the recommended changes in officer structure is to enable industry leaders to better prepare for their positions as chief spokespersons for the Council. The modifications also conform more closely with the structure of contemporary agricultural and business associations and the way National Cotton Council business is conducted. The significance of the Board, Officers and Executive Committee has steadily increased in addressing rapidly developing policy issues. The proposed officer structure changes correspond more closely with current operating procedures of the Council."

Phillip C. Burnett, currently serving as Executive Vice President and CEO of the Council, will become President and CEO when the Council’s Board convenes to elect new officers early next year. Burnett said, "The Management Advisory Committee was named primarily to assist in planning staff changes made necessary by the forthcoming retirement of Senior Vice President, Gaylon Booker, but during the course of these deliberations they concluded that the Council could be better served with a more contemporary officer structure."

Burnett announced a number of staff changes that were planned in conjunction with the Management Advisory Committee: Mark Lange becomes Vice President, Policy Analysis and Program Coordinator, moving from his current position as Director, Economic Services; William A. Gillon, General Counsel and Assistant to the Executive Vice President, assumes the new position of Director of Trade Policy and continues in his role as General Counsel; Fred Johnson moves from Director of the National Cotton Ginners Assn. to Director of Administration and Assistant to the CEO; Ellen Carpenter, Meeting Planner, becomes Director of Meeting and Travel Services; and Tammie Martin, Assistant Director of Economic Services for Information Services, becomes Director of Information Services.

Searches are underway to fill the positions of Director of Economic Services and Director of Ginner Services.

"The changes effectively match staff resources with industry priorities such as farm policy, environmental issues and trade policy for the coming year," Rayner said.

Burnett said, "Most of the changes will be completed by mid-October. Mark Lange will make the transition into his new responsibilities on Jan. 1, following Gaylon Booker’s retirement at the end of this year. Booker will remain as a consultant to the NCC for the coming year."

NCC President Robert E. McLendon said, "The changes in officer structure, together with the year of training it affords the industry’s primary spokesperson, will undoubtedly strengthen the Council. The staff appointments will ensure that we have highly capable people in key assignments, permitting the Council to continue its tradition of developing and implementing its policies with the strongest possible analytical underpinning."

18th Cotton Leadership Class chosen
The 10 members of the 2000-01 Cotton Leadership Class began their year of activities Sept. 10 in the Midsouth, with visits to farming, ginning and cottonseed oil mill operations in Arkansas, the USDA cotton classing facility in Bartlett, Tenn., and the Cotton Council’s fall board meeting at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis.

Members of the 18th class are cotton producers Eddie Carmichael, Laurinburg, N.C., Keith Turnipseed, Sumner, Miss., Ronnie Riddle, Stamford, Texas, and Keeff Felty, Altus, Okla.; ginner Arnie Schlittenhart, Eloy, Ariz.; warehouseman Mark Hite, Augusta, Ga.; merchant Brian Owens, Memphis; crusher Lamar Spainhouer, Jonesboro, Ark.; manufacturer Dan Huntley, Gastonia, N.C.; and cooperative representative Mike Quinn, Raleigh, N.C.

During five additional weeks of activities across the Cotton Belt, class members will visit with industry leaders and observe innovative cotton production and processing and leading-edge cotton research. They also will meet with key lawmakers and government agency representatives during a visit to Washington, D.C.

The Cotton Leadership Program, which seeks to identify potential industry leaders and provide them developmental training, has been sponsored since its inception in 1983 by grants from DuPont Agricultural Products to The Cotton Foundation.

EPA now supports tribufos
Cotton defoliants Def and Folex have received the OK for reregistration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA had undertaken a lengthy reassessment of the registration for the products' active ingredient, tribufos, originally seeking the manufacturers' voluntary withdrawal of the products. The final decision in favor of the low-cost defoliants came earlier this month.

Tribufos, an organophosphate, was included in the agency's scrutiny of this entire class of agricultural chemicals under the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996.

New mitigation measures to be proposed by EPA include application rates of 1½ pints per acre per year, except in California and Arizona, which maintain a rate of 2½ pints per acre per year; an increased re-entry interval of seven days, up from the current 24 hours; and closed delivery systems by 2002.

Rain and recovery
Rain has returned to the Southeast, but the heat remains. Can growers take advantage of newfound moisture to make a late crop or do the rain and mud merely keep their harvesters out of the field? If they've already defoliated, what should they do about this lush regrowth? What are the circumstances that indicate waiting for the top crop?

Seven experts in Georgia and Alabama address these questions in a Land of Cotton exclusive report: The Waiting Game.

Managing your mike, part 2
Growing conditions this season in many parts of the U.S. Cotton Belt could result in a high-micronaire crop. Growers can do more than worry about it, however. There's still time for the right late-season management to counter the effects of weather that would lower the quality of the lint. The Technical Services department of the National Cotton Council of America has put together a series of short articles that get right to the point, identifying the factors that put your crop at risk and listing management tips to help you compensate for the damage.

The series, Manage Your Crop for Improved Micronaire:

• Managing late-season irrigation
• Compensating for high nighttime temps

The Agricultural Chemical Usage 1999 Restricted Use Summary extrapolates averages from a survey of 10 states that accounted for more than 80 percent of U.S. cotton acreage in 1999.

With trifluralin removed from the list, the systemic insecticide-nematicide aldicarb (Temik) becomes the most widely used restricted-use pesticide in U.S. cotton in 1999. Cyanazine (Bladex) was the most widely used restricted-use herbicide.

USDA's most recent summary of all agricultural chemical use is from 1996.

Beneficials' benefit may be greater if growers provide a winter home
By Tim W. McAlavy, Texas A&M University

MUNDAY, Texas -- Biological control of costly cotton pests may be enhanced by providing an off-season habitat for predatory insects, according to researchers at  Texas A&M's Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Vernon.

"We've been investigating the potential of relay intercropping to enhance biological control of cotton pests for several years," said Jeff Slosser, TAES entomologist. "In relay intercropping, we plant two or more different crops that provide good habitat for beneficial insects that prey on cotton pests. "These crops provide a winter and spring home for beneficial insects that will later move into our summer cotton and help reduce populations of cotton pests. The relay crops are planted in adjacent strips to make it easier for beneficial insects to move from one habitat to another."

Slosser and other researchers typically plant vetch in early fall to provide winter habitat for beneficial insects such as lady beetles, big-eyed bugs, minute pirate bugs, ground beetles, spiders and earwigs. A mid-winter planting of canola, followed by a spring grain sorghum planting
provide a home for these beneficials in spring and early summer.

"Based on our past results, we believe relay intercropping shows more promise for controlling cotton aphids than other pests such as bollworms. This year, we planted cotton adjacent to our relay crops, and cotton isolated from our relay crops," Slosser said. "We also planted cotton into
spring-planted wheat terminated with Roundup herbicide, as a third test. Then we monitored and sampled beneficial insect populations in all three experiments.

"The next step was sampling for early season cotton pests such as thrips and fleahoppers, and mid- to late-season pests such as bollworms, aphids and whiteflies. We found more thrips in cotton planted adjacent to our relay crops, but fewer fleahoppers. The cotton's proximity to, or isolation from, relay crops made little difference in bollworm numbers."

Initially, there were fewer aphids in cotton planted next to relay crops than in isolated cotton. But aphid populations in cotton planted next to relay crops did increase about two weeks after aphid populations peaked in isolated cotton. On the other hand, whitefly numbers in cotton planted next
to relay crops remained lower than in isolated cotton, the entomologist said.

"This suggests relay intercropping can help suppress aphids, to some degree. We also noticed more predaceous ground beetles and taller plants with more blooms (potential fruit) per foot of row in cotton planted into killed wheat," Slosser said. "Our preliminary conclusion is planting cotton into a killed-wheat relay crop can help increase the number of beneficial predator insects.

"It can also help boost yield, but it is only practical when the cotton crop is irrigated."

Slosser shared his research results with more than 130 producers attending a Sept. 28 field day in Munday, hosted by the Texas A&M University Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Vernon. The center has satellite research farms at Munday and Chillicothe, Texas.

Nov. 6
Rain slows harvest in the West
The U.S. cotton harvest is 67 percent complete, with the Midsouth states far ahead of the rest of the Cotton Belt, according to USDA's Crop Progress report. Harvest in the Delta states likely will finish up this week. Louisiana had completely finished its harvest as of Oct. 29, while Mississippi was 97 percent complete, Tennessee 96 percent and Arkansas 94 percent.

Unwanted rain has slowed harvest in the West, according to the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin. Texas has harvested 54 percent of its crop, gathering only 3 percent in the last week. Oklahoma has harvested 62 percent of its crop, also 3 percent in the last week, but keeping the state far ahead of its five-year average of 37 percent by this time in the season. California has harvested 60 percent of its crop; Arizona 55 percent.

Harvest progressed rapidly in the East as sunshine kept pickers in the field and lifted more moisture out of the already dry soil.

Nov. 9
Rain slows U.S. harvest
After a summer of drought, rain is slowing harvest and hurting grades in many parts of the U.S. Cotton Belt. California has picked 75 percent of its acreage, Arizona 65 percent, and Texas 57 percent, according to USDA's weekly Crop Progress report, and growers in all three states say untimely moisture is hindering harvest and damaging lint quality.

Light rain fell all weekend in Alabama, where 88 percent of the crop has been harvested. Georgia also got some much-needed wet weather, although 30 percent of the state's cotton acreage is still to be harvested.

The insult of rain at harvest is being felt the least in the Midsouth states, where harvest is nearly done. Louisiana has finished its cotton harvest, and neighbors Mississippi and Arkansas are not far behind. Mississippi has harvested 99 percent, Arkansas 97 percent. Tennessee has harvested 98 percent, and is likely to finish this week if rain does not keep pickers out of the last few fields.

Overall, the crop was 73 percent harvested as of Nov. 5, and Virginia is the only state with more than half its crop still on the plant. Virginia has harvested 42 percent of its crop.

Ginning ahead of last year
U.S. gins had processed 5.9 million bales by Oct. 15, more than 1.1 million bales ahead of the same date last year. Texas had ginned nearly 1.8 million bales with more than half its crop still to be harvested. Mississippi had ginned more than 1 million bales and had harvested 87 percent of its crop at the time of USDA's ginning survey, released Oct. 25. The next report will be issued Nov. 9.

Dow to buy acetochlor line from Zeneca
Dow AgroSciences has signed an agreement to purchase the acetochlor herbicide product line from Zeneca. Acetochlor is a leading herbicide used by farmers around the world to control grasses and small-seeded broadleaf weeds in a number of field crops. Zeneca is selling the acetochlor product line to comply with regulatory requirements relating to the pending merger of its crop protection business with that of Novartis, according to a statement by the company.

The acetochlor purchase is expected to close in November, 2000, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals. Following the close of the purchase, acetochlor brands that will become Dow AgroSciences products include Surpass, FulTime, TopNotch, Trophy, Wenner and others.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"Acetochlor is an excellent fit in our global weed control product portfolio," explained Jerome Peribere, global leader of weed management businesses for Dow AgroSciences. "Adding this popular grass-control product will allow us to offer competitive, complete weed-control packages to many farmers around the world. Acetochlor will be our primary product in the soil-applied grass control category for maize, which is a substantial global crop."

Peribere said, while the majority of acetochlor sales are currently for use on corn in the United States, the product is registered and sold in 32 countries, including countries in Latin America, Europe and Africa.

Dow AgroSciences LLC, based in Indianapolis, Ind.,  is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. Dow AgroSciences has approximately 6,000 employees in more than 50 countrie, and has worldwide sales of more than $2 billion.

Weevils can fatten up for winter even after harvest
by the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation

ABILENE, Texas -- The cotton-growing season is beginning to wind down and producers in non-eradicated areas should notice a decline in treatments for boll weevils. But they may also notice some fields that have been harvested are still being treated.

These treatments reflect a difference in philosophy between control and eradication, said Program Director Charles Allen of the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation.

"Pests can cause little injury to the harvestable crop at this point in the season," Allen said. "But during this time of year control efforts intensify in boll weevil eradication programs. The main difference is that the objective of a grower is to control boll weevil populations to prevent
economic damage to the crop while that of the eradication program is to eliminate the pest."

The primary focus of the boll weevil during the latter part of the growing season is feeding to gain enough fat to tide it over for the winter, Allen said. Because of this, weevils may still be present in defoliated or harvested fields that still have green bolls or immature squares, which are weevils' prime food sources.

In Texas, foundation personnel continue to trap fields until all hostable material, plant parts that a weevil can feed on, has been eliminated from those fields, Allen said.

If trap catches on those fields meet or exceed established triggers, then the fields are treated to eliminate weevils before they can overwinter. Fewer overwintering weevils means fewer emerging weevils to worry about in the spring, he said.

When the next season begins with lower populations, less spraying will be needed, saving the growers money and speeding the course of eradication, he said.

Growers can help reduce the number of treatments in their area by practicing good cultural controls, a key element in the eradication process, Allen said.

Such practices include harvesting fields as soon as possible after defoliation and shredding or plowing stalks after harvest to eliminate host material. Some growers prefer to leave stalks in fields as ground cover, but they should be careful to watch for regrowth as long as the weather
remains warm and take steps to keep the fields free of host material.

Nov. 13
Who can harvest in this weather?
The forecast is for sunshine today in the High Plains, and that should help to clear away the snow still on the ground after 4 inches fell Tuesday, according to Accuweather data. Grower James Hinton at Dougherty, Texas, commented Tuesday in a message to Cotton-L, "Can't tell the difference between stripped and not stripped. It is all white."

Texas still had 57 percent of its acreage still to be harvested as of Nov. 4, according to USDA's weekly Crop Progress report. The weather map shows clear conditions over most of the state, but the ground is wet from several days of rain.

That line of storms is moving slowly across the Southeast, interfering with cotton harvest despite bringing much-needed drought relief. Huntsville, Ala., got more than 3 inches of rain on Wednesday, and Mobile has already accumulated 72 percent of its normal November rainfall. Alabama had 22 percent of cotton acreage left to harvest as of Sunday.

The rain has not yet reached south Georgia, but it's on its way and there's plenty to go around. Heavy rain is falling in Columbus, Atlanta and Chattanooga, and Accuweather's regional radar shows the line already reaching into South Carolina. If it maintains its current course and intensity, it is likely to bring rain to South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Georgia has 30 percent of its acreage left to harvest; South Carolina 36 percent; North Carolina 40 percent and Virginia 68 percent.

A Index heads upward
The world price of cotton rose to a two-year high this week, and continued deterioration of the U.S. harvest could push it a little farther along that road.

"World supplies are tightening as indicated by the increasing A Index," reports Frank Weathersby of Affinity Trading in his Nov. 7 newsletter. "The Index rose another 40 points Tuesday to 62.80, which is the highest level since October 1998. The Index gained 55 points Monday."

The rise in the Cotlook A Index confirms, at least in the short term, the forecast of the International Cotton Advisory Committee, which looks for continued increases over the next two crop years.

"Central Asia reported losses in output in October, and there are reports that Indian and Pakistani growths are declining," writes Weathersby, who also notes that the U.S. crop estimate must fall because of unfavorable harvest conditions.

"But since Thursday's [USDA October Crop Production] report is based on data as of Nov. 1, the lower production numbers may not be completely figured in," Weathersby writes.

The report, issued this morning, actually shows a slight increase in its production estimate. "All cotton production is forecast at 17.5 million 480-pound bales, up marginally from last month, and up 3 percent from 1999," the report says. "Yield is expected to average 622 pounds per harvested acre, up two pounds from last month. Lower production forecasts in Texas, Georgia, and Missouri were more than offset by increased production forecasts in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. On Oct. 29, U.S. harvest was 67 percent complete, compared to the five-year average of 59 percent."

Weathersby believes that just as USDA's current production estimate is likely too high, the agency's world production and consumption figures may be off.

"In October, the USDA estimated world production at 86.90 million bales, use at 92.70 million bales and ending stocks at 34.99 million bales. That would be the smallest world carryover in five years.  In 1995-1996 world ending stocks were 36.3 million bales. That year the A Index averaged 86 cents per pound. Even if the estimated lower production numbers prove to be true, there is still the chance that the USDA has overstated the world consumption figures."

Gins pass halfway mark
U.S. gins had processed 9.2 million bales as of Nov. 1, according to the current Cotton Ginnings report, issued today. That is about 1 million bales more than had been ginned by the same date last year, and even further ahead of the two previous years. If the U.S. crop reaches USDA's current estimate of 17.5 million standard bales, more than half the crop is already in bales.

More than 2 million bales are from Texas, which was about half done with its harvest when the survey was taken. Another 1.5 million bales are from Mississippi, which had only a few acres left to harvest at the time of the survey. At the low end of the ginning numbers, New Mexico has processed 27,000 bales -- more than double its rate for the last two years.

BASF to introduce new fungicide
BASF is moving toward the launch of a new fungicidal active ingredient  that the company says has shown activity against all classes of fungi.

The chemical, dubbed F 500, is of the strobilurin class of chemistry. BASF scientists plan to present their findings at the upcoming British Crop Protection Conference in Brighton, United Kingdom.

The registration process for F 500 is under way "in all major countries," according to a BASF press release. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted F 500 "Reduced
Risk Status" according to the company.  "We expect first approvals for a number of crops in 2002, with many more products to be introduced in the following years," said Juergen
Altbrod, BASF's head of Global Registration and Product Safety.

BASF says the chemical has shown efficacy in many crops including cereals, grapes, vegetables and fruits. The company says the fungicide is also highly reliable, crop-safe and has a low toxicological and ecotoxicity profile.

BASF has started construction on a manufacturing facility to produce the F 500 active ingredient in Schwarzheide, Germany. This facility, the largest single investment ever made by the Agricultural Products Division, will cost an estimated 117 million Euro and will have 200 full-time employees. Plant start-up is planned for mid 2001.

Report: Biotech could reduce pesticide use 58 million pounds a year by 2009
LITTLE FALLS, N.J. -- By 2009, biotechnology-based row crops could be responsible for reducing insecticide use by 13 million pounds a year and herbicide use by 45 million pounds a year, according to new projections by a biotech consulting company. In its recently published report, "Biotech 2009 Business Analysis," Kline & Company, Inc., a Little Falls, N.J., based consulting firm, projects that the move toward insect-resistant corn and cotton will drive the substitution of $200 million in grower insecticide purchases with technology fees paid to the developers of the enabling technology, primarily Pharmacia's Monsanto business unit and, secondarily, Dow AgroSciences.

The report forecasts the use of 122 herbicide and insecticide active ingredients on three major row crops across 28 genetically enhanced seed types through the year 2009.

Kline's projections are based on the hypothesis that the controversy over biotechnology will abate when traits are made available that are more clearly beneficial to consumers and when industry communication programs outlining the benefits take effect. "We found in our research that the industry expects the newer output traits to be utilized in a genetic background that includes insect-resistance and herbicide-tolerance traits," said Mancer Cyr, a senior associate at Kline.

The biggest percentage hit is expected to be taken by the corn insecticide category, historically a $250 million to $300 million sector. After resistance to corn rootworm is incorporated into seeds that already resist European cornborers, Kline estimates that the corn insecticide market will drop by 70 percent. Cotton will be less affected by the trend because of a broader mix of insect pests. The herbicide sectors all show modest declines in expenditures due to a shift in market share toward lower priced, broad-spectrum glyphosate, which is primarily produced by Monsanto.

ICAC expects continued rise in cotton prices
The International Cotton Advisory Committee is again projecting an increase in world cotton prices this season, based on an expected record cotton consumption. In its November press release, the ICAC said that although world production, estimated at 19 million tons in 2000-01, is about the same as last season, "cotton consumption is anticipated at a new record exceeding 20 million tons." The report notes that increased consumption is already driving prices up and forecasts the Cotlook A Index will average 64 cents per pound this season, "about 11 cents higher than in 1999-00."

"Higher cotton consumption is the result of relatively high chemical fiber prices and faster economic growth in most parts of the world," ICAC said. "The Cotlook A Index, remained around 61 U.S. cents per pound in the first three months of 2000-01, a 24 percent increase relative to the same period last season. International cotton prices have increased even more in terms of euros, Australian dollars, Swiss francs and other currencies. For example, the Cotlook A Index was about 0.4 euros per pound in October 1999 and increased to 0.72 euros per pound in October 2000, an 80 percent increase.

"World ending stocks are expected to decrease by 1.1 million tons in 2000-01. ...World ending stocks are anticipated to decline even further next season, and international cotton prices will probably continue their upward trend to average 74 cents per pound in 2001-02.

"U.S. cotton production is expected to increase to 3.8 million tons in 2000-01, about 100,000 tons higher than in 1999-00, but much lower than forecasts at the beginning of the planting season. Indian cotton production is estimated at 2.7 million tons in 2000-01, about 50,000 tons higher than in 1999-00 due to improved conditions for nonirrigated cotton in central and southern states, and higher cotton prices relative to competing crops in southern India. Production of cotton in Pakistan is expected to decline from 1.90 million tons in 1999-00 to 1.75 million tons in 2000-01. In Francophone Africa lower cotton output is anticipated for a third consecutive season. Finally, cotton production in Uzbekistan is estimated at 1 million tons, down 150,000 tons relative to 1999-00.

"Member governments of the International Cotton advisory Committee will meet in Plenary Session Nov. 6-10, 2000 in Cairns, Australia. Member governments will examine the current world cotton situation and discuss efforts to expand cotton promotion and policies affecting cotton production and trade. The sessions will include a technical seminar on Cotton Global Challenges and the Future."
 

WORLD COTTON SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION
	1999/00	2000/01	2001/02	1999/00	2000/01	2001/02
	Million Tons			Million Bales
Production	19.01	18.99	19.63	87.3	87.2	90.2
Consumption	19.77	20.05	20.30	90.8	92.1	93.2
Exports	6.08	6.21	6.47	27.9	28.5	29.7
Ending Stocks	8.81	7.75	7.09	40.4	35.6	32.5
Cotlook A Index	52.80	*64	*73	52.80	*64	*73
* US cents per pound. Statistical estimates are based on current estimates of supply and use; 95% confidence intervals extend 12 cents per pound above and below each point estimate. Source: International Cotton Advisory Committee

Mycogen takes Cargill seed lines
Mycogen Seeds announced Wednesday that it has completed its acquisition of Cargill Hybrid Seeds from Cargill Inc. The newly acquired assets will be integrated into the Mycogen
organization, which is affiliated with Dow AgroSciences LLC (Mycogen Seeds and Dow AgroSciences LLC are wholly owned subsidiaries of Dow Chemical Co.). Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Mycogen acquired all seed research, production and distribution assets of Cargill Hybrid Seeds in the United States and Canada, except Cargill's InterMountain Canola, Goertzen Seed Research and the Western Canadian seed distribution business. With the acquisition,  Mycogen Seeds becomes the third-largest producer in the U.S. seed corn market.

The acquisition will not affect the sales, service or distribution of seed products from Cargill Hybrid Seeds and Mycogen Seeds during the 2000/01 sales season, said Pete Siggelko, Global Leader, Plant Genetics & Biotechnology, Dow AgroSciences.

Caterpillar to offer tillage tools
DEKALB, Ill. -- Caterpillar is adding a line of tillage tools that includes rippers adn seedbed finishing tools. Caterpillar Agricultural Products Inc.has entered into an agreement with Krause Corp. of Hutchinson, Kan., to manufacture a line of Caterpillar implements optimized
for use with track tractors, particularly Caterpillar's Challenger tractors. The new line will include a family of disc rippers and in-line rippers, as well as seedbed finishing tools, the company said.  The new tools are expected to be available in the United States and Canada in fall 2001.

FMC to spin off chemicals business
FMC Corp. is splitting in two. The company on Tuesday announced a strategic restructuring that ultimately would divide it into independent publicly traded machinery and chemicals businesses.

FMC provides a range of cotton pesticides including Command herbicide and Capture, Ammo and Fury insecticides, as well as products for use in other crops.

"We believe this action should allow all our businesses to take a more focused, entrepreneurial
approach to growing their individual markets and serving their customers more effectively in a marketplace that values speed, customer focus, innovation and, above all, growth," said FMC Chairman and CEO Robert N. Burt said. "The net result should be increased earnings power."

Burt pointed out that the two groups had few synergies, with different customers, different technologies, different research and development requirements.  "This move will allow each business to strengthen their own identities, maximize growth potential and focus management expertise on their respective operations," he said.

"This split also would allow shareholders to realize the value inherent in both our machinery and chemicals businesses.  Because we've operated as a diversified company, much of that value, especially in our oil field services business, is not being recognized by the stock market," he said.

Burt will continue as FMC chairman and chief executive officer and will oversee the restructuring.  Under this plan, the chemicals business initially would continue to operate under the current FMC corporate structure. As independent companies, each business will have its own management team and board of directors. FMC President Joe Netherland will run the machinery business, which will be headquartered in Chicago. The chemicals business will be headquartered in Philadelphia, with a management team to be announced later.

The company does not expect any significant impact on overall employment as a result of the restructuring, but acknowledged that reassignments are likely next year, given the need to support the new structures of the businesses. Current responsibilities below the corporate level are unlikely to change, so reassignments are likely to be limited to Chicago staff.

The chemicals business, totaling about $2 billion in 1999 sales and more than $280 million in operating profit, will be composed of FMC's specialty and industrial chemicals businesses, as well as its Agricultural Products Group.

The spin-off is subject to market conditions, among other conditions.  In the event that FMC does not complete the spin-off, FMC may pursue other strategic restructuring options.

Nov. 17
Another shot at BWEP for Caprock
The last area of Texas without an organized boll weevil eradication effort is holding a referendum to determine whether to approve such a program. Cotton growers and landowners in the Southern High Plains-Caprock Eradication Zone have until Nov. 15 to return their ballots, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture. Ballots will be counted Nov. 27.

Approval of an eradication program would qualify growers in the zone to receive state and federal cost-share assistance, which is available to programs approved before Dec. 1.

A vote to establish a program in the zone failed in early 1999. Although 62 percent of the ballots cast favored establishing the zone, the vote did not get the required two-thirds majority or 50 percent of ballot acres.

Harvest at a snail's pace
The U.S. cotton harvest slogged along last week, picking up only another 4 percent of the acreage. Mississippi growers picked their last 1 percent and joined Louisiana in calling it a crop. Honors for the most progress in one week go to Virginia, which brought in another 27 percent of the crop, taking the state's harvested acreage up to 60 percent. North Carolina harvested 20 percent of its acreage last week, bringing its total up to 80 percent.

Dark Tuesday for textile plants
Tuesday was a day of upheaval in U.S. textile manufacturing, as a giant in the wovens sector changed hands and another company announced bankruptcy.

Mohawk Industries Inc. paid approximately $36 million in cash for substantially all of the
fixed assets and inventory of the wovens division of Crown Crafts Inc. Crown Crafts' wovens division is believed to have the largest jacquard weaving capacity in the woven textile products industry and is a leader in the woven throw, bedspread and coverlet markets, according to Mohawk. Products in this division, which has annual sales of approximately $85 million, include a  throws, bedspreads and pillows. All of the purchased manufacturing facilities are in close proximity to Mohawk's existing sites in northwest Georgia. Mohawk officials said they "anticipate the acquisition will have no impact on earnings in 2000 and will be accretive in the second half of 2001."

The changes in store for Pillowtex Corp. are likely to be even more radical, as the company reorganizes under Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Pillowtex filed a voluntary petition for reorganization
under in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Pillowtex has received a commitment for $150 million in debtor-in-possession financing from a group of lenders led by Bank of America. The financing, which is subject to approval by the court, will be used to fund ongoing business operations.

The company intends to operate in the normal course of business during the Chapter 11 case and will continue payment of employee salaries, wages and benefits, and will honor existing customer-related practices. The U.S. Bankruptcy Code allows a company that is subject to a Chapter 11 filing to continue to operate its business as usual and provides special protections
for any creditors, employees and others who perform services or provide goods to that company after the filing.

Nov. 27
U.S. harvest a little ahead of normal
With 66 percent of its cotton acres harvested, Texas lags behind the rest of the U.S. Cotton Belt in closing out the season, but the state is right on time judging from its history. Texas had harvested exactly the same percentage of its crop at the same time last year, and its five-year average for the date is 68 percent, according to USDA's weekly Crop Progress report.

More significantly, however, Texas is the only state that is not at least a little ahead of its five-year average (among those states that have not finished harvesting). Oklahoma, for example, with 76 percent of its acres harvested, is 16percentage points ahead of its own five-year average.

As of Nov. 19, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee had finished, and Arkansas and Missouri were within a few acres of being done. Overall the crop was 82 percent harvested, compared to 80 percent for the five-year average.

A positive change in dyeing
A new dyeing process could soon have consumers wearing more cotton-wool blend fabrics. In the past, achieving a uniform color was difficult because cotton and wool accept dyes differently. Chemists with USDA's Agricultural Research Service have discovered that by reversing cotton's electrical charge, it will now accept dye in the same way as wool. That means the two can be dyed together rather than in separate dye baths.

The complete story is in this month's edition of Agricultural Research magazine.

Deconstructing bronze wilt
The cause of a condition that was quickly dubbed "bronze wilt" has been widely debated in the cotton production and research communities in the past several years. USDA researchers now believe they have not only isolated the bacterial perpetrator, but also determined the reason it has surfaced as a problem in the last five years.

Agricultural Research Service scientists have found the bacterium, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, in the seed of all U.S. cotton varieties. Resistance to its effects have been bred into short-season cotton varieties, and ARS plant path pathologist Alois Bell believes it has also been bred out of some varieties in recent years.

Short-season varieties are bred with specific genes that confer resistance to bacterial blight and bring early fruiting. Commonly used in cotton breeding programs, these resistance genes are generally referred to as "b genes."  Three of the b genes -- B2, B3, and B7 -- are in Tamcot SP37, a Texas cotton variety that has been used in breeding programs worldwide.

Breeders who used Tamcot SP37 as a parent to achieve early fruiting could have inadvertently separated the "b genes" from each other, according to Bell. Greenhouse studies showed that varieties with B7 alone were very susceptible to bronze wilt.

Bell's work is described in detail in the November issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

Consumption increase leads ICAC meeting report
World cotton consumption is expected to rise to approximately 20 million metric tons in 2000-01 while production is expected to remain at about 19 million tons, "leading to a rapid decline in stocks," the International Cotton Advisory Council said in its official statement  (PDF) following the organization's annual Plenary Meeting.

The conference, the 59th since 1939, was in Cairns, Australia, Nov. 5-10.

Furthermore, the ICAC projects the above-average world economic growth will bring continued growth in cotton consumption in 2001-02. This pattern is likely to bring price increases in teh next two years. The report notes that international prices have risen in the past few months but remain below long-run averages.

The statement also notes "the potential significance of genetically engineered cotton to the world cotton industry." The committee's Expert Panel on Biotechnology in Cotton reported that seven national academies of science  "have indicated that the technology holds tremendous application and utililty, but must be watched and used carefully without sacrificing the environmental safety, natural flora and fauna and sustainability." The biotech panel's report, issued in August, has not yet been made public. The ICAC plans to release the report, and Land of Cotton has requested a copy.

The statement outlines progress in a number of ICAC projects. The complete statement and minutes of the sessions are available in portable document format (PDF) at the www.icac.org.

Study will survey precision ag practices
by Bob Goodman, Auburn University
and Don Shurley, University of Georgia

Cotton Incorporated has sponsored a study to be conducted in six Southern states to determine the status of precision farming practices among cotton producers.  "Precision agriculture" is a term to describe using ultra-modern technology to improve productivity and profitability of farming.  Farmers using precision agriculture are able to monitor conditions to use just the right amount of
fertilizers or other inputs to help make top yields without wasting money.  They also may have equipment to tell which parts of their fields are more productive than others, and to autmatically map areas needing attention. The states included in the study are Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.

Cotton farmers will receive a questionnaire early next year asking them to outline various practices and technologies they use. Farmers who already use precision ag practices will answer one set of questions, while non-adopters will get a different questionnaire. Farmers will be asked to describe their use of yield-monitoring equipment, chemical-application equipment, soil-testing procedures, and many other practices that they use to produce top yields at low cost. They will also be asked to outline their reasons for trying precision ag in the first place and how they learned about what precision ag tools were available.

A similar study conducted in Tennessee last year found that more farmers than expected were using precision ag technology, and they were using it in many cases not only for financial reasons, but to improve farm conservation efforts as well.

Researchers hope to discover how precision agriculture is helping the farmers that already use it, as well as how they might enourage other farmers to give it a try. While the survey is fairly detailed, it will only take a few minutes to complete, and the results might help farmers get through
these tough times.

Bob Goodman and Bob Shurley are agricultural economists at their respective universities.

Major merger in equipment lines
Equipment giant AGCO Corp. will soon be adding state-of-the-art application technology to its line through the merger of one of its subsidiaries with Ag-Chem Equipment Co. The companies announced Monday that Duluth, Ga., based AGCO would buy out Ag-Chem, whose headquarters are in Minnetonka, Minn..

AGCO designs, manufactures and distributes agricultural equipment distributed in 140 countries, according to a company press release. The AGCO product line includes tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage equipment and implements. The company's products are distributed under the brand names AGCO Allis, AGCOStar, Farmhand , Fendt, Glencoe, Gleaner, Hesston, Massey Ferguson, New Idea, Tye, Spra-Coupe, and White and Willmar.

Ag-Chem manufactures and markets a line of self-propelled, off-road chassis, including row-crop machines and high-flotation vehicles. Frequently these chassis are sold with a product application system installed, and are typically used to apply liquid and dry fertilizer, crop protection products and biosolids. Some of these systems are computer controlled and use data management systems. Ag-Chem provides both the high-tech systems and related support to the industries it serves. Current products include the RoGator, Terra-Gator, Lor*Al converted truck applicators, AgTec orchard sprayers, and other non-farm industrial products.

Included in the acquisition is Ag-Chem’s SOILTEQ division, which enables site-specific farm management using global positioning satellite technology. The system gathers customized agricultural data into geo-referenced maps and creates site-specific product applications through on-board control systems. SOILTEQ’s equipment and services include SGIS Data Management Software, decision support tools, FALCON controllers and software, Ag Central On-Line and professional services.

Ag-Chem had estimated sales of $299 million for fiscal year 2000, which ended Sept. 30. In 1999 AGCO reported sales of $2.4 billion.

U.S. harvest winding down
Arkansas and Missouri have joined the ranks of states officially finished harvesting cotton for the 2000 season, according to the Nov. 28 Crop Progress report. Three other geographically diverse states -- Alabama, California and South Carolina -- have less than 10 percent of their acreage left to harvest. Texas has the greatest amount left to harvest, 70 percent. Overall, the crop is 85 percent harvested, corresponding precisely to the five-year average.

U.S. gins have processed more than 11.5 million running bales of the 2000 crop, with almost 2 million coming from Texas so far, according to the Nov. 24 Cotton Ginnings report. Mississippi has ginned 1.6 million bales, Arkansas 1.4 million and California 1.2 million bales. Georgia has ginned more than 900,000 bales, North Carolina more than 687,000 bales, and Tennessee more than 679,000 bales.

Dec. 12
Flooding in NSW
Significant portions of the recently planted Austrialian cotton crop are under water. Flooding from the Barwon and Namoi rivers has begun to recede in northwestern New South Wales after peaking in Wee Waa on Friday, according to a report in today's edition of Cottonworld.

The greatest damage is expected to come not from flooding, but from crop diseases and generally poor growing conditions in the early season, although it is too early to estimate the extent. Replanting opportunities are scarce.

Dan River turns to e-tracking
The Dan River textile plant in Sevierville, Tenn., is implementing a new e-manufacturing system
that will allow it to track its products from raw fiber to finished goods. Camstar Systems Inc.  announced Monday that its InSite e-manufacturing system has been deployed at the Dan River   plant, which manufactures greige cloth basic to the production of various types of fabric.

The deployment of InSite at the Sevierville plant is part of an automation upgrade that will link plant floor operations at Dan River's three apparels fabric plants, in real-time, to the divisional
ERP that coordinates the flow of product between the three plants and Dan River's suppliers and customers.

The deployment of InSite at this location manages and controls movement through the production process. Taking manufacturing orders directly from the ERP, InSite splits the orders into batches, discrete orders, and containers, which are then tracked as they move through production.

"InSite is helping us manage our manufacturing operations more effectively than we were able to do before," said Steve Myers, Dan River's director of apparel information systems. "We are now able to manage our inventories better, spot late delivery situations before they become a problem, and recognize and correct production cost variances on a period-by-period basis. Additionally, because InSite has been interfaced directly to our ERP system, our downstream finishing plant at Harris, N.C., knows exactly what's happening at Sevierville and can plan its production schedules accordingly."

Dan River's approach to its InSite implementation was aggressive, and included development of a store-and-forward capability that would allow each plant to operate uninterruptedly in the event of a centralized ERP failure, as well as direct loom-to-InSite connectivity to capture production data without the need for manual data entry. "It was an interesting challenge," said
Myers, "and a lot of the technology we had to use was new to us.  But now that we've got the first plant under our belt, we're looking forward to quicker implementations as we move to the next stages of our planned roll-out."

Myers said Dan River is preparing to install the system at a new greige plant in Mexico.

Dan River manufactures and markets textile products for the home fashions and apparel fabrics markets, and its apparel fabrics division is the leading supplier of men's dress shirting fabric in North America.
 

Malkin remembered as biotech pioneer
Memorial services are today for Roger D. Malkin, chairman and chief executive officer of Delta and Pine Land Co., who died Nov. 22. Mr. Malkin, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and a pioneer in American agribusiness, died at his home in Scott, Miss. He was 69.

Mr. Malkin graduated from Dartmouth College in 1952 and earned his a Masters of Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business in 1953. He married Carmel Adler of Asheville, N.C., in 1960 and they had two children. The marriage ended in divorce in 1990. Mr. Malkin served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Tule, Greenland, in the mid-1950s.

After an initial career in real estate, in 1968 he acquired, in one of the earliest leveraged buy-outs, Federal Compress and Warehouse Co., the world's largest cotton compress and warehouse company, headquartered in Memphis. The company owned some 31 million square feet of
commercial warehouse space across the South and Southwest.

In 1985, Mr. Malkin acquired Superior Farming Co. of Bakersfield, Calif., from Mobil Oil Co.   The farm operation included 38,000 acres and an extensive fruit breeding program.

His most recent endeavors included serving as a member of the General Partner and Business Advisory Board of Agricultural Technology Partners LP, a private equity fund dedicated to the life sciences. With Mr. Malkin's guidance, ATP built a portfolio of companies involved in forestry biotechnology, bioinformatics, transcriptome/proteome analysis, small molecule design and embryonic stem cells development.

Mr. Malkin's most notable contributions to agriculture came during his more than 20 years at D&PL.  It was Mr. Malkin who shifted the business from a production farming operation to a major research force, creating the world's leading cotton planting seed company. During Mr. Malkin's tenure at D&PL, the company commercialized early maturing and transgenic cotton varieties.

His acquisition of Delta and Pine Land Co. from Courtaulds Ltd. in 1978 was to have immeasurable impact on the future of the cotton industry. At the time, the company was one of a handful of seed producers serving the U.S. cotton and Southern soybean markets. Under Mr. Malkin's leadership, the company focused on improving seed varieties and farm technology.

In the early 1980s, Mr. Malkin was already realizing the agricultural promise of biotechnology. He met with the executives of the young biotech companies to explore agricultural applications. Meanwhile, he shifted the focus of D&PL's breeding operations to develop traits that would provide more economic benefit to cotton and Southern soybean producers. From this came several breakthroughs including early maturing varieties, which helped reduce vulnerability to late-season adverse weather, as well as smooth-leaf cotton, which permitted cleaner harvesting and higher fiber quality. As a result, by the end of the 1990s Delta and Pine Land had grown to be the largest cotton breeder in the world with commercial activities in 19 countries.

"In the early 1980s, Roger had his eye on the future and the possible contributions biotechnology could have for agriculture," said Murray Robinson, D&PL chief executive officer and vice chairman. "The years that followed were exciting as we moved through the exploratory phases to
research and development and, ultimately into commercialization. This technology has revolutionized cotton production in terms of pest management and enhanced profitability."

It was in the 1990s that Mr. Malkin's interest in technology changed cotton production and U.S. agribusiness. His discussions with biotechnology companies led to research collaborations with DuPont and Monsanto as well as research initiatives with a number of biotechnology firms. In 1996, Delta and Pine Land commercialized the first transgenic row crop with the sale of its Bollgard cottonseed using Monsanto's Bacillus thuringiensis gene technology. In 1997, D&PL sold the first Roundup Ready cottonseed. These transgenic products have proven to be the most successful new class of agricultural products in the history of U.S. agribusiness, resulting in substantial increases in yield per acre, reductions in pesticide application and an increase in no-till agriculture. Transgenic cotton is planted on approximately 80 percent of all cotton acreage in the United States.

Delta and Pine Land Co. was first publicly traded on the NASDAQ in 1993 and moved to the New York Stock Exchange in 1995. It is the only NYSE-traded public company headquartered in the Mississippi Delta. Roger Malkin served as the company's chairman and chief executive officer for 22 years, taking emeritus status in late October.

"Roger left us an incredible legacy and we will continue to build upon the vision he had for us as individuals and for his company," said Steve M. Hawkins, Delta and Pine Land president.  "In his work, he combined a vision for the future with the daily connection to farmers -- that combination is extremely rare and will be missed. He also championed the arts and  education, making our community stronger through his commitment and actions."

While living in Scott, Mr. Malkin established a scholarship program for young men and women of the Delta to attend Dartmouth College and supported the Center for Jewish Students at Dartmouth. He served as a director of the Delta State University Foundation in Cleveland, Miss., and was the benefactor of the school's Delta and Pine Land Theatre at its Center for the Performing Arts. He also was a benefactor of the Mississippi State University Agribusiness Institute and served on its advisory board. He created the Deer Creek Foundation to improve the quality of life in the Delta, and he was a member of the board of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience.

This year, Mr. Malkin's contributions to the Mississippi Delta and the cotton industry received notice with the honor of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Delta Council. He also recently received a Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts from the Mississippi Arts Commission for his significant contributions as a patron to the artistic culture of the state and nation.

Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove commented, "Roger was a visionary, he saw the big picture. He knew what it took to succeed in both the business world and the community. He was a tireless force for advancing education and the quality of life in the Delta. He will be sorely missed."

Mr. Malkin will be remembered and revered by members of the cotton industry around the world. California cotton producer Mark Borba noted Mr. Malkin's contribution: "The California cotton industry also owes a great deal of thanks to him for his relentless pursuit of cotton growers' attention and support with shorter-season, higher yielding and genetically modified varieties of cotton.  As someone who shared his vision and worked side by side with him to overcome the entrenched opposition, I'm honored to have been his friend."

Mr. Malkin is survived by a daughter, Melissa Malkin, of Encino, Calif.;  a son, Jonathan R. Malkin, daughter-in-law, Philippa Feigen Malkin, and two granddaughters, all of Washington, Conn.; a brother, Peter L. Malkin of New York; and his companion Barbara Jakobson.

Services in remembrance and celebration of Roger Malkin's life will be held in Scott at the Delta and Pine Land Community Center. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be directed to the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, P.O. Box 16528, Jackson, MS 39263.

Last BWEP zone established in Texas
Texas cotton producers in the Southern High Plains/Caprock Zone have voted to establish a boll weevil eradication program, the Texas Department of Agriculture announced Nov. 27. Final results were 2,996 voting "for" and 732 voting "against" establishing an eradication program. The SHP/C Boll Weevil Eradication Zone consists of approximately 1.3 million acres in Cochran, Hockley, Lubbock, Crosby, Terry, Lynn and Garza counties.

Producers in the zone also voted to set a maximum annual assessment for the program not to exceed $12 per land acre for irrigated cotton and $6 per land acre for dryland cotton.

Cotton producers also elected Vicki Davis Patschke of Lubbock County to represent the SHP/C Zone on the statewide board of directors for the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation Inc. Ms. Davis Patschke is a cotton producer who farms in the zone.

This was the last area of Texas without an organized boll weevil eradication effort . Approval of an eradication program will qualify growers in the zone to receive state and federal cost-share assistance, which is available to programs approved before Dec. 1.

A vote to establish a program in the zone failed in early 1999. Although 62 percent of the ballots cast favored establishing the zone, the vote did not get the required two-thirds majority or 50 percent of ballot acres.

Referendum results reported by the Texas Department of Agriculture on Nov. 27, 2000:

Proposition 1: Establishing a boll weevil eradication program in the Southern High Plains/Caprock Boll Weevil Eradication Zone	FOR	2,996	80.36%
	AGAINST	732	19.63%
	Percentage of all zone's acreage voting in favor of Prop. 1:		58.71%
Proposition 2: Setting a maximum annual assessment not to exceed $12 per land acre for irrigated cotton and $6 per land acre for dryland cotton	FOR	2,889	78.37%
	AGAINST	800	21.68%
	Percentage of all zone's acreage voting in favor of Prop. 2:		56.60%
Board member election to represent SHP Zone on the TBWEF Board of Directors:	Vicki Davis Patschke	2,590
	Write-in Candidates	241

Norman to head NCC Ginner Services
Dr. Bill M. Norman has been named director of the National Cotton Council's Ginner Services division and executive vice president of the National Cotton Ginners Association. Norman will begin his NCC duties in early January. He  will work out of NCC's headquarters in Memphis.

Norman succeeds Fred Johnson, who was recently named the NCC's director of administration and assistant to the executive vice president.

Norman is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds a Ph.D. in agricultural engineering. He was employed by Continental Eagle Corp. 1981-1995, achieving the position of vice president before departing to form his own technical consulting company, C&P Associates. That firm has been providing agricultural and industrial businesses with technical consulting services.

Norman has been involved in a number of NCGA programs, including the regional gin schools. He also is involved in a third-generation family farming operation that produces cotton, wheat, grain sorghum and other crops in Floyd and Crosby counties in West Texas.
 

 

JAN-MAR 1998	APR-JUN 1998	JUL-SEP 1998	OCT-DEC 1998
JAN-MAR 1999	APR-JUN 1999	JUL-SEP 1999	OCT-DEC 1999
JAN-MAR 2000	APR-JUN 2000	JUL-SEP 2000	OCT-DEC 2000
JAN-MAR 2001	APR-JUN 2001	JUL-SEP 2001	OCT-DEC 2001
JAN-MAR 2002

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