100% Cotton News
Winter 2020
Greetings,

We hope that you and yours had the merriest Christmas and that 2020 will be safe and prosperous. As always, please forward this message to anyone you think would benefit from reading it and do not hesitate to contact us if we can ever be of service.

Georgia Cotton Commission
Cotton Commission pleased with USMCA Vote
The Georgia Cotton Commission is appreciative of the recent passage of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement in the House of Representatives and is hopeful that the Senate will take up this important matter quickly when they return in 2020.
Speakers Announced: Georgia Cotton Commission 13th Annual Meeting - January 29, 2020
The Georgia Cotton Commission is pleased to announce the guest speakers for the Commission’s 13th Annual Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 29, 2020, at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center. The annual meeting is held in conjunction with the UGA Cotton Production Workshop conducted by the UGA Research & Extension Cotton Team.
Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Deltapine/Bayer Crop Science – John Deere – Stoneville/BASF – Phytogen/Corteva Agriscience
Agri-AFC – Allenberg Cotton Company/ProCot Cooperative/Louis Dreyfus Commodities
Alltech Crop Science – Americot, Inc.-NexGen – Choice Cotton Company – CNI – Custom Ag Formulators Farm Credit Associations of Georgia – Farm Journal/Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership
Hembree & Smith Nationwide Farm Insurance – Indigo Ag – Kelley Manufacturing Company
Lasseter Tractor Company – Nationwide Insurance-Agribusiness Insurance Advisors – Quail Forever
R.W. Griffin/Coffee County Gin/Four Corners Cotton Gin – Rabo AgriFinance – Rossee Oil Company
SePro Corporation – Staplcotn – Triangle Chemical Company – Valent USA – Valley Irrigation – Yara US Zimmatic Irrigation
Upcoming Events & Deadlines
  • January 8-10, 2020 - Beltwide Cotton Conferences, Austin, Texas
  • January 15-19, 2020 - Southern Cotton Growers Annual Meeting, Savannah
  • January 29, 2020 - Georgia Cotton Commission Annual Meeting, Tifton
  • February 14-16, 2020 - National Cotton Council Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • March 15, 2020 - 2019 ARC/PLC Program Election Deadline
  • June 30, 2020 - 2020 ARC/PLC Program Election Deadline
2019 Cotton Variety Performance
The University of Georgia works to provide producers with information on performance of cotton varieties through two programs. The state-wide variety testing program conducts the Official Variety Trial or OVT program to evaluate yield potential of a large number of new and commercial varieties in a selected number of irrigated and dryland small plot trials. Preliminary 2019 OVT results can be found at  https://swvt.uga.edu/summer-crops/cotton.html . The UGA On-Farm Cotton Variety Evaluation Program (OFT) compares the performance of a much smaller set of varieties, which have been proven to have a fit in Georgia, in a significantly larger number of locations in large-plot, replicated strip-trials. We thank the many County Agents and cooperating growers who participated in the on-farm program.
Master rules for Georgia over Florida in water dispute, but it's not over
In a key decision in the water dispute between Georgia and Florida, a court-appointed special master's conclusion favored Georgia
GCC Calendar at a Glance
October 2019
  • Attended FSA/UGA Farm Bill Education Meetings in Douglas, Tifton, and Reynolds.
  • Exhibited at Albany Exchange Club Fair
  • Assisted in changing WHIP harvest factor
  • Exhibited at Sunbelt Ag Expo
  • Met with UGA CAES Administration
  • Exhibited at Treutlen County Farm Day
  • Sent "Cotton: The Story" educational kits to educators and community leaders in Marion, Murray, Sumter, Chattooga, Muscogee, and Clayton Counties.
  • Sent "Cotton: The Story" educational kits to educators in Indiana, California, Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, and Idaho.
November 2019
  • Sponsored and attended Ag Labor Relations Forum
  • Exhibited at Laurens County Ag Awareness Day
  • Exhibited at Telfair County's Crossroads: Change in Rural America event with the Smithsonian Institution
  • Met with leadership from Georgia Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture
  • Sponsored and attended Georgia Association of County Agricultural Agents Annual Meeting & Professional Improvement Conference
  • Call with UGA School of Social Work Dean
  • Presented King Cotton Awards
  • Conducted media interview
  • Met with Southern Cotton Growers leadership
  • Sent "Cotton: The Story" educational kits to educators in Cherokee and Houston Counties
  • Sent "Cotton: The Story" educational kit to community leaders in Kansas
December 2019
  • Conducted Board of Directors meeting
  • Participated in UGA CAES Assistant Dean for Tifton Campus seminars
  • Attended and exhibited at Georgia Farm Bureau Annual Convention
  • Met with Georgia Department of Agriculture administration and lab department staff on seed quality
  • Delivered socks to Atlanta Mission
  • Dinner with Commissioner Black, National Cotton Council of America staff, and Georgia cotton leadership
  • Spoke at Northwest Georgia Cotton Production Update meeting
  • Sent "Cotton: The Story" educational kit to educators in Clayton County
Georgia Cotton Commission
Board of Directors
Bart Davis
Chairman
Colquitt County
Matt Coley
Vice-Chairman
Dooly County
Lee Cromley
Bulloch County
John Ruark
Morgan County
Steven Meeks
Wayne County
Chris Hopkins
Toombs County
Chad Mathis
Baker County
Ex Officios
Gary Black
Commissioner
Georgia Department of Agriculture
Gerald Long
President
Georgia Farm Bureau
Commissioner's Designee
Eddie Green
Dooly County
Commission Staff
Richey Seaton
Executive Director
richey@georgiacotton.org
Martha Harris
Office Manager
martha@georgiacotton.org
Taylor Sills
Director of Public Affairs
taylor@georgiacotton.org
(478) 988-4235
NCC
GDA
GFB