tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77906730874487138712024-03-12T20:11:07.934-07:00. Kissed A Farmer. Growing dryland cotton on the
edge of the Chihuahuan Desert.Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-18633941230617671202015-04-05T12:06:00.000-07:002015-04-05T12:22:03.433-07:00King Cotton and the Cotton CorridorFor all but 3 years of my life, I have lived, worked and went to school within 5 miles of Texas State Highway 87. This should be named, in my opinion, The Cotton Corridor. Now partially renamed Interstate 27, Highway 87 cuts through the heart of what was for many years, the Largest Cotton Patch in the World, the High Plains of Texas. Living on the Cotton Corridor among the endless flat cotton fields of the the High Plains of Texas can tend to give one a singular sense of the world. "Isn't Cotton "King" everywhere," I wondered while growing up in the midst of a sea of white.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTZxb4lpVryIVQebLMLmv0Y1lUG2Ww1arsbQtlvRhqXXjQec2px7pRnHTXcuvKJN5mrmRo3GEx2d7LlSWSev4EwD-3INAOeszR6heK27rjUlSbt7eFMQ57YCYvgApoNeKX3d_03ziG8WN/s1600/field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTZxb4lpVryIVQebLMLmv0Y1lUG2Ww1arsbQtlvRhqXXjQec2px7pRnHTXcuvKJN5mrmRo3GEx2d7LlSWSev4EwD-3INAOeszR6heK27rjUlSbt7eFMQ57YCYvgApoNeKX3d_03ziG8WN/s1600/field.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cotton as far as I can see through the window of my Boll Buggy this past season.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Please don't misunderstand, I love ribeyes, pork chops, pototoes, blueberries and corn tortillas! So all the other farmers and ranchers out there, please just keep calm and farm on! But when you bleed cottonseed like I do, (and let's face it, I am from Texas,) I can get just a little Texas Cotton proud. At a large convention I attended this past year, I realized this when I happened to be in line behind two other farmers from another state and they pointed to a group of cowboy hat clad men and said (just a bit snippy,) "Look, the '<em>Cotton' </em>farmers got here." I smiled and kind of chuckled to myself, standing just a little taller in my cotton jeans. I couldn't help myself when the Texas came out in me and I stuck my head around to the side and proudly told them that yes, we were here, and "What little ol' crop do y'all raise?"<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmMfhg2Zix-Ep-dQZPZ-cYBw6PaJhreB52RUR4DTUk6vTHZ0sfS0mO3dXdjg25XjbMNFN0bSsBgOCYmjSmdC9VkWipMIYPreHzD-8omiWouep6bBiZLt2pytExUXUdRQ7YCloT6CvEhkN/s1600/graph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmMfhg2Zix-Ep-dQZPZ-cYBw6PaJhreB52RUR4DTUk6vTHZ0sfS0mO3dXdjg25XjbMNFN0bSsBgOCYmjSmdC9VkWipMIYPreHzD-8omiWouep6bBiZLt2pytExUXUdRQ7YCloT6CvEhkN/s1600/graph.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
There was an article out this week by a well respected ag economist, <a href="http://agfax.com/2015/04/04/cleveland-on-cotton-prices-will-move-higher-stay-the-course/">O. A. Cleveland</a> which stated that 60% of the cotton in the United States will be planted in Texas and half of that will be dryland. Just in Texas alone, there are usually around 6 to 8 million acres planted to King Cotton. That's a lot. And a huge part of those acres are along Highway 87, the Cotton Corridor. The Farmer I Kiss crosses the Cotton Corridor each morning when he leaves our house in town to drive to work in his cotton fields. He and the other cotton<em> </em>farmers are busy right now preparing the land all up and down Highway 87, deciding the right seed variety to preorder, how much and when to fertilize, to preorder TopGuard or not, all to try and out smart the arid High Plains or the dry Chihuahuan Desert. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsStVSihM2yC-B3r5Y83on2sZLvpTT-5vq9-yy-X0M59dCRIoyug7tjIDRaNr3BaimjXZNmltKK6dL8-ENHZN2ccMZ-4qbGyP4SlK3JDXsmT2Qr7rxTqkqXIxE47cvL8uc1qxttSaUgv9/s1600/DSC_0278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsStVSihM2yC-B3r5Y83on2sZLvpTT-5vq9-yy-X0M59dCRIoyug7tjIDRaNr3BaimjXZNmltKK6dL8-ENHZN2ccMZ-4qbGyP4SlK3JDXsmT2Qr7rxTqkqXIxE47cvL8uc1qxttSaUgv9/s1600/DSC_0278.JPG" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I have not had a blog for a while, as I have been very busy with a new roll in my life. I am now The Grand Ma of Cotton Dan Langely. He arrived in November last year and I am happily watching my son and daughter-in-law raise Cotton Dan, just a half mile West of the Cotton Corridor where he will grow up among the endless fields of white that bear his name, King Cotton.<br />
<br />Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-48613471109489746352014-06-11T15:48:00.003-07:002014-06-12T08:38:57.047-07:00A Life of Cotton<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDsol4-qVII"></a><br />
<blockquote>
If I ever write my autobiography, the first line will be,
“My earliest memory is of cotton.” My playpen was in the front room of
a cotton gin office. I knew the farmers who brought their cotton to my
dad’s gin so well that I thought of all of them as my “uncles.” I
always loved the clink-clank sound made by the big black weights of the
old manual scale when a trailer load of cotton pulled over the deck.
When I heard that sound, I knew one of my “uncles” was about to come in
and if I was lucky, they would buy a 5 cent soft drink in a thick green
glass bottle from the old red soda machine and give me the first sip.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtU-t0Yg90_GI8woz8f-GKzwVo7dtLx_h6_1_XOCqVf3qkMDreybLue4EuCiv0ZLyTY_mt2f4ZO3xq9-FWMD4Mkv_Wq5YuOvoaSEkHVeeYubwvf4S6PXppK-FdYebNOJMPhpLu2XYsc12/s1600/Ackerly+Gin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtU-t0Yg90_GI8woz8f-GKzwVo7dtLx_h6_1_XOCqVf3qkMDreybLue4EuCiv0ZLyTY_mt2f4ZO3xq9-FWMD4Mkv_Wq5YuOvoaSEkHVeeYubwvf4S6PXppK-FdYebNOJMPhpLu2XYsc12/s1600/Ackerly+Gin.jpg" height="277" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDsol4-qVII"> Paymaster Gin</a> in Ackerly that was ran by my Grandpa Earl, about 1956</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zvMPuMyWL-qtEHqsruV_8PAKA8OqofmlhPdmCYZf6hgICGwlgsfbxu9Uts_DYOzkzG1JAKGr80_6uy_NqsXS3WxpyGmnPOCwsTVaWCZPTP7aWDcARxXWmaZOjAbP_ZsjG38gGHFo389F/s1600/Brown+Gin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zvMPuMyWL-qtEHqsruV_8PAKA8OqofmlhPdmCYZf6hgICGwlgsfbxu9Uts_DYOzkzG1JAKGr80_6uy_NqsXS3WxpyGmnPOCwsTVaWCZPTP7aWDcARxXWmaZOjAbP_ZsjG38gGHFo389F/s1600/Brown+Gin.jpg" height="291" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDsol4-qVII">Paymaster Gin</a> my Dad ran in Brown, about 1959</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQAgX528G7r4bQdicAFfuO2fHjCUKdVBCTAO3vX2mCUUOrQxNWMslublzZH8n3NdpHgHi0T4-p903wEZIWoAdT0qQbM7P8iJiU22egokRsB69iab7d20TJBmCkkKJUOen9XuJmJYgQzyE/s1600/Ackerly-Brown+Gin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQAgX528G7r4bQdicAFfuO2fHjCUKdVBCTAO3vX2mCUUOrQxNWMslublzZH8n3NdpHgHi0T4-p903wEZIWoAdT0qQbM7P8iJiU22egokRsB69iab7d20TJBmCkkKJUOen9XuJmJYgQzyE/s1600/Ackerly-Brown+Gin.jpg" height="206" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDsol4-qVII">Paymaster Gin</a> my Dad built between Ackerly and Brown, about 1966</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</blockquote>
<br />
My Grandpa, Earl Brasher, was a cotton gin manager from the 1920's. My Dad, Dan Brasher, was the youngest gin manager that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDsol4-qVII">Paymaster</a> had ever hired when he became the manager of the Brown Gin at 21 years old in 1956. Being the daughter of a second generation cotton ginner, and now
married to a multi-generational cotton farmer, I consider the excitement of that first load of cotton as the beginning of the best time of the
year, time to harvest and gin cotton! The local newspapers will run a little
story each year of the farmer who harvests the first bale of cotton in
the county, sometimes with a photo of the farmer and ginner standing
with the actual bale of cotton. I can't seem to find it, but I remember my Dad standing beside one of his smiling farmers in one of those little newspapers.<br />
<blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDcoSuymnVJJ4CrqTDIUV7ee1eL-HRk3zI6wwhaLaohyphenhyphenmb2MxQm3l-5oGQY3fkM2uty0lePVBO0dUvrSGhqHuT76QRXylxyEvQ8f4HLabjlDFeynykAWMzeUN_25-0HAKylwDQR-WPRku0/s1600/Dad+on+Bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDcoSuymnVJJ4CrqTDIUV7ee1eL-HRk3zI6wwhaLaohyphenhyphenmb2MxQm3l-5oGQY3fkM2uty0lePVBO0dUvrSGhqHuT76QRXylxyEvQ8f4HLabjlDFeynykAWMzeUN_25-0HAKylwDQR-WPRku0/s1600/Dad+on+Bike.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Dad playing in front his his Dad's gin in Truscott, Texas, about 1945</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvVsynWgC_BYitdUr05Qn1xcUquFNDwWRJ3FRlmaJSyre1hkN6j74f0a8KWz_IUmKo2DrjRe_fJIOYNoadlKKwu8Qajoa44n1YXnIeReJgYrq9EXl31tXHVz7vftaoUrE3QvunOiHRm-w/s1600/Playing+on+Gin+yard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvVsynWgC_BYitdUr05Qn1xcUquFNDwWRJ3FRlmaJSyre1hkN6j74f0a8KWz_IUmKo2DrjRe_fJIOYNoadlKKwu8Qajoa44n1YXnIeReJgYrq9EXl31tXHVz7vftaoUrE3QvunOiHRm-w/s1600/Playing+on+Gin+yard.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my little sister, Cindy, playing in front of our Dad's gin, the Ackerly-Brown Gin, about 1968</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_12398" style="width: 330px;">
<br />
<div class="wp-caption-text">
</div>
</div>
Growing up on my Dad's gin yard is about as good as it gets when you are a kid. There were endless places to play hide and seek up and down the rows of cotton trailers and bales of cotton. Later, much to my Dad's dismay, those same places made for great motorcross trails for a bunch of Junior High kids on dirt bikes! While rummaging through the old photos, I came across a letter of reference for my Grandpa Earl. Seems he was a mighty good gin manager back in the early 30's. </blockquote>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh32XqYiPsvaFALUuefv0bXe4qt1SWfh6d9o7jqdRhHP3E7B3ib5Xuaqk-WjZsoBSAAJbC4sKuGLkh-WQRezg3-GKATRsLyQy_ZIP_gNIAWJp8pbm9dgFhPgFHvN621_w5rTayRjKw4ynM/s1600/EE+Brasher+Letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh32XqYiPsvaFALUuefv0bXe4qt1SWfh6d9o7jqdRhHP3E7B3ib5Xuaqk-WjZsoBSAAJbC4sKuGLkh-WQRezg3-GKATRsLyQy_ZIP_gNIAWJp8pbm9dgFhPgFHvN621_w5rTayRjKw4ynM/s1600/EE+Brasher+Letter.jpg" height="422" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of a letter about my Grandpa Earl from 1931.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhfS0dGf_0jaHvbHeSM-hdJwpZ01zs6Ln64jtwiGpPAj9B7IaNgooVmAun7rpBqS8Wiziyr7MgyaNti1vMzqyLdC8ciMhnepgxNe94cBkxORM9hNbQ1VW5mQ9b9bamyJve_BKE-EvE1Kb/s1600/EE+Brasher+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhfS0dGf_0jaHvbHeSM-hdJwpZ01zs6Ln64jtwiGpPAj9B7IaNgooVmAun7rpBqS8Wiziyr7MgyaNti1vMzqyLdC8ciMhnepgxNe94cBkxORM9hNbQ1VW5mQ9b9bamyJve_BKE-EvE1Kb/s1600/EE+Brasher+photo.jpg" height="320" width="195" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my Grandpa Earl about 1961</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My seasons are not marked by a calendar, but by watching all the
different colors that paint across the fields of cotton throughout the
year. Bright crayon green as it peeks up out of the ground in the
spring. Soft butter yellow flowers that turn baby girl pink, then just
briefly a gem stone purple before falling off as it produces the boll in
the summer. Deep olive green and rusty red leaves as fall approaches.
Crispy brown and bridal gown white as the bolls pop open to dry in the
sunshine, waiting for the best time of the year, time to harvest and gin cotton. I have been wrapped in the the fabric of our lives quite
literally my entire life, and what a beautiful, colorful life it is.<br />
<br />
Since this is for Father's Day, here are a couple more photos of my Dad. He was not just a gin manager, he loved big trucks and fast race horses too! Make sure to listen to this link for a great song from my son, Billy Dan Langley, singing about Paymaster with a video showing some great footage of my Dad's gin and a community cotton harvest he organized for a friend fighting cancer: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDsol4-qVII"><i>Workin' for the Paymaster </i></a><br />
<br />
*Adapted from a blog I wrote for my friend Janice Person on <a href="http://janiceperson.com/agriculture/ag-awareness/a-colorful-life-of-cotton-memories-on-a-texas-farm/">A Colorful Adventure. </a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3cFr96bexAWRrny083B2i5-ozhJSCEcpHaN5QOBX-UPyNvfiSJ5fvgxFeylfYrxnKC695EVrP1UaI_t9PqAiRqcL8QBv7_U92naYGk7AnJQWMKJTUvdH3KnTeIK8Ov1aKi6691-Nd11F/s1600/Dads+truck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr3cFr96bexAWRrny083B2i5-ozhJSCEcpHaN5QOBX-UPyNvfiSJ5fvgxFeylfYrxnKC695EVrP1UaI_t9PqAiRqcL8QBv7_U92naYGk7AnJQWMKJTUvdH3KnTeIK8Ov1aKi6691-Nd11F/s1600/Dads+truck.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad finally got his own big truck to haul the cotton bales to the compress, 1980</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi987miONMoNmUCsmAmwIppNtd4JS3Etvv1WgLSTAWhSbQ-oEH2szT-oN3GexMZZ1hUDLULSLM-eV-839ntnB5Qf3GFZa58Ehzr59pIppiKrp98MJqLGF9HFJPhmO-utjl8QvBlHiTNN5Ou/s1600/Dad%2527s+horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi987miONMoNmUCsmAmwIppNtd4JS3Etvv1WgLSTAWhSbQ-oEH2szT-oN3GexMZZ1hUDLULSLM-eV-839ntnB5Qf3GFZa58Ehzr59pIppiKrp98MJqLGF9HFJPhmO-utjl8QvBlHiTNN5Ou/s1600/Dad%2527s+horse.jpg" height="247" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Dad's horses, Ka Cee Bim, in the winner's circle at Sunland Park, 1981</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-13251050296741335832014-03-24T12:24:00.002-07:002014-03-26T07:56:24.189-07:00GMO Cotton's not perfect.....WHAT??For two years now, I have raved about the benefits of the GMO cottonseed that The Farmer I Kiss plants. So why now would I say it's not perfect?? Well, that's because besides a beautiful newborn grandchild, nothing in the world is perfect.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_xYaYP89wOZxr2mUgDJgK4DWnZaGXtjx4UBfyYOsFJxXV7yH3OaEB9ePRMkNYuQEFYspxTyLVfyZLKrRFEUKbtCOyFcSsQ8wVAd2dQXIfeFkFVR5wiEKhjhyphenhyphenaf1QSCDJ-v5mau30X6nT/s1600/20131218_154744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_xYaYP89wOZxr2mUgDJgK4DWnZaGXtjx4UBfyYOsFJxXV7yH3OaEB9ePRMkNYuQEFYspxTyLVfyZLKrRFEUKbtCOyFcSsQ8wVAd2dQXIfeFkFVR5wiEKhjhyphenhyphenaf1QSCDJ-v5mau30X6nT/s1600/20131218_154744.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>This is a low lying lake area that Daniel was not able to plow after planting</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It took me several tries to get permission from Daniel to show these photos. Why? Because farmers don't like their fields to look messy and this is pretty messy. If you are not all that familiar with cotton fields, you may just think that this is a photo of cotton waiting to be harvested. You would be wrong. This part of the field has been harvested. What you are seeing is called <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/05/be-careful-what-you-wish-for.html"><i>Volunteer Cotton</i></a>.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbaaIr8qvuYM-ispj9iODiQYA1sbTYaOem8X0-GFpUqEhxItU7Lb04a2FYgERd7RGLq31D840CMXQNfrpwXhJOkZqwZUKCxu0p54tAmfb-2tPBvzzvSSxNikxpEN_4KwARV4ZIv-uvyQ1F/s1600/20131118_132726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbaaIr8qvuYM-ispj9iODiQYA1sbTYaOem8X0-GFpUqEhxItU7Lb04a2FYgERd7RGLq31D840CMXQNfrpwXhJOkZqwZUKCxu0p54tAmfb-2tPBvzzvSSxNikxpEN_4KwARV4ZIv-uvyQ1F/s1600/20131118_132726.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>Our varieties are storm resistant, but some locks still wind up on the ground</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Throughout the growing season, locks of cotton can fall out of the burr to the ground. Also, as we harvest in the fall, pieces of cotton fall to the ground. Both of these situations result in cotton which contains cottonseed lying on the ground. The next spring, those seed sprout and grow Volunteer Cotton in the blank spaces between the newly planted rows of cotton, essentially making those Volunteer Cotton plants "weeds."<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1375xy5qXAHRH5elCcHwq4BDl28ZWcIb2ImsVkW0Jo4W4s2xNI2VVdVdyqLwjVLqhkJXet-keMrc9S91D_qAl7magEEKDGZbHx4HL7LahyphenhyphenpqoStylAJHEc831_hcpsYfChs5HpQQpPGgI/s1600/DSC_0190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1375xy5qXAHRH5elCcHwq4BDl28ZWcIb2ImsVkW0Jo4W4s2xNI2VVdVdyqLwjVLqhkJXet-keMrc9S91D_qAl7magEEKDGZbHx4HL7LahyphenhyphenpqoStylAJHEc831_hcpsYfChs5HpQQpPGgI/s1600/DSC_0190.JPG" height="320" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>The Volunteer Cotton plants usually sprout early in the season, and are more mature than the cotton in the rows. </i></span> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3TvWK9BE5JAIs0f5fyxSOe1IMAOdCg6qyOyQgeX4lLokygwbrqDB1vojmif8Y0cRG7ES7lzXDszeDAGVF_omJP58_N5Y_gM9X_ECOuJKVZL4EBWMCRYRZeNkqoPJ8-zPrLgp9k4FBJJ50/s1600/Daniels+stalks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3TvWK9BE5JAIs0f5fyxSOe1IMAOdCg6qyOyQgeX4lLokygwbrqDB1vojmif8Y0cRG7ES7lzXDszeDAGVF_omJP58_N5Y_gM9X_ECOuJKVZL4EBWMCRYRZeNkqoPJ8-zPrLgp9k4FBJJ50/s1600/Daniels+stalks.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>The smaller stalks are from the cotton planted in the rows. The larger stalk is a Volunteer Cotton stalk.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The definition of a weed on a cotton farm is any plant that is growing and taking valuable nutrients and more valuable water away from the rows of planted cotton. The rouge Volunteer Cotton plants must be controlled just like any other weed because they are not harvestable in the fall. (Disclaimer: There are ways to harvest cotton that is not in the rows, but that requires<a href="http://www.cottoninc.com/fiber/AgriculturalDisciplines/Engineering/Cotton-Harvest-Systems/Cotton-Strippers/Introduction/"> additional harvesting equipment</a>, fuel or trips over the field which makes the process close to impossible.) <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKagy4HxljygPSV1jBTeLPeYzK-uO6RuebUW5HjKRuA9HMVUnKyLOZ1vS1hVJMrubjz17pNwmOhhzzJIVDQLX8zTfYU2Jvell7KSW6dc3xpYp8DYdxK3qnTm1LpK8Uuy1zZlJb9WV7Jth/s1600/20131120_143418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKagy4HxljygPSV1jBTeLPeYzK-uO6RuebUW5HjKRuA9HMVUnKyLOZ1vS1hVJMrubjz17pNwmOhhzzJIVDQLX8zTfYU2Jvell7KSW6dc3xpYp8DYdxK3qnTm1LpK8Uuy1zZlJb9WV7Jth/s1600/20131120_143418.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>Notice the small amount of cotton that is left on the ground after the cotton stripper has passed.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So here's the part about GMO cottonseed being less than perfect. The
particular varieties of GMO cottonseed that we plant has the genetic
trait from the pansy flower that allows us to spray <span class="st"> <a href="http://www.biofortified.org/2013/10/glyphosate-toxic/">glyphosate </a></span><a href="http://www.biofortified.org/2013/10/glyphosate-toxic/">herbicide (the chemical in Round-Up) </a>in the field of growing cotton.
This kills the weeds but leaves the cotton unharmed. But since the Volunteer Cotton that we are considering a weed is resistant to the herbicide, it does not die like the other weeds.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQa0yuO6Y4UrJ6KcUeJHwZ6rF5K_gIeVZiQ5rsn_B-KKqdwNXM6vhrGbpCJYj794A3yyewTXjEWlKh6hVG8zD8D5OG2Vq_KpNidgwKslUtN5pvKJvd_7m-oAKxTwxhse3T2Z_lylHFbQlP/s1600/20140105_131206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQa0yuO6Y4UrJ6KcUeJHwZ6rF5K_gIeVZiQ5rsn_B-KKqdwNXM6vhrGbpCJYj794A3yyewTXjEWlKh6hVG8zD8D5OG2Vq_KpNidgwKslUtN5pvKJvd_7m-oAKxTwxhse3T2Z_lylHFbQlP/s1600/20140105_131206.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>This is in another low lying lake area on the farm of a neighbor. Notice the harvested rows of bare stalks.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To control the Volunteer Cotton, you have to get the plows back out and plow between the rows of cotton. Not having to plow the land after it is planted is the whole idea behind planting GMO cottonseed with the <a href="http://www.biofortified.org/2013/10/glyphosate-toxic/"><span class="st">glyphosate</span> resistant genetic trait</a>. The Farmer I Kiss would get to plant and then leave the soil undisturbed to preserve the moisture, but the Volunteer Cotton issue is requiring an early plowing.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEy-Xz798496Ub51eKbDuWispAyc5ySYiiMKzXSykdi-JJ_IJ6SARY622iDo4bRzIRsxKr7QvCKX3l3MwoV4Imkjy54e3-qmxdFF-35i-2GslnArrh-_5ziuVgKWr0seWTf8Z8ShYtN80/s1600/20131116_162550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEy-Xz798496Ub51eKbDuWispAyc5ySYiiMKzXSykdi-JJ_IJ6SARY622iDo4bRzIRsxKr7QvCKX3l3MwoV4Imkjy54e3-qmxdFF-35i-2GslnArrh-_5ziuVgKWr0seWTf8Z8ShYtN80/s1600/20131116_162550.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>This is more representative of the Volunteer Cotton population where the field was plowed early after planting.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One solution is to rotate between varieties of cottonseed that would have <a href="https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ID/ID-453-W.pdf">resistance to another herbicide</a> such as Dicamba. That way, the field could be sprayed with a herbicide that your planted cotton is resistant to, but the Volunteer Cotton would not be resistant to it. Another solution is to rotate the fields with wheat or grain sorghum from year to year. This allows for different types of herbicides to be used to rid the fields of the Volunteer Cotton plants. We do have a rotation plan, but we plant cotton for 2 to 3 years in a row before rotating. So in the meantime, <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/05/farmer-i-kissed.html">The Farmer I Kiss </a>gets to plow, which he really loves to do, so he really doesn't mind the fact that GMO cotton is not perfect!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iItmpOFn871zH_83Rp82mNDpW7XNpcY6fIarTTE041d0nngvjZ_SSsuhv09ljPgiPkp-gfuR-OTogP9kf3pxnFYZZDwFGD0ZEazpY9ch7gt1O7xRJNB44RFc1tdMFilhp2C1-fNfIp6u/s1600/20131111_170033_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iItmpOFn871zH_83Rp82mNDpW7XNpcY6fIarTTE041d0nngvjZ_SSsuhv09ljPgiPkp-gfuR-OTogP9kf3pxnFYZZDwFGD0ZEazpY9ch7gt1O7xRJNB44RFc1tdMFilhp2C1-fNfIp6u/s1600/20131111_170033_4.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>When this is the result, some small imperfections are easy to deal with!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Updated: After a few questions, I thought it would be good to add a little more information. (1) Why not just leave the Volunteer Cotton Plants? <i>They get really big and grow very big stalks, which takes a huge amount of water. Something we have very little of out here next to the Chihuahuan Desert! (</i>2) Why not spray a different herbicide before you plant to kill the Volunteer Cotton and the weeds. <i>The herbicide that you would have to use can damage or destroy growing grain crops that may be too close to your field. Drift with these other herbicides is a big problem and one that we choose to avoid. Round Up does not have quite the drift problems of other herbicides, so we use that exclusively at this time. </i>(3) What kind of machine would you have to use to harvest the Volunteer Cotton. <i>I posted a link <a href="http://www.cottoninc.com/fiber/AgriculturalDisciplines/Engineering/Cotton-Harvest-Systems/Cotton-Strippers/Introduction/">here</a> to see the different header (part out in front that gathers the cotton) that would be put on the cotton stripper to get the cotton that is either not in rows or in ultra narrow rows. It would mean changing out the the front part of the stripper</i>,<i> a pretty major task, then driving all over your field again, which is bad for compacting the soil and using lots of fuel.</i>Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-25334191445744222412013-11-06T16:31:00.001-08:002013-11-08T12:15:30.954-08:00TOPGUARD Fungicide for Texas Cotton Gets Top Marks!For the second year in a row, the Farmer I Kiss used <a href="http://www.cheminova-us.com/en/products/fungicides/topguard/topguard.htm">TOPGUARD</a> Fungicide when he planted our cotton. You may have read my previous two blogs about TOPGUARD, <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/05/serendipity.html">Serendipity</a> and <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/11/there-is-no-fungus-among-us-topguard.html">No Fungus Among Us</a>, where I have talked about the 100 year fight West Texas cotton farmers have had with cotton root rot. The results that area farmers have gotten with TOPGUARD are amazing. Fields of beautiful white cotton have replaced fields of white cotton mixed in with huge areas of black, dead cotton. Here is a link to a great short video showing our neighbors and their success with TOPGUARD. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuQxf6RjPWw">Click Here</a><br />
<br />
Below are photos that show our farm that had <a href="http://www.cheminova-us.com/en/products/fungicides/topguard/topguard.htm">TOPGUARD</a> and a farm 1/2 mile away that did not have TOPGUARD applied. The trees in the background of the neighboring farm are the trees around our barn, so you can see that the farms are very close to one another. The results are very evident: <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOvFHAmEAf_vOKhVqI63VnovFAw0kgqXmWTTeowR9WAxQ_oLeyCHHq_OIbFPCH1AU7X9hsEzSJvSNx5wW9Pw1hGH3K59gKUTc3hJopUSXcYVbIWPz-uvBNxTwJ3eq_SfszH9ZNmjuGMCy/s1600/DSC_0143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOvFHAmEAf_vOKhVqI63VnovFAw0kgqXmWTTeowR9WAxQ_oLeyCHHq_OIbFPCH1AU7X9hsEzSJvSNx5wW9Pw1hGH3K59gKUTc3hJopUSXcYVbIWPz-uvBNxTwJ3eq_SfszH9ZNmjuGMCy/s320/DSC_0143.JPG" width="320" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our field of cotton with TOPGUARD back on 9/15/2013</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_EOQgTBlZrznA69oYuRpKTDUolkdeBNYvVdRoaMsQNdYDYoTgaSFLOTvbo-hvHOp8e34_N4Yxz3PvqfhEPm6-jVth7DGC5cTxNsfnQ5f8oXYOhQ6x6VNbikgPk8sVdi9XWb-ODCyZmO9/s1600/DSC_0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_EOQgTBlZrznA69oYuRpKTDUolkdeBNYvVdRoaMsQNdYDYoTgaSFLOTvbo-hvHOp8e34_N4Yxz3PvqfhEPm6-jVth7DGC5cTxNsfnQ5f8oXYOhQ6x6VNbikgPk8sVdi9XWb-ODCyZmO9/s200/DSC_0122.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neighboring field and all the brown plants have died from Root Rot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_P_CNwL7aUAPvaVh5PK_nIzt-HfZp6bkHlvPpcdqRYbJHavJBZK1oao0_szWdCk5d-dJ298X6J4PLTw_kJhV9XKdQD5HWUcmb5iO0Oo4OuWsTTlwVPLgd9RdNoJYUeRxqguHKnJO6M7b/s1600/DSC_0134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_P_CNwL7aUAPvaVh5PK_nIzt-HfZp6bkHlvPpcdqRYbJHavJBZK1oao0_szWdCk5d-dJ298X6J4PLTw_kJhV9XKdQD5HWUcmb5iO0Oo4OuWsTTlwVPLgd9RdNoJYUeRxqguHKnJO6M7b/s200/DSC_0134.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Acres and Acres of cotton are affected</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbGh_07mbDQbETo2jnae8pBQg_bbKFjL_77LJB6URnAVh9VZzeckRYYtWGxpQZoapU69GAIp6PHQ904p9JWv7GemOLe4UFknu5NL4SJS8TABJtrG8K4lU91R-rFLevIMq7TLptdNvwZZE/s1600/DSC_0140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbGh_07mbDQbETo2jnae8pBQg_bbKFjL_77LJB6URnAVh9VZzeckRYYtWGxpQZoapU69GAIp6PHQ904p9JWv7GemOLe4UFknu5NL4SJS8TABJtrG8K4lU91R-rFLevIMq7TLptdNvwZZE/s200/DSC_0140.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why is there one plant that is unaffected? No one knows that answer!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9VykhFfz8gz4GAShj6t4aeGnYT7aM24y9Z1Y-xVrNkv93t8LX1j_WKzfa7X4Thl18o0Wnk8W63jm_2q9Ld4BLpsas2JGpZ_dcerxyBRkLX-8nAZfCBFlftE-EZTg42ZmhvM5FTHptOEE/s1600/DSC_0142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9VykhFfz8gz4GAShj6t4aeGnYT7aM24y9Z1Y-xVrNkv93t8LX1j_WKzfa7X4Thl18o0Wnk8W63jm_2q9Ld4BLpsas2JGpZ_dcerxyBRkLX-8nAZfCBFlftE-EZTg42ZmhvM5FTHptOEE/s200/DSC_0142.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's our barn in the background where our farm of Root Rot-Free cotton lies. I would add that where the cotton did not die of root rot, this neighboring field produced very good cotton.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
TOPGUARD is not without it's drawbacks. Cotton is a tricky plant to get established each spring to say the least, and applying the new fungicide adds a new twist to that all important task. The TOPGUARD has to be applied at exactly the right spot, so that when the seed sprouts, it can sprout through the fungicide and have it taken in by the cotton plant. This way, the plant then protects it's self from the fungus that lives in the soil.<br />
<br />
Working out the specific details as to how you apply the <a href="http://www.cheminova-us.com/en/products/fungicides/topguard/topguard.htm">TOPGUARD</a> with
each of the different types of planters is proving to be a very hot
topic at the coffee shops and cotton gin offices. Our friend, Marcus,
shared some photos of his rigging:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLj14fmtsJ0eKXibyPibLt_19GFm3B4uR8s_jeHQYaTbdSS_VhTPwwk8fmBwc6dX16a-kYSkVu31fNGfUpCPP95Ag9aVtZf8XMKfu0mfeJU8nW6xlndZ2RfDSsvhAgnaetG5n2Cl6zTFk/s1600/Marcus+rig+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLj14fmtsJ0eKXibyPibLt_19GFm3B4uR8s_jeHQYaTbdSS_VhTPwwk8fmBwc6dX16a-kYSkVu31fNGfUpCPP95Ag9aVtZf8XMKfu0mfeJU8nW6xlndZ2RfDSsvhAgnaetG5n2Cl6zTFk/s320/Marcus+rig+1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are a close up of the sprayer attached to a planter. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqxy-awX-8qQ6DeSaiFTFxmEdezOgR2aD0sA8aG8fKwlxBiB2oqVOD8PEnDtrm_t8ovIgtRs5IWui5MYo9n5iwK2qEvyLAruQDN0VJRSIkrX5tUALvomn-Uc-nt0_mv7-eDbUECyb71hm/s1600/Marcus+rig+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqxy-awX-8qQ6DeSaiFTFxmEdezOgR2aD0sA8aG8fKwlxBiB2oqVOD8PEnDtrm_t8ovIgtRs5IWui5MYo9n5iwK2qEvyLAruQDN0VJRSIkrX5tUALvomn-Uc-nt0_mv7-eDbUECyb71hm/s320/Marcus+rig+3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The tricky part is planting while applying the TOPGUARD at exactly the right time. A rain on the newly planted seed can cause it to seriously slow down sprouting and emerging by reducing the vigor of the seedling. So watching the Weather Channel each night becomes very serious business during planting season.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1eDAGv2_y_gjpv3uaycxqB-8GbQR-U9OJpE-kMbztLk6qndZhCHvqIRN0MCA3rQUKO8abCLtnXbKcHfr08Jh2AQqNT1Y_7MQS91O8PzuoYN-qcKvvshjSkRT4ONHvANKi_-d04xXImo3/s1600/Marcus+bad+stand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ1eDAGv2_y_gjpv3uaycxqB-8GbQR-U9OJpE-kMbztLk6qndZhCHvqIRN0MCA3rQUKO8abCLtnXbKcHfr08Jh2AQqNT1Y_7MQS91O8PzuoYN-qcKvvshjSkRT4ONHvANKi_-d04xXImo3/s640/Marcus+bad+stand.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look closely and you will see that only one row of cotton is up. This row had a nozzle that was not working and did not get TOPGUARD applied. The other rows had working nozzles and it took several more days before they emerged. Eventually all the cotton emerged and this field does not have any root rot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We had a big, fast, hard falling three inch rain on one of our farms after we had planted with TOPGUARD and before the seed had sprouted. This washed the loose soil in and packed the seed bed so tight that the tiny cotton plants could not push through so we had to replant. Along the outside of the field, we found plants trying to push through the crust where Daniel's planter missed a few inches, showing that the plants were not affected by the rain on the TOPGUARD. We hope that tells us that we applied it at the right depth. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxwqO4PLc06LTpyS5Gthj4O_z3GXA1Q6vcv-f7W2pqm-fVLYdGpqSAyOS83lLyBasBk_DPnjtGExm9dYa4ygLWk_rSY_4rSkqZcdkfSObtNMqJymM3hl2M12L9y5SRSHK2C3sq-SvtHAZp/s1600/DSC_0660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxwqO4PLc06LTpyS5Gthj4O_z3GXA1Q6vcv-f7W2pqm-fVLYdGpqSAyOS83lLyBasBk_DPnjtGExm9dYa4ygLWk_rSY_4rSkqZcdkfSObtNMqJymM3hl2M12L9y5SRSHK2C3sq-SvtHAZp/s320/DSC_0660.JPG" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are some seedlings that were trying to push up through the hard crust that formed after the 3" rain. This is why we had to replant the entire field, not because of any negative effects from the TOPGUARD.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUBN2oZktYE8xNLyyA4AP3ALZFrODg1JMPcPPIkxZjRGv0bgKTSWYrKfX66Zw0QVyxr7vl5NVyY2tX-98d29iflJtoRT9dy77mgFHAuDWWWQ0raXcRHoPYXRXinJFC0ebYd6IVZYOHQgM/s1600/DSC_0669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUBN2oZktYE8xNLyyA4AP3ALZFrODg1JMPcPPIkxZjRGv0bgKTSWYrKfX66Zw0QVyxr7vl5NVyY2tX-98d29iflJtoRT9dy77mgFHAuDWWWQ0raXcRHoPYXRXinJFC0ebYd6IVZYOHQgM/s320/DSC_0669.JPG" width="211" /></a></div>
Once Daniel replanted, we got a perfect stand within 5 days of planting,
and the end result shows that the TOPGUARD was still there and was
taken up by the plants so that they were protected from the root rot
fungus.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrj_vOUr9AIv03SZFc4PsWj9N6Z16JAAb5Wf9S-A53PLYqdlKaJIEE89GsSKS75K1z1Qi0J6kc8k82kkaqELPCpCP7SOB68Qglm_MVTkx1CqfFq64srTcunzA7q7OWhkZ7ZfnnCaPsVXp/s1600/DSC_0682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrj_vOUr9AIv03SZFc4PsWj9N6Z16JAAb5Wf9S-A53PLYqdlKaJIEE89GsSKS75K1z1Qi0J6kc8k82kkaqELPCpCP7SOB68Qglm_MVTkx1CqfFq64srTcunzA7q7OWhkZ7ZfnnCaPsVXp/s320/DSC_0682.JPG" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Replanted cotton just coming up next to a stand of older cotton that was planted earlier and came up prior to the big rain.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeq9zkK7XpigJWI3VMGCG2hJ_WrK-TmzClurd6coQWAzIpDNqvyJfifbwzOe3vRdxbzR76iu2o0YW1iJCkjKNWDWHTYvBW8rDFYyLiYxekqoulu3T1pzoT3i__Jg5VV9MPAwPMFgyF5Sk/s1600/DSC_0685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeq9zkK7XpigJWI3VMGCG2hJ_WrK-TmzClurd6coQWAzIpDNqvyJfifbwzOe3vRdxbzR76iu2o0YW1iJCkjKNWDWHTYvBW8rDFYyLiYxekqoulu3T1pzoT3i__Jg5VV9MPAwPMFgyF5Sk/s320/DSC_0685.JPG" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect little cotton plants protected from the evils of Cotton Root Rot by TOPGUARD!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fpZCMmwWPPAcCO4vu9ldXZgL-qe1GQ1UScmA93d7xvvVfYDh6CLRnGT6XMbey3Kt1Sza3oNTqN8FCDm1GDAop-g-90VgeWlDyI2g03uNQYTokzbh26O939T2wktTjwKztedM0X8K1dvk/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8fpZCMmwWPPAcCO4vu9ldXZgL-qe1GQ1UScmA93d7xvvVfYDh6CLRnGT6XMbey3Kt1Sza3oNTqN8FCDm1GDAop-g-90VgeWlDyI2g03uNQYTokzbh26O939T2wktTjwKztedM0X8K1dvk/s320/3.JPG" width="320" /></a> Many farmers are foregoing the cost and headaches of applying <a href="http://www.cheminova-us.com/en/products/fungicides/topguard/topguard.htm">TOPGUARD</a> and just living with the dead cotton in their fields. Perhaps they are waiting until the farmers who are using the fungicide, like the one I Kiss, have worked out all the kinks. I for one am happy to be standing on the turn row with the Farmer I Kiss, looking at beautiful fields of white cotton this year!Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-17235636344733589072013-09-04T14:19:00.000-07:002013-09-04T14:23:01.131-07:00Lessons From Spain<i>My first ever Guest Blogger is none other than my amazing Niece, Jayci Cave. Jayci is a Senior at Texas Tech University (GUNS UP!!) majoring in Ag Communications with a minor in Ag Economics. She is the daughter of a third-generation cotton farmer and the grand-daughter of a second generation cotton ginner, so like her Aunt Suzie, she has been surrounded by cotton since the day she was born. This summer, Jayci spent time in Spain learning about their agriculture from the field to the market place. She has shared some of her experiences here and has related them back to our beloved West Texas Cotton.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihBgQsz8jTlJz1E3ggWLxt7IsLv_431s8ACZ45UgamlIBMdY31S58Lno8ijZtrcHqGgywyUEOb-rTKjPSR_h3GZs_J2COm8mdfYQq6wQk1URBykdXjd75HaJyigJBrbOqaIzFJgfIbn9q0/s1600/Vineyard.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihBgQsz8jTlJz1E3ggWLxt7IsLv_431s8ACZ45UgamlIBMdY31S58Lno8ijZtrcHqGgywyUEOb-rTKjPSR_h3GZs_J2COm8mdfYQq6wQk1URBykdXjd75HaJyigJBrbOqaIzFJgfIbn9q0/s320/Vineyard.jpeg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jayci in a vineyard in Spain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Agriculture. This one word has many different meanings and
every person associates it with something specific to their lives. For me, when
I think of agriculture I think of family, hard work, good values, cotton,
school, and Spain. Yes you heard me correctly, Spain. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My father
is third generation dry-land cotton farmer in West Texas. Before this summer,
agriculture was something I associated with being home and cotton farming. I am
a senior at Texas Tech University pursuing a degree in agricultural communication
with a minor in agriculture economics. My education is another one of the many
faces I put on agriculture. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now, let’s
get back to Spain. When most people think of Spain they probably think of
flamenco dancing, Spanish food, or even the beautiful architecture. For me,
however, Spain holds a very different meaning. This past June, I had the
opportunity to study abroad in Seville, Spain. While there I took two
agricultural economics classes, Farm and Ranch Management and Agricultural
Marketing. From now on, I will forever associate Spain with agriculture. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1hXzUBgiFFwFbZf_3_CfBvoFMWNcEsCMzTFSpvWw-STnHZXYBXLf0vE8mZ_qVcK8qFcHzOAwAwZ_18AWqR-BP0QpUXyTPWr-zo5XPjBjglr8-oQ7br4gVgdtI4KHv_iCiF0M-mXUt-Qag/s1600/Winery+Name.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1hXzUBgiFFwFbZf_3_CfBvoFMWNcEsCMzTFSpvWw-STnHZXYBXLf0vE8mZ_qVcK8qFcHzOAwAwZ_18AWqR-BP0QpUXyTPWr-zo5XPjBjglr8-oQ7br4gVgdtI4KHv_iCiF0M-mXUt-Qag/s320/Winery+Name.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The vineyard "Vinicola"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span> While we
were in Spain, we had the opportunity to study the industry and look at the
different aspects of agriculture. Not only were we able to look at the farming
side of things, but also how the products were marketed and how both differed
from the practices in the United States. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We saw a
lot of high-value agriculture while in Spain. Although, we did see a couple of
cotton fields, vineyards and olive orchards were much more prominent. We also
had the opportunity to visit a strawberry farm, olive press, winery, hog farm,
and a ham processing facility. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2HYfWGyuYDRtddEXtPk0TmjUThI_ETa0b9tKgO0v2OfMkznWIUQOSV2nDc7pSPFN6_LhxxmfsGNSxsfuiq0azqrgnld2crkVwtBPUB7hBTY8nKTfHbZvq7ZNDjprOr0SjTH6inBxgg-74/s1600/Plaza+de+Espana.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2HYfWGyuYDRtddEXtPk0TmjUThI_ETa0b9tKgO0v2OfMkznWIUQOSV2nDc7pSPFN6_LhxxmfsGNSxsfuiq0azqrgnld2crkVwtBPUB7hBTY8nKTfHbZvq7ZNDjprOr0SjTH6inBxgg-74/s320/Plaza+de+Espana.jpeg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What an amazing experience!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cotton is a
commodity, which means in order to successfully make a living; a large amount
of land is needed. With grapes, however, they are a high value product. The
vineyard/winery we visited was a cooperative. The cooperatives 400 members own
and manage both the cooperative and the winery, which purchase their product.
Each member farms around two to six hectares of land; a hectare is approximately
two and a half acres. The producers rely solely on the plants to be rain fed
and land in the region we visited costs around $13,000 per hectare. When
looking at land and production costs, maintaining a vineyard is fairly
inexpensive. How nice would it be if a cotton farmer could be successful under
these same conditions? </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-e6opK2IoSm1-ffRxTHD4ue_eCRXTpQxie0Fbb7zXGyXWJqYX98TfhVhpkcE4Bhi27_-4mKxQaxh8g9wVu3LznZJ-DLA-7P33xK5xGyNXWuFXLZohbmdhrpBiBNNOasEE84iFSqgMqSzF/s1600/Grapes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-e6opK2IoSm1-ffRxTHD4ue_eCRXTpQxie0Fbb7zXGyXWJqYX98TfhVhpkcE4Bhi27_-4mKxQaxh8g9wVu3LznZJ-DLA-7P33xK5xGyNXWuFXLZohbmdhrpBiBNNOasEE84iFSqgMqSzF/s320/Grapes.jpeg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Non-irrigated grapes!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
comparing this operation to those in Texas the first obvious difference is that
Texas wineries are not cooperatives. Another major difference is most Texas
vineyards are irrigated. The weather does not allow them to be rain fed like
the vineyard we toured in Spain. Other than irrigation techniques, most of the
farming practices in Spain are very similar to those in the United States.
However, the producers in Texas also farm somewhat larger plots. The average
plot size is between five and ten acres. One winery in Texas may only get
grapes from around 20 producers, while the cooperative in Spain has around 400
members. This is a significant difference in the size of the wineries. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8CZPN9PXXF92ov5Wv6CLW47Re_qVQqRss3l99Mzlr3ltW2cfj0PFbtMhb1u0OuM-EXfAPXtS3_QvUjIOCYiY1yfjvs8b6milw9Ran6LSl8IdLyX8m_ew0CogvORxMeQ0EAMeMrOVOvXGs/s1600/winery.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8CZPN9PXXF92ov5Wv6CLW47Re_qVQqRss3l99Mzlr3ltW2cfj0PFbtMhb1u0OuM-EXfAPXtS3_QvUjIOCYiY1yfjvs8b6milw9Ran6LSl8IdLyX8m_ew0CogvORxMeQ0EAMeMrOVOvXGs/s320/winery.jpeg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barrels and Barrels of Spanish Wine!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Studying in
Spain allowed me to broaden my view of agriculture. When thinking of the word
agriculture now, along with my family and cotton, I think of my adventures in
Spain and the different aspects of agriculture I was exposed to during my time
in Spain. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What does
the word agriculture mean to you? </div>
Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-73109433793387045722013-08-20T17:39:00.002-07:002013-08-20T19:13:14.121-07:00You Might Be A Cotton Farmer If...Every industry has it's own "Language." Cotton farming is no exception. Many of the terms and sayings around the cotton industry go back several generations, and while we don't <i><span style="color: blue;">Tromp</span></i> cotton with our feet any more, the module builder does a might fine job of <i><span style="color: blue;">Trompin'</span></i> cotton these days. So taking a lead from Jeff Foxworthy and his Redneck gig, <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">You Might Be A Cotton Farmer If</span></span>... (PS There is a dictionary at the end!)<br />
<br />
<i>You've ever cursed a <span style="color: blue;">Boll Weevil</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever visited with a neighbor on the <span style="color: blue;">Turn Row</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever blew a hose on your <span style="color: blue;">8400</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever responded to "How's your day going" with "<span style="color: blue;">Oh, Fair To Middling</span>"</i><br />
<i>You've ever spent all day <span style="color: blue;">Sand Fightin'</span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">You've ever been happy to see your</span> Cotton Rowin'</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever decided to plant <span style="color: blue;">2 and 1</span> instead of <span style="color: blue;">Solid</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever heard that Ol' Stanley's pump is <span style="color: blue;">Suckin' Air</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever been concerned that the <span style="color: blue;">Table's Droppin'</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever used a <span style="color: blue;">Quart of Topguard</span> to fight your <span style="color: blue;">Root Rot</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever had a buddy already <span style="color: blue;">Sprayin' For Worms</span> because he didn't plant <span style="color: blue;">Bt</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever <span style="color: blue;">Worried</span> <span style="color: blue;">About the Wind</span> because your neighbor didn't plant <span style="color: blue;">Round Up Ready</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever chopped cotton with a crew of <span style="color: blue;">Hoe Hands</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever been excited about a good <span style="color: blue;">Burn Down</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever had to <span style="color: blue;">Cultivate</span> because you are having trouble with <span style="color: blue;">Volunteer</span> </i><br />
<i>You've ever been <span style="color: blue;">Strippin'<span style="color: black;"> </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">You've ever ended up with too many </span>Barks</span></i><br />
<br />
Some of these are self explanorty, but I'll translate them anyway:<br />
<br />
Tromp or Trompin': To compact the cotton for transport. People used to get inside the cotton trailers and compact the cotton with their feet in order to get more cotton in each trailer. Now the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbp7tvDpaeQ">Module Builder has a hydraulic press that compacts the cotton</a> into large blocks that are transported by Module Trucks to the gin.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.txbollweevil.org/">Boll Weevil</a>: A vile little creature that causes so much damage to a cotton crop that many regions of the United States stopped growing cotton all together.<br />
<br />
Turn Row: Small dirt roads that lie around the perimeter of a field and allow room for <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2013/01/cotton-farming-doesnt-take-winter.html">farm machinery</a> to turn at the end of the rows.<br />
<br />
8400: There are hundreds of model numbers for tractors. This particular number happens to be a John Deere 8400 Front Wheel Drive Tractor.<br />
<br />
Fair to Middling: Refers to the<a href="http://www.cottoninc.com/fiber/quality/Classification-Of-Cotton/"> USDA classing system</a> used on cotton and Fair to Middling is about in the middle of the scale. There are colors, strengths, lengths and other factors that lead to the final grade of a bale of cotton. That grade determines the final price a farmer gets for his cotton.<br />
<br />
Sand Fightin': When a <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2013/06/if-only-even-gmo-cottonseed-cant.html">hard rain falls</a> on farms that are mostly sandy soil, the surface quickly dries off and becomes smooth. If the wind starts blowing, the smooth surface will begin to blow sand. Blowing sand can burn the leaves off of a cotton plant in a matter of a few minutes. Sand Fighters are very wide implements that have small rolling blades which dig into the soil and break up the smooth surface and prevent the sand from blowing. They can be pulled very fast to cover a lot of acres in a short amount of time.<br />
<br />
Cotton Rowin': This is when the cotton first pops up out of the ground after planting. The first day you can drive up and see a green streak down the row, your "Cotton's Rowin'."<br />
<br />
2 and 1, Solid: In this area of the United States, many farmers plant their cotton in Skip Row Patterns. This leaves blank rows in between rows of cotton to <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/07/maybe-most-important-harvest-of-all.html">give the plants more room for rain fall.</a> 2 and 1 means that there are two rows of cotton with one blank row in between the next set of two rows. Solid means there are no blank rows. Row spacing comes into play here also. Some cotton is on 40" wide rows, others may only be 30" row spacing. This is all a personal preference by the farmer. <br />
<br />
Suckin' Air: The irrigation pump in the water well is pumping less water and some air because the water level in the well is dropping.<br />
<br />
Table's Droppin': The underground water table tends to rise and fall with the weather and also during the growing season when lots of irrigation systems are in use, leading to pumps "sucking air."<br />
<br />
Quart of Topguard: The fungicide that was <a href="http://agfax.com/2012/02/05/texas-cotton-topguard-fungicide-receives-emergency-use-clearance/">approved in 2012 for the treatment of Cotton Root Rot</a>. It is applied to the soil at the time of
planting in quantities of one pint to one quart per acre.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/05/serendipity.html">Root Rot</a>: Several of my <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/11/there-is-no-fungus-among-us-topguard.html">previous posts</a> have dealt with the fungus we call Cotton Root Rot. It lives in the soil and kills the cotton plants.<br />
<br />
Sprayin' for Worms: Without the genetic trait for the resistance to the
boll worm, a farmer must spray insecticide on his cotton many times
throughout the growing season to combat the damage the boll worm causes
to cotton. <br />
<br />
Bt: Cottonseed varieties that contain the <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-buggy-full-of-gmo-cotton.html">genetic trait which makes the plant resistant to the boll worm.</a><br />
<br />
Worried About The Wind: When a farmer plants genetically modified cotton in a
field next to a farmer who plants non-genetically modified cotton, the
wind direction must be considered before chemicals are applied in order
to protect the farm with the non-genetically modified cotton from chemical damage. Most farmers are very considerate of their neighbors in this respect.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Round Up Ready: Cottonseed varieties that contain the <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2013/03/decision-2013-hybrid-gmo-cottonseed.html">genetic trait which makes the plant resistant to glyphosate herbicide</a>, also known as Round Up. Cotton grown with this trait can have glyphosate sprayed directly over the growing crop to control the weeds.<br />
<br />
Hoe Hands: Before herbicide was used to control weeds, large groups of farm workers would move from field to field chopping the weeds by hand with <a href="http://www.sears.com/search=chopping%20hoe">hoes</a>. <br />
<br />
Burn Down: After a field has been sprayed with herbicide and the weeds have died, you consider that a burn down.<br />
<br />
Cultivate: If you planted genetically modified cotton containing the
Round Up
Ready trait the previous year, the volunteer plants will be resistant to
the
herbicide and you must mechanically remove them by plowing with a plow
called a cultivator. Also, if you don't want to spray herbicide or
plant non-genetically modified cotton, this simply refers to plowing
your cotton crop and cleaning out the weeds between the rows.<br />
<br />
Volunteer: During harvest, locks of cotton are dropped and left in the field. These locks of cotton contain cottonseed that will sprout the following spring. These <a href="http://publications.tamu.edu/COTTON/PUB_cotton_Managing%20Volunteer%20Cotton%20in%20Cotton.pdf">volunteer cotton plants</a> are considered a "weed" since they are not in the row and are not easy to harvest. <br />
<br />
Strippin': Dryland cotton is smaller than irrigated cotton and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ljWngLi2I">most harvesting is done with Cotton Strippers.</a> This refers to the way the harvester removes the cotton from the plant. Sections of rubber flaps called bats and sections of long brushes rotate to strip everything from the stalk: leaves, burrs, cotton and all. Larger cotton and much of the irrigated cotton use Cotton Pickers to harvest which use units that literally spin the cotton out of the burr taking only the cotton from the plant.<br />
<br />
Barks: Refers to the bark from the woody cotton stem. This bark can make it's way into the cotton fibers and cause the grade of the cotton to come back marked "Bark." This lowers the price a farmer will receive for that cotton since the bark must be removed from the fibers before it can be spun into thread and fabric. Different factors can contribute to the problem, such as cotton that has died due to Cotton Root Rot.<br />
<br />
I hope this clears up some of the language barrier that can occur as you read my blogs about cotton farming or if you ever find yourself leaning on the back of a pick up truck on the turn row talking about cotton to the Farmer I Kiss. Leave me a comment with your own special definitions from your farming operations.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-60261823650783439972013-06-13T10:17:00.002-07:002013-09-12T19:23:02.682-07:00"If Only...": Even GMO Cottonseed Can't Survive A Desert DownpourIf only...the Farmer I Kiss was finished planting...It had been a stressful few weeks because the moisture was disappearing at a rate faster than the tractor could plant. So the longer he planted, the deeper he had to push the seed into the soil. With the first day of planting finally just peeking out of the soil, the rest of the seed were sitting about 2 1/2 inches deep...too deep to be planting cotton but doing it anyway to chase the last of the moisture. Then it happened. A 3 1/2 inch rain in about 30 minutes. A Desert Downpour.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQCrEt7O-g43EazaUgBSW7_GZd4icgcgKpnlQqWek_k3Y0U70us4Zfmp0wl7e8xKTvmXJcuBBk3iQwiX0y43AbrJalP6eiQcUmey2W-w2g_kGyCLYWHkSBVQjCJnusZX2jF8dmGYnF4eY_/s1600/Ballinger-20130611-00086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQCrEt7O-g43EazaUgBSW7_GZd4icgcgKpnlQqWek_k3Y0U70us4Zfmp0wl7e8xKTvmXJcuBBk3iQwiX0y43AbrJalP6eiQcUmey2W-w2g_kGyCLYWHkSBVQjCJnusZX2jF8dmGYnF4eY_/s320/Ballinger-20130611-00086.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a field of planted cotton.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If only...That's what Daniel kept saying as he shook his head, looking at the fields of standing water and buried cottonseed. If only that rain had came 3 weeks earlier, then he could have planted very shallow, the seed would have emerged in just a few days, life would be good. If only that rain had came 1 week later, the seed he had planted would have already been emerged and happily drinking it all up. But "If only" didn't happen. So now, the seed has too much soil washed in on top of it, the sun has baked it and even the very expensive GMO/Crossbred/Favorite cottonseed can't push through that.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGTKAej_ujVQQbcwCp85_vzsBFmnmyzmSzaJ_RtSm6ZCTtMPOMRe2WW8swNVNbmEY2kxNwrOIyga9tvEaAVWxqecgmO9PFtfTjiQ-yBOiz5ckDIxheX_3_Nyn4R-C6qV_8pmsivkStzsA/s1600/DSC_0575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGTKAej_ujVQQbcwCp85_vzsBFmnmyzmSzaJ_RtSm6ZCTtMPOMRe2WW8swNVNbmEY2kxNwrOIyga9tvEaAVWxqecgmO9PFtfTjiQ-yBOiz5ckDIxheX_3_Nyn4R-C6qV_8pmsivkStzsA/s320/DSC_0575.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Load # 2</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If only...we didn't have to go back to the seed dealer for a new load of seed. Most seed companies have a <a href="http://www.deltapine.com/Programs-and-Financing/Pages/ReplantProgram.aspx">replant policy</a> that allows the farmer to buy new seed at a discounted rate, so at least it won't cost quite what the first round did. And our <a href="http://www.cheminova-us.com/topguard/">TOPGUARD</a> fungicide for the Cotton Root Rot (which I have wrote about in previous posts <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/05/serendipity.html">Serendipity</a> and <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/11/there-is-no-fungus-among-us-topguard.html">No Fungus Among Us</a>) should still be there waiting to protect the new seed. Since this is only the second year that TOPGUARD has been used for Cotton Root Rot, a lot is still left to learn and this will be a great way to know how a Desert Downpour affects it for future crops. Daniel is watching closely and jumping from field to field where spots dry up so he can get back in them and replant almost every acre. Chihuahuan Desert 1...Wilde Farms 0...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mTkFyQvlMFk8XI668SguFYD_RFlaNzQSla0ehyphenhypheni8UhWvUvpmiMIlgS0Jk1Z2Fei-WIbYx6U7phvi4SAbFl0XHX8BlCFCmzc-_w9z77v8pjHMLGN9cs2omQxE3HQ2z6KmmKQ8HJwgrVVt/s1600/DSC_0585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mTkFyQvlMFk8XI668SguFYD_RFlaNzQSla0ehyphenhypheni8UhWvUvpmiMIlgS0Jk1Z2Fei-WIbYx6U7phvi4SAbFl0XHX8BlCFCmzc-_w9z77v8pjHMLGN9cs2omQxE3HQ2z6KmmKQ8HJwgrVVt/s320/DSC_0585.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TOPGUARD should still be waiting for the new seed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Bright side: Even though the cotton will be a little later, it will now have a really good start, which is about 50% of the battle out here. That rain will carry it through several weeks before needing another good drink. We don't need a lot of rain to grow cotton out here next to the largest desert in North America, we just need it to fall at the right times. If only...the Farmer I Kiss had a crystal ball... <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zRBFSNb8g4s2U7kpO-y6g10Fb7-1D4l2xMvHTlx57qiUyMd6xFvby0FBnEdMwtjlBExy-WS7vEiXOP1dYdCKSocdPu6ZyzsCsDS7sbB-zQKLEXSYtothI7XKYMLJNJ9JU3ZaTWi2gXGV/s1600/DSC_0562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zRBFSNb8g4s2U7kpO-y6g10Fb7-1D4l2xMvHTlx57qiUyMd6xFvby0FBnEdMwtjlBExy-WS7vEiXOP1dYdCKSocdPu6ZyzsCsDS7sbB-zQKLEXSYtothI7XKYMLJNJ9JU3ZaTWi2gXGV/s320/DSC_0562.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That seed costs WHAT!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-39147053291017866892013-05-07T11:40:00.002-07:002016-06-13T15:13:31.886-07:00Green Snakes on the CeilingTurn west at the traffic light. There's only one. Go over the low water crossing. Don't worry, it hasn't seen water for two and a half years. Take the dirt road down by the river to the pavilion. Just a tin roof and a cement slab circled by ancient live oaks. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZAeNM0N8zw">Bring your cooler</a> and your lawn chairs.<br />
<br />
Everyone sits and waits, under the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOGdMEemqWQ&list=PLE09A539D6F872756&index=12">orange, pink and purple painted evening Texas sky</a>. Slowly, a figure steps up on the flat bed hay trailer parked at the end of the cement slab. Big white cowboy hat, graying beard, fiddle in hand. The small band starts to tune. Plink plink, twang twang. The<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YmZvNwN0KI"> steel guitar player</a> slides the bar across the strings.<br />
<br />
Finally, what we all drove miles through twisting, whitetail deer infested roads to see. A real Texas Legend. He brings the bow up to the fiddle and no one is left in their seats as<a href="http://www.johnnybush.com/"> Johnny Bush</a> belts out his Texas mainstay<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kb_5_X0EOg"> "Green Snakes on the Ceiling."</a><br />
<br />
<br />
If you have never watched a bunch of real Texans doing the<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YL2Nj6pGoc"> Texas Two-Step</a> to Green Snakes on the Ceiling, you may have a hard time grasping the deep seeded meaning in this act. It's an Unofficial Law of Texas that you are not allowed to sit in your seat when<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMxOMSy8hJo"> certain songs are played</a>, Green Snakes being one of them. Now, someone who is not familiar with this ritual may be very confused as they watch 50 couples <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcToIkgXfTg">dancing to the same song</a>, all supposedly doing the same Two-Step, because there are <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K-KAMS2LoI">50 different versions </a>of the dance all happening at the same time.<br />
<br />
Mothers teaching their 10 year old son to slowly step forward-forward-back. Little girls perched atop their daddy's cowboy boots as they shuffle-shuffle-skip. The aging ranch couple who <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX_9Go0Z8e4">dance so smooth</a> that you would swear they were on ice skates. The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RwmYTZtNok">young farm hand,</a> dancing quick-quick-slow-slow with the farmer's daughter (under the watchful eye of the farmer's wife) trying very hard not to step on her fancy new cowgirl boots. Miss Turkey Fest still wearing her crown, now in bare feet instead of her high heel red satin pageant shoes, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNphbzntJjA">scandalously dancing</a> very close with someone just a bit too old. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtB11iTPfIw"> Twirls, twists, spins</a>...fast, slow..and sometimes even a couple who actually boot scoot to the beat.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxXIoZ7SqDmnjw5JqYM2-ebkuIsoZMFUHPWM7qaTG23to1nj1EzCiKQ5Hs0xz0CyJMj0gZ_P9wvxhTOlByC1v40dcreyuL-x8PbE9POZx2XdZP-vb0YvWwzF-h1hCSqNPrauMjv6GX3ZQ/s1600/Menard+West-20130504-00073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxXIoZ7SqDmnjw5JqYM2-ebkuIsoZMFUHPWM7qaTG23to1nj1EzCiKQ5Hs0xz0CyJMj0gZ_P9wvxhTOlByC1v40dcreyuL-x8PbE9POZx2XdZP-vb0YvWwzF-h1hCSqNPrauMjv6GX3ZQ/s320/Menard+West-20130504-00073.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5loGlUDCI4">Johnny Bush...A Texas Legend</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's a tradition that doesn't seem to be fading, unlike many other traditions these days. Everyone leaving their fields and cattle a little early, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvX8MijgeW8">putting on a clean, starched pair of blue jeans and their "town" hat to go dance</a> in a circle all night to old country music. It can be out under the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXEZuAfxT3I">stars at night</a> on a cement slab, in an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR4mikxJCTQ">old dance hall</a> with a real wooden dance floor, or the linoleum tile floor of the community center. No matter where it is, a few things are always the same: there will be a<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WSlskCq9Qk"> fiddle</a>, a<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nvvZxbKtok"> steel guitar</a>, cornmeal sprinkled on the floor, and the unspoken rule that you never sit when the band cranks up Green Snakes on the Ceiling.<br />
<br />
The<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjcwNKpiAnQ"> Farmer I Kiss</a> and our good friends<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMNw_-yUm_0"> Allen and Michelle</a> drove 66 miles to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rNxnF0ZX0c">Menard, Texas</a> last weekend to attend their First Annual Turkey Fest, in honor of the amazing turkey hunting the area provides. We counted 105 deer on the sides of a 17 mile stretch of road going back to their cabin after the dance (a hint of the amazing deer hunting the area is also famous for.) All to hear the amazing voice of<a href="http://www.johnnybush.com/"> Johnny Bush</a> and to have the opportunity to dance to a live performance from the Legend himself singing Green Snakes on the Ceiling. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ3FC41Wi-s&list=PL126628FC6988BD13"> It was a great trip</a>!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhFCeovWVdQDigRg7kXbuRBZYZebcstK_EZybAlEMNQEe0j9YpLO0xv50K35balkcM0aYQ-MCkwvHkhq4CE4Zi4Ge2ylMRrWJ-QqrMSux1mt4xWQHnwBEo3dy5vEJJs5SCNRgBetdpp8E/s1600/Menard+West-20130504-00076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhFCeovWVdQDigRg7kXbuRBZYZebcstK_EZybAlEMNQEe0j9YpLO0xv50K35balkcM0aYQ-MCkwvHkhq4CE4Zi4Ge2ylMRrWJ-QqrMSux1mt4xWQHnwBEo3dy5vEJJs5SCNRgBetdpp8E/s200/Menard+West-20130504-00076.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scootin' a boot with the Farmer I Kiss</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-80932237967698172862013-04-26T14:18:00.000-07:002013-04-29T08:37:49.928-07:00How does it stack up: STAX, WTO and CottonAlthough the Farmer I Kiss raises some wheat and milo in order to rotate the land from cotton every two to four years, these crops are planted <a href="http://janiceperson.com/agriculture/ag-awareness/when-tillage-begins-other-arts-follow/">mainly for their foliage</a> that can be incorporated into the topsoil. They are not his primary focus, because at the end of the day, no matter which crop is in the field, he is a <a href="http://www.cottonfarming.com/home/index.html">cotton farmer. </a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2gbl2elL2vBqz9EJkrTIiLqRTmlGIPD6nb7gjBQfiVAIt2lRqe8NRR6xSasqbz9zgjSncRv0Ppk00rmu2aBwPt4okpntKADkhDRkcbnDTb4t7PLiFNtfB9gXFhhbp6xQjF8TKHC1AGwVY/s1600/September+cotton+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2gbl2elL2vBqz9EJkrTIiLqRTmlGIPD6nb7gjBQfiVAIt2lRqe8NRR6xSasqbz9zgjSncRv0Ppk00rmu2aBwPt4okpntKADkhDRkcbnDTb4t7PLiFNtfB9gXFhhbp6xQjF8TKHC1AGwVY/s200/September+cotton+024.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Cotton Rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b><span style="color: #274e13;">Cotton Organizations</span></b> <br />
<br />
One of the things that comes with being a cotton farmer are the<a href="http://www.cotton.org/about/related-orgs.cfm"> great cotton organizations</a> that exist across the southern states. One of the best is the<a href="http://www.cotton.org/"> National Cotton Council</a>, (NCC) who<i> "serves as the central forum for consensus-building among producers,
ginners, warehousers, merchants, cottonseed processors/dealers,
cooperatives and textile manufacturers. The organization is the unifying
force in working with the government to ensure that cotton's interests
are considered."</i> The regional organization here is the <a href="http://www.srpcotton.org/">Southern Rolling Plains Cotton Growers</a>, (SRPCG) who are members along with other regional groups of the<a href="http://kfyo.com/texas-am-agrilife-extension-recognizes-texas-cotton-producers-inc/"> Texas Cotton Producers, Inc</a>. (TCP) Our very good friend and fellow Concho Valley cotton farmer is currently the president of TCP. These organizations have spent the past couple of years developing a program for cotton producers called <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.deltacouncil.org%2FStacked%2520Income%2520Protection%2520Plan%2520for%2520Upland%2520Cotton.pdf&ei=h5x6UZe9OKXa2AXI9YDoCw&usg=AFQjCNGmUedRxsvXtrIXW6-liQk-QFjr_A&sig2=6ttG_ZzgAGtTKyE5pM1FTg&bvm=bv.45645796,d.b2I&cad=rja">STAX,</a> Stacked Income Protection Plan for Upland Cotton.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #274e13;">STAX and the WTO</span> </b><br />
<br />
STAX is an additional crop insurance product that can be purchased in addition to the regular crop insurance policy. It helps to cover the large deductibles that the regular crop insurance policy has and works as an area-wide type of a product instead of basing coverage on a farmers individual operation and yields. Many of the aspects of the STAX program were developed to answer the issues that are unique to cotton due to a <a href="http://deltafarmpress.com/cotton/brazil-case-continues-stalk-cotton-industry">World Trade Organization dispute </a>that Brazil raised against features of the U. S. cotton program. In March, the<a href="http://deltafarmpress.com/cotton/ncc-stresses-importance-effective-stax"> Delta Farm Press</a> stated, "<i>Besides providing a much-needed safety net for an industry that is
reeling from a greater-than-50-percent reduction in cotton prices over
the last two years, policymakers also face the challenge of ultimately
settling the WTO case filed by the government of Brazil nearly a decade
ago."</i><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><b>Direct Payments Eliminated</b></span><i> </i><br />
<br />
The<a href="http://deltafarmpress.com/cotton/ncc-stresses-importance-effective-stax"> STAX program</a> has been embraced by most policymakers who are involved in creating the new <a href="http://www.galesburg.com/news/x171169405/Budget-challenges-farm-bill-in-2013">Farm Bill</a> currently being put together in Washington, D. C. As it was originally designed, STAX in combination with the <a href="http://www.680kfeq.com/agnews/Paying-for-Crop-Insurance-with-Elimination-of-Dire/16026034">elimination of direct payments</a>, SURE disaster program and counter-cyclical payments would reduce spending in the cotton program by an estimated 46%, a number that is much greater than many other commodities are proposing for their spending reductions.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><b>Strong Safety Net</b></span> <br />
<br />
The supply of food and fiber are a vital part of our national security. The natural disasters of the past two years have brought our food and fiber supply under attack, reenforcing the need for a
strong, stable and affordable safety net with crop insurance serving as it's backbone. As the new Farm Bill looks to eliminate most of cotton's program funds, support for the STAX program as an affordable option for the portion of their risks that currently have no coverage is basically unanimous among cotton producers across the cotton belt. Organizations like the NCC, SRPCG and TCP are working hard to represent the <a href="http://cotton.tamu.edu/cottoncountry.htm">cotton farmers</a>, like the one I Kiss, from all across the cotton belt as our policymakers develop a Farm Bill that will have sweeping changes and much needed spending reductions.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-83303068696118986052013-03-18T15:06:00.000-07:002013-03-18T15:06:27.757-07:00Shouldn't we have parades? It's National Agriculture Day We have parades in this town at the drop of a hat. The small street down by the river gets blocked off at least once a month for a line of crate paper adorned floats. But March 19th will be conspicuously quiet down along the river road. No floats, no motorcycle groups, no marching bands. Yet, here in town, we will all eat at least three meals that day, wear clothes and drive our cars.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit760ehyPT5icByyTDLK715dxkYUHgVCcoI1pDT6yry79DwrfblJQVWAP1E3_405E2V4fm1c7-ipzIrUssAKDDkjbtKuf-7XC7uhMNqxLj27A7q-lXbayTit0LG-dmyvP04W1zx9XiYVd_/s1600/September+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit760ehyPT5icByyTDLK715dxkYUHgVCcoI1pDT6yry79DwrfblJQVWAP1E3_405E2V4fm1c7-ipzIrUssAKDDkjbtKuf-7XC7uhMNqxLj27A7q-lXbayTit0LG-dmyvP04W1zx9XiYVd_/s200/September+1.JPG" width="131" /></a></div>
March 19th is National Agriculture Day. Not only should we recognize the day, we should have a BIG parade to celebrate those who produce the food we eat, the fiber we wear and the fuel we burn. San Angelo is an agriculture town. In fact, at one point in time, we were the wool and mohair capital of the world. Just get out an old encyclopida and there we are, our one claim to fame. Shouldn't we block off the river road for trailers full of sheep and goats? Shouldn't we invite all the farmers to drive their tractors through the middle of downtown while we line the streets to cheer for them?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdE2RrdU42aUdNYHY4Ugv8X7BhrHDGxBOSuxf9qYMbN0WqKcTGF11ra_cUnX3a4GBdIdpd-gugwE4wF6lLQ_A7pOY4ub6n-NztUZB8sXeOWFNCWzeSFg4bpVn87K803pWdHsxhjx0puqDi/s1600/September+02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdE2RrdU42aUdNYHY4Ugv8X7BhrHDGxBOSuxf9qYMbN0WqKcTGF11ra_cUnX3a4GBdIdpd-gugwE4wF6lLQ_A7pOY4ub6n-NztUZB8sXeOWFNCWzeSFg4bpVn87K803pWdHsxhjx0puqDi/s200/September+02.JPG" width="131" /></a></div>
Sadly, the day may go past with most Americans failing to even know it's National Agriculture Day as they go about their lives eating three meals of safe affordable food, wearing comfortable cotton clothes and driving cars fueled in part by grain derived ethanol.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH8jh5Yp045gQVuZp4wf1JHUkCSrVqS8tu3ZNkUFtLuPgBLoeEkwLwM05RPWDH9JXeIAg7JtX259jC1oy51OlKZRYGiDvPBalERIpg9wI2YiNgcsHlA4dAE9gjLfV3i7mdXHXVOau0t3F9/s1600/September+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH8jh5Yp045gQVuZp4wf1JHUkCSrVqS8tu3ZNkUFtLuPgBLoeEkwLwM05RPWDH9JXeIAg7JtX259jC1oy51OlKZRYGiDvPBalERIpg9wI2YiNgcsHlA4dAE9gjLfV3i7mdXHXVOau0t3F9/s200/September+3.JPG" width="131" /></a></div>
On March 19th, I plan to thank the Farmer I Kiss and all the other farmers I know for their part in making America such a great place to live. I hope you do the same!Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-31372259488613192142013-03-14T14:17:00.001-07:002013-09-12T19:25:53.371-07:00Decision 2013: Drought Resistant & GMO Cottonseed Varieties leading the pollsAbout this time each year, the Wilde household takes on a full blown campaign atmosphere. The Farmer I Kiss and I both have very strong opinions about which brand and variety of cottonseed to plant. Lying around the house you will find lots of magazines and brochures conspicuously left opened to a favorite brand, or maybe a new, exciting variety. Big red circles have been drawn around the front runners.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDsiMdx3Ep35XIDwUufGVEbq2v0BFiPV6G7cbBF6BiGJyJDaDVDtoXE84-0_wUaVGHP7CvhNaOW70H8H01_Z38uQUcMUh72KLJVNZQTd9fVij6JUULQr7PjhX0tU-hHgAyCvLTk3nIbDM/s1600/20130313_180928_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDsiMdx3Ep35XIDwUufGVEbq2v0BFiPV6G7cbBF6BiGJyJDaDVDtoXE84-0_wUaVGHP7CvhNaOW70H8H01_Z38uQUcMUh72KLJVNZQTd9fVij6JUULQr7PjhX0tU-hHgAyCvLTk3nIbDM/s320/20130313_180928_6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for our food at the restaurant...Daniel just happened to have some reading to do...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Underneath all the hub-bub, Daniel studies carefully to try and find just that right combination of crossbreed and genetic technologies which could give him just a tiny edge up on the Chihuahuan Desert. The main concern right now is finding a variety that will tolerate both the extremely low humidity and extremely high heat which we have been experiencing the past few years. Many brands have varieties that are proving to be drought tolarant, but not all droughts are the same. Producing cotton with less rainfall is one thing. Producing cotton with less rainfall, 10% humidity and 110 degree heat is quite another. This is where he depends on the years of cross
breeding done by seed companies, followed by farmer planted trial
plots to finally isolate the traits which will form the perfect
"Edge of the Chihuahuan Desert" dryland cotton variety.<br />
<br />
Last year in the Concho Valley, one particular brand and variety, <a href="http://www.deltapine.com/Products/Southwest/Pages/DP-1044-B2RF-Southwest.aspx"> Deltapine 1044</a> seemed to beat all the rest in both production and quality. Unfortunately, we didn't plant that variety. We planted a variety that has been a top producer with excellent quality for several years, but just didn't hold up to the low humidity and high heat of 2012,<a href="http://www.bayercropscience.us/crops/cotton/2012-variety-guide"> FiberMax 1740</a>. Daniel likes to choose a variety that has a good showing from farm to farm in the farmer field trials. Not the one that suddenly jumps out of no where to the front of one trial and not the one that lags at the bottom of all the trials.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvgFiOObeWyg4UuGfg8XhLgDY4a77U5RqQa6gwn7ufAOoE5Ppw189eRnuhHhJ13R1ucxwtImpg9MMqZASGckzP0sHrEXW3mu_ae1Haj-KZ34vKfSxn-IkIDXoPUW7Nyhqa3ofkhIpAgrU/s1600/New.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvgFiOObeWyg4UuGfg8XhLgDY4a77U5RqQa6gwn7ufAOoE5Ppw189eRnuhHhJ13R1ucxwtImpg9MMqZASGckzP0sHrEXW3mu_ae1Haj-KZ34vKfSxn-IkIDXoPUW7Nyhqa3ofkhIpAgrU/s320/New.jpg" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am pulling for one of the new-comers this year!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Daniel also has to take into consideration how early he will plant. The relative maturity of varieties come in Early, Medium and Full season. If he plants in mid to late May, that takes an entirely different variety than when he has to wait until late June. Trying to guess the rainfall situation in May or June in order to pre-book a variety now does not always work out as planned! A change in planting intentions can leave him with a barn of Full season seed while he frantically tries to locate somewhere to buy a barn full of Early seed!<br />
<br />
Another vital issue is insect pressure. Every storm from the south can bring in a new crop of boll worms. These vile little creatures can strip a cotton plant clean in a matter of a few days. That makes the bollworm resistant genetic trait (Bt) very important in the decision. Thanks to the Bt trait, our farms have been insecticide free for five years. A friend of ours decided three years ago to forego the Bt trait and planted conventional cottonseed. He had to spray his fields four times with insecticide and still lost over 30% of the crop. My brother-in-law farms cotton up on the plains north of here where there is very little insect pressure. He plants cottonseed every year that does not contain the Bt genetic trait. For us the choice is Bt genetics or lots of insecticide.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYCUbK0uncxnnDDGs-0WhRy3hBKJIDORaLs7ZzyHWpq1rHhdcefed5pmqqAjYR0dRkYfYh1iH8yZLCCQMKnyxXHUe1TXKxrOkoOxUYFfvpnOjZAZqx4qn0MgD1wBhBg26F5qMQKSqBSho/s1600/Cotton+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYCUbK0uncxnnDDGs-0WhRy3hBKJIDORaLs7ZzyHWpq1rHhdcefed5pmqqAjYR0dRkYfYh1iH8yZLCCQMKnyxXHUe1TXKxrOkoOxUYFfvpnOjZAZqx4qn0MgD1wBhBg26F5qMQKSqBSho/s320/Cotton+picture.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's hoping this will be waiting for Daniel's cotton stripper this fall!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So what variety of cottonseed is ahead in the polls? Will it be one of the big name front runners or a small time dark horse that makes it's way to the planter boxes of the Farmer I Kiss? More campaigning is needed before Decision 2013!Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-50614909337109647682013-01-27T10:43:00.005-08:002013-01-27T10:43:41.616-08:00Cotton Farming doesn't take a winter holidaySince we are in the dead of winter out here next to the Chihuahuan Desert, one might think that I see a lot more of the Farmer I Kiss. After all, what would a cotton farmer do while it's too cold to grow cotton? If I could find him, I would ask him! So I decided to head out to the farm.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVARW-uwsZIEtnjL2V80paEXJqVB7OxLd44ji0ThdIG2LznY4Tim5VTO7ZSkiLknyLVWyv8nVHn2d8-lj76_86L_Z-kM76trLjcSHO5J2X1JbrhmQoxza-tAtuWovEij3jJQ0kKlNmCGt/s1600/DSC_0520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVARW-uwsZIEtnjL2V80paEXJqVB7OxLd44ji0ThdIG2LznY4Tim5VTO7ZSkiLknyLVWyv8nVHn2d8-lj76_86L_Z-kM76trLjcSHO5J2X1JbrhmQoxza-tAtuWovEij3jJQ0kKlNmCGt/s320/DSC_0520.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dirt Mover!! Reminds me of a Transformer movie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
When I finally found Daniel, he was in his tractor with a big yellow dirt mover repairing the terraces that were damaged this fall when we had over 10 inches of rain. When fields have slopes to them, these terraces are built, which are really just small dirt dams all running parallel in the field allowing us to harvest and hold the rainwater and topsoil. The parts of the fields that hold the water in front of the terraces had over filled after the <a href="http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/dec/31/drought-spills-into-new-year/">"Hundred Year Rain Event"</a> and finally broken through creating wash-outs which allowed the water to fill up in front of the next terrace. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWXVcyvUPVf3aO9WshUVYmk58b6_t-H6TSydjO38lNdvDMCuOg7K85US17M0KKPNAPf6zKuOjXYZbU0VG4SCi0NZXfeut1Qz747wKfzuL7xlgHaG27JeAlRrj8jnl7-UnbZ2cSyBwCOQs/s1600/DSC_0552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWXVcyvUPVf3aO9WshUVYmk58b6_t-H6TSydjO38lNdvDMCuOg7K85US17M0KKPNAPf6zKuOjXYZbU0VG4SCi0NZXfeut1Qz747wKfzuL7xlgHaG27JeAlRrj8jnl7-UnbZ2cSyBwCOQs/s320/DSC_0552.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wash out over knee high</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUAtBer5RJl2zAdNpQ-5hYR84Npu0I3NtDryDzTM8s270OziD8KJ5Qn1A4iiO25_eFfWXJn2netQ3YW7i2Nyf401_7iRlrkcqTTvQMyBzLciUOh-bNav02DTnO9iPDz0xfcvMAbW9rgnJ/s1600/DSC_0548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUAtBer5RJl2zAdNpQ-5hYR84Npu0I3NtDryDzTM8s270OziD8KJ5Qn1A4iiO25_eFfWXJn2netQ3YW7i2Nyf401_7iRlrkcqTTvQMyBzLciUOh-bNav02DTnO9iPDz0xfcvMAbW9rgnJ/s320/DSC_0548.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wash flowing into our coastal grass field</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Luckily the terraces on the lower end of the field were big enough so that we didn't lose the water and topsoil. Our<a href="http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/may/24/hay-shortage-in-west-texas-persists-despite-rain/"> coastal grass</a> field caught the water on the other side (which means we should make some really great hay this spring!) <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHmVmz4u3_iLiX_bSooLRI9trAkRr3L6tjQ95k0HZHypqketHllWIm1CwXG8bAKyTy-deusiCKGSU4fcpKk43LSB-2OjT9jFYQFjdSzof7zHePkO-gY9LAAVKmOIYO1_Q-d1HmsSqctcl/s1600/DSC_0555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHmVmz4u3_iLiX_bSooLRI9trAkRr3L6tjQ95k0HZHypqketHllWIm1CwXG8bAKyTy-deusiCKGSU4fcpKk43LSB-2OjT9jFYQFjdSzof7zHePkO-gY9LAAVKmOIYO1_Q-d1HmsSqctcl/s320/DSC_0555.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hay Hay Hay this spring!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Now comes the slow task of repairing each of the wash-outs without creating holes in the field. And I do mean S-L-O-W! One bucket at a time, Daniel finds soil from the right spot and slowly bumps his way back up the field to put the load in the wash-out. Moving two inches of soil across the terraces on 200 acres of land, one bucket at a time, is certainly not as fast as those old Tonka Trucks used to be in my back yard. Carefully repairing the terraces can take several weeks in order to not cause damage to other parts of the field.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_Vk_Lza_fLabkWPeXLlL9Hndic1u8xZBQzDGl0gpbrBVHz5V7bZSzpGwfjdfKjfG2zCe-lVugR67VGPFXYf7I9Lvq74H9etyMx5IqPLqjq-HkZyVbKHZLZuObOjt6IkYHmOY4SmsuUM4/s1600/DSC_0547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_Vk_Lza_fLabkWPeXLlL9Hndic1u8xZBQzDGl0gpbrBVHz5V7bZSzpGwfjdfKjfG2zCe-lVugR67VGPFXYf7I9Lvq74H9etyMx5IqPLqjq-HkZyVbKHZLZuObOjt6IkYHmOY4SmsuUM4/s320/DSC_0547.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small wash out already repaired</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Once the the wash outs are filled in, the soil must be put back into condition for raising cotton. Daniel will hook his tractor to the chisel plow and plow the field from top to bottom. The chisel plow is 20 feet wide and plows only about 3 to 4 inches deep. This will only skim the top to loosen the soil and break up all the tractor and harvester tracks from the previous year.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNV9-UjXIOTEp2XQacePk4hwif1HDTdL-Is5BLzjEjhFL3jN1pTWeb-R5NwS9fCvSlfKWhxNda4Wmdy7NF8VR_mfBmR6NTnv18jCeCb_YZofTOaL2V-jgHG-50Io9UoLG2Dq3ciJ8YqGht/s1600/DSC_0528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNV9-UjXIOTEp2XQacePk4hwif1HDTdL-Is5BLzjEjhFL3jN1pTWeb-R5NwS9fCvSlfKWhxNda4Wmdy7NF8VR_mfBmR6NTnv18jCeCb_YZofTOaL2V-jgHG-50Io9UoLG2Dq3ciJ8YqGht/s320/DSC_0528.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Repaired terrace after running the chisel plow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span id="goog_1742853717"></span><span id="goog_1742853718"></span><br />
After the farm has been chiseled, Daniel will hook his tractor on to the lister, a plow that makes beds, or rows, in the soil about 6 inches tall. He will lay off nine <a href="http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~blpprt/constill.html#soilconsys">40 inch rows</a> at a time. These rows follow the contours of the terraces and also help to <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/07/maybe-most-important-harvest-of-all.html">hold the precious rainfall</a> we hope to receive this spring.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZyDyeb0kdrTsvr6JJ03YrR_a8R3unGhZZ1dgM43ZItnEZ5qjIwBJ8TDkMRQdUuIODslf2HrcsH3WpMf0uEF02VoRjy-AW6cAKFj-zv4dwmv_r4MHRwfV72rVwIc0jdYknfgctSVvithnh/s1600/DSC_0525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZyDyeb0kdrTsvr6JJ03YrR_a8R3unGhZZ1dgM43ZItnEZ5qjIwBJ8TDkMRQdUuIODslf2HrcsH3WpMf0uEF02VoRjy-AW6cAKFj-zv4dwmv_r4MHRwfV72rVwIc0jdYknfgctSVvithnh/s320/DSC_0525.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooking onto the lister</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Daniel has found by trial and error over the past 40 years that this minimum tillage combination of shallow chiseling and forming rows works good to keep the top soil from blowing before the cotton is planted and to keep the surface moisture available. There are some no-till farms in the area, but they are not having the success with cotton that minimum tillage is having. The desert environment is presenting challenges for no-till that hopefully will be worked out, such as heavy grass infestation and surface moisture that sinks with the extreme heat. For now, our minimum tillage practice can require less herbicide usage than the no-till and the rows help to keep the surface moisture closer to the top for sprouting the newly planted seed. We normally have only two herbicide applications per year and replace other needs for herbicide applications with spot tillage for weed control. Daniel likes to have a conventional practice that balances the lowest chemical inputs and lowest tillage instead of going completely one direction or another. <br />
<br />
When all the repairs, conditioning and rows have been completed on the first farm, it all has to happen on the next farm, then the next farm...so if I hope to see the Farmer I Kiss this winter, I will have to hitch a ride in his tractor (which happens to be a great place to steal one of those famous farmer kisses!)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Bc8MO4KpomaPkxaw3AX41NCYq8aetJRTAQ-3PB6CowYZn6kBRpyGweS-PG3KHibIjq-hSP6ydeXHsuBW9qxLv7hr9yC82NqQWuRPsAGS8lkkYyIZwn-8LhprGLRWS_pgqeBJ3009g-iN/s1600/DSC_0156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Bc8MO4KpomaPkxaw3AX41NCYq8aetJRTAQ-3PB6CowYZn6kBRpyGweS-PG3KHibIjq-hSP6ydeXHsuBW9qxLv7hr9yC82NqQWuRPsAGS8lkkYyIZwn-8LhprGLRWS_pgqeBJ3009g-iN/s320/DSC_0156.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All this...to be here again next fall!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
To see more about our soil and water practices, check out our earlier blog <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/07/maybe-most-important-harvest-of-all.html">Maybe the most important harvest of all. </a><br />
<br />
Also follow us on our Facebook page as we start a new year of raising cotton on the edge of the largest desert in North America <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KissedAFarmer?ref=tn_tnmn">Kissed A Farmer</a>Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-1254223139633624592012-11-27T09:03:00.000-08:002012-11-27T09:03:13.256-08:00A Buggy full of GMO CottonFor harvest season this year, I left my office each day at noon to go run the boll buggy for the Farmer I Kiss. So why would I go to work early to get my office work done, then drive 40 miles to the dusty, noisy, bumpy, late night job of cotton harvesting? Because harvest season is the best time of the year. It means we actually beat the Chihuahuan Desert and produced cotton! <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIiyc756i537yNY7ZTXBxGMCLNhadN4MVU4sKYfdBTsTlmelnblBcXqQjMmOnYPBYz-Re_ACM0Cj5_nglGBBUJ0IPVxhvw5B5hzIVjxsjHtKQ6vMnbumZBe7GWqd2NbxBiQY2-HLbnwr1C/s1600/DSCF0915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIiyc756i537yNY7ZTXBxGMCLNhadN4MVU4sKYfdBTsTlmelnblBcXqQjMmOnYPBYz-Re_ACM0Cj5_nglGBBUJ0IPVxhvw5B5hzIVjxsjHtKQ6vMnbumZBe7GWqd2NbxBiQY2-HLbnwr1C/s200/DSCF0915.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cotton harvester puts a load of cotton in my buggy, then I take it to the module builder</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What's that got to do with GMO cotton you ask? Running the boll buggy gives me time to think in peace without the mess of papers that clutter my desk back in town. Being the cotton ginner's daughter and farmer kisser that I am, I sat there thinking about, what else but cotton and how GMO technology has made our industry very different than the cotton industry of just a decade ago. Some people don't understand the science behind the technology, and what you don't understand, you normally fear. Some people, like the Farmer I Kiss, have embraced the technology and love the wonderful benefits that it has
provided.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzL_7835foXFrkwugQRY1rdZcZhIPa4QNI4IUS3QMu8yM_2HFna49oPJlwyANkSyKkjKVNWkMLOfjfUNAgeul8OsNnNn9Wi3lt7GR3nnUZxqGFlZmGmGZdKGQaWGAGc0bYsx3bUmusAqeH/s1600/DSC_0399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzL_7835foXFrkwugQRY1rdZcZhIPa4QNI4IUS3QMu8yM_2HFna49oPJlwyANkSyKkjKVNWkMLOfjfUNAgeul8OsNnNn9Wi3lt7GR3nnUZxqGFlZmGmGZdKGQaWGAGc0bYsx3bUmusAqeH/s320/DSC_0399.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our beautiful cotton that contains the genetic trait which makes it resistant to the boll worm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Thanks to the genetic trait in our cotton that makes it resistant to the boll worm, we did not spray one drop of insecticide on our fields this year. Not one drop. Because we don't have to spray for the boll worm any longer, the beneficial insects are flourishing and naturally control the other minor pests. Now, if we planted non-GMO cotton, like the farmers in Brazil that Daniel met last spring, we might have to spray our cotton up to 13 times with insecticide. That's what the Brazilian farmers told him they have to do in order to save their non-GMO cotton crop. Once they start spraying for the boll worm, then they have to spray for other pests because the beneficials are gone. 13 applications verses 0 applications. In my book, there is no comparison. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOE6ps21X98_rxELtSUgr2Rx0np2JB4ZviY5LqT4p2GitCV5w8js0N2p3dE6L9SRdxfI7nOM9Zhjc6-Pa7cZBBWwsl9qB5ddc_Tmon_nnHNZl0jyR2El18SmQQNZ1vD18KzS9-lsn-mKR4/s1600/Brazil+cotton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOE6ps21X98_rxELtSUgr2Rx0np2JB4ZviY5LqT4p2GitCV5w8js0N2p3dE6L9SRdxfI7nOM9Zhjc6-Pa7cZBBWwsl9qB5ddc_Tmon_nnHNZl0jyR2El18SmQQNZ1vD18KzS9-lsn-mKR4/s320/Brazil+cotton.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel and some other Texas farmers in a cotton field in Brazil.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another benefit is how clean our fields stay because of the herbicide resistant trait. With our fields basically free of weeds, the tractor can stay parked more often. Daniel uses both herbicides and tillage to control weeds. This year, he sprayed the entire field once before planting to kill the late winter and young spring weeds. Then after the spring rains and planting, he sprayed only the parts of the fields that got a second crop of early summer weeds. This is actually less herbicide used than if he planted non-GMO cotton, because instead of a second spraying on just some of the acres, he would have used a pre-emergant herbicide on all the acres at planting. He also plowed only around the edges of the fields where weeds love to get started from the roadsides. <a href="http://www.american.com/archive/2009/july/the-omnivore2019s-delusion-against-the-agri-intellectuals">Other farmers</a> have had the same results as us with different GMO crops.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGtBycV3tdJd3kmnTIKQFua_uvbU2dQtvshq8DThQHEXlaGBDP3i6yPgsqWVTWkWptMDSLYUxuoBpEhQSbMpBY_FiIJuTBZpKvAqyX5YbFvyWhKqgbLVk3wGuUEHV7_8wkrN0eE9q0Bez/s1600/DSC_0375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGtBycV3tdJd3kmnTIKQFua_uvbU2dQtvshq8DThQHEXlaGBDP3i6yPgsqWVTWkWptMDSLYUxuoBpEhQSbMpBY_FiIJuTBZpKvAqyX5YbFvyWhKqgbLVk3wGuUEHV7_8wkrN0eE9q0Bez/s200/DSC_0375.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel and our son-in-law Chris harvesting a clean field of cotton.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
These two genetic traits have cleaned both the air I breath and the water I drink and are preserving the soil that grows my beloved cotton. Cleaner air since the tractor can stay parked more often. Cleaner water since there is less herbicide on the surface to run off. Preserving the soil since tillage has been greatly reduced. A cleaner product since the insecticide is reduced or even eliminated in some years. That's what thinking time pulling a boll buggy full of GMO cotton will do. It makes this farmer kisser happy to live in a cleaner world thanks to agriculture's new technology.Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-17046177645144211612012-11-06T14:58:00.001-08:002013-06-14T06:52:18.008-07:00There is no Fungus Among Us: TOPGUARD Fungicide proves effective against Cotton Root RotIn following up on my blog <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/05/serendipity.html"><i>Serendipity</i></a>, I am happy to report that the Cotton Root Rot fungus that the Farmer I Kiss has fought for 40 years is no where to be found! The fungicide <a href="http://www.cheminova-us.com/topguard/">TOPGUARD</a> worked and our cotton did not die this year. For the first time in cotton history, there is a treatment THAT WORKS for Cotton Root Rot. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh1r8aFjKhbvWkzueb_Uzzga-PjqvWwyZXOMZ5Prnd42ICmIPQ3I-xQPlrE_yaZGh_EeRkerDMm9KZNs83iWZDkNX10tibWD16XN64NvgL0wB9lI58gcYBXNaukEEJ4dZ2nibxAA9oZ8o3/s1600/September+cotton+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh1r8aFjKhbvWkzueb_Uzzga-PjqvWwyZXOMZ5Prnd42ICmIPQ3I-xQPlrE_yaZGh_EeRkerDMm9KZNs83iWZDkNX10tibWD16XN64NvgL0wB9lI58gcYBXNaukEEJ4dZ2nibxAA9oZ8o3/s400/September+cotton+015.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a single stalk of dead cotton!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We took a big risk and invested in applying TOPGUARD when we planted our dryland cotton. It was a huge investment, considering you never know what the year will bring out here next to the Chihuahuan Desert. The spring started out very favorable with above average rainfall, so in late May Daniel made the final decision to spend $50 per acre on our best farm and see for ourselves if this newest in a long line of promised cures would work. IT DID! Where we applied the TOPGUARD at the full approved rate, we had not one dead stalk of cotton. (OK, that's not totally true. The pressure dropped on the spray nozzles and there is a tiny little spot where there is dead cotton.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw32Z6JYNu_qdIxzctdipY_LOGeaelvoTb3gLBPvKb1Q4ud1TWB4MRqWbRA5QDFBbE7dEKr-yl622BHNwt56o7fJNceI5UqcvHqaY_qC_dxasbITdBcSZ4RAElmv_yRxzawLN2FvFihlOb/s1600/September+cotton+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw32Z6JYNu_qdIxzctdipY_LOGeaelvoTb3gLBPvKb1Q4ud1TWB4MRqWbRA5QDFBbE7dEKr-yl622BHNwt56o7fJNceI5UqcvHqaY_qC_dxasbITdBcSZ4RAElmv_yRxzawLN2FvFihlOb/s320/September+cotton+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's it! One tiny area where the spray nozzles lost pressure.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now, take those farmers who decided not to invest in TOPGUARD and you can see the difference:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcUt3Otu3V7TjEJPJ0EIHDg7BUZvnktEtykPR3q-1t_dCobLYkohlRGHTaLnCWClKD4WqNzXSZFtLEGTyvv3SEvnhzQgyBd7Aj2JNm8c0vIrQuXsB7VwIDlrMDernAitrIN7j65Vcs4yr5/s1600/September+cotton+046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcUt3Otu3V7TjEJPJ0EIHDg7BUZvnktEtykPR3q-1t_dCobLYkohlRGHTaLnCWClKD4WqNzXSZFtLEGTyvv3SEvnhzQgyBd7Aj2JNm8c0vIrQuXsB7VwIDlrMDernAitrIN7j65Vcs4yr5/s320/September+cotton+046.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neighbor down the road who didn't use TOPGUARD (and who asked to remain anonymous) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
TOPGUARD was <a href="http://www.hpj.com/archives/2012/apr12/apr16/0309CottonRootRot1PIXsr.cfm">approved for use on cotton</a> this year for the first time. It is estimated that cotton root rot causes approximately $29 million dollars damage annually for Texas cotton growers. Beating this disease will mean amazing cotton production when the rain cooperates. Right now, the process to allow TOPGUARD to be labeled for cotton permanently is underway. The fungicide has been used safely on soybean fungus and other crop diseases for many years.<br />
<br />
It was only because a fungicide was stockpiled for a soybean fungus that didn't hit the U.S. which caused the whole study on cotton root rot because someone needed to do something with all those jugs in their warehouse and now we don't have dead cotton! Serendipity folks, serendipity.<br />
<br />
See our other posts about TOPGUARD: <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2013/06/if-only-even-gmo-cottonseed-cant.html">If Only</a> and <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/05/serendipity.html">Serendipity</a> Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-26773668877461815642012-08-20T16:38:00.001-07:002012-08-21T08:34:53.146-07:00Family Farmer: Who Decides?I Kiss a Family Farmer. <br />
<br />
Some of the land he farms has been in his family for almost one hundred years. He does all the work himself at this point in his farming career, except for harvest time when two or three other folks have to help. Often those are even all family members, including his town dwelling wife at times. (I can pack a pretty tight module if I do say so myself.) But lately I have come to realize that many of those out there who are critics of farming think that the Farmer I Kiss should not be allowed to be called a Family Farmer. They think that he has too much land, too many tractors, a barn that is too big...they contend that he is "Big Ag" or "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_farming">Corporate Farming</a>."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmtCgl1MlxZA8DvwFMDqdy9Ubgpq335LbWS_tlSYCngMLSSDJVkCMsvKLk0UBTWHIebO2WTv_Sw3iz5MEPp0cK7Qi1UssKtthMgBAF8Kize6-vOWSLcB66CpZExClrrxCxixavyVm_qsZ/s1600/Daniel+&+the+planter+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmtCgl1MlxZA8DvwFMDqdy9Ubgpq335LbWS_tlSYCngMLSSDJVkCMsvKLk0UBTWHIebO2WTv_Sw3iz5MEPp0cK7Qi1UssKtthMgBAF8Kize6-vOWSLcB66CpZExClrrxCxixavyVm_qsZ/s1600/Daniel+&+the+planter+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My View of the Perfect Family Farmer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This leads me to look for a definition of any Family Business. There is a family here in town who own my three favorite Mexican Food restaurants. Because they own three restaurants does that disqualify them from being a Family Business? Are you only allowed to own one restaurant to be a Family Business? Can that family hire employees to bus tables or do only family members have to bus tables? If the Farmer I Kiss only owned one tractor, would the critics then let him be called a Family Farmer? Sounds a bit bizzare when you put it in these terms, but often bizzare ideas are quicker to float around the social media world than <a href="http://www.agday.org/media/factsheet.php">truths and facts</a>. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhKGlJu80VOJviP0aedtz8UhEV19di7Ni5aHMAd8P_wWBeGw7JZIGjvA0Pb3PrCtAo3wj2Kt6PZWjTd4B9DSE6im9vJliRuJjNruqMQzuf0lNab6HswJltNjPOyL6nUYliAdFFbAXWqzD/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhKGlJu80VOJviP0aedtz8UhEV19di7Ni5aHMAd8P_wWBeGw7JZIGjvA0Pb3PrCtAo3wj2Kt6PZWjTd4B9DSE6im9vJliRuJjNruqMQzuf0lNab6HswJltNjPOyL6nUYliAdFFbAXWqzD/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this tractor too big for a Family Farmer?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I recently saw a comment on a blog post which reflected the opinion that most farmland is being farmed by corporations. I sited the <a href="http://www.epa.gov/oecaagct/ag101/demographics.html">EPA's</a> numbers that show 98% of farmers are Family Farmers. The commenter promptly said that may be so, but those 98% only farm 2% of the land. He had no information to site for his numbers, which is pretty common in social media. Just make something up and throw it out there. Other facts from USDA show that his comment is completely incorrect.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtEc2YYU5ETP1ph2cI16MeOdDSL4ys36JR42gUgczBOt287LkIF0MgfEKWR2jJqQsok9IWf1Zk7lWjbvBypIGJPYSuP_7-7OfvjFwzHmafBSPi9GPQIOqk6RztGEec1SjOZMIlPNoci5k/s1600/DSCF0917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtEc2YYU5ETP1ph2cI16MeOdDSL4ys36JR42gUgczBOt287LkIF0MgfEKWR2jJqQsok9IWf1Zk7lWjbvBypIGJPYSuP_7-7OfvjFwzHmafBSPi9GPQIOqk6RztGEec1SjOZMIlPNoci5k/s320/DSCF0917.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you have to hand harvest to be a Family Farmer?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have been around farmers and farming since the day I was born. I have yet to personally know some huge, faceless corporation that farms. Where are they? Who are they? So I started looking at all the farmers I know more closely. I do in fact know some corporate farmers. I won't use names, because it's just plain rude to start talking about folks on the internet without their permission. But for example, lets take a dad and his two sons who farm about 2500 acres with lots of tractors and plows. They have their operation set up as an LLC, Limited Liability Corporation. This makes very good business sense, and it provides some protection of their home and personal assets from lawsuits against the LLC. Now, the dad and his sons do 98% of all the work. They drive all the tractors, plant all the crops, harvest all the acres (except maybe an extra person or two to build modules at harvest, which most likely is a nephew or the Farmer Wife they Kiss.) But, since the dad and the two sons operate under "Dad & Sons Farms, LLC," do they no longer get to be considered as Family Farmers? Are they now a huge, faceless corporation? No.<br />
<br />
It seems to me that a lot of this labeling or refusing to allow a label may be a reflection of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_war">class warfare</a> being waged in our country. There are those who want to put a limit on what is ok to have or have not. If Farmer One has too many acres, he is too big, he can't be considered a hard working Family Farmer. Is it only Farmer Two, who has a five acre garden he handpicks himself, who can be considered a hard working Family Farmer? Is it really too many acres, or is it that Farmer One apperas to be more successful than Farmer Two? I hope our country is not going toward a time when the <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/american+dream">American Dream</a> of running a successful Family Business of any size will be looked upon as a bad thing. <br />
<br />
I have decided to create the definition of a Family Farmer that will apply to this blog site for the rest of the blog's life: Family Farmer (noun) person or persons growing <a href="http://www.fb.org/">food, fiber and fuel </a>who are actively engaged in the day to day operation and process of growing a crop regardless of the size of the operation or processes. The person or persons must care for and about the land they use to grow said food, fiber and fuel. They must go about the growing process in a responsible manner following strict guidelines set forth by the <a href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=FOOD_SECURITY&navtype=RT&parentnav=FOOD_NUTRITION">UDSA</a>, <a href="http://www.fda.gov/Food/default.htm">FDA</a> and<a href="http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/tfsy.html"> EPA</a>.<br />
<br />
I Kiss a <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/">Family Farmer</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63nYgA9v_u6dat-M7GlXdCV-HjExhsddM7za_0UKVTx0nfwmvcirUfANpzxpM00yW-N12CVmpL-nAqGSlwQp_gp8wLdSLW44YyxaFhFB1NHI6t9YIaZst7kRdkdUsdXn4jgODMNWNKRFi/s1600/Flag+Photos+028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63nYgA9v_u6dat-M7GlXdCV-HjExhsddM7za_0UKVTx0nfwmvcirUfANpzxpM00yW-N12CVmpL-nAqGSlwQp_gp8wLdSLW44YyxaFhFB1NHI6t9YIaZst7kRdkdUsdXn4jgODMNWNKRFi/s320/Flag+Photos+028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Follow our adventure on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KissedAFarmer">https://www.facebook.com/KissedAFarmer</a>Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-25407051187254828752012-07-19T08:43:00.000-07:002012-11-09T14:21:49.349-08:00Maybe the Most Important Harvest of All: Rainfall Harvesting in the DesertThe Farmer I Kiss spends a month or so each year harvesting cotton. The other 11 months are spent harvesting something else. Water. Every drop of rainfall out here next to the Chihuahuan Desert is precious. One of the problems with our rainfall is that it usually falls very fast from quick moving thunderstorms. We seldom get slow storms that sit in and rain for a few days at a time. So farmers have devised lots of different methods to capture every drop of these fast moving showers.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLE3GiXvJQhpwq6JmNVI-aGBBjnVNKkmkON5AXTi-urb0FJDcDR_Q8_wq0qr9HbM2H0DDBB8GmRMg7Rf46aotKLUkjAitudJ_ipO4x-6MCHIjBmOXXCniVYS2i4fwf1ovbQwidJgbe1dWf/s1600/129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLE3GiXvJQhpwq6JmNVI-aGBBjnVNKkmkON5AXTi-urb0FJDcDR_Q8_wq0qr9HbM2H0DDBB8GmRMg7Rf46aotKLUkjAitudJ_ipO4x-6MCHIjBmOXXCniVYS2i4fwf1ovbQwidJgbe1dWf/s320/129.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">15 minutes after a fast, one inch rain, the contour rows are holding the water</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The method we use is contour farming. We have a series of terraces built throughout our farms. These are small, continuous mounds that follow the elevation changes of the field. Between these terraces, we make rows that follow the terraces early each season by using a plow called a lister. This all works to even out the elevation changes and hold every precious drop of water that falls. It also prevents wash out's from eroding away the top soil. Holding top soil is every bit as important as holding the rain.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OP6KNf7hh_W7y-1iYRRukfU7rPbEUBpPm2NLyYRbtOZKjEHvuKuY9sbgpvn_ycD9sdYzhNeNMuT3wpro1XoYOy3loGs6z2UrEE0jtohAn7f6i_st2P2hbER7bOODHHhu69EETNwn4eiG/s1600/Flag+Photos+032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OP6KNf7hh_W7y-1iYRRukfU7rPbEUBpPm2NLyYRbtOZKjEHvuKuY9sbgpvn_ycD9sdYzhNeNMuT3wpro1XoYOy3loGs6z2UrEE0jtohAn7f6i_st2P2hbER7bOODHHhu69EETNwn4eiG/s320/Flag+Photos+032.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The same rows a week later and the cotton is, as Daniel puts it, "Growing like weeds!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another method that can be used is called diking. This is an implement pulled behind the lister that creates small holes or dams within the rows. This can catch even more rainfall. The problem with dikes are that you can't run your tractor, harvester or a spray rig down the rows with the dikes. If you have ever rode your bicycle over the railroad tracks, you will understand why! So only a few of your rows can have the dikes in them.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbbnOxZWeTgsetbZ0Dsj_ULLS13Lm2EzkCQgqUE0O4ypR-glNjd3KyTC_qHvdxhe0fb7hxQMfpaU2WwLFK4ct_v_l7Uk-I9tHn5Tn6QsKHLi2SLmJU9ekwiWmoAPYrvQlIqERNQ0lvF05/s1600/Dikes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbbnOxZWeTgsetbZ0Dsj_ULLS13Lm2EzkCQgqUE0O4ypR-glNjd3KyTC_qHvdxhe0fb7hxQMfpaU2WwLFK4ct_v_l7Uk-I9tHn5Tn6QsKHLi2SLmJU9ekwiWmoAPYrvQlIqERNQ0lvF05/s320/Dikes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of dikes from our friend's farm. Notice how he only diked one row.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Over the next year, the Farmer I Kiss is developing a plan that will allow us to use these dikers in all but the two rows where he will run all the equipment: the tractor, harvester and spray rig. I will keep you up to date on this plan. It is very exciting and could greatly increase our water harvest, which we KNOW would increase our cotton harvest out here next to the Chihuahuan Desert.Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-46312031753143255552012-06-29T07:43:00.002-07:002012-11-09T14:22:07.147-08:00It's Still Cool to be Grown In The USA: Buying Local FoodMuch ado is made these days about buying "local" food. I was confused at first, wondering why I wasn't buying local food. What was I missing? Here I am a Texan and I buy my oranges from <a href="http://www.floridasnatural.com/">Florida farmers</a> and my strawberries from<a href="http://www.calstrawberry.com/recipes/default.asp"> California farmers</a>! After several back porch conversations on this subject with the Farmer I Kissed, I discovered that I do buy local. It's just that my "local" runs from sea to shining sea. I buy food from <a href="http://www.fb.org/">American Farmers</a>. I consider that about as local as you can get. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaoTvpT4NBPTaXCLXa7DcESCuIyRKmbb9il_U1VB_-2CcbIeAiDNOcaZYon3tfzJSoSwIlTEVZyGx95qCKar_o_XLGguUA9IiU3Nt8KDjgoKG7NS1FkNaQMZ7fqPrPztpWCZ3MXywcTHN/s1600/Flag+Photos+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaoTvpT4NBPTaXCLXa7DcESCuIyRKmbb9il_U1VB_-2CcbIeAiDNOcaZYon3tfzJSoSwIlTEVZyGx95qCKar_o_XLGguUA9IiU3Nt8KDjgoKG7NS1FkNaQMZ7fqPrPztpWCZ3MXywcTHN/s320/Flag+Photos+011.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We grow cotton...doesn't make for a really great bar-b-q menu!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What I wonder is when did we all stop being neighbors...when did it stop being cool to buy "Grown in the USA?" I have traveled a lot and met American Farmers from many different states. They are all just like the Farmer I Kiss: hard working family farmers. So when I buy cranberries, blueberries and potatoes, I buy "local" from someone like the farmers I have met from <a href="http://www.cranberryfarmers.org/cranberryfarms.htm">Maine</a> or <a href="http://www.georgiablueberries.org/">Georgia</a> or <a href="http://www.idaho-potatoes.com/">Idaho</a>. It doesn't matter to me if my cranberries, blueberries and potatoes come from their farms, from their friend's farms, or from their brother's farms. I trust that my cranberries, blueberries and potatoes were raised by American Farmers who love the land, care about my food and adhere to strict, regulated guidelines while raising that food. Besides, we are cotton farmers living on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert! We can't raise cranberries, blueberries or potatoes. Someone tell me how the heck you have a 4th of July picnic without cranberry Jell-O surprise, blueberries decorating the cake and Mom's potato salad? <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizBimZtDNMM7PlmMcG8VFQpGx8XIcCpo0Cl13RhLguuuU_sOz4ZTVAjI3KunYVoHParGqLehGepg9ZxovbIW_Iy8Qi8bHQdk0tPA822AaSkJqEcuffjGAMvVzTM1P98bq-3rAZqkF-zPZO/s1600/flag+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizBimZtDNMM7PlmMcG8VFQpGx8XIcCpo0Cl13RhLguuuU_sOz4ZTVAjI3KunYVoHParGqLehGepg9ZxovbIW_Iy8Qi8bHQdk0tPA822AaSkJqEcuffjGAMvVzTM1P98bq-3rAZqkF-zPZO/s320/flag+cake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't have a proper 4th of July picnic without this!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are lots of folks who want to personally know the farmer who grows their food so they can know how he raises that food. I think that's cool. I could get up at 6:00 AM on Saturday and stand in line to buy tomatoes from one of my friends who sells his garden produce at the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93Ceg1Cv3LA">Concho Valley Farmers Market</a>. Frankly, I would rather sleep. I know farmers, I kiss one of them and I trust the kind of people who are out there raising my food and fiber all across this incredible nation. I also trust that agriculture will continue to adapt and change to answer American's needs and concerns so that once again everyone can feel as good as I do about buying "Grown in the USA" anywhere and everywhere across <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Q1fDf0GeY">America</a>. As for right now, I'm going shopping, to a grocery store, to buy "local" pineapples from the farmer I actually met while I was in <a href="http://www.hawaiitropicalfruitgrowers.org/">Hawaii</a> (or who knows, maybe it will be from one of his friend's pineapple farms.) I'm going to use it in my frozen drink this afternoon as I help the Farmer I Kissed get our back porch cleaned up for that 4th of July Picnic.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipH1tS9JTAIG_w8vzs5FDaDIKnUab8oXkRq3o-fKxr2RiNyw99i9ftgmf3asQusp5FoKrJSTyq-IGutlz6624lofByc0u4Dv367Vxv62TmWpmy0RbC2uM32xcWEcQZlmZe0bUyBUkT7UZo/s1600/4th+of+July+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipH1tS9JTAIG_w8vzs5FDaDIKnUab8oXkRq3o-fKxr2RiNyw99i9ftgmf3asQusp5FoKrJSTyq-IGutlz6624lofByc0u4Dv367Vxv62TmWpmy0RbC2uM32xcWEcQZlmZe0bUyBUkT7UZo/s320/4th+of+July+family.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Birthday America!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-28214510982569550212012-06-15T08:03:00.001-07:002012-11-09T14:20:49.403-08:00It will be a circus without the safety net: Crop Insurance under attack<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKLtal5-Tf3AnsGji2-52LKNQVWk7RT9zJbiVjc7UNIv-aZczJr96V_LfL5GcgOVSlxi6yoFdBRTATQ7U1mpOBQXe2GNA69rYJ8gasJndkKWfgRVVtoxTt4SoayzYbSBfl31Csu95qCcVN/s1600/p10781ta102050_23_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKLtal5-Tf3AnsGji2-52LKNQVWk7RT9zJbiVjc7UNIv-aZczJr96V_LfL5GcgOVSlxi6yoFdBRTATQ7U1mpOBQXe2GNA69rYJ8gasJndkKWfgRVVtoxTt4SoayzYbSBfl31Csu95qCcVN/s200/p10781ta102050_23_0.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Farmer: The Next Generation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Farmer I Kissed is one of my clients. You see, I am not only a farmer kisser, I am a crop insurance agent. I have been in this business for 20 years. In all those years, 2011 was the most hectic time I have ever experienced. 100% of my clients had losses, and most of those were total losses. The majority of my clients are dryland cotton farmers, just like Daniel and I. The seed that they planted in June finally sprouted in September. Until then, they were lying in dry, dry dirt, in the same condition as when they came out of the bag. With that said, let's visit the Fortune Teller at the circus and imagine yourself in this situation: Through no fault of your own, you will receive no income for 12 months. None. <br />
<br />
That's what it was like to be a farmer in Texas last year. The tight rope broke, and there was no cotton to harvest, no cotton to take to the gin, no cotton to sell to the merchant. Enter, the safety net: Crop Insurance. Crop insurance is not like you homeowners insurance, where you have a small deductible, say $2500, and if your house burns down, insurance pays for the rest to build you a new house. The deductibles on a crop insurance policy can be up to 50% of your crop. That means, in 2011, you would collect 50% of an average crop through an insurance indemnity. So the tight rope broke, you landed in the safety net, instead of zero you have 50% of your income and at least you are not selling the farm. But you have half your income to meet 100% of your obligations AND somewhere in there you have to prepare for next year's crop. Land leases don't stop just because there was no crop produced. Equipment payments don't stop. The land still has to be cared for, to keep it from eroding, blowing or growing up in weeds. Thank goodness for that safety net! It's the only reason the majority of Texas farmers are getting to plant cotton this year!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBOqZ_oVHEB4sJXoHY9vIlaTfVLkS2dnc6F-eQUxBA4L8zuQu5GgABpugiKJ467pbK3nGyTZjAjD-e9xou78WOcrM1LfTAQROhQIYTnB9gT3XJM9xvGVIUo-1kYY7l7J9yhVEfohH10x_/s1600/100_6007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBOqZ_oVHEB4sJXoHY9vIlaTfVLkS2dnc6F-eQUxBA4L8zuQu5GgABpugiKJ467pbK3nGyTZjAjD-e9xou78WOcrM1LfTAQROhQIYTnB9gT3XJM9xvGVIUo-1kYY7l7J9yhVEfohH10x_/s200/100_6007.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Farmer: The Next Generation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What would happen, if that safety net were taken away? The land will still be there, food and fiber must still be produced (or we will be hungry and naked pretty fast!) Who could start producing our food and fiber on that land without a safety net? It wouldn't other family farmers, like the one I kiss. They would be out of business too. It would be huge management firms, overseas investors, financial institutions. We don't want to be in the stands watching that three ring circus. We MUST keep our family farmers on the land. Everyone needs to understand, there are many different kinds and sizes of family farmers. But the key is that they ARE "family farmers" and care deeply about the land and about what they produce for the kitchen tables across this country.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzK_zUImFe4SqFIBtuEW58HZniVz0-tPTOPM7hSIROhIAGwjiOBjL2ShWX3EaWDuylC_6DvpWWW7-CcDSGsMjdJkdxZsmgHPfeT-uynvfw6sGO9zJri-pGV6txmgl7FY1LzEmOZ359Zp97/s1600/Klaire+Tractor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzK_zUImFe4SqFIBtuEW58HZniVz0-tPTOPM7hSIROhIAGwjiOBjL2ShWX3EaWDuylC_6DvpWWW7-CcDSGsMjdJkdxZsmgHPfeT-uynvfw6sGO9zJri-pGV6txmgl7FY1LzEmOZ359Zp97/s200/Klaire+Tractor.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family Farmer: The Next Generation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Crop insurance is a public-private cooperation. Private companies deliver a product overseen and regulated by the USDA's Risk Management Agency. It is a highly successful program that has been duplicated in other countries around the world. Keeping our food and fiber supply stable and affordable is a matter of national security, so the government aspect is essential. But right now, an assault is being carried out against the safety net by some of those in Congress that don't realize what would happen if family farmers gave way to the circus. An assault on the farm safety net is a direct assault on the family farmer. If amendments being presented are passed, the cuts and limits to crop insurance would cut the wires, leaving the family farmer walking the tight rope without a safety net. When that happens and we see another 2011 disaster, send in the clowns folks, the circus just hit town.<br />
<br />Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-38658938852376630472012-05-29T13:22:00.001-07:002013-06-14T06:54:50.561-07:00Serendipity: TOPGUARD Fungicide approved for Cotton Root RotI just love the word Serendipity. Basically it means that something good happens that was unexpected. Who wouldn't love to be in the middle of a serendipitous situation? That's just where the Texas cotton farmer that I kissed has found himself this planting season with the arrival of <a href="http://www.cheminova-us.com/topguard/">TOPGUARD</a>. This is a fungicide that has been used on soybeans and apples for years. A while back, there was a certain soybean fungus about to hit the U.S. In preparation, a lot of <a href="http://www.cheminova-us.com/topguard/">TOPGUARD</a> was produced. The soybean fungus never made it across the Gulf of Mexico, so the <a href="http://www.cheminova-us.com/topguard/">TOPGUARD</a> folks started looking for something to do with their product. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTsoywqb8MqayuTTx3-A8l_f6an2aEdTdhznKomXmy_bEV11-8BQBZcVD2fsORNnCSF4A7sLy3oYE9Gh94BkiE6CVf2sJsqV1WpGMlURNAUkYCFdNh8GM5cWbvW7pRR4SqQpp3cjJ81G2/s1600/Root+Rot+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTsoywqb8MqayuTTx3-A8l_f6an2aEdTdhznKomXmy_bEV11-8BQBZcVD2fsORNnCSF4A7sLy3oYE9Gh94BkiE6CVf2sJsqV1WpGMlURNAUkYCFdNh8GM5cWbvW7pRR4SqQpp3cjJ81G2/s1600/Root+Rot+5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cotton Root Rot in a field near us</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Enter the cotton farmers and their 100 year fight with <a href="http://southwestfarmpress.com/cotton">Cotton root rot</a>. Since the first cotton was planted in the southern United States, a strange phenomenon happens...sometimes...in different places...under different circumstances...in different fields...to different varieties...(you get the picture) and areas of a field would die. From a single stalk to acres and acres, cotton plants would just die. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLmsjq618TyGsAYhPnh77N4IUf8oeokjahDRCwZnQNK4vTEgU_R42MR5-IGgX2wqTHTYCebSf52voQiMXFY9q3Ry98zRiskfiTaEaJqVwpOtfnUcOf649FNT7XWsgumJ-pHndKX_GkO1B/s1600/Root+Rot+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLmsjq618TyGsAYhPnh77N4IUf8oeokjahDRCwZnQNK4vTEgU_R42MR5-IGgX2wqTHTYCebSf52voQiMXFY9q3Ry98zRiskfiTaEaJqVwpOtfnUcOf649FNT7XWsgumJ-pHndKX_GkO1B/s1600/Root+Rot+1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice how some plants are not affected among all the dead plants</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
But this is not a problem that occurs on a scale large enough to attract any serious research. It is isolated to just a few areas and within those areas, isolated to groups of farms. Being a small problem in the scope of the agriculture world, those who fight Cotton Root Rot were left on their own, trying to figure out how to combat the unseen enemy killing their cotton. Dozens of ideas have been used: planting later in the season, using a certain mix of fertilizer, rotating the fields with other crops, leaving the field out for a year with no crop at all, and even some slick snake oil-cure all products. Some things worked <i>some of the time</i>, other things worked <i>other times</i>. But like the fungus itself, nothing worked everywhere, all the time. And since Cotton Root Rot seldom occurs at exactly the same place in the field from year to year and with no soil test available for the fungus, it has been almost impossible to study.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sY71fJklKQx9bH5QBXjvgZKFFLgTESSkWvGUS8HYPCTlngxS1_IETWTnW5C-8WsOcqs-6b5aJhMOYqLBnWVui1T9gdGWvDxgLVZqx6eclvoqB4dScU1pw51J_2KGwFVGZVexLW8thGeH/s1600/root+rot+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sY71fJklKQx9bH5QBXjvgZKFFLgTESSkWvGUS8HYPCTlngxS1_IETWTnW5C-8WsOcqs-6b5aJhMOYqLBnWVui1T9gdGWvDxgLVZqx6eclvoqB4dScU1pw51J_2KGwFVGZVexLW8thGeH/s1600/root+rot+6.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't take a biology degree to see the damage here!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
So what the heck is Cotton Root Rot? According to an article in the <a href="http://southwestfarmpress.com/cotton/cotton-root-rot-suppression-technologies">Southwest Farm Press</a>, Cotton Root Rot is caused by the pathogen, <i>Phymatotrichopsis omnivora. </i><a href="http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/diseases/az1150.html">Mary Olsen</a>, a plant pathology specialist, wrote, "Cotton (Texas) Root Rot often causes a rapid wilt and death of the host in the late spring, summer and early fall when temperatures are warm. Dead and dying leaves remain attached to the plant. However, infected plants also may decline more slowly, especially at cooler temperatures and when plants are well cared for. The roots of dying or declining plants are rotted." </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CuDjmv5UEpKHW20zzhW1UYpHTuRt1PHIPkYKpWhiQTyz-YSgiTmuAurVsF8dWTmpGbRldcl9kbBbPD0jwswBvapTm-DEdnMCAEgdlUn0saGKvx5kJ7cc_uXmmtEbAgLIaw7alc4li6qU/s1600/root+rot+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CuDjmv5UEpKHW20zzhW1UYpHTuRt1PHIPkYKpWhiQTyz-YSgiTmuAurVsF8dWTmpGbRldcl9kbBbPD0jwswBvapTm-DEdnMCAEgdlUn0saGKvx5kJ7cc_uXmmtEbAgLIaw7alc4li6qU/s320/root+rot+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Root "Rott-ed" cotton</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Now the serendipity. An enterprising person at the company who makes <a href="http://www.cheminova-us.com/topguard/">TOPGUARD</a> happened to see an article about the plight of the Texas cotton farmers fighting Cotton Root Rot. Light bulb! Let's see if all this product sitting here might find a home, so tests started just a few miles from our farms. Eureka!! The darned stuff seems to be working! </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0ZepNpWde7WIZ9kfqN1Y_GkA3w1p80souZRi1nvm_aJ5dx_tRVN16zzArsFJ5l35_AKHRn9Ahshm0mSe5KGiErWO1WswHrwqQ_oCQz5iUckI5b3JRZ6QNBTZgaiIaQd42HtGlL9qVEfC/s1600/root+rot+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0ZepNpWde7WIZ9kfqN1Y_GkA3w1p80souZRi1nvm_aJ5dx_tRVN16zzArsFJ5l35_AKHRn9Ahshm0mSe5KGiErWO1WswHrwqQ_oCQz5iUckI5b3JRZ6QNBTZgaiIaQd42HtGlL9qVEfC/s1600/root+rot+7.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of the fungus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Five years, hundreds of tests, and pages of research later, <a href="http://www.cheminova-us.com/topguard/">TOPGUARD</a> has found a home. What this could mean in terms of production is tremendous if you are one of the cotton farmers, like the one I kissed, who has been standing on the turn row looking at fields of dead cotton for <b><i>decades.</i></b> But it is not without it's hurdles. Cotton planting in our area had been simplified, down to filling the boxes with seed and GO! Long gone were the huge, bulky water tanks mounted on tractors and the maze of tubes and nozzles forming spray rigs on planters when pre-emergent herbicides were the standard in weed control. But now, those dusty old tanks are being dug out of the old chicken house and being remounted on brackets that have welders blazing in shops until all hours of the night. They will hold the water and TOPGUARD solution that will be pumped through the maze of tubes and nozzles which are also back, ready to apply the long awaited fungal cure. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIeZFcbQDgdW59YJti6kvbM2MT0zdKHE7Yu7PXV_wg6-9K6SBua_FzsvSlxufaSr8lhH3KR9busBML4awYlHU9X2bIDnlA1C2s0vHwoa1mfZ1_86s_Rznb1puD6JOJ4p1aEOEi7on_VGFO/s1600/Working+on+planter+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIeZFcbQDgdW59YJti6kvbM2MT0zdKHE7Yu7PXV_wg6-9K6SBua_FzsvSlxufaSr8lhH3KR9busBML4awYlHU9X2bIDnlA1C2s0vHwoa1mfZ1_86s_Rznb1puD6JOJ4p1aEOEi7on_VGFO/s320/Working+on+planter+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel building the brackets for the water tanks that will hold the TOPGUARD solution.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Last but certainly not least, the cost is the biggest hurdle of all. Full rate applications are running up to $50 per acre. <b>Unheard</b> <b>of</b> for anything on dryland cotton fields. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIDIRp55oDq7O8O4EGjfbJqdpkTUK3zNjXhpwYA2cuCCGBImlRpdDthGwJzNJliefswgu6xJyfxXSa9U356lvqMCOPT4UBB159tEY9sHuBXaxuBXYjxL84fZJ7lu9syKE37Xq2dGEoFrdm/s1600/Stand+of+Cotton+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIDIRp55oDq7O8O4EGjfbJqdpkTUK3zNjXhpwYA2cuCCGBImlRpdDthGwJzNJliefswgu6xJyfxXSa9U356lvqMCOPT4UBB159tEY9sHuBXaxuBXYjxL84fZJ7lu9syKE37Xq2dGEoFrdm/s320/Stand+of+Cotton+001.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first cotton planted with TOPGUARD</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So with all this hassle, cost and no large scale proof, why try it? Because Cotton Root Rot has been such a problem for the farmers who have fought this pathogen for a hundred years, that no hurdle seems to high to jump for a field of LIVE cotton plants!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Serendipity has found it's way out here, next to the Chihuahuan Desert, in the form of little white jugs, to the Texas cotton farmer that I kissed, by way of a missing soybean fungus. I just love that word.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
See out other posts about TOPGUARD: <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2013/06/if-only-even-gmo-cottonseed-cant.html">If Only</a> and <a href="http://kissedafarmer.blogspot.com/2012/11/there-is-no-fungus-among-us-topguard.html">No Fungus Among Us</a> </div>
Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-19544715875593185662012-05-16T07:52:00.000-07:002012-05-16T07:58:02.610-07:00Be Careful What You Wish ForThere is a saying I have heard farmers repeat all my life: It's always too wet and it's always too dry. Well, low and behold, after the driest year on record out here, we are now at twice our normal rainfall. This morning's front page story says that instead of the 6.2 inches we normally have received by this time of year, we are at 12.6 inches. <br />
<br />
Before the rain came last week, Daniel and I were in one of our back porch discussions about how early to start planting. Being a scientist at heart, I have a theory for everything and when to plant is no exception. My "Volunteer Cotton Theory" contends that the first day we see the volunteer cotton sprouting out of the ground, get in the field and roll! Volunteer cotton is seed that will sprout from locks of cotton that were left in the field from the last harvest. It always seems that those rogue plants load up with way more bolls than the cotton we plant in the rows. So I say do what the rouge plants do! Daniel calmly starts to shoot holes in my theory as he points out that those plants are out in the middle of the rows, or along the side of the field, where they can spread out their roots all they want. The poor little guys we plant in the rows have to compete all year with their next door neighbors for food, water and sunshine.<br />
<br />
Since there was not a harvest last year, there will most likely be no volunteer cotton for me to point at and say "See, those guys know it's time to sprout!" and Daniel will get his way. He likes to plant later, so that the cotton is not trying to load bolls during the very hottest time of the year. The drought and the rain BOTH helped his cause this spring. First he could tell me he couldn't plant yet because it was too dry. Now, he can tell me he can't plant yet because it's too wet. Looks like he will plant at just the right time, like he always does, in spite of my brilliant "Volunteer Cotton Theory." <br />
<br />
Now that Daniel's choice of planting time is fast approaching, instead of looking up and hoping for clouds coming over the horizon, we are looking up hoping for a few days of sunshine. Those old farmers are right, it's always too wet and it's always too dry! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi30fZyVFXIzW5OZ4c4xcs3J_4DbGjrymg8Ft2e3jkWGboNVPtE_saZouhFo70yXgRYIs4cAMDL8-cvWUxi-XwzfFAiTje9wa8l_H2Ak2tgJbJWx0LMNL2ccZ9Is4-m_kTdD4mj3G8_fWl/s1600/Flood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi30fZyVFXIzW5OZ4c4xcs3J_4DbGjrymg8Ft2e3jkWGboNVPtE_saZouhFo70yXgRYIs4cAMDL8-cvWUxi-XwzfFAiTje9wa8l_H2Ak2tgJbJWx0LMNL2ccZ9Is4-m_kTdD4mj3G8_fWl/s1600/Flood.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Picture from the Standard-Times May 16, 2012 taken just east of San Angelo at Nine Mile Creek</div>Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790673087448713871.post-3237664834960784862012-05-09T14:49:00.001-07:002012-05-10T11:35:19.967-07:00The Farmer I KissedKissing was not an approved activity as I grew up in the office of my Dad's cotton gin. I was especially NOT supposed to kiss a farmer! But what girl ever listens to her Dad? So, I Kissed A Farmer, and I liked it. That lead me here, to San Angelo, Texas and the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, with the farmer I kissed. We grow dryland cotton. I never realized that most of the world doesn't know what "dryland" really means. We use no irrigation. The only water our cotton gets is from the sky. And being out in West Central Texas, just miles from the largest desert in North America, you can only guess that we get very little water from the sky.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlXX-bvDFwVE7Ckqrz1lNrkDwfc4LDKQCd4183e78xMDu7vfKblsRwzeYtS-Vn6_p7Zfw0apDFyQLK5SiHihLWogi3G_UxmbjgKLEMP8iLs5MBXlC8q89kIR-NRs0b5hArlC9fxcp84_p/s1600/Daniel+in+a+Brazilian+cotton+field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlXX-bvDFwVE7Ckqrz1lNrkDwfc4LDKQCd4183e78xMDu7vfKblsRwzeYtS-Vn6_p7Zfw0apDFyQLK5SiHihLWogi3G_UxmbjgKLEMP8iLs5MBXlC8q89kIR-NRs0b5hArlC9fxcp84_p/s320/Daniel+in+a+Brazilian+cotton+field.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Daniel, the farmer I kissed.</div>
<br />
So "Why do it?" is the question I keep hearing. Why fight the desert to try and grow cotton out here where it can go for months with out raining and months over 100 degrees? When the real answer appears, you will be the first to know. In the meantime, just know that I have learned by starting this Social Media Journey that what we do out here is extraordinary. We actually grow the fibers for the fabric of your lives out here on 10 to 12 inches of rain during a normal growing season, about 24 inches for the average year. That's not much.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR75iWmCJK-E84zbQqAqa38-YXGT7P_wkd_TmmCchvM6PrwuMnZpUlwiSQsnZpZyqvcbUergv0TDlgiDfvruHfLyQm-C750SSCSOiSQUTTIOljkNgBtCirmms-hsJZ5T_65azxu127U1Y4/s1600/Kissed+a+farmer+shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR75iWmCJK-E84zbQqAqa38-YXGT7P_wkd_TmmCchvM6PrwuMnZpUlwiSQsnZpZyqvcbUergv0TDlgiDfvruHfLyQm-C750SSCSOiSQUTTIOljkNgBtCirmms-hsJZ5T_65azxu127U1Y4/s320/Kissed+a+farmer+shirt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The shirt I stole my name from...Kissed A Farmer</div>
<br />
In this first ever post of Kissed A Farmer, I just want to invite everyone along as you and I watch the farmer I kissed during a year of this extraordinary thing he does called dryland cotton farming. Mother Nature will have to be along for the ride, or it could turn out like 2011, when there was no dryland cotton grown. That happens when our water source takes the year off due to La Nina. That could be interesting too, but right now, the prospects look good, La Nina seems to be put back to bed and we have just had 3 inches of water from the sky. Planting will start within a couple of weeks! You can also join the adventure on facebook at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KissedAFarmer">https://www.facebook.com/KissedAFarmer</a>Suzie Wildehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17539510126917839033noreply@blogger.com1San Angelo, TX, USA31.4637723 -100.437037531.355420799999997 -100.594966 31.5721238 -100.279109