2001 PIE Program Tour Dates Set

MEMPHIS, TN – Dates and locations of the 2001 National Cotton Council/FMC Producer Information Exchange (P.I.E.) Program have been finalized.

Cotton producers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia will see operations in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, July 7-12. Producers from Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico will visit operations in Arizona and California July 21-27. Producers from Arizona and California will tour the Texas’ High Plains and South Texas, Aug. 4-9. Producers from Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee will travel to Georgia and Alabama, Aug. 18-23.

This Cotton Foundation special project, funded by a grant from FMC Corporation, enables participants to observe cotton production in regions different than their own. They gain new perspectives from their peers in such areas as land preparation, planting, fertilization, pest control, irrigation and harvesting. The overall goal of this unique one-on-one, on-farm communication is helping participants improve their yields and fiber quality.

"This project provides innovative American cotton producers the opportunity to become more efficient by speeding their adoption of proven technology and farming methods," said Foundation President Talmage Crihfield, a 1993 P.I.E. participant.

The Ripley, TN, producer said the exchange program also is serving the increasingly important function of exposing participants to creative ways of reducing their production inputs as a means to achieving profitability.