Decision-Making Help Offered At 2014 Beltwide Cotton Conferences

MEMPHIS – Those involved in helping producers make key cotton production/marketing-related decisions – including consultants, researchers, Extension specialists/agents and industry sales/support personnel –will find an abundance of information at the 2014 Beltwide Cotton Conferences, set for January 6-8 at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel.

The National Cotton Council-coordinated forum will begin at noon on January 6 with a half-day Cotton Consultants Conference session that will focus on new developments from industry, including discussions of new varieties, chemistries and emerging technologies. Beginning on January 7, the 11 cotton technical conferences will meet concurrently. Also on that day, selected technical conferences will meet with the consultants conference at specific times to discuss key issues in those disciplines, including current research. The technical conferences will conclude their meetings at noon on January 8.

"We believe that having some of the technical conferences meet with the Cotton Consultants Conference will foster a lively exchange of ideas and shared experiences among researchers and others who assist producers with making key decisions," said Bill Robertson, the NCC's manager, Agronomy, Soils and Physiology who coordinates the conferences.

He said among some of the key timely topics being considered for those joint sessions are: insect interactions with the 2,4-D and Dicamba weed control technologies; target leaf spot, which has emerged as a problem in the Southeast and Mid-South; nematode control; on-farm variety testing; irrigation and plant growth regulator interaction; irrigation instrumentation/data collection for help in scheduling; alternative nitrogen products; and how cotton production is being affected by today's various crop rotation scenarios.

The Beltwide will continue to offer continuing education units or "CEUs" and serve as the venue for the following recognition events:The Cotton Foundation/Farm Press Publications' High Cotton Awards, Cotton Grower magazine's Cotton Achievement Award and Cotton Farming magazine's Consultant of the Year. The National Cotton Ginners Association will continue to conduct meetings in conjunction with the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, including participation in the technical conferences for cotton ginning and cotton engineering-systems.

The annual Beltwide Cotton Conferences brings together those with a stake in a healthy U.S. cotton production sector, including cotton industry members, university and USDA researchers, Extension personnel, consultants, and service providers, to share timely information.

For the 2014 Beltwide Cotton Conferences, self-registration will be available 24 hours a day beginning the evening of January 5 while the same can be done at a staffed registration desk that will open on the morning of January 6. Housing/registration instructions, a schedule of events and general information are at www.cotton.org/beltwide.