Virtual Format Set For 2021 Beltwide Cotton Conferences

The National Cotton Council (NCC) will conduct the 2021 Beltwide Cotton Conferences (BWCC) virtually on January 5-7 (Tuesday-Thursday) due to continued concerns regarding COVID-19’s spread.

The BWCC, coordinated by the NCC, annually brings together university and USDA researchers, regulatory agencies, extension personnel/agents, consultants, and industry sales/support personnel to exchange information about new products and production/processing systems that can be tailored to individual farming operations for maximum efficiency.

Those planning to participate in the 2021 live-stream event must register at the BWCC’s website, www.cotton.org/beltwide/, which will be updated as program information becomes available. Registration will continue after the virtual 2021 BWCC concludes to permit registered participants access to the event’s on-demand content.

Registration costs for the 2021 BWCC have been reduced due to the virtual format: $180 for NCC/Cotton Foundation members, university and USDA researchers, extension personnel, associations and consultants; $500 for non-U.S. research, extension, associations, and consultants; $350 for non-NCC/Foundation members; and $75 for students.

The 2021 BWCC will begin at 8 a.m. on January 5 with the half-day Cotton Consultants Conference – open to all attendees. Among topics planned for that session are a National Weather Service discussion of prediction models/long range forecasting as well as university cotton physiologists describing weather models’ influence on cotton physiology decisions including growth regulator use and leaf shed practices. EPA officials will review the availability status of dicamba and other plant protection chemistries, and a panel will discuss Bt resistance management and EPA’s new proposed requirements. Participants also will get an update on cotton leafroll dwarf virus and product updates from various agribusiness companies.

The 11 BWCC cotton technical conferences, which now includes the Cotton Sustainability Conference, will provide updates on research and current/emerging technology. Those sessions will meet concurrently beginning on the afternoon of January 5 and conclude by 5 p.m. on January 7.