'16 PIE Program Tour Dates Set

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The National Cotton Council (NCC) has scheduled tour dates and locations for the 2016 Producer Information Exchange (P.I.E.) Program.

The P.I.E. program provides U.S. cotton producers the opportunity to maximize production efficiency and improve yields and fiber quality by: 1) gaining new perspectives in such fundamental practices as land preparation, planting, fertilization, pest control, irrigation and harvesting; and 2) observing diverse farming practices and the unique ways in which their innovative peers have adopted new and existing technology.

This season, Mid-South producers will visit agricultural operations in North Carolina and South Carolina on July 17-22; Southeast producers will see operations in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee on July 24-29; Southwest producers will tour California’s San Joaquin Valley on July 31-August 5; and Western producers will observe operations in two of Texas’ cotton production regions on August 14-19.

Sponsored by Bayer CropScience LP through a grant to The Cotton Foundation, the P.I.E. is now in its 28th year and has exposed more than 1,100 U.S. cotton producers to innovative production practices in regions different than their own. The NCC's Member Services staff, in conjunction with local producer interest organizations, conducts the program, including participant selection.