Southwest, Far West Cotton Producers to See Georgia Operations

MEMPHIS – Fourteen cotton producers from the Southwest and Far West cotton production regions will observe cotton operations in Georgia on August 4-9 as part of the National Cotton Council’s (NCC) 2024 Producer Information Exchange (P.I.E.) program.

Launched in 1989, the P.I.E. program is sponsored by BASF Agricultural Solutions through a grant to The Cotton Foundation. After this year’s two P.I.E. tours, more than 1,200 U.S. cotton producers will have been exposed to innovative production practices in Cotton Belt regions different than their own. Specifically, the program helps producers improve their overall farming operation efficiency 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 creative ways in which other resourceful producers use to integrate both new and traditional technologies. 

The tour participants are: Arizona – Burleson Smith, Tucson; California – Kevin Gilkey, 
Fresno; Matthew Jasso, Dos Palos; Aaron Palmer, Blythe; Texas – Levi Ayers, Anton; Michael Block, Travis Dusek, Roger Glass and Zachary Glass, all of San Angelo; August Guettler, III, Taft; Katy Holladay and Calvin Neal, both of Lubbock; Robert Nedbalek, Mathis; and Kyle Nickelson, Littlefield.

On August 5, the group will begin their Georgia tour with a visit to Stoneville Research in Dawson to learn about cotton breeding, followed by a trip to Harvey Jordan Farms to discuss irrigating row crops. The day will also include a visit to a peanut shelling facility before an in-depth tour of the gin and warehouse at McCleskey Cotton.

The group will begin the next day’s activities at the University of Georgia in Tifton, where they will learn about the university’s micro gin and the impact of its extension programs. Other activities that day include a visit to the Georgia Museum of Agriculture, an opportunity to learn about forestry and Georgia agriculture policy at C. H. Cannon Company in Moultrie, and a final stop at the Sunbelt Ag Expo.

On August 7, the group will visit Lewis Taylor Farms to learn about Georgia’s produce and logistics. They will then observe peanut processing at Premium Peanut in Douglas, tour the Southeastern Gin Company in Surrency, and finally, witness the tobacco harvest at Reid Turner’s farm.

The tour concludes on August 8 with cotton producers visiting Herndon Farms in Lyons toobserve onion and greens production, followed by a tour of Cromley Farms, and ending with anengaging port tour in Savannah. 

The season’s other P.I.E. tour is currently taking Mid-South and Southeast producers through California operations from July 28 – August 2.

The NCC's Member Services staff, in conjunction with local producer interest organizations, coordinates the P.I.E. program’s tours and participant selection