Project Support

The U.S. cotton industry is enjoying a healthy return on investment from Foundation member support of general projects and special projects. National Cotton Council staff estimates that taking into account cash and in-kind services, the Foundation’s general projects, for example, enjoy a return of about $3 for every dollar devoted to these projects. By supporting these projects, the Foundation is truly fostering innovative: 1) research to find solutions to cotton problems; 2) technology to implement those solutions; 3) education to speed new research application and 4) communication to spread information throughout cotton's production and marketing chain.

General Projects 2011-2012

Scientists are trying to determine the effects of Palmer amaranth plant debris on cotton fiber.

• National Cotton Council Website
• Cotton’s Pest Loss Survey
• Journal of Cotton Science
  
• China Cotton Leadership Exchange
• EPA Residual Risk and Technology Reviews (RTR) for the "Vegetable Oil Production" Source Category (MACT Standards Review)
• Information and Research on Potential Consumer, Environmental and Workplace Risks
• Sustainability of US Cotton: Field to Market Fieldprint Calculator Pilot
• Pilot Program to Investigate the Feasibility of a Short Ton (ST) Trading Unit
• Addressing PM Emission Issues that are Currently Facing U.S. Cotton Gins
• The use of pollen to examine tarnished plant bug dispersal into cotton
• Test Protocols for Determination of Combustible Dust Designation
• Molecular monitoring of Bt resistance to support pink bollworm eradication
• Determining the impacts of Palmer amaranth plant debris on cotton fiber and screen for Ignite and PPO herbicide resistance in Palmer amaranth
• Breeding for the improvement of fiber length uniformity as a method of improving fiber maturity
• Herbicide Resistant Common Waterhemp:  Minimizing its Impact on Cotton  
• Evaluation of Low Volume TSP Sampler for Use in Measuring Agricultural PM10 and PM2.5
• Locating Volunteer and Re-growth Cotton Using Airborne Multispectral Imagery
• Exploiting insect pathogens living within cotton for effective thrips management
• Pink Bollworm Eradication Technical Support, Systems Development, Program Evaluation & Onsite Support
• Evaluation of Foliar Insecticide Applications Following Preventative  Insecticide for Control of Thrips
• Leaf Grade Discounts:  What is the Cause?
• Economic Impact Analysis of Cotton Production with Public Policy Objectives for Regional Economies
• Cotton Potassium Utilization in Recently Released Varieties
• Influence of various host plants on the reproduction of Verticillium dahliae
  
  

Special Projects 2011-2012

Cotton Belt nematologists and plant pathologists meet annually to discuss their research and report on their nematode population surveys – with the overall aim of curbing losses to nematodes.

Vision 21
Monsanto, Deere & Company

Producer Information Exchange (P.I.E.)
Bayer CropScience

Congressional Staff Education/Orientation Program
Monsanto

Multi-Commodity Education Program
Deere & Company, Monsanto

Policy Education Program
Syngenta Crop Protection

Cotton Nematode Research and Education Program
Bayer CropScience

Cotton Seedling Disease Research and Education Program
Bayer CropScience

Weed Resistance Learning Module
Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto, Syngenta

Advancing Cotton Education (ACE)
Bayer CropScience

Ongoing Special Project Contributions

Several Foundation members support the NCC-coordinated Beltwide Cotton Conferences -- helping the NCC produce a high quality conference with modest attendee registration fees. Among support given is for the forum’s registration, wireless Internet connectivity, Internet Quickstop kiosks; the Confex Podium system, and the newsroom.

Some special projects are still assisting the U.S. cotton industry even though the projects’ annual grants have ceased. The Foundation continues to distribute volumes in its Cotton Reference Book Series, which can be ordered online. The series includes Weeds of Cotton, Cotton Harvest Management, Cotton Insects and Mites, Vegetable Oil and Agrichemicals, and Boll Weevil Eradication in the United States Through 1999.  The Cotton Foundation series reference books can be purchased from the Foundation by visiting http://www.cotton.org/cf/reference-books.cfm.

Some other efforts helpful to cotton’s overall research and education effort include the ginning lab fiber analysis and the periodic development and distribution of various NCC-produced educational videotapes. The Gin Lab Symposium, sponsored by Delta and Pine Land, Syngenta, and Bayer CropScience, aids in familiarizing extension specialists with post harvest processes of ginning and textiles to improve appreciation of end user needs.

Awards and Endowments 2011-2012

Recipients of the 2011 Farm Press/Cotton Foundation High Cotton Awards were honored at the 2011 Beltwide Cotton Conferences in Atlanta. From left are Ronnie Lee, Bronwood, Ga., Ray Makamson, Itta Bena, Miss., Eric Seidenberger, Garden City, Texas, and Bruce Heiden, Buckeye, Ariz.

High Cotton Awards
Farm Press Publications

Robert and Lois Coker Trustees Chair in Molecular Genetics
Endowment: $1,000,000

The C. Everette Salyer Fellowship in Cotton Research is administered by Texas A&M University's Entomology Department which provides more details and a list of previous winners on its website.
Endowment: $300,000

Cottonseed Oil Clinic
Endowment: $60,000