2010 P.I.E. Program Tours Set

MEMPHIS, TN – The National Cotton Council has scheduled dates and locations for the 2010 Producer Information Exchange (P.I.E.) Program. Sponsored by Bayer CropScience through a grant to The Cotton Foundation, the program is now in its 22nd year of helping its U.S. cotton producer participants improve yields and fiber quality.

This season, producers from the Southeast will see operations in Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee on July 18-23; Southwest producers will visit California on July 25-30; Mid-South producers will travel to North Carolina and South Carolina on August 8-13; and Far West producers will tour Texas on August 22-27.

The P.I.E. program enables cotton producers to improve yields and fiber quality along with boosting their overall operation’s efficiency by: 1) gaining new perspectives in such fundamental practices as land preparation, planting, fertilization, pest control, irrigation and harvesting and 2) observing firsthand the unique ways in which their innovative peers are using new and existing technology.

Upon completion of this year’s four tours, the P.I.E. program will have exposed nearly 900 U.S. cotton producers to innovative production practices in regions different than their own.