Memphis-based National Cotton Council's (NCC) announces that the cotton producers from the Far West will travel to the Southeast region, visiting operations in North Carolina and South Carolina, August 13-18 for the fourth and final tour of the 2006 Cotton Foundation Producer Information Exchange (P.I.E.) Program.
The visiting producers will be exposed to the diverse and innovative practices of the hosting region, providing them with more competitive technology and farming methods.
The P.I.E. Program, now in its 18th year, enables valuable communication between cotton producers and helps them gain new perspectives in land preparation, planting, fertilization, pest control, irrigation and harvesting.
The overall goal of the Program is to improve yields and fiber quality in each participating region. After this year's tours, the P.I.E. program will have exchanged more than 750 individual U.S. cotton producers.
Cotton Foundation President Craig Shook said of this long running program, “New technology is accelerating at a rapid pace, but adapting these tools and techniques to specific farming operations is a challenge.
By enabling U.S. cotton producers to see proven technology and farming methods firsthand as well as hearing about what doesn't work, the P.I.E. Program is leading its participants to greater efficiency and profitability.”
This year, nine cotton producers from the Western region will join the tour. Participants include: Arizona producers Claude Brown and Paul Ollerton, both of Casa Grande; Troy Clonts, Safford; and Marcus Martin, Coolidge; and California producers Michael Cauzza, Buttonwillow; William Haupt, Kerman; Charlie Meyer, Stratford; Rodney Montgomery, Riverdale; and Juvenal Rosa of Laton.
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