Agricultural News
2021 Shaping Up to be a Great Year for Oklahoma Cotton
Mon, 13 Sep 2021 21:40:42 CDT
Last week, farmers, specialists and members of the public gathered in Hydro, Okla. for a multi-crop field day. Radio Oklahoma's own KC Sheperd was among visitors to fields of cotton, corn, peanuts and soybeans, where she caught up with NexGen sales representative Shane Osborne to talk about the 2021 Oklahoma Cotton crop.
"We are really excited," Osborne said. "We started out this year having to have quite a bit of faith."
Last year, the cotton crop was negatively affected by mid-season droughts and a late-season freeze.
"We got pretty hot and dry early," Osborne said. "Then the rains started and they just never stopped until early August."
All that rain strengthened this year's cotton crop, allowing it to withstand the hot, dry weather the state is experiencing now.
"We have got some phenomenal looking dry-land fields that are doing very well," Osborne said. "Granted, the heat that we have endured the last two or three weeks has definitely taken a toll on that crop, but the good news is we started out with a much better crop before that heatwave got here than what we normally have."
From the looks of it, Osborne said he predicts Oklahoma cotton producers will be baling an above-average cotton crop as harvest season approaches.
Often, when crop yields are up, prices are down. That is not the case for cotton this year. As Oklahoma farmers rake in the bolls, they also have an opportunity to rake in the dough. Right now, on the NASDAQ website, cotton prices are at a five-year high, paying nearly $1 per pound, compared to the five-year average a quarter less.
"We are very blessed to have a very good opportunity this year," Osborne said.
Of all the beautiful cotton in Oklahoma right now, Osborne said NexGen's 4936 variety is a boll above the rest.
"That variety has shown a tremendous amount of utility across the state," Osborne said. "I say utility because it fits in many situations, from that dry-land acre up to your highest input irrigated acre - it delivers very well on yield and quality."
As harvest season draws near, Osborne said there is a lot at stake during the home stretch of cotton production.
"Harvest aids are a key issue for growers to tune into," Osborne said. "Making those applications, getting that cotton conditioned for harvest and then practicing good harvest discipline - those things are required to get that great crop to the market and get the price needed to be profitable."
Typically, cotton needs a boll opener, which does exactly what it sounds like, and a defoliant, which aids in leaf removal, according to Osborne.
Without, what Osborne calls, harvest discipline, producers could get themselves in a bad position with their cotton crop.
To learn more about what NexGen Cotton has to offer, visit their website by clicking or tapping here.
Hit the LISTEN BAR below to hear some of Shane Osborne's best practices, what to watch out for during harvest and more.
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