Deer don’t have to destroy every acre to break a farm’s budget. When a herd gets concentrated along a field edge, a few nights of feeding can wipe out cotton terminals, strip leaves during bloom, and turn a “normal” stand into a financial loss you can’t spray your way out of. We sit down with Clemson Extension wildlife specialist Cory Heaton to talk plainly about what white-tailed deer are doing to agricultural commodities across the Southeast and why the problem has escalated over the last 3...

A herbicide pass that misses is not a “learning moment” in cotton, it is a bill you pay all season. With drought across the Cotton Belt and budgets under pressure, we sit down with weed scientists Dr. Charlie Cahoon (NC State), Dr. Sarah Gansky (Kansas State), and Dr. Larry Steckel (University of Tennessee) to get brutally practical about optimizing cotton weed control without gambling on luck. We dig into what they told growers to protect even when commodity prices are low: keeping residual...

Cotton sat in the high 60s and low 70s for what felt like two years, then the market snapped higher and started swinging hard. We wanted to know what actually changed, so we sat down with Dr. Jody Campiche, vice president of economics and policy analysis at the National Cotton Council, and Ron Lee, general manager at McCleskey Cotton Company in Bronwood, Georgia, to unpack the rally in plain language that growers can use. We dig into the mechanics behind the move in cotton futures, including...

Cotton fertility decisions can feel like a gamble when you’re staring at dry soil, volatile input prices, and a cotton market that can change fast. We sit down with soil fertility experts from Texas, Virginia, and Oklahoma to sort out what actually helps you protect yield and profit going into the 2026 season and what simply adds cost before you even know you’ll keep a stand. We dig into at-plant fertility strategies across very different regions, including why many growers still front-load ...

Dicamba is available again for over-the-top use in XtendFlex cotton, but the path back comes with a label that demands planning, discipline, and proof that we can keep applications on target. We sit down with weed scientists Dr. Pete Dotray (Texas Tech) and Dr. Stanley Culpepper (University of Georgia) to translate what changed for 2026 and 2027 and what those changes mean when you are trying to cover acres on real timelines. We walk through the biggest shifts growers and applicators will fe...

Cotton seed is expensive, but the real question isn’t “How many seeds did you plant?” It’s “How many healthy, evenly spaced plants actually carry yield to the picker.” We sit down with cotton specialists from the University of Georgia, Texas A&M AgriLife, the University of Tennessee, Auburn University, and NC State to compare seeding rate recommendations across the Cotton Belt and explain why the right number changes with moisture, irrigation capacity, and planting risk. We talk st...

We trace how the cotton jassid moved from scattered detections to a widespread, fast-moving threat and share what actually stopped yield losses. We explain scouting on the top leaves, the new one-per-leaf threshold, and why missing the first spray costs you the season. • biology, hosts and how hopperburn looks • rapid spread patterns and storm-assisted movement • where to scout on the plant and why leaf four matters • thresholds shifting from five to one per leaf • yield loss data across pla...

When the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed on July 4th, 2025, it marked a turning point for America's cotton farmers after years of economic hardship. But what exactly does this legislation mean for growers across the Cotton Belt, and how did the industry secure these critical policy wins? In this revealing conversation, Camp Hand hosts three key cotton industry leaders—Taz Smith from the National Cotton Council, Kody Bessent from Plains Cotton Growers, and Taylor Sills from the Georgia ...

Drs. Guy Collins (NCSU), Keith Edmisten (NCSU), Sudeep Sidhu (UF), and Josh Lee (AU) join host Camp Hand (UGA) to discuss planting conditions, acreage reduction, and crop management during a challenging 2024 season. Weather patterns, market pressures, and management strategies dominate the conversation as experts share insights on navigating the lowest cotton acreage since the early 1990s. • North Carolina experienced good early planting conditions followed by wet, cool weather that prevente...

Drs. Shelley Pate-Kerns (Louisiana State University), Brian Pieralisi (Mississippi State University), Zachary Treadway (University of Arkansas), Tyson Raper (University of Tennessee), and Bradley Wilson (University of Missouri) join host Camp Hand (University of Georgia) to discuss the status of the Mid-South Cotton Crop. Discussions include planting conditions and planted acres, current situation, and the crop outlook.