The Cotton Foundation

The Cotton Foundation

Major activities carried out during 2012.
policy education program

2012 Policy Education Program participants attended the NCC’s annual meeting and met with lawmakers and key government officials in Washington, DC.

The Cotton Foundation's trustees approved funding for 25 general research projects totaling $361,242 for 2012-13 – evidence that agribusiness support remained solid for this 501c(3) institution. Approved projects included work related to pest management, herbicide resistance, fiber quality, agronomic practices and education.

A Monsanto grant to the Foundation enabled the National Cotton Council to launch the Emerging Leaders Program, an effort aimed at ensuring the U.S. cotton industry benefits from a continuity of sound leadership. The special project not only will provide participants with an in-depth look at the U.S. cotton industry infrastructure and the business/political arenas in which it operates but give them intense professional development and communications training.

The Foundation continued to support vital NCC communications vehicles, including the Cotton's Week newsletter, and the Cotton eNews electronic newsletter. Foundation underpinning of the NCC's web server made it possible for the NCC to post multiple cotton-related educational materials, including streaming video.

multi commodity exchange program

The 2012 Multi-Commodity Exchange Program’s Sunbelt participants toured agriculture and agribusiness operations in North Dakota.

At the Foundation's annual meeting in August, Sledge Taylor, a Como, MS, producer/ginner, was elected Cotton Foundation chairman for 2012-13. Barry Evans, a Kress, TX, producer, was elected president.

Other elected Foundation officers were: Mark Lange, executive vice president; Bill Norman, executive director and secretary; Doug Rushing, allied industry trustee with Monsanto, treasurer; and Buzz Shellabarger, assistant treasurer. In addition, Cotton Foundation trustees elected for 2012-13 included producers: David Grant, Garysburg, NC; Kirk Gilkey, Corcoran, CA; and Ben Guthrie, Newellton, LA; and allied industry members: Mark Lindsey, DuPont Crop Protection; John Freed, Syngenta; Matthew Rekeweg, Dow AgroSciences; and Alan Ayers, Bayer CropScience.